Monday June 20, 2016, Longest Day of the Year 87 degrees in New York
So we are off to Niagara Falls. Cliff went when he was about 12 years old and I was there when I was about 6. I remember a few things, but it has really changed.
One of the Scary high bridges from Buffalo to Niagara Falls.
Buffalo River. I know it does not look that high, but it was High!
The rapids before the Falls.
That boat comes from Canada, called the Hornblower Niagara Cruises. You can tell because they have on Red rain coats.
Amazing!!
This is the American Falls on the left and the Horseshoe falls in the distance.
We walked out on the Observation Deck. It was so windy, we had to remove our hats. It was so windy, I thought it was going to blow my phone out of my hands.
I remember that tower in the distance. When we came here when I was about 6 years old, we went to the Canadian side and my parents bought me wooden shoes at the base of that tower. Then we had dinner at the top in the revolving dining room. It is called Skylon Tower. We decided not to go to Canada, but we saw it.
Beautiful. Very hard to describe the beauty.
The Canada tour boat again.
It was very windy on the observation deck, so no hats. Cute picture though. My hair is crazy wild.
Canada
The Rainbow Bridge to Canada.
The Canadian Dock.
There it is, the “Maid of the Mist”. Blue rain coats.
You can see both the Canadian tour boat and the Maid of the Mist.
Sorry, but I could not get enough of the beauty.
The folks from the Maid of the Mist can walk a path closer to the falls. We were really high up on the observation deck.
We got pretty close to the edge.
Rapids. It was so cool.
They are building a new observation area. It will really be nice when it is finished.
It will be really close to the falls. It will be nice.
New York uses the falls for power.
Rainbow Bridge from Niagara Falls to Canada.
We made it to Lake Ontario. We drove north to Youngstown, NY. Beautiful park at the waters edge.
We have now been to all 5 of the Great Lakes.
On a clear day, you should see Toronto. It was not a clear day, so this is all we saw.
The Estates along Lake Ontario were amazing!!
Back to Buffalo and the first Cabela’s store we have ever been to. Looking for telescoping fishing rods.
Big Buffalo.
Cool Store.
Success with the fishing poles. Telescoping rods. Easy to store in the 5th wheel.
Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty much down days. We went to Walmart and hung out at the 5th Wheel. We saw a deer and have a groundhog that keeps coming out.
This is the mother. There is a baby too, but I could not get his picture.
The Moose Lodge has a Blue Moon special, $1.50 draft, for a limited time. So we took them up on that since we are here.
Thursday was laundry day. We found a very nice laundromat in Hamburg. The machines even take credit cards. It was busy, but we only had to spend $5.25 to do all of the laundry. Then off to the Moose Lodge for our last night. Thursday night is wing night and again $1.50 special on Blue Moon.
We really enjoyed our time at the Moose Lodge 992. They were so nice to us and made us feel like family. We recommend this Lodge to anyone. They don’t have a pump out, but we stayed 7 days and did fine. They only have 110v service and water. The weather was so nice, so we did fine with just fans and leaving the windows open. It kept the refrigerator cold and that was the main thing.
My new friend Jan and her husband Al. She and I got pretty good at synchronized drinking. We were watching the synchronized diving nationals and it got us inspired. We got a 9.9 and eventually a 10. Thanks Jan.
Mike is the Governor. He likes to fish and might move to Alabama so he can do a lot of fishing. Erin, the bartender, is such an inspiration. Raising a daughter on her own, who is now going to college. Good for you Erin. You are the best.
Mike and Andy. Andy was a blast. Hope to see you all again sometime. We had a blast in Hamburg, NY. The Moose Lodage has a car show every Friday night, called Moose Cruise. We were here for the one last weekend. It is a big attraction for this Lodge. Saturday night is the Campfire. You can see the campfire last Saturday if you check out our blog about Hamburg, NY.
Cliff and Erin. Erin is going to come see us in Florida.
We had a wonderful time in Hamburg, NY. Now we are off to the Finger Lakes region of New York State. Again, we have no idea what to expect. Everyone told us it is beautiful. We can’t wait. We will miss our friends in Hamburg.
Mark Andol started this store in 2010. They only sell products that are 100% made in America. How cool is that? You can read the history 
We bought a new broom. Lipman. 100% American made. They even sold Jack Daniel’s T-shirts. Must be 100% made in America. That is cool.
Then off to Buffalo.
That is City Hall. DANG!!
We drove right into downtown.
Such pretty flowers.
So we parked and walked over to what is called “Canalside”. 21-acre park on Lake Erie in Downtown Buffalo. It was a beautiful day and crowded with people.
October 26, 1825 The Erie Canal was opened. Governor Dewitt Clinton officially opened the canal. This was 8 years after he first broke ground on the 363 mile canal. Governor Clinton boarded a packet boat, the Seneca Chief, bound for New York City. He took along 2 wooded kegs filled with water from Lake Erie. The canal opened trade from the Great Lakes to the Eastern Seaboard and Europe. On November 4, the boats reached the end of the canal, at Albany. From there, steamboats escorted the Seneca Chief down the Hudson River to the New York City Harbor. In a triumphant ceremony, Governor Clinton poured the Lake Erie water into the Atlantic, wedding the Great Lakes to the ocean.
They offer boat tours and Pirate ship adventures.
Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park. This is the USS Little Rock, a Guided Missile Cruiser. She is the sole surviving member of that fleet.
The Spirit of Buffalo.
Large waterfront area for boats. This is the Buffalo River.
Large boardwalk area.
Lots and lots of kayaks. That is Times Beach Nature Preserve across the water.
This leads to the Niagara River which leads to Niagara Falls.
Buffalo is well known for their grain business. This photo was taken in 1868.
The original Frontier Elevator was constructed in 1886. In 1903, the Washburn-Crosby Co. built a brick flour mill next door, along with nine tile storage bins. Much expansion took place in 1908-09 with a new mill and concrete elevator. By 1913 it was the fourth largest elevating and milling company in the country. After WWI the milling industry became very unstable. In 1928 James Bell of Washburn-Crosby aligned a number of smaller milling companies to merge into the new General Mills. In 1941 a new mill for cereal & packaged goods was completed. When the plant opened it introduced “Cheerioats”, the country’s first ready-to-eat oat cereal. In 1945 the name was changed to “Cheerios” to settle a trademark dispute. 
There are a number of little parks around downtown.
Very shallow pools for paddle boating.
First Niagara Center – Home of the NHL- Buffalo Sabres
The Liberty Building
Has 2 Statues of Liberty.
City Hall. Wow!
Public Art.
The 13th President 1850 -1853. The last president not to be affiliated with either the Republican or Democratic parties. He assumed the presidency after Zachary Taylor’s death.
Cool looking building.
All of these large buildings make the truck look really small. That is a large church with the clock tower in the distance.
Buffalo Harbor State Park. This place is huge.
We can still see Lake Erie.
And vineyards everywhere.
We did not stay very long in PA. Drove by Erie, PA, but not much to take a picture of there.
Miles of vineyards. So beautiful.
This is where the Buffalo Bills play. We are heading to Orchard Park to Colton RV. They are going to look at our slide topper and let us when they can fix it. Stacy at Colton RV was so nice to us. She is probably the nicest person we have met that works for an RV Dealer. We were there for maybe a hour. And off to Hamburg we went. She even called us to let us know that she had contacted our Extended Warranty provider and they are going to take care of the repair. This was on a Friday afternoon. I am going to write a letter to her boss. Thank you Stacy.
Welcome to Hamburg, NY. Less than 20 miles south of Buffalo, NY.
Moose Lodge 992.
We have 110 power, enough to keep the refrigerator running and water. What else do you need?
Mike, the Governor of the Lodge, was so nice and got us all set up. He gave us a lot of information about the area and where everything is that we might need.
They have to have these for the winters here.
They have a bonfire every Saturday night.
First stop, Walmart. This is one of the fanciest Walmarts we have ever seen.
Friday night Fish Fry at the Moose Lodge. They have place mats with the calendar of events and advertisements.. Very clever.
They can seat a lot of people.
This is the fish dinner for $8.00. 
I had the fish sandwich. 
Erin the bartender, was super nice too. We were happy campers.
Then we won $100.00 on a pull tab. How fun is that?
Great night in Hamburg, NY.
Decided to go sightseeing today. This is a lake front park.
There once was a dance club here during 1940s. It was destroyed by a fire in 1954.
We could see the windmills in Buffalo, NY from here.
A beautiful day.
Rocky shoreline.
We took Hwy 5 south to Old Lake Shore Road. The estates along this road were amazing!
We ended up in Seneca Indian Reservation where they have very inexpensive diesel. $2.11
We had lunch at Aunt Millie’s. I had a Buffalo Chicken sandwich, which is the best I have ever had.
They are known for their pastries and pies.
We did not have any of these, but they looked good.
We went to Willow Creek Winery and had a wine tasting. There are several wineries in this area. This is Silver Creek, NY.
This is the tasting room.
This is a family owned winery. They grow all their own grapes. 
A crowd going in as we were leaving.
Stopped at Liberty Vineyard.
There are grape vines everywhere. Most are privately owned and they sell their grapes to Welch’s. 
Then to Merritt Vineyards. They advertised that they did tours, but that is not the case. We are really looking for an educational tour on wine making. Apparently, the wineries up here don’t offer tours.
The flowers are so beautiful here. 
Nice sunset.
We made it back in time for the Saturday night bonfire. Met some new people and enjoyed our evening.
And a full moon.
Big freighter being repaired in Huron.
We went through Cleveland. Waved to Chris, who was at work when we drove through.
Stadium where the Cleveland Browns play.
More windmills along Interstate 90.
Welcome to Geneva on the Lake, Ohio
The entrance is so nice with all the flags.
Very well maintained park. The seasonal campers and park model homes are very well maintained.
They gave us site #236 on the pond. Very nice. When we went to put the slide out, the slide topper broke. Just snapped off. Just something else that has to be fixed.
The end did not come off on this end.
Out site is very long and level with the little pond in the back. Cliff climbed on the roof and got the slide topper disconnected. See it laying on the ground. The topper is made by Carefree, so we checked the internet for local dealers. There is a dealer close to Hamburg, NY which is where we are going next. We set up an appointment for Friday on our way to Hamburg.
Lots of geese and ducks.
Super nice fire pit with grill
The bundle of fire wood was $6.00. Pretty high.
We decided to go find the Walmart. It is in Ashtabula, Ohio. Small town on Lake Erie.
A large coal company right on the water.
The main bridge into town.
Conveyor to get the coal across the canal.
The downtown area is so beautiful. I would have loved to gone in that Harbor Store. Very cute stuff in the window.
There are flowers everywhere.
Hwy 531 between Ashtabula and GOTL, goes right along the coast. The view these people have of the Lake is incredible.
The view on Hwy 531 is beautiful.
Not too shabby.
They don’t have a view, but it is a very cute house.
Nice house, beautiful flowers and an awesome view of the Lake.
Check out this Elks Lodge.
They have a awesome view too.
Just riding along.
Then to downtown Geneva on the Lake.
it is like a little Gatlinburg. One main drag with stores, games and restaurants.
Not everything is open yet for the season.
And the oldest miniature golf course in the US.
No big chain hotels, just little cottages on Lake Erie.
We had lunch at 
They have outdoor counter seating, indoor and a back patio. You order your food and they call your number when it is ready.
In 1950, while still in high school, Eddie Sezon opened Eddie’s Grill with 10 stools.
You walk out back of Eddie’s to see the Lake.
Most of the houses are for rent.
All the little streets deadend into the Lake.
We went into a store to buy a sticker and the young man helping us had gone to school in Roane County, TN. He liked us and the owner gave us a ticket to play Fascination. We did not know what this was. They give you 2 balls and a certain amount of time. The first person to get your balls in a row wins. You play against as many people as you want. Since the were only 2 of us, it was pretty easy.
I won with the diagonal. You throw the ball under the plastic and try to get it in a certain hole to make a line. 10 minutes of fun. All I won was another token to use for prizes. One token was not going to get me anything, so I gave to a young woman that was playing on the other side of the room.
Some fancy golf carts at Indian Creek.
Across the street from the RV park is a walk out. All you can do is walk out on the platform and look around. This beach belongs to the condos across the street. We were not allowed down there.
Clouds were rolling in for some more rain.
We left Michigan Friday morning and headed to Ohio.
They have service plazas on I-90 in Ohio that have hook ups for traveling RVers. Very cool.
I forgot to take a photo of our site, but you can see it on the left. This is where Roger and Dawn are going to park when they get here. Very nice long, level pull through sites.
Heike and Chris wanted to make sure Cliff’s Whooping stick was still in one piece. He has been pretty good lately, so no need to use it.
Heike and Chris got here late afternoon and Roger and Dawn arrived around 5:30. We are all set up and enjoying seeing each other again. We sure wish Lisa and Todd were here. It would have made the weekend totally complete.
We had appetizers and wine and special vodka drinks that Chris makes.
Then Roger and Dawn bring out the most special gift I have ever seen. You see, Roger is a Farrier. He shoes horses and he made each of us a Christmas Tree out of horseshoes. Each shoe has a small hole at the top to hang an ornament. You should see all the things he makes with horseshoes. It is amazing!!
Now we have to figure out how to get this to Lisa and Todd. Cliff and I will be the closest ones to them later in the summer, so we hope we can get this to them.
Heike and Cliff, the two real estate agents, talking smack all weekend.
Chris and Heike and Chris’ Long John Silvers cup. That thing must be 20 years old.
Buddy – Smile
Okay!
We had such a wonderful evening. Roger and Dawn brought out some food and we did some grilling.
This is Chris’ boat. The forecast called for rain all day, but when Saturday got here, it turned into a very beautiful day for a boat ride.
This is a very nice marina on Huron River.
Huron Lagoon Marina
That is Lake Erie. So far this is the fourth Great Lake we have seen. We have been on the water on Lake Huron, Lake Superior and now Lake Erie. We only saw Lake Michigan, but did not go on it.
Chris’ boat has got some power. 
It was a little choppy going out, so we all had to hold on.
The water sprayed up on the sides of the boat.
Me with the Captain.
Cedar Point – Known as the roller coaster capital of the world. More picture later.
Lots of beautiful sailboats.
This is “Dock of the Bay Marina” in Sandusky, Ohio.
Sailboat races.
You can see the car on the track coming over the top.
Large wooden coaster.
A great day for a boat ride.
The birds are loving it.
People out on jet skis. Water is still a little to chilly for me.
Nice classic antique boats.
Cedar Point.
Nice boat.
Check out this ride. Straight up and over and straight down.
That twisted ride looks crazy.
This would not be my cup of tea!
There they go – UP!
Cedar Point is a 365-acre amusement park. It opened in 1870. It is the second-oldest operating amusement park in the US. The park features 71 rides, including 17 roller coasters which is the second -most in the world behind Six Flags Magic Mountain in California.
Nice place right on the water.
Back to the marina
And all the nice sailboats.
We went on a cruise of Huron River and the canals. Nice houses in here.
And nice boats.
One of Chris and Heike’s friends lives here.
Nice place.
Those are some pretty good looking plastic palm trees.
Looky there, one of Heike’s listings.
Nice place Heike.
We all decided this would be the best. It is right on the point.
Off to lunch under this huge umbrellas.
But not at Table 15, ugh!
Yes, Table 7 will do.
Dawn and Roger enjoying the day.
Heike and Cliff
Oh, Table 7, less Lisa and Todd and John. We missed you guys. The beer was good and Cold.
Perch sandwich. My first time, it was delicious.
Heike’s find for the marina friends.
Breakfast Sunday morning at Main Street Tavern.
Cool place and the food was great.
We had a blast! Cliff got to play corn hole.
That is Jim throwing. He is the Graduate.
Meet Chuck. He loves the water and likes to drag logs out of the lake and bring them to the party area at the marina.
He is so handsome.
Really small dog.
The host, Chris Jensen, on the left.
Thank you Tara, Jim and Chris for inviting us to the party. That was very special. Tara is the mother of the graduate on the left. She certainly knows how to throw a wonderful party. Thank you again.
The windmills are everywhere along the highways.
I was just fascinated by them.
We got to Discount Tire in Norton Shores. Very nice people to work with. We decided to purchase from Discount Tire because they are all over the US. So if we need them, they won’t be too far away. If you want to know the story about the tires, here is a link to the post about them once we got to 
We were in and out of there within an hour. Thanks Discount Tire. We purchased G614 Goodyear.
Now how cute is that!! See the moose in the distance on the left?
We got all set up. Look at how low the front end is. It is almost sitting on the ground, but we are level. Met a couple of people. Buddy was nice enough to find us a fire ring and brought it to us. Then gave us some firewood. Love these Moose. This is a pretty big campground. Most are seasonal and hang out here in the summer. The campground closes mid-October and opens up in mid-April.
We decided to go up to the Lodge and thought we were back in Florida. There were more golf carts and 4 wheelers in the parking lot than automobiles.
Nice lodge inside. First beer was free because we had traveled farther than 50 miles. We had a small camp fire, but it was so cold, we went in early.
The 
The City park downtown. Very nice.
Large Heinz plant here.
We found 
This is the main entrance.
Dutch Village Entrance and bell tower.
There are statues all over the park with cute signs explaining what life was like in the Netherlands.
I took this because I thought it was interesting that a luxury liner was names “Alabama” used in the Great Lakes.
Delft Pottery
Some of the molds.
Beautiful pieces.
And all of the shoes. Found out they went to wooden shoes because leather became extinct. The cattle all died of foot and mouth disease. Also, the wooden shoes helped them walk through the marshy lands of the Netherlands.
There is a demonstration of how the wooden shoes were made before machinery took over.
You can try these on to see what size you wear.
This is an old fable.
Dutch dancing.
Some ducks.
Barn
The Sheep posed for pictures.
An Alpaca hanging out with the sheep.
The three little pigs.
The little sheep.
And goats.
These guys were so cute. You can walk them on a leash.
Llama
He liked to have his picture taken.
This little guy volunteers at the park. He is home schooled and works with the animals when he can. He said this llama loves to get hugs. He was so nice and wanted to give us as much information about the animals as he could.
This is a baby goat, 2 weeks old.
And this is his mother.
Old water fountain surrounded by beautiful flowers.
The 12 Provinces of the Netherlands.
They wore different clothing in each province.
And different colored wooden shoes.
This was a miniature of a village. The windmills were used to grind grain.
Skies.
All the clocks. They were so pretty. This was a nice visit and we learned some about the Dutch. We met a woman in the gift shop whose grandparents were one of the first settlers here in Holland in the late 1800’s.
We have seen these trucks all over Michigan. Check out all the wheels.
Then we came across the Haworth Headquarters. This is the furniture I used to purchase for my projects. Been using the furniture for almost 20 years.
I wish we could have gone on a tour.
Well, I think we have done as much damage to Michigan as we can. The pink line shows where we have driven and the yellow highlights are where we stayed. (Except for Sault Ste.Marie, I got carried away.) We did not make it to the thumb of mitten, but we think we hit the highlights in the rest of the state. We did miss Traverse City, so we might have to make that another trip.
We woke up to this sunrise on Friday June 3rd. The last beautiful sunrise for a while. This is travel day and we are heading to the West Coast of Michigan. We left Mackinaw City around 9:00 AM and heading south west to Ludington, MI. We took I-75 South to MI-127 and we took that south to MI-55 West toward Cadillac. Then we discovered we really needed some gas. So we drove downtown Cadillac looking for the Speedway. It all worked out fine, but I was a nervous wreck. There was a 8% grade down into the town. It was short, but still Crazy! 
We checked into 
This was hilarious. Being a Louisville Alumni, it never surprises me where I see UK fans. We are in Michigan, for Pete’s sake and parked right across the street from a UK fan. Come on!!
We headed to downtown Ludington. They are known for their large beach and the Sand Dunes at the
The sand dunes where wonderful. No way to catch good photos.
The beach downtown Ludington. Today was a little chilly and breezy, so it is not very crowded.
Sorry so blurry, tried to zoom in with my phone camera. Ludington Lighthouse.
Ludington Municipal Marina. This town is right on Lake Michigan. Beautiful.
We went looking for fresh fish since we are right on Lake Michigan. Google sent us here. They only offer smoked fish and there is no one there. It is all on the Honor system. The prices on marked on the coolers, you pick out what you want, and put your money through a slot in the door. We are loving these places with zero crime. We did not buy anything, because it was all large amounts, but a cool place.
Our site for a few days. Site #100. It was nice enough to have a camp fire. This will be the only night for that. Weather went down hill from here.
Went for a walk around the RV park. They also offer cabins to rent.
They have one of these for rent too.
The flowers and evergreens are beautiful
On Saturday we went looking for a farm to pick Asparagus. It just so happens that asparagus is in season right now. It only last about a month and the season is late this year due to colder than normal weather in May. We are driving through the country and saw all of these.
It was so cool. They are all over this country side.
Check out this old school.
We finally found the asparagus farmer. They don’t let you pick your own anymore, something about liability. This is the best asparagus we have ever had. It is large, but very sweet. They picked this this morning. The blue tubs under the black lid is full of asparagus on ice. $1.50 a pound. Amazing!! It still had some dirt on it. We grilled asparagus for 4 nights in a row.
Main Street.
The Manistee Lake goes out to Lake Michigan.
We walked down the Main street, went in a few shops and decided on lunch at The Boathouse Grill. Check out that front door!
I had a chicken sandwich with avocado and swiss cheese, it was very good. One of my favorites. Cliff had the special, a Cuban sandwich, but it did not have the right kind of bread, so not his favorite.
We sat out on the patio overlooking the Manistee Lake.
The park on Lake Michigan.
Lighthouse looks like it got its top knocked off.
Beautiful church in Manistee.
This part of Michigan has beautiful evergreens.
We went for a walk through the park. People can be so creative with their decorations. This is a light pole. Very creative.
We had a rain storm and then we had this.
It was beautiful!!
The sun came out in the morning. The flowers in the campground are beautiful.
The pool that we have not been able to enjoy because it has been too cold. It is June.
Almost everyone left on Sunday, so the park is pretty empty. Our UK friends are staying for the summer. 
A few shots of our campsite.
We decided to drive to 
Right on the water. Cute town.
Lots of sailboats.
Cute shops. This is Ships Store. Would love to go in here.
A large beach on Lake Michigan.
Water is rough.
Nice campground right here. 
I told the Triplets that we were not going to Flint, but this is the area of the campground where we are parked.