Travel-Blogue (I lost track of what days)

Final Finger of The Bon Ton Roulet, Back to Erie, and a Day

Our penultimate day of the Bon Ton took us through Seneca Falls, birthplace of the Women’s Rights Movement in the U.S.  Rich and I parted there, he took the long route, and I decided to tour the Women’s Rights National Park there and continue to Auburn via the short route, and I am SO glad that I did.  After teaching a semester of Women in Literature, I was perfectly prepared t o take in the rich history and informative exhibits presented there.  I sat in the theatre, watching the video presentation about the early beginnings of the Movement and just cried.  I have so much respect for the courageous women who fought so that I could live the life I do.  I am beyond grateful.  After visiting the park, I deviated from the route to ride past Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s house.  I wanted to bear witness, to pay my respects and say thank you.

It rained the whole riding day.  Rich & I arrived in Auburn completely soaking wet, and a bit chilled.  We set up our tent, dried off, and prepared for the final evening’s entertainment.  While Rich was cleaning the bikes, he was talking with another rider who let him know that I had a bit of a reputation amongst the older, more conservative riders on the tour.  I apparently was known and referred to as “the girl from California on the orange bike with the tattoos.” LOL! I guess I’ll be easy to spot and recognize on future tours.

Our final day was a relatively short ride (37 miles) from Auburn back to Cortland.  As we packed up our gear it was hard to believe that a whole week had gone by, that it was over.  We bid adieu to the many friends we made, exchanged numbers, and Jean & I made tentative plans regarding a ride next year.  We will see how that shapes up.  Ultimately we were VERY impressed with the ride, the organization, and the gorgeous countryside that we rode through.  While I would not dare to compare this to the AIDS Lifecycle ride we did last year, it was nice to be in a smaller group (500 riders as opposed to 2500).  The smaller group made it possible to have a bit more privacy, to not constantly be dodging other riders, and kept the lines for facilities, rest stops, and meals much more manageable.  We give it 4 thumbs up!

We rode back to Erie to find that Nicolette had passed a lovely week with Grandma and the “Aunties.”  They went to baseball games, out to eat, knitted, visited the zoo, talked about old times, and watched CSI.  One of the days, Mike & Mo took her kayaking on Presque Isle.  She stayed entertained and busy, and she and Grandma became very fond of one another.  Rich & I were pleased that a good time was had by all.

The next morning the 3 of us got back into the car and headed to Niagara Falls.  We crossed into Canada since we had heard universally that the view was better from that side than the American side, and we were not disappointed!  The sheer force of the Falls (which is Lake Erie dumping into Lake Ontario due to a change in elevation) is nothing short of breathtaking.  We went down behind the Falls, and up close to one side, and the spray and wind from the millions of gallons of water falling over the side gives one an even better understanding of the force and magnitude of this treasure.  After leaving the Falls, we continued north along the Niagara River to Lake Ontario and the little town of Niagara on the Lake, which is a darling, picturesque community.  Before making the trek back to Erie, we stopped in Buffalo to watch a DCI (Drum Corps International) competition.   One word: THRILLING!  The highlight was seeing The Blue Devils and The Santa Clara Vanguard, but we were impressed by all of the shows.  Pacific Crest, from Diamond Bar, also performed.  Nic has been thinking about trying out for that Corps, and she became all the more motivated after watching the pageantry and precision of all these impressive bands.  I have to say, there is something indescribably moving about seeing/hearing/feeling the full force of sound coming out of a band from the perspective of the audience in the stands.  It was such a great ending to our visit to Niagara—two completely different entities in form but very similar in sheer power and their capacity to move human beings, except Rich.  Drum Corps is not his thing, but he tolerated it reasonably well.

The next two days we rested, spent more time with family in Erie, and prepared to continue on our journey.  Leaving was bittersweet; it was hard to leave Mom, Mike, and Mo, since we have precious few opportunities to see them.  But, we enjoy the time we do have, and that is no small part of what has made this trip so wonderful.  Wednesday morning we left Erie at 6am and pulled into Rock Island, IL to spend the night, and we were on the road again at 5 am headed to Hill City, SD.  We arrived at the campsite just before 8 pm, and got set up before dark—let’s hear it for teamwork! (We’re getting good at this!)

Next report from The Black Hills!

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