Day Eight

During the course of my journey so far, I have come to realize that Canada geese are taking over the planet. I just hope they mean us no harm…

I packed my stuff up quickly this morning, since Chuck had told me it would start raining at 9:00. He was right! The lady that runs the campground chatted with me for a while. She was very sweet and gave me a list of the private campgrounds in New York, since I told her that hers was the nicest one I had stayed at so far, for half the price!

I ate the doughnut that was given to me at Eighth Lake (remember that?) and it was surprisingly good, even after a couple days. I headed out and pretty soon it started to sprinkle. It was a little chilly too, but I was dressed for it, and after the heat and sun yesterday, I was loving it. Riding from Sodus to Pultneyville on Lake Road was just beautiful. Nothing but acres of orchards, vineyards and strawberry fields forever. And every once in a while I got a glimpse of Lake Ontario. People in this area are a little more well off than Osceola or Redfield, and the houses were just beautiful with perfectly manicured lawns and beautiful flowers strategically arranged around the houses. Passed by a lot of horses, and they were just fascinated by me.

I stopped in Palmyra (by that point it was just pouring) and looked around for a place to have breakfast, but the only thing I could find was a pizza place. I have nothing against pizza for breakfast so I went in. I ordered way too much food. I think my stomach is shrinking, since I’ve made peanut butter filled pretzels a meal a few times. Had a decent slice of pizza with broccoli, spinach and mushrooms, but after that I could hardly touch the salad I had ordered. Drank some milk with it and waited for the rain to stop. It didn’t. I headed the wrong direction, looking for the Canalway Trail. A street worker pointed me in the right direction, and I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t realize it was actually a bike trail! A long one, too!! The picture above tries to capture the beauty of it, but it was raining and I didn’t want to get my camera wet, so it wasn’t easy. What a joy to ride that trail and have it all to myself, after all the hills I’ve climbed and busy roads I’ve ridden. I saw many Great Blue Herons (I know what they are now, since I finally asked one of them)….or was it the same one over and over? Lots of woodchucks, bunnies, and yes…more Canada geese.

Made it to Rochester on the trail and my lovely, wonderful friend Kaitlyn provided me with a room at the Holiday Inn for the night. They gave me a discount when I told them about my ride, gave me a coupon for a free drink, and a lady waiting for the shuttle outside gave me a voucher for a free dinner at the restaurant. I met two great guys at the restaurant and they sat with me and talked about my ride, and life in general. I gave them copies of my articles and they’re going to follow my progress. I’m just so completely overwhelmed with the kindness of people I’ve met so far. It really just takes my breath away. It’s a wonderful life. Truly.