The further away we get from home the more real it feels. So far, the scariest thing we encountered were distracted drivers. We don’t expect it to get better, so we’ll remain vigilant.
There are a lot of toll booths on I-80W. Good thing Lou got us the extra EZ Pass transponder and we actually remembered to bring it. It’s a real time saver.
We arrived in Buffalo ahead of our predicted time: 3:30 instead of 4:00. The first thing we did after checking in was go to the gym. We were both feeling sluggish after our first day on the road and needed to work off some steam. Afterwards, we searched out a local place to have dinner. That’s one thing we agreed upon up front: no chains for dinner. Unfortunately we don’t have much of a choice for lunches since all of the rest stops on I-80 are franchised out to chains. Tonight we dined at an American-Greek place called Alton’s where Kendra had chicken souvlaki and I had a beef gyro. Immediately after dinner we drove to Niagara Falls State Park. We had heard its lit up in the evenings and we wanted to see the show. We arrived around 6:30, and the parking attendant waived our fee. We walked first to see Horseshoe Falls, which were magnificent in themselves, and then walked down to the American and Bridle Veil Falls. They were spectacular, but we were so happy after seeing the massive crowds that we went at an off peak time. I can’t imagine what it must be like to try to get a glimpse of the falls through the throngs of people crowded on the viewing deck.
Day one is officially done. We’re in our jammies and planning our attack on tomorrow. Destination: Chicago via Marblehead, Ohio for lunch.
