I would actually guess it's the lack of sleep, but New York has been
exhausting. The traffic and complexities of the highways and interstates
in New York City, and to a lesser extent in Buffalo, have sucked a lot
of the spunk out of us yesterday and today. The calm of Niagara Falls
(despite the din and roar of the water) has helped it a bit, but we still
have one more full day and overnight in New York tomorrow before we bounce
out to Vermont, New Hampshire and the far end of the trip.
And for whatever its worth, if you're worried about tons of reading and
updates, don't worry -- we covered 521 miles today, so most of the day
was spent in the car, driving. Just... driving, with a teeny bit of sightseeing
and visits here and there.
The alarm went off, just as I'd set it. Robin stirs and gets up,
Tubby is dead to the world. Big surprise.
6:18am
At the earliest time so far, Tubby pulled himself from bed and began
getting ready.
6:57am
We checked out of the hotel, and received the receipt for the $188.44
stay overnight. Stupid lack of motels and hotels.
7:02am
We were on I-95, and after some directional snafu, heading toward
highway 17 to carry us most of the way from the White Plains, NY area
(just north of New York City) to the western edge of New York, some
400 or so miles away.
7:05am
50 cents got us across the first
bridge and on to the next toll plaza maybe 40 miles away.
7:51am
Or, not. For reasons I cannot explain but still appreciate, the
toll here only applies to trucks and vehicles with trailers. Since
we're neither one, life is good -- and
free.
8:11am
The party didn't last forever. We got to shell out another 50 cents
for the second and last toll booth marker on our map. Sure, it's only
50 cents, but we had to slow down -- drag. (I so prefer cruise control
at 70 MPH versus gas-and-brake-ing it at 5 MPH.)
10:26am
The overwhelming interest in donuts for breakfast, and the newness
of having never tried Dunkin' Donuts, had us in Binghamton, looking
without much luck.
10:48am
Okay, as we were about to give up, the Dunkin' Donuts sign caught
our eye. Then, so did the 6 cars or 10 people deep lines (outside
and inside, respectively).
10:49am
Dedicated to The Cause, we stuck it out for the donuts.
10:54am
Donuts in hand after some trouble (they were out of two kinds of
their ExpressDozen, a pre-packed dozen), so we substituted with glazed
varieties of their choosing (since we'd not been here before, and
the lack of photos, we trusted them a bit.)
10:57am
We all came to the conclusion that Dunkin' Donuts isn't for us.
They weren't impressive, and not nearly as light and airy as the Krispy
Kreme variety. Live and learn.
12:02pm
Stopping for gas in Elmira, Tubby discovered they also sell "delivered
fresh daily" Krispy Kremes. He disappears inside and emerges
with a dozen glazed, two bottles of Diet Pepsi and chocolate milk.
(He also insists the diet soda isn't to offset the donuts, which he
claims are fat-free and sugar-free. Funny, but... no.)
1:55pm
We hop off of highway 17 and veer toward highway 219 and Buffalo...
but not before passing through the town of Salamanca,
which sits right at the intersection of those two highways.
2:10pm
We had to detour around a farmers market/autumn festival in the
downtown of a nearby community (whose name I didn't jot down). There
was a number of folks renting their front yards for parking (ranging
from $2 to $5 a car), which competed with the far-from-the-action
Catholic church lot ($3) or the Elks only a few blocks away ($5).
We also passed a cute brunette who was hocking spaces at $4 each,
and she smiled at us, although I suspect it was only out of boredom.
2:17pm
Following signs to Pumkinville,
I'm sure if we arrived or not. But in either case, the local
color was nice enough.
2:35pm
Slowing for what we thought was an accident or fire, it seems the
local firefighters put up cones and park
in the street to collect donations. Not knowing reason or merit,
Tubby did nothing but drive on through... and I would have sworn he
got a scowl from the firefighter holding the boot for his indifference.
3:28pm
We hopped off the interstate into Buffalo,
and wandered around there for a while.
4:33pm
Switching the pace a bit, we paid the 50 cent toll and crossed the
bridge, then a second bridge (no toll this direction), and exited
the interstate spur to wander around the city and state park for Niagara
Falls.
5:34pm
We headed out and wandered around the city a bit, before beginning
the navigation task of getting to the edge of town to prepare us for
our departure tomorrow.
6:58pm
Exiting the interstate, we headed to Motel 6 for the night.
7:04pm
Or so we thought -- all booked up.
7:08pm
As was the Super 8.
7:11pm
And Red Roof Inn.
7:15pm
Hampton Inn was in a similar way.
7:19pm
Marriott wasn't quite full -- yet -- but filling fast. Between a
few weddings, people traveling and some events too numerous and obscure
to mention, space was at a premium. We paid the $130 and were assigned
to room 709.
7:26pm
Figuring the room was taken care of, we headed over to Fuddruckers
for grub and beverages.
8:09pm
All finished up, we hopped into the car and figured it was time
to let the Chevy get fed, too.
8:17pm
We carted our stuff to the room. Conversely, Tubby's luggage seems
to be getting lighter whilst Robin's is getting heavier. And fortunately,
I don't have to carry anyone's stuff but my own, and my things are
consistently the same, light load of only the most essential supplies.
8:23pm
Sitting down to update things, and knowing the mostly-driving day
will not keep me up late, I sincerely hope that the sleep recovery
we're able to do tonight recharges our emotional batteries. (Tomorrow
is a stop-heavy day before we bounce out of the state.)
10:29pm
In an all-time record for this trip, I'm done with updates before
1am+.
10:44pm
Everything is posted to the site in nearly record time. Hurrah!
11:17pm
Mail checked, my floating in the tub completed, so I'm off to bed.
Nighty-night, all.
