Rochester, etc.

The border crossing into New York was uneventful; there was about a 30 minute delay, which I didn't think was bad for a Friday.  The Border Agent just looked inside my coach and waved me on my way, no questions asked. 

Taking pictures from the bridge would have been great because the view was beautiful, but there were signs saying it was a $615 fine for doing so with your camera .... so a friend of mine took these and I borrowed them.

FYI, the most often spoken language in Canada besides English is Mandarin.  French is actually #13.  I had learned that on my sightseeing trip around Toronto and though it interesting.

My first stop this morning was the post office to pick up my mail and this lovely mural was painted on the building.  It was a nice start to the day.

And then off to Elba to take a picture of the onion.  Elba is the onion capital of the world.  When I lowered my window for the picture, the smell of onion was very strong.


The Sweet Life Country Store was a recommended stop in Elba.  It is a charming Country Store offering Oliver's candy, ice cream and coffee, pickled products, honey, maple syrup, jams & jellies, locally hand-made crafts.  I didn't have any ice cream, but I did get to sample a piece of sponge candy that is a local treat. I asked how it was made and was told "air and molasses."  It was different, but good; very sweet.

Today we had a severe thunderstorm warning and it rained very hard, with hail.  I almost had to pull over a couple of times because I couldn't see and the pinging on the windshield and roof was unnerving.  Unfortunately, now I see there are thunderstorms predicted for the next 3 days.  Darn.  Not only do they not cool off the temps, they increase the humidity, but most important I want to see and spend time at Niagara Falls (that's why I'm here) and the rain doesn't help.  Oh well.

In Le Roy (pronounced Laroy not Lee Roy) I toured the Le Roy house and the Jello Museum. 
Anyone curious about the origins of one of America's most popular desserts will have all their questions answered here.

 For some reason, in the lower level of the Jello Museum they had a transportation exhibit.

Jello molds

 In Rochester I visited Writer's & Books to see some of the interesting sculptures, the Strong National Museum of Play and the Public Market; all doing a booming business in the rain.

Middleport had a nice surprise for me.  I was taking this picture of the a mural of the Erie Canal and then made a right turn, only to find the road was gone; it was actually a bridge that was lifted like an elevator, into the air for a boat to pass under.  It was quite the surprise, as there weren't flashing light like a train or anything, just an "arm" bar across the lane.


Consisting of three different historic depictions of Middleport, this mural blends in so well that it looks like a painting has been hung on the side of the building. The large painting in the middle depicts the Erie Canal, and the smaller two paintings, located on either side of the middle painting, are replicas of local town photos.



In Medina I found this apple ... Created between 1999 and 2000, this giant piece of fruit commemorates the fruit growers in the western part of New York.


But most exciting of all was this tunnel on Culvert Road that went under the Erie Canal. 

"Only road under the Erie Canal in Ripley's Believe It or Not." 

Built in 1823, it is wide enough for a single car.






My last sightseeing stop today was the Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse.  It gets its name because it is the point 30 miles east of the Niagara River.

 Tomorrow I'm going to shuffle off to Buffalo ....