Of course we are going to take the scenic route ...
At this point upper New York State is similar to what we have seen previously ...
i.e. today is much like yesterday ...
We are beginning to feel the effects of the hurricane Sandy; which for us just means what looks like bad weather. Heavy rain and strong wind. We are within metres of the shore of the Great Lakes and can see the waves and spray building up.
Never the less we take the time to put on the rain gear and go for a walk in a nice little park we see along the way. Casual passers by who see the cameras assure us that the colour here is better than in New England and perhaps we could be persuaded ...
It doesn’t seem to have passed its’ peak yet as it has in New England
And I think it’s just chance that some of the locations seem a little more interesting.
I even manage to find a couple more seats for my collection
Eventually however we head for Niagara Falls expecting, even though it’s Sunday and pouring with rain, some crowds with which to contend. We are told we should go over to the Canadian side as 90% of the water goes over that side of the falls at the “Horseshoe” and is more spectacular than the 10% over the American falls. Unfortunately we haven’t got the amount of time we are told it will take to get through customs etc. and still make the train tonight so we go directly to the observation area at Goat Island.
Surprise, surprise ... we are at the Horseshoe Falls just on the American side.
The view is fantastic and there is NO ONE there! Perhaps the -5C temperature has something to do with it.
The rain is too strong for us to get very good photos but it is great to have seen it never the less.
Now it’s time to return the hire car and then wait for the train.
The car has to be back at the airport at 5pm and the train leaves at 11:59pm so we have a seven hour wait. The plan is to drop the car off and get a taxi to the train station, which is not too far away. We figure to have something to eat there. The lady at the hire car station puts paid to that. “There is nothing at the station except some seats ...” she says. So we arrange keep the car for another couple of hours and go have a look at the station. She’s right!
We grab some dinner at a local steakhouse around 7pm, return the car at 8pm and decide to have a quick look at the airport “lounge” while we are there. Thank goodness there is a small cafe so we decide to have a coffee. While sitting there I decide to check the paperwork for the train and it suddenly dawns on me. In our flexible schedule of the last couple of days we have managed to pick up a day .... we are a day early! Our train doesn’t leave until 11:59PM TOMORROW NIGHT.
After some discussion we decide the only sensible thing to do is check into a hotel for the night, spend the day tomorrow sightseeing and get out to the train as late as possible. We manage to find a hotel not too far away and even get a free shuttle from the airport. Things are looking up for a change.
Finally checked into the hotel I plug the computer in and check the email. There is a notification from Amtrak ... the train has been cancelled due to the hurricane! There is a refund and a “good luck” message about making the connection in Chicago tomorrow!
There is no way we can arrange an aeroplane flight as everyone is “leaving Dodge” and the only option is to hire another car tomorrow morning and drive the 900km to Chicago.
Just what we needed ... another full day of driving in the rain.
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