Wellesley Island State Park, NY

Wellesley Island State Park, New York
23Nov11-26Nov11
Recently we had a great road trip to upstate New York and back.
The 23rd of November is a traveling nightmare usually around here, but we were heading north while everyone else was heading south. Our morning started early, finishing packing the car, then heading to the gas station. The road there brought us over interstate 95 and we were pleasantly surprised to see that traffic was actually flowing. In the ten minutes or so that it took us to top off the tank and return to the interstate a change had occurred and things were slower. We were a bit concerned, but decided to chance it anyway. It never really bogged down even around the beltway.
We made pretty good time heading through Maryland even avoiding the sleeping truck driver that we passed a couple of times. As we entered into Pennsylvania we hit fog, which lasted until we stopped near Harrisburg, PA. at the Mountain Road Diner for a quick breakfast. It was pretty obvious that the place used to be part of the hotel next door, but the food was cheap and good, so no complaints. After spending almost an hour there, we hit the road again, passing water oozing out of the roadside. Once again we encountered a dangerous semi. It was loaded with a mobile home, and one of its tires was flat and he was running on the rim.
Aside from these minor interruptions along the way, it was pretty uneventful trip up to Wellesley Island. We had called ahead and were informed that there would be no-one at the park when we arrived, but that they would be back the next morning so the door to our cabin was unlocked, and the heater was turned on for us. The man was also nice enough to direct us to a place called Woody's where we could get some firewood. Woody’s was closed when we got there, but he had an “honor box” out. Shortly after we pulled up, he came out to greet us and chatted amiably while we loaded the wood.
Wellesley Island State Park is situated in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, in the 1000 Islands area. We were staying in the Chipmunk cabins, number 3. I had taken a bit of time trying to decide between a beautiful view and probable wind or a lesser view out of the wind. We opted for the good view. Our cabin sat about 20 feet from the shoreline, and our fire pit was about 5 feet from the shoreline.
We had expected one neighbor on the island for the first night, but they were gone, so we had the run of the area around the cabins. We got our food and clothing unloaded into the cabin and firewood out by the pit. We spent some time rearranging things, and just getting the lay of things. After that, we spent most of the evening roasting sausages and drinking coffee, followed by toasted marshmallows.
Liesl and I decided to turn in early, and spent a good amount of time trying to get the heater turned to the correct setting. We turned it as far down as we could, and opened windows before it was cool enough to sleep comfortably
I woke early to a was a cold and windy morning. I got the fire stoked up, put some water on for the coffee and oatmeal, and got the sausage patties out for roasting. During breakfast, we listened to the hunters off in the woods and the loons out on the lake. We made the decision that we would walk back to the park entrance along the road, looking at it now, it was about 2.5 miles one way. On our way we decided to wander through the marina area out onto an old path. As we were returning, we spotted a white tail deer across the park area. He quickly disappeared back into the trees. We passed a couple of spots where it was obvious hunters had trod off to the woods, and were passed by a couple of trucks driving around. About 1/2 mile from the station, the park service guy drove up, and told us he would meet us back at the station. As we were walking past the marshy area near the station, a small otter swam up then ducked under the water.
We retrieved the key to our cabin from the entrance facility, and were told that we would have neighbors that night. Our walk back seemed to pass far more quickly than the walk out.
We spent most of that day playing games and drinking coffee, generally just trying to relax. Sometime in the afternoon, we decided to drive around the park and check things out. It is a fairly large park with a lot of camp sites, rv sites, cabins, and a few cottages all along the river shore. There is a large marina, and a beach area. When we returned from our jaunt, the neighbors had arrived. It was a nice family from Brooklyn with three kids.
We made dinner early, eating rice, carrots, peas, and roasting meatballs. We finished with toasted marshmallow desert, then retreated from the cold wind into the cabin for a game of Quiddler. That night, Lizzy was quite disturbed by the wind, and kept wandering around whining, until Liesl took pity on her and invited her up onto her bunk. The following morning, I got up around 6 or 7ish and got food and coffee started. After breakfast we packed up and cleaned the cabin before saying goodbye to Wellesley Island.
Trip to Niagara Falls
25Nov11
We had made the decision to drive the Great Lakes Seaway Trail from Wellesley Island to Niagara Falls. This added some time to the drive but was very much worth it. We got to see some very interesting and very beautiful country along the drive down the coast of Lake Ontario. It is impossible to label the area as one thing or another. There were run down, ruined old farms and homes, while next door were beautifully kept old mansions, farms and vineyards, followed by tourist traps, or fishing villages.
We didn't get much of a chance to actually take in the sights, but we did see some fun things on the drive. Near Watertown there were three large statues of ravens in a field. Shortly after we spotted an Amish kid plowing a field using 3 large work horses. Further along we spied a humorous set of billboards, one advertising Amish furniture, while the other advertised tattoos. The area also seemed to be inundated with golf courses and driving ranges. I didn't get a count, but I think there were as many as there were convenience stores. In the Village of Red Creek we saw a huge gaggle of geese flying over head, suddenly plummet over the roof line. As we got nearer, we saw that they were dropping into a lake on the other side of the buildings. We drove into the fishing village of Sodus Point trying to find the lighthouse. It reminded me strongly of Astoria, Oregon. We stopped in Olcott for a short break, and wandered through the park, and down to the lake side to look at some old dilapidated piers. On our way back up the trail, I was lucky enough to step in mud, covering most of my shoe and sock in muck. Luckily I had another set of shoes and socks. I still cursed Olcott as we drove out of town. The drive along the coast really set the mood for our entire trip home. There were so few cars on the road, there were times we were the only people in sight.
As we neared Niagara Falls, we had three destinations in mind; Devil's Hole, the Whirlpool, and the Falls. I knew we wouldn't be able to really get down to the Hole or the whirlpool, as it was already early afternoon, but we stood above on the trail and took a few pics, then headed on to the falls.
Niagara Falls was not as touristy as I expected, at least not the U.S. side. The Canadian side looked like an oddball mismatch of Vegas lights meets mother nature. As we were driving around looking for a place to park, we were quickly accosted by people trying to lure us into paying them $5 to park in their lot, versus the $10 lot next to it. We continued on and were lucky enough to find a free parking spot on the street near the crossing to Goat Island. It was around 4pm by that time and the sun was quickly descending, so we quickly discussed what we wanted to do. We headed on to Goat Island along the path, overlooking the flow above the falls. It was impressive the amount of water going through that small channel.
Our first glimpse was of Bridal Veil Falls, from above. Liesl wanted to head down the path to it, but I convinced her to head over to Horseshoe Falls first, and then come back to the American falls, as it seemed more efficient. We got lucky again. As we arrived at Horseshoe Falls, a park service guy was pulling up, and informed us that they would be closing the gate in about 10 minutes. We took a few pictures there and headed back to see Bridal Veil, stopping along the way for more photos. Liesl wanted to go to Canada, but it was already getting to be late and I was concerned. In all we spent about 2 hours wandering around the U.S. side of the falls. I think we would both enjoy another trip up there to see the Canadian side of things. Maybe a weekend trip this spring.
We had planned to go out to dinner at one of several locations mentioned on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. We decided on Blackthorn Restaurant and Pub, as it was nearer our Hotel for the night.
After many wrong turns along the way, we finally found the restaurant. It was not overly packed, but definitely a local joint. We sat in the bar area, Liesl ordered their Fish fry and a cup of beer cheese soup, while I ordered the Beef on Weck, we also ordered stuff banana peppers as an appetizer. The banana peppers were pretty hot initially but very tasty. The beer cheese soup tasted too heavily of beer, and we couldn't finish it. Liesl and I enjoyed our meal, but we both agreed, the best part was not the main dish but the side. They made a spicy 'tater-tot', which was essentially shredded potato, cheese and spicy peppers, deep fried. Super tasty.
That night, we had rented a room at the Red Roof Inn in Hamburg, but hadn't printed directions. Liesl guessed and we headed that way, but quickly decided to pull into a gas station for directions. Turns out she was right, though we likely wouldn't have gone far enough in that direction.

Route home from Niagara:
The next morning, as Liesl was checking us out of the hotel, the staff gave her a 10% off coupon for Savory's, a local diner. As she gave it to Liesl, she said "That is where I got this from," as she grabbed her tummy, "going there every Sunday for their stuffed french toast." I would not have stopped there from looking at the outside, but I was soon glad we stopped there for breakfast. I ordered the holiday special, which was Cranberry and cream cheese stuffed french toast with apple syrup! It was perfect! Liesl got a spinach and feta omelet. We split our dishes and enjoyed a couple cups of coffee. The wait staff was very friendly, and the place had a nice feel to it. I'd go back, though I'd have to try one of their homemade pies.
Nicely full, with a happy send off, we left the Buffalo area behind for the trip back home.
We drove through the quintessential ski town of Ellicottville, NY, passing into the Allegheny National Forest Area. We enjoyed being surrounded by the forests again, as we drove along rivers and streams.
About a third of the way through Pennsylvania we came up on the town of Johnsonburg, which smelled of broccoli. It seemed like every small town in the area had some sort of chemical plant, coal mining, or textile factory.
A little further south along the Clarion River, we passed through Ridgway which seemed to us that it had been a busting little community at some point. There were large factory type buildings near the railroad that had gone unused for a while, and a train depot which was sagging in. The trip was dotted by numerous small towns which made us question how the people made their living.
As we neared Maryland, with the end of the trip near, we tried to come up with a plan to make it home without the stress of the interstate. As we hit interstate 70, our fears were realized when we saw a backup of traffic. The traffic reports were talking about crashes and delays. We took the next exit and headed down the back roads through Point of Rocks into Virginia. We were able to avoid most of the traffic and carry the tattered remains of our vacation feeling back to the house with us.