The Upstates of OH, PA and NY

We snuck out Detroit's back door and circled east around Lake Erie.  The first night we stopped at a KOA outside of Cleveland.  It was a long drive to town and we were not super motivated to explore Cleveland, so instead we had a mellow night of grocery shopping and laundry.

The next day we drove to a park in Pennsylvania that overlooked Lake Erie.  We were the only lake front overnighters, so we had the premium views to ourselves.  The shore was very rocky and at first I couldn't tell if the owners had dumped filler there to keep the beach from eroding.  But as I looked around I realized that the walls were layered and crumbling into thin pieces which were then rounded by the surf.  On one side of the beach there were slats of stone jutting out into the water.  There was also tons of driftwood, so we collected up a bunch for an evening fire.

It was a gorgeous sunset, but instead of dipping into the lake, the sun was lost behind a thick wall of clouds close to the horizon.  Around one in the morning the storm started.  The lightning was frequent and fierce, and one cracked far too close to the RV.  I couldn't help thinking that we were out in the middle of a field on the edge of the lake and definitely the tallest thing around.  The rain pounded for hours.  I was sure we would wake up amongst massive flooding and be unable to pull the RV out of the mud.  The thunder and rain finally subsided around eight am.  Miraculously we were not struck by lightning, nor stranded in the mud.  In fact, you could hardly tell it had stormed.  There were a few puddles but that was it.  The day was clear and beautiful as we left Pennsylvania and headed for New York.

It was Labor Day weekend and we were foolishly driving to Niagara Falls.  The nicer RV parks were all booked up, so we ended up at a not-so-nice KOA filled with lots of nice people.  There may have been other options in Canada, but again that pesky expired passport prevented us from going there. 

Canada, as seen through the mist

We visited the Falls the Friday before the long weekend, thus beating the crowds.  I was paranoid nonetheless and dragged Brian and Lukas out early and straight to the Maid of the Mist boat in order to avoid possible lines.  Numerous people had suggested we take the boat ride to the base of the falls so I was expecting quite a show.  At first the views were great, then the "mist" arrived and I couldn't really see anything anymore.  It was a thrilling ride, to be sure, but someone could have been spraying me with a garden hose and I wouldn't have noticed the difference.  The camera got wet and that was the end of pictures for a while.  Thankfully it was a hot day and a good soaking felt nice.

Lukas refused his own poncho, but when the spray came in earnest he hopped under dad's.

Romance at the Falls

Boat ride accomplished, we were hungry.  So we hopped on the trolley (at Lukas's request) and made for the Top of the Falls, a restaurant in the state park that has spectacular views.  It was only after lunch that I truly got a sense of the Falls.  On one side is a giant river with clear blue-green water, the color caused by dissolved minerals.  All of the water from the Great Lakes passes through the Niagara River, minus the bit diverted for hydropower, then drains into Lake Ontario.  Staring at the surging river bed, I could imagine being one with the water, traveling along the set path then suddenly encountering a cliff!  The water has no choice but to tumble down a hundred fifty feet and crash onto the boulders at the bottom before continuing on its river way.  I could vaguely sense the river's dismay as it was hurled through the air, stomach in its watery mouth, wondering when it would finally reach the bottom.  Staring at the lip of the waterfall I was transfixed, and had to be torn away from my musings by a family ready to head home.

On our final day in the Niagara area, Brian went golfing while I took Lukas to a couple parks downstream from the Falls.  Whirpool State Park and Devil's Hole State Park were both gorge overlooks with steep paths down to the river.  We had already seen a lot of rushing water the day before, so we took a peek then went on our way.  Back at the park they had a tie dye craft going on, so Lukas made a purple and green swirly shirt.  The rest of the afternoon was spent playing basketball, going swimming, and playing basketball again.  I was getting pretty tired of playing basketball.

There seemed to be a large Indian population in Niagara Falls, which got me thinking about curries.  On Saturday night we found a block off the strip that had, literally, five Indian restaurants in a row.  I picked one that got good reviews and then we stuffed ourselves silly.  The waitress was pleased when I went back to the buffet for seconds on dessert, so she warmed up my gulab jamun and covered it with kheer.  Excellent!  I had so missed the spoils of diversity as we crossed the US.  

Labor Day Sunday the rain started.  We drove out at the same time as many of our neighbors and went East on I-90.  Toll roads in New York are seriously pricey!  It was almost thirty bucks for us to drive on their stupid road to Syracuse.  We were tired of kampgrounds after Niagara so we chose a state park for the evening.

Green Lakes State Park was packed.  I'm not sure if the tenters or the RVers were worse.  The tenters were setting up outdoor living rooms and were much louder at night, while the RVers were running their generators during the day and messing up the woodsy feel with all that metal and fiberglass.  It was actually a great park, just overrun for the weekend.  The main attraction is the lakes, which are in fact green.  They are glacial lakes that are more deep than wide.  The lakes are meromictic, which means the upper and lower level do not mix.  Thus there may be ancient life forms near the bottom of the lake, one hundred and eighty feet down!  It was pouring when I visited the lake so didn't get any pictures.

The next day we drove through the rain, in Labor Day traffic, from Syracuse to Albany.  We passed Schenectady, which had been badly damaged by floods from Hurricane Irene.  Then we got stuck in traffic caused by two trailers colliding.  During a short break in the rain we hooked up the RV.  It was a good night to stay in.

However, I wanted to go out!  The wonders of Facebook had alerted me to the presence of friends in the Syracuse and Albany areas.  In Syracuse we had met up with Emily, a former roommate from SF who just started a journalism Master's.  And in Albany I had dinner with Ken, a friend from junior high and high school.  The rain was steady but the Mini Cooper guided me home to my sleepy motorhome family in the woods.

RV PARK REVIEWS

Cleveland/Streetsboro KOA, Streetsboro, OH: A-

  Swimming lake, grassy, large shade trees, nicely maintained.  Points subtracted for the ten year old girl working the front desk.  I was impressed with her training, but felt uncomfortable that such a young'un was swiping my credit card.  She later drove a golf cart off the edge of a parking pad.  Sweet girl, just too young to be a regular employee.

Virginia's Beach Campground, North Springfield, PA: A

  Lake access, great view, grassy spots, playground, boats for rent.

Niagara Falls North/Lewiston KOA, Youngstown, NY: C-

  Tight spots and very crowded, practically on top of the neighbors.  Movie night (technical difficulties), tie dye activity, pancake breakfast, kiddie sized basketball hoops, pool, giant chess board.

Green Lakes State Park, Fayetteville, NY: A

  Crowded holiday weekend.  Site impossible to level, but we didn't have a reservation and had to take what they had left.  Lots of unsupervised kids at the playground.  Beautiful lakes, nice park.

Woodland Hills Campground, Austerlitz, NY: B

  Swimming lake, game room, muddy site, out in the woods.