Day Six: That's a Big 10-4

Happy to be home but kind of sad too. I loved driving and deciding each day where to go and what to do. I will definitely do this kind of trip again, but hopefully for longer so that I can see more! I squeezed in some gems in the short time I was on the road.

Top 5 Rank:

1. Ithaca, Lower Falls!

2. Presque Isle (Not a beach day, that would have made it even better! A few beaches on the isle. If I stayed longer I would have rented a bike there and spent some of the day exploring that way.)

3. Lake George

4. The drive from Maryland to Erie (gorgeous!)

5. Saratoga Springs near the track, having to stop in the road for horses to cross. Brought back memories of Foxboro Race Track!


Today I won $50.00 at Saratoga Gaming and Racing. Then I went to Saratoga Spa State Park to take some pics of the beautiful environs and see the geysers. I have to say that the geysers were a bit of a disappointment. They were very small! It was still a relaxing, scenic visit.

I left for home at 12:00. On the Mass Pike I hit the only traffic of the entire trip. Is anyone surprised? It took about an hour to get from Sturbridge to Charlton. I opened the sun roof and took advantage of the time. One guy jumped out of his car and ran down into the woods to relieve himself. When he came back up, I clapped for him. He bowed. Too funny!

So, I'm done travel blogging for now. More travels to come...peace out.

Day Three: Turtles Crossing

7-23-09

Today, I went to Presque Isle which was 25 minutes from my motel. It was BEAUTIFUL! I was a little nervous driving there because Erie looks like parts of Lynn and areas of Route 1. Strip mall after strip mall, as well as auto parts and dollar stores. Restaurants of all kinds lined the streets. This did not seem like a place that would have this gorgeous isle that I had been reading about in my travel books. The contrast was shocking! Once on Peninsula Drive for a few minutes, the scenery began to change. Presque Isle is lush and reminded me of a rainforest in certain areas. You know, the trees that have the leaves all over the trunk! I knew I was in a very different environment when I came upon the Turtles Crossing sign. Unfortunately, I didn't see any. :-(

I found Misery Bay on Presque Isle and took a 90 minute narrated cruise on Lake Erie. We saw all of Presque Isle from the water and three lighthouses.

After the tour, I drove around the rest of the Isle and took more pics. I found this area magical and hope to visit again. I got here just in time because they are having a huge festival this weekend and the ranger that I spoke with said that there will be up to 4,000 people visiting Presque Isle. YIKES

So I started my visit at Presque Isle at 10:30 and left at 3:30. Lots of fresh air! Then I headed to the Erie Zoo. It was small, but they had some very entertaining animals. Joe, the orangutan was the highlight. The zoo closed at 5:00. I saw the entire zoo and then spent the remainder of the time watching Joe. Amazing animal!

Then it was off to Bob Evans for the first time, for dinner. I liked it, but I am not a big fan of gravy! HA! I just got a burger and fries. Their peach tea was yummy. I ordered a root beer float to go for dessert. It was huge! 32 oz. of yum!

I am pooped. Not a very detailed account of the day, but the gist!

I am leaving tomorrow to head east. Either through PA or NY. I am thinking of checking out the finger lakes. The great thing about the past few days was that they were weekdays. I am not sure what I am going to find when the weekend starts! I have hit NO traffic. I'm thinking that it may change starting tomorrow.