November 24, 2013
Rochester, NY
135,316.9 (196.4 miles)
[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-UZLv64eB-Kk/UpLRdOgP_rI/AAAAAAAAEe0/-xRlV6vqLXU/s144-c-o/1124130933a.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108131301217387227436/EastboundDay15#5950048357749620402″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”1124130933a.jpg” ]Each day brings a new surprise. After last night stressful drive in a snow squall that brought my visibility to zero and seemed to turn back time as I watched my ETA time get further and further away the more I drove, I was greeted with such a wonderful family – two families to be exact. The shared a wonderful dinner with me and then we played some pinball on his Pinball collection and finally, they introduced me to the Dr. Who TV series. After seeing that the heater was unable to keep the bus from dropping below freezing inside, I made a decision for Lexie and I to sleep indoors for the first time in 30 days.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-42iBVp_0d20/UpLROT1DzDI/AAAAAAAAEd8/PuJDgQeMTBo/s144-c-o/1124131155.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108131301217387227436/EastboundDay15#5950048101481040946″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”1124131155.jpg” pe2_large_limit=”false” pe2_img_align=”right” ]After a warm and comfy sleep I awoke to the the children playing upstairs so as no to wake me. Once I was up they came down and played with Lexie. Then Jason made us all a wonderful breakfast, I checked the weather, we took some photos and off to Niagara Falls we went.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-1zviPJS_2pc/UpLRKAGy_wI/AAAAAAAAEds/MKHYpLSV5Uw/s144-c-o/1124131212a.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108131301217387227436/EastboundDay15#5950048027467251458″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”1124131212a.jpg” ] I stopped at a farm I had passed at night when I was coming into Tavistock, ON in the snow storm. Out in the field was a farmer working his crops. I have a feeling he was trying to save as much as he could before the deep freeze killed them. The frost is early and the rain had made harvesting run late. I stopped in Woodstock to get gas and there I ran into a woman who had to see Sandy. Turns out, she and her family own a bus as well and knew my host family. That’s one of the wonderful benefits of driving a Bus; everyone comes up to you and talks to you. The other one is the Peace Signs or Thumbs Up people flash at you. If you are not a people person, this could be very annoying, but for me…I simply LOVE IT!
I arrived in Niagara Falls under snowy skies, but the sun started to come out once I was there. I stopped for some photos and was about to head out of town as i was looking for a specific parking spot when I spotted they most amazing thing. A rainbow was coming out of the falls. I pulled the bus over and started to take pics of Sandy against the Rainbow. A minute later a car pulled up and a man jumped out and was quickly taking a pic of his wife and child. I ran over to them and offered to take a pic for them so they could all be in the picture as it was too beautiful to leave someone out. They were very appreciative of it and then I went back to taking pictures of Sandy. I could not help but be grinning from ear to ear.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ueEKFcw8NN4/UpLP_KR0-5I/AAAAAAAAEYk/_JToQNUrKdY/s144-c-o/1124131449f.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108131301217387227436/EastboundDay15#5950046741707684754″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”1124131449f.jpg” pe2_img_align=”right” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-kEphXdNdYoc/UpLPi_71psI/AAAAAAAAEW0/xTSOJQ4hSVM/s144-c-o/1124131452d.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108131301217387227436/EastboundDay15#5950046257894762178″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”1124131452d.jpg” pe2_img_align=”right” ] See, 14 year ago I was at Niagara Falls, right here. It was July, 1999 and this was day one of my Journey that would take me across the US for the first time and I was riding my Honda ST1100. I had ridden most of the day in a bad rain storm with intense thunder and lightning along with strong wind gusts, but when I arrived here, the weather cleared up and the sun had come out. At that time, I did not know when I’d be back or what adventures lay ahead for me. Now here I was, where the reality of the dream began and it was now complete and how can you top the completion of a dream…why with a Rainbow of course 😀
We got back on the road and headed for Rochester, NY. After crossing the border we encountered some more snow as we made tracks for Rochester where we’d meet up with another ST rider and good friend Deb F who is our host for tonight. Deb is a Dog Groomer and will be treating Lexie to a trim tomorrow so she looks good for Thanksgiving Dinner in a few days. Then its off to Hoosick Falls, NY which should be our final stop before hitting the coast of Maine. If the weather holds up, we should make Thanksgiving a day early which is good, because it looks like there may be some bad weather moving in on Thanksgiving.
(Side note)
This summer, when I got into Kayaking and eating Dandelions along with drinking lots of water, I started to lose a lot of weight. Well, 20+ lbs. anyway. Other than some bicycling and kayaking the only ting I did was to stop drinking sugary drinks. I still ate big meals and had a huge bowl of ice cream for dessert. So I was thinking that it must be the sugary drinks I cut out.
When I started this trip, I expected to put on weight. After all, I’d be eating a lot of Canned Stew and sitting for most of every day.
A few days ago I weighed myself. I could not believe what I saw so I weighed myself again the next opportunity I could. I’ve now tried three scales and all confirm, for the first time since I was in my early 20’s I have dropped under 200lbs. Keep in mind that I am 6’4″ tall and will be turning 49 here in just over two weeks.
I make mention of this because I’m not working out, I simply stopped with all the sugary drinks and moved to water. If it were strictly the exercise, I should have gained a bit of weight on the trip, not lose more. And since the weight loss was not rapid, I am not concerned of any other issues that might cause this as they are usually coupled with sudden weight lose. So if you are struggling a bit, or just want to feel a bit better, try moving to Water and Herbal Tea and see if you see any changes.
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Love that train on the ceiling. D & R feeds my stomach and my inner child. Glad you enjoyed it.
I like the rainbow part.