On The Road Again

Vineyards in winter.


Apple orchards in the snow. You can still smell the apples when you drive by.


A vineyard in front of a house. Click for a better view. It's hard to take these pics while driving.


Close to Niagara Falls.


Entering New York State


We are actually in Seneca country. The Seneca Indians made the American government respect a treaty and were given a huge amount of land in this area of New York State.


There are signs all along the side of the highway enticing you to buy liquor and cigarettes and to gamble at the casino.



An all American city? Why is it different than any other? Buffalo wings were invented here though so I guess that counts for something.



This is what Buffalo mostly looks like. It's not too exciting.


We are very close to Canada.


This is how I always know I am close to Buffalo.


Endless power lines. Niagara Power. I saw this police car pulling someone over for speeding. I was thinking.....glad that's not me. About 20 minutes later it was.


These power lines run right over peoples homes. And if they are not ominous enough.....


There are power plants every where too.



I decided to get off of the thruway and take the scenic route. Decisions like this always add hours to my trips. You can see where I exited. ATTICA!!! Attica is a penitentiary in upstate New York. It was built in 1930. It has housed many famous criminals over the years. David Berkowitz, the son of Sam murderer was here. Right now, Mark David Chapman, John Lennon's killer, is here. Next time I travel this way I will allow extra time to go there and take photos.


Teddy is enjoying the trip so far.


This is what a lot of New York State looks like.


A whole lot of nothing. So, as I was sailing through this whole lot of nothing with virtually empty roads, I suddenly noticed flashing lights behind me. I got nabbed by radar blowing through a 55 MPH zone doing 73Mph. I don't even know what the fine is. I have to wait until it is determined by a judge. Lead foot! I like putting the pedal to the metal. What can I say?



Finally we arrived at Lake Geneva.


There is a beautiful park along the lake which Teddy likes to walk in.


There were sea gulls every where.


Teddy could not understand why the sea gulls would not play with her.


Smart sea gulls.


This lamp post served as a sea gull landing pad. One after another they would fly in and push the one in front of them off the top.


The victor!


Back on the road again, we saw these signs on the side of the roads all over this area. This is quite a controversial issue. The Cayuga Indians want the government to give them 150 miles of land and 1 billion dollars. Once they receive the land they become a sovereign nation. This means that they are not governed by the United States. They pay no taxes and can open casinos. In 2002 the State of New York lost 385 million dollars in cigarette taxes to the Indians so you can see why so many people are against this.


Finally we arrived at the farmhouse. Teddy is immediately ready to go out exploring.




Here she is resting her chin on the arm of the chair imploring me to take her outside. I certainly can not resist that look.