Day 121: Port Colbourne, Ontario to Buffalo, New York

Mileage: 30.6; 3,877 total

Matt and I crossed the Peace Bridge today, from Fort Erie, Ontario to Buffalo, New York, finishing the "international" segment of our trips.

The weather turneed out to be fairly nice today, gradually clearing as we left. From Port Colbourne we picked up a bicycle path that led all the way to the Peace Bridge, making this a very pleasant way to end our last day in Ontario. In Fort Erie, at Matt's suggestion, we stopped to take a tour of the actual fort (or, more correctly, a 1937 replica of the fort). The fort was important during the War of 1812, and was the site of the most war fatalities that Canada has ever had on its soil: in a war in which the total death toll was about 6,000, there were 3,000 soldiers (both British and American) who died when the Brits tried to recapture the fort from the Americans.

After riding over the Peace Bridge (fortunately, it was about noon on Sunday and there was not too much traffic) and getting through immigration/customs, we rested for awhile over lunch at a Burger King. Matt was trying to figure out what route he wanted to take to continue his trip (he was thinking departing from his original plan, and maybe bicycling along the Erie Canal to Albany, and from there to the Boston area or to the NYC area). Whichever plan you selected, Matt, I hope all goes well on the rest of the trip. And don't forget to keep in touch and look me up if/when you get to New York City.

Meanwhile, I got directions to some local motels.

I was very pleased that my brother-in-law Cesar stopped by in the mid-afternoon, enroute from Syracuse (where he had gone for a Penn State game) to Pittsburgh. We enjoyed a couple of beers, an early dinner, and a lot of talk before he had to continue on his way. Thanks again, Cesar!

I will be hanging out in Buffalo until Tuesday afternoon, when Steve Libby, a friend from Shorewalkers, will arrive by Amtrak. It will be great to have a traveling companion for the rest of my trip, and I am also hopeful that old fraternity brother Pat M. will be able to join us for a couple of days as we approach Albany!