Saturday, August 7, 2010

#103 Back In The USA

Well we made our third border crossing this week & I will say again that crossing into Canada is easier than crossing back into the US. The return to the US this time was much easier & less intimidating than the last two except for the guy in front of us. He was taken away by border guards & his car was driven off by another guard. We looked at each other & said nothing but horrible thoughts were running through both of our minds. Our encounter with the border guard was uneventful & we were on our way. We know that we had done nothing wrong but something about the way we were treated was definitely intimidating. What doesn't make sense is most of our Canadian friends tell us that they don't have half the trouble getting into the US that we've had. Go figure?

Friday we went to Lockport NY to take a tour on the Erie Canal. This included going through 2 sets of locks & under 2 lift bridges. I have always been amazed by the concept of lifting boats up & down rivers through a lock system so I was enthralled to actually travel through it in person. Farther on down the canal were a pair of lift bridges. As opposed to draw bridges which split in the middle to allow boat traffic to pass, a lift bridge lifts the bridge's road surface straight up as one piece. When they were built there was so little road traffic that the bridges were left in the up position & only lowered for the occasional vehicle. Now with most transportation done by road & very little on the canal the bridges are kept in the down position. The 2 bridges are about 200 yards apart & operated by one bridge tender so when a boat needs to pass one bridge is raised & lowered let the vessel pass & the tender must drive to the other bridge to repeat the process for the second bridge. The whole process is interesting as well as amusing to watch.

It had been a beautiful day as forecast so the motorcycle ride as well as the canal tour was thoroughly enjoyable but as anyone who follows us knows that when Frank is on the motorcycle it is going to rain. On the way home the skies did not disappoint us. Fortunately we had made a stop when the skies opened and were able to put on our rain gear before we got soaked. It did clear up on the way home but there is still the road spray, & wet is wet no matter where the water comes from.

We are leaving here on Monday so we will spend the weekend getting ready. The truck needs a bath & the trailer is almost as dirty. The bikes could use a cleaning after the rain & need to be loaded. And then there are all the rest of the things that are part of the RV lifestyle. Remember, this is not a vacation, this is our lifestyle & this is our home. I will blog again before we leave our home in Niagara Falls because...

Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary

PS Get well Sare

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