Canada and East Coast Trip - Day 1

What a perfect day today was for motorcycling! I spent a lot of time on the backroads of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York today. I didn't even use my GPS until near Niagara Falls and the sun had gone down. I had 375 miles exactly on my trip odometer today. Since I got a late start (as usual) I decided to make up for lost time by hopping on I-77 and I-271 to get me up to US-20. I spent a lot of time on on that route cutting across the three states I rode in. It's nice because is close to Lake Erie. I even spent some time on the Lake Erie loop which was just magnificent; however, I paid for my lollygagging later because I ended up spending almost 2 hours riding in the dark.

McDonalds win: While taking a break around 3:00 this afternoon another dude pulled into the lot riding a 2008 BMW GSA. It was one of the most farkled out GSA's I've seen. We had a great conversation about bike trips and motorcycles in general. It was one of the nicest spur of the moment conversations I've had with a total stranger in ages.

McDonalds fail: I was very disappointed, and even Mr. Positive attitude may have overreacted a bit (I guess 10 hours on the bike at that point will do that to you). Here is my version of the patented "Chicken McNugget Freakout": I was tired and cranky and pulled into a McDonalds at about 9:30. I wanted an unsweetened iced tea "We're out of tea and aren't making any more today." is what the rude little clerk said to me with a sneer. I was like "Ok, give me a Coke then." I then went to order a McChicken sandwich to go with it. "We don't have the McChicken sandwich we only have the Spicy McChicken. You can have a McDouble." Me: "I don't WANT a spicy McChicken, I want a regular McChicken! And I don't really want the Coke, I want an unsweetened iced tea! This is McDonalds, your menu is the same EVERYWHERE. You are open 24 hours a day, why on Earth don't you have any iced tea?!?!" She's all "We aren't making any more today." Me: "Fine! I'll have a McDouble and the Coke then." It was not one of my finer moments.

Anyway, I finally made it to the Rainbow Bridge to Canada and broke in my passport for the first time. I got across the bridge and started looking for the first reasonably priced hotel I could find. Voila! The Days Inn on Center St. at the top of Clifton Hill did the job. I got settled in and then went for a walk to the falls. It's beautiful at night. Lot's of folks were all hockey crazy over the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup victory. Clifton Hill is crazy, it's like a little mini Las Vegas strip. It's WAY more interesting than the American side of the falls.