To East Aurora and West Seneca

The walk continues - - partly in rain, partly in sun. Today was quite sunny and was as warm as we have experienced. As of tonight, we are less than 15 kms. from the Peace Bridge, so the New York state portion of the walk will likely be completed late tomorrow afternoon. Once again this is a bit earlier than I had planned. The routes I chose for walking are not always the routes that MapQuest might suggest - - often the expressway routes are longer as they circle around towns and cities.

Highlights? A beautiful old school house converted into a wood craftsman's showroom. A tavern built in the 1830s on the site of an Indian trail used by pioneers. Several more concerned people asking if we need assistance. Signs in front of several homes shaped like a dove and reading "PeacePrints". Many trees in full bloom. Sidewalks.

Late this afternoon we went into town (Buffalo) enjoyed a coffee in the Elmwood Village area and later went up to Hertel and stopped in at the Shadows Lounge for dinner and jazz. The grouper was excellent, the spinach dip was amazing, and out on the patio a jazz group - - Jim Bohm on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Dave Calire on keyboard (with bass) and vocals. Talented twosome. Well done.

Pictures:

The outside of the schoolhouse, now an artist's workshop

Blooms

The jazz group we heard tonight

Chaffee to Holland

Each day has its own variety. This morning was sunny and got to comfortable warm quickly. Certainly makes walking easier. It's great to see the countryside dappled with apple blossoms and now the lilacs and cherry trees are in bloom. And, er, what was that smell? The farmers are of course fertilizing their fields but the smell was worse than that. Then we saw it. Garbage mountain with trucks steadily taking more in. At the top there was a digger and some trucks were adding soil. One wonders what folks will think of our middens a few hundred years from now!

We had more ups and downs today. Ron was able to benefit from the down hills moving toward Buffalo. I got a few up hills as I walked to meet him. When that happens I repeat a mantra to myself that goes something like - 'another muscle on, another pound gone'. It seems to work.

Anyway by mid morning we were ready for a break at the Zider Zee Restaurant. We tried for green tea but tea was fine. Ron asked if I'd noticed the clientele. I said, 'All guys, why?' He said, 'Now look at the two waitresses.' (They were rather comely ladies - - boldly displaying their womanliness (Ron says!) - - in their late twenties, early thirties.) I do love the twinkle in Ron's eye. Now in fairness there was ample parking for trucks and this is a busy trucking route.

Our afternoon walk was mainly through Holland. Ron kept looking for a windmill but there is only a small one in the town park. This weekend is their tulip festival. There will be a parade and a breakfast - typically for a small town you have to know where it is, rides and a BBQ and dance behind the fire hall. Lots of tulips are out and waving prettily in the wind.

Once again we are impressed by the kindness of people. Today it was warm and safe enough for Ron to wear his 'Walking to Canada' tee shirt. A couple in a car had not seen the slogan but saw us walking on their way to and from breakfast. They stopped to make sure we were OK. Later a teen in a car did see the tee shirt. He wound down his car window and asked if the slogan was for real. We told him what we're doing and he said, 'Cool!' That kind of reaction is great.
Pictures:
Margaret climbing a hill

Ron climbing a hill

The town windmill

The Fifth of May

We walked more than eight miles in Sandusky, Arcade and Yorkshire, NY. Lots of sidewalks now with towns quite close together. Some of the features of today included getting Toronto area radio stations in the van, Toronto TV stations in the motel, and stopping at a Tim Hortons. A local church is offering free oil changes to single moms on Saturday morning. Great idea!

This afternoon we headed to Lewiston - - we don't usually go over 190 kms. round trip for dinner but this was another anniversary. At The Silo a diet Pepsi. The Silo is an old coal storage unit (round, 40ft high) used back in the days of the Lake Ontario steamers - - does anyone remember the original S.S.Cayuga? An entrepreneur converted the top if it into a restaurant/snack bar with a view. We enjoyed chicken 'n pasta and beef dinners at The Landing, right across the river from Margaret's sister's place near Queenston. Drove around Lewiston a little and through Artpark. Cute town with lots of changes since I was here the last time. Then off the the American Falls. I'd never done the U.S. side before. (Margaret had.) Quite impressive especially when viewed from close up.
Pictures:
A beautiful historic railway station in Arcade. It is in use with an historic train

The Silo in Lewiston

The American Falls

The Last Week in the States

We pushed past Rushford Lake today and made it to mid Sandusky NY. Those of you following on the map can see we're about halfway through New York State toward Buffalo and the Peace bridge. Today some hills, then mainly level walking along side rivers and abandoned rail beds. We've moved from Rte. 243 to 98. There aren't many motels in the rural area, so we're spending the week at a clean EconoLodge in Blasdell, just south of Buffalo. Margaret is particularly pleased that 'Buffalo' is being used in more of our conversations!

Rural western New York is much more populated and has more farmland than what we experienced in Northern Pennsylvania. There are still some very small, somewhat dead, towns where people must travel long distances to buy food. Some of the towns we have gone through have a large 'mini-mart' which will have a limited range of products. There are so many empty buildings along the road, evidence of many broken business dreams. On the other hand, we often pass a home or small garage with a sign ouside saying people are plugging along with a sucessful small business. Like "Dave's Used Books"- - a single car garage near the highway loaded with an estimated 5000+ titles. We have to remember that 9% unemployment means 91% are still working.

One interesting building we passed this afternoon was Salem Little White Welsh Church erected in the 1850s. It was built on a dry stone base with no mortar between them. It reminded us of the Mennonite Meeting House in Altona which I help to maintain. In fact there were two ladies there this afternoon giving the building its spring spruce-up. Like the Altona church this one is not in regular use but this building has been designated as an historic site.

Since retiring I've had an interest in buses. While working for Transtario, I got to drive four types, two of which were beautiful up-to-date models. Walking along the roads for the past weeks, I've seen many old vehicles in varying stages of disrepair. This afternoon there were two near the road - - the one looked like a parts source, and the other the probable mobile home for a country singer. If these vehicles could talk, there would be some interesting stories to tell!
Pictures:
A lake near Freedom, NY

A former railway bridge. Much of the old track area is a snowmobile track

Two old buses

A Busy Sunday

We usually try to squeeze in a church visit each Sunday but perhaps today was a bit ridiculous with three!

The tiny of village of Houghton probably has a population of less than 200 without the college counted in. The only church in town, Houghton Wesleyan, has three services each Sunday morning. The first one is at 8:20 (for the convenience of people walking across the state, of course.) The three hundred seat place was more than half full, the band was excellent (piano, flute, guitar, bass, drums, and vocalists), the speaker was good, and we were out and walking along Rushford Lake before ten.

Early afternoon, we headed back to St. Patrick's hall in Belfast and enjoyed a community roast beef dinner. Bowls on the table; pass and help yourself. Some conversation with couples from nearby Rushford lake. The lowest-sugar pie was the pumpkin which was real good. A treat I've frequently seen in Pennsylvania has been peanut butter pie, (Margaret wouldn't let me touch it,) but today on line I found a low-sugar version which I must try when we get home.

After a rest at the inn, we returned to the church across the road to attend part of an organ recital. A number of talented musicians each played one or two pieces on a new and very impressive instrument - - built in Montreal, by the way. And, we still got in some more walking in before supper.

Other highlights? - - We saw a field of vultures this morning and Margaret saw a couple of deer near the edge of the woods this afternoon. And we have each lost 10 pounds so far!
Pictures:
The church organ we listened to this afternoon

The Inn we are curretly at

Vultures in a tree

Half-Way Home!

For those just joining us, we're walking from southern Pennsylvania to Stouffville, ON, Canada for Sunnybrook Hospital Heart Centre. Go to the March 09 blog files to see the original news release and the tentative 2 1/2 month itinerary. Go to http://www.sunnybrookfoundation.ca/ click events, click "Trail..."

Hey! Today we celebrated half-way home! That is, if the trip is about 500 miles, we just completed 249 at Caneadea. Close. For those who are following the route, the only change we've planned is that after East Aurora we intend to follow Route 16 right into the middle of downtown Buffalo and then we'll take a couple of city streets to the pedestrian entrance to the Peace Bridge.

Another beautiful day to be on the road. For a short time I was able to follow a trail, a former railway bed, that parallels Rte. 19. It's signed for snowmobiles but looks like it's been used by hikers, cyclists, and horseriders during the spring. I imagined being in a coach car of a steam train in the early 1900's looking out over the Genesee River, which we have been following for the last five days.

At another point we saw a large number of tall trapezoidal pillers. New York State's own Stone henge? Possibly the footings for a massive high-level railway bridge. The hills on each side of the valley were about a hundred feet high!

The pattern continues. Margaret lets me off, drives ahead about 2 kms. and finds a safe place to park the van. She walks back to meet me, therefore doing almost as much walking as I do.
We keep in touch with a pair of 10 mile range radios. After I had started walking on one leg this afternoon, I get a call, "I've found a peaceful place to park." It was the Oramel cemetary. Peaceful, yes. But still the roar of the occasional passing traffic. In the grave yard, Jimmy James lasted only 53 years 1950-2003 but his marker is a chainsaw art bear instead of the standard marble. There must be a story.

There are differences between PA and NY. In northern PA there were 'POSTED' signs everywhere and in fact it was difficult at times to 'step into the woods'. In NY there are still 'POSTED' signs but there are also access signs posted to allow anyone to reach a river and fish. 'Tis the season as they say and we have seen lots of fishermen in hipwaders trying their luck.

Pictures:
Ron at the half-way point in Caneadea

The walking trail

The bear memorial

A Conestoga Wagon

Belmont, Belvidere and Belfast

Great walking conditions again today - - fairly level and weather a little cloudy with occasional sun and a brief cloudburst mid-afternoon.

The frequent plaques tell us that this area was settled in the 1850s. One sign indicated that the first townhall meeting was held in the Willis home in 1852. We're supposing that our forebears used the now Hwy 15 route and cut across country closer to Rochester. Too bad they didn't know this route. Most of the route for the past two days has been very level. Also we are surrounded by farmland rather than the wooded hills we had in northern Pennsylvania.


During the cloudburst this afternoon we took a detour into the historic village of Angelica. There are some lovely old houses, a library and cute little stores. The town square is round with - - count them - - five churches in the circle. (Ron says that Circular Quay in Australia is square.) There are lots of hiking and bicycling trails around the town as well as evidence of a small artistic community. There will even be a Murder Mystery event (family friendly) at the local inn next weekend.

My least favourite part of the day was seeing a snake slither away from the road into the grass - black, about two feet long and about an inch in diameter. Ron reassures me that it was only coming to the heat of the road but I continue to dislike things that slither. Ugh! Ron's worst moment was when a loose dog barked and ran circles around him. He doesn't trust any dog if the owner isn't right there. And talk about heart rate! We try to avoid moments like these.

Tonight we are at a newish, clean inn in the little village of Houghten right next to Houghten College. We were delighted to find internet access which
we hope to have until we reach the border.
Pictures:
A lovely covered bridge

The Genesee River

The main street in Angelica

My 59th (month!) anniversary flowers