Amy & Ron Chambers: July 2011

Our third anniversary, and another 1,314.4 miles on the BMW!

Day 1 ~ Destination: Columbus, Ohio
Miles: 587
Travel time: 13.5 hrs.
We departed early from Highland NY, headed south on NY87, to NY84. On I-84 we hit an early morning fog, which was wet and chilly. The chill didn't last long, because the day heated up as the hours passed.

Next, on to Rt. 81 S and then Rt 80 W. No long ride is complete without a stop at Cracker Barrel for a massive breakfast! We chose the Cracker Barrel in Bloomsburg PA, exactly 3 hours into the trip. Now, we wouldn't need food again until the end of the day!

Back on Rt 80 W... for a considerable distance. We then turned on to I-76 W, I-71 S, I-270 E, and Rt. 70 E. FINALLY, we arrived at the Hampton Inn!!! (Hampton Inn Columbus East, 1890 Winderly Lane, Pickerington, OH 43147. (614) 864-8383.‎)

Maybe it was the holiday weekend, or maybe it's standard, but the Highway Patrol was out in full force Saturday (and Sunday too!) I'm sure every trooper in the state was on duty, and I'm sure they made a huge amount of revenue over the weekend.

After 13.5 hours of travel, we were glad to have chosen the upgrade to a room with a jacuzzi tub! This hotel was also conveniently located right next to a Cracker Barrel (imagine that!) and a great Mexican restaurant "La Fogata" which offered a 10% discount to guests from the Hampton Inn. La Fogata offered generous-sized specialty margaritas, fast service, a wide selection of authentic Mexican dishes, and very reasonable pricing (according to us New Yorkers). Fresh tortillas were fabulous! La Fogata Website.

So, after the long ride and great dinner, it was time to rest up for our busy day on Sunday.

Day 2 ~ Destination 1: Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, Destination 2: Niagara Falls, Canada
Miles: 360
Travel time: 9 hrs (including sitting still on the Rainbow Bridge)

The early wake-up call was painful, but necessary, to allow our day to flow on schedule. First stop: the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum!

Apparently, the complex was being seal-coated on this beautiful day, but no men were directing traffic and no sinage was up for that purpose. We initially made our way to some pretty fancy motorcycle parking, only to have to hoof it back down to a little league parking lot (in full sun) to avoid being seal-coated into our spot. (Ha!! Like the BMW couldn't ride out of this lean-to onto the grass and around the whole complex!)

Finally, we went into the museum. Check back for pictures / updates...

This museum is in a great part of town, it's modern, and the experience was definitely worth while. The complex is beautiful, new, and very very clean. We only wish it were bigger!!! (And Amy would like to see a racing sidecar on display.)

It did not take as long as we had expected to enjoy the exhibits and browse the gift shop. Good thing! Who knew about the trip ahead!

At 11:45, we suited up and headed out of town, in much the same direction as we arrived. This time from Rt. 71 N, we headed up I-271 N, to I-90 E, I-191 N, to the Rainbow Bridge crossing into Canada. Amy will admit her great mistake in planning, as we arrived on Sunday night just as Americans were crossing for vacations and Canadians were returning from their own holiday weekend. Add heat, a motorcycle, sore bums, and a little bit of hunger.... Ron turned off the engine and pushed the bike most of the way through the 90 minute bridge crossing.

Finally, we arrived at the Hilton Fallsview and it was a wonderful experience! The parking staff were wonderful and hooked us up with a fantastic non-parking/parking spot that was a perfect fit for the bike. (Big tip followed!) Check in was speedy, as it was almost 9pm. And, here is where the Hilton Hhonors points really kicked in... the room upgrade! We were not only upgraded to a quiet end-of-hall room, but it was a fallsview room with a jacuzzi tub. SCORE! Two days of riding and we were thrilled! We literally arrived just as the sun was setting and got some great pictures. (Remember to double click to enlarge any picture!)

A note about AT&T service: the iPhone buzzed just at check in to tell me that I'm being charged international rates. We were unable to make outgoing calls, and I only managed to send one text to family to let them know we were safe before giving up in frustration. None of the apps worked. It made planning for a final day route-change a challenge, as we had been depending on the use of the apps.

Day 3 Niagara Falls, Canada

We're not getting on that bike today!

Again, Hilton Hhonors points = free breakfast buffet at the Watermark restaurant. To avoid being dorky tourists, we did not take pictures. Instead, you can visit the website: Watermark Restaurant What a great way to start the day! (Free mimosas would have made it better!) For a holiday weekend, this restaurant was only 1/4 occupied and quiet. (The buffet at street level had a long line for a table, and it was only $4 less per person if you were paying cash.) So, we were in and out with only the cost of a tip, and so full that no lunch was needed today.

Maid of the Mist
(visit the Maid of the Mist website too)

We think this is the old Schoellkopf Power Plant which experienced a major rock slide in the 1950s.

American Falls

Approaching the big falls.

This is the last picture before the camera had to go in plastic. There was just too much mist! Imagine that..

After the boat tour, we walked around the park and got some more great pictures. The entire ledge is a beautifully-kept park, and it was full of gardens. There were families visiting from every culture imaginable. We were amazed at how clean the park was!

Another view of the American Falls.

The Canadian side.

While we waited for our "ticket time" for the Journey Behind The Falls, we continued to take in the sights from a different angle. This is the top of the Horseshoe....

See the lookout to the left! You can really get close.

Journey Behind the Falls

When we were on the Maid of the Mist, they pointed out the tourists that were at the Journey Behind the Falls. We wanted to do that too. Of course, it's a long walk from site to site, so we expected a long line when we got there. If you follow the signs, you have to walk through the gift shop to get to the ticket booth. (You can bypass the gift shop by going around the building to the back entrance near the bus stop. That brings you straight to the bathrooms and ticket booth.) Be aware that you are buying a ticket for a "time" but that time is really just the time you can get on the existing line like at an amusement park. Here are the best pictures from this location. The mist was COLD!

These are pictures we took from the hotel room when we went back to change for dinner. Double click to enlarge and get a closer look at this rainbow!

After our dinner reservation, we headed back to the Maid of the Mist site. If you climb the observation building there, it's a great vantage point for the fireworks. We had the added bonus of being able to view a distant fireworks show somewhere across the US border too! That show was even longer than the Niagara Falls show, so it gave a chance for the crowd to disperse.

Day 4 ~ Destination: Home
Miles: 367
Travel time: 7 hrs, 25 min

Another fantastic breakfast was included in our stay, so we enjoyed that before heading home. After the first border crossing, we decided to get an early start and get over to the bridge before the crowds.

Sometimes signs are just so confusing.

The US crossing does take a little longer on a motorcycle. You do need to remove helmets. Even still, the wait at 9:30 am was much shorter than our Sunday night experience! And we are on our way...

We chose the fastest route home, taking I-90 to I-87. Not the most scenic ride, but it's the best our butts could endure. We stopped once per hour this time and boy was it warm out!