In the summer of 2017, my dad and i set out from Maine to Niagara Falls.
My parents made the trip 30 years ago (by car), and painted a majestic picture of it all. We weren't certain we'd make it the full 600 miles when we set out, but we had 7 days ahead of us to try.
The first stop on our trips west is usually lunch on the patio at Gypsy Cafe in Lincoln, ME. It's a colorful spot serving international cuisine and we always meet fellow riders. This time, we continued
south on Route 302 to the Kancamagus Highway, winding through the White Mountains in northern New Hampshire. The white mountains are always a thrill, especially in peak foliage season.
Just after filling up on Thai food for dinner, we made it to our first rest stop of the trip: the beautiful Emergo Farms B&B in Vermont. This 1890 sixth-generation working dairy farm is someplace special.
Lori & Bebo have decorated the home with family antiques and period furniture sourced from local antique markets. It is exquisite, and was a treat to experience life on a dairy farm in a small village in
Vermont. We woke up to cows and tractors in the morning, and Lori treated us to a full Sunday brunch of local eggs and bacon.
New York-bound, we headed to Burlington to catch the ferry across Lake Champlain. Of course, we missed the boat, and had to re-route south to catch the ferry from Charlotte. But the town was quaint and lovely, and preferable to Burlington. Our 30-minute ferry over to Essex, NY was packed with motorcyclists, and we all took in the expansive views of the Adirondacks and cloud-free skies... a preview of what we were in for.
Cooling off in Essex, NY
The advantage of vacationing on a motorcycle is there's always time for spontaneous midday swims.
Adirondacks
We continued west through the mountains, pinpointing lakes on the map as our break points. The village of Saranac Lake was a peaceful, idyllic alternative to Lake Placid, and we hit the local pizza joint for dinner before (getting a bit lost…) and finding a room at Amanda's Inn for the night. Amanda herself even offered towels to clean the dew off our motorcycle in the morning.
Tupper Lake was one of the most memorable, serene lakes we passed. The lumberjack breakfast joint wasn't too bad either, and gave us a chance to spread out our map and pick the day's route over fresh cups of coffee. At this point, we were 300 miles from Niagara falls.
We left the Adirondacks behind for Lake Ontario, whose southern border we planned to ride along until we hit the falls. Temperatures at this point had soared into the 90s, and we were desperate to find a spot to cool off. Instead, we passed more cornfields and farms than I ever imagined existed in New York....
The closest town when dusk fell was Fair Haven. More of a village, I suppose. There were vacancies at Pleasant Beach Hotel, and we were just in time to catch the sunset from the dock.
Lake Ontario, at least the American side, was underwhelming. We passed over 144 miles with no beach access or swimming points, and the lake vistas we did explore were piled with trash. The search for a swimming hole was unfruitful. That said, the locals we met along Route 104 and Route 20, from diners to gas stations to parks, couldn’t have been friendlier!
niagara falls
We made it! We left Fair Haven early and headed straight for Ontario. Along our journey, everyone we met advised us to skip the American side and cross the border to take in the falls from Canada. Only the Canada side offers panoramic views of all three waterfalls. We opted to do it all, in an effort to see every angle of the falls and participate in every tourist trap available. It was still 90 degrees and sweltering hot, so the more time we could spent in or on the falls, the better.
Our first glimpse of Niagara Falls was breathtaking. From the motorcycle, we were able to hear the thunderous crash of the 600,000 gallons of water falling every second. The sheer power and volume of the falls is just astounding. The surrounding lush, vibrant green moss just added to its splendor… I didn't realize until we arrived that the falls are actually comprised of three waterfalls: Horseshoe Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and the American Falls. Originally, 5.5 billion gallons per hour of water flowed over Niagara Falls. Today, half of the water is diverted for power by the US and Canada.
90% of the fish that travel
over the falls survive!
Our first stop was the notorious Maid of the Mist, a boat tour that takes you into the falls, and soaks everyone onboard from head to toe. Praying our boat's engine kept us from getting swallowed whole, we screamed along with every other poncho-clad tourist as the "mist" turned into a full-on shower.
On the American side, we signed ourselves up for Cave of the Winds, too. The closest anyone can possibly get to the falls. We descended 175 feet into the incredible Niagara Gorge, and climbed a series of wooden walkways that led us to “Hurricane Deck” — standing a stone's throw from Bridal Veil Falls!
My dad and I managed to snag a last minute table at Skylon Tower to dine in the observation tower overlooking the falls. It's a revolving restaurant 700 feet up, best enjoyed with copious amount of wine just to enhance your dizziness. The Falls light up at night, and the views of the light show from the tower are the best you can get. My parents had snuck into the bar years ago on their visit, so it was especially fun to call home from our dinner table.
The route home from Niaraga Falls was faster,
but no less exciting
Some snaps from the road:
For our last night of the trip, we rode an extra 10, winding miles out to Edgemont B&B in the sleepy village of Moriah, NY. We were floored when we arrived. We had arrived at a 1900 historical home and former horse farm sitting on 20 acres. The property had been recently restored by a DuPont and transformed into a four bedroom B&B with full private bathrooms (and a wine cellar). There were no other guests; we had the entire home to ourselves.
After my dad inspected the craftsmanship of the staircase, built-in cabinetry, and antique doors, we settled in for a few games of pool. Still hadn't met anyone, not even the caretaker. What could go wrong, right?
At 10PM, the fire alarm went off.
I'll spare the details, but let's just say the evening progressed with about 10 panicked messages to the owner in Brooklyn, 3 more alarms, frantic calls to nearby hotels in hopes of a vacancy, scouring the property for spare batteries and a ladder, and ultimately raiding the owner's liquor collection.
What's adventure without misadventure?
Miraculously, we slept through the night. In the morning, Karen the caretaker whipped up fresh eggs from the chickens just outside and gave us a tour of the property. An eventful end to our trip, but I suppose we wouldn't have it any other way!
