Day 17 & 18 - closer to home

Day 17 Rutland, Vermont to Weedsport, N.Y.

Rain was looming as we took down our tent. We have today & tomorrow to get home. If need be, we could stretch out another day but we were both interested in getting home.

I joked that wouldn't it be fun to do it all again but the other direction? Ya sure!! The weather might be better but that means bugs, the mosquito & black fly type!

As we set out, the sky ahead was darkening more & more so we put on our wet gear. Sure enough, a torrential storm hit with heavy rain. We rode for awhile, then ducked into a McDonald's for a hot drink and to dry off. 

It stopped eventually and we set off toward Auburn N.Y., which is in the Finger Lakes district. When planning this trip, I was determined to not take the Hwy 401 route from Kingston. Multi-lane travel at high speeds really makes me nervous. The alternative was to take the shorter QEW route from Niagara. I hoped to make it as painless as possible.

We ended up at a campground north of Auburn, in the town of Weedsport. It had an on-site restaurant which suited us fine on our last night. 

Camping (private anyway), belongs to RV'ers. Most times,  when we go to a private campground, they don't know what to do with us as most of their visitors have RV's or 5th wheels.

They usually stick us in some far corner (which is fine since we don't need services). I can walk to get water for cooking or washing as I need it.

Tonite we camped on a lovely spot of grass in the "transient" or "overnight" camping area, stuck between the RVer's and the kids playground.

It was a nice evening, we could have sat outside at the nearby restaurant & listened to barking dogs & playing kids but we decided to eat indoors & soak up the ambience.

The place is plastered with posters of aging or dead celebrities. We quizzed each other waiting for our dinner - tonight's special. It was pasta & sauce with meatballs or sausage. It was huge! Also came with a side salad & bread. Way too much food & when the waitress suggested we pack it up & take with us, we had to decline of course.

What a mess I could envision in my side case! Who likes to eat cold pasta & sauce anyway! At the border I could imagine me listing the contents of my luggage & the officer then deciding to search the whole kit'n'kaboodle, dirty laundry & all!

The noise from the nearby I-90 was non-stop. Thank goodness for ear plugs!

Mileage 400 km

Day 18 Weedsport to home!

Up early packed & ready for home! We took a short scenic route along Lake Ontario. In the town of Olcott Beach, walked around short bit.

Pat in front of the historic Olcott Lighthouse

Stopped for lunch in the town of Wilson at the marina (our daughter's family name). It was a really good sandwich!

The border was a bit busy crossing over as it was after lunch. We hit the QEW and headed toward Guelph. The traffic was thick & moving at about 110 km/hr. I find anything over 100 km and I just can't judge distances, stopping times as well, plus my whole body vibrates from the bike, can't see much detail out my rear mirrors either. I was in front, staying to the right lane and was petrified a few times as Pat had merging traffic coming from his right side.

Up Hwy 6 and sigh! We were home, in one piece (each) 😃 It looked drier and drier as we headed west toward home but the grass around our place dead and brown & no rain in the forecast. 

Going to take a day or two to process our journey & "lessons learned". Plus I found out I have been loading videos wrong and that is why they aren't working!

Talk again soon! Thanks for hanging in there!