State of anticipation

Victor, NY – This is our last night on the road. It’s hard to believe that our jour-ney’s end is only a day away!  We’re now in a town on the outskirts of Rochester, just off Interstate 90. We started out this morning in Ohio, after a lovely breakfast buffet at the hotel. It was especially nice as we ate with real dishes and cutlery, instead of the Styrofoam bowls and plastic spoons that we’ve had at other hotels.

We were blessed with another clear, sunny day that only improved as we traveled on. About an hour into the trip, we crossed the state line into Pennsylvania.  There’s a small panhandle of that state, around 50 miles across, that has enjoyed access to Lake Erie from the earliest days of its history. It was a strategic point during the War of 1812, but today it’s a vacation destination with lots of parks, campgrounds and recreational facilities.

Although the lake was clearly marked in blue on the small screen of our GPS, quite near the purple line of the highway we were traveling, we were not able to see it out the window. There were too many trees between us and the lake, but further on we did finally catch sight of it. At first I thought there was a lot of foam on the water, but then we realized it must be chunks of unmelted ice! We had heard that the deep cold of this past winter had caused even the large bodies of water on the Great Lakes to freeze more than they had in years, so it will likely take more than today’s warmth to melt it all.

We exited at the first rest stop in Pennsylvania to pick up a map and some literature about the state. We did the same once we got into New York, where we also fueled up and went in search of refreshments. The food court building was actually on the westbound side of the interstate, and we crossed a breezeway over the highway, looking down on the trucks and cars whizzing past below, to get to it.

We could hear some live piano music when we got to the other side, and discovered a grand piano in the middle of the food court that was playing itself! A Plexiglas cover kept amateur musicians from attempting to try their hand on the piano keys. The music was great, and so were the tulips and Easter decorations on the piano.

The greatest portion of our trip today was on a toll highway, which again left something to be desired in terms of road quality. Still, it was four lanes with limited access, and lightly traveled, so that made it easy on Val at the wheel.

At the rest stops in these parts, there are coupon books with discounts for area hotels and restaurants, and we made use of these for our last couple of hotel stays. The coupons usually apply for walk-ins only, so we can’t reserve a room, but we call ahead and ask if there would be room if we were to arrive the next day. They are glad to tell us, and to assure us that there would be room for the RV and car in their parking lot as well.

At the hotel here in Victor, our window overlooks the parking lot so we can keep an eye on our vehicles. It’s also nice to see a Canadian flag flapping in the breeze!