Buffalo/Niagra Falls, New York October 16 – October 25, 2022
This was a jam packed stop with lots to do. Our campground was located on Grand Island which is in between Niagara Falls and Buffalo. Because we arrived late in the season, I worried that it may be cold, but we were lucky and had beautiful weather.
One of Steve’s requirements was to have buffalo wings in Buffalo, so of course we went to the location that is reputed to be the birthplace of the buffalo chicken wing.
We checked out a couple of breweries in the area. One was Thin Man Brewery, and of course we stopped in at Southern Tier Brewing Company. We enjoyed both.
One of our first stops was Old Fort Niagra. Yes – we have hit a ton of forts on this trip. The Fort was originally built by France to protect its interests in North America. The fort was captured by the British during the war of 1812, and was in use as a training station from the civil war until 1963. As a result, it is a very well preserved Fort.
On our travels, we always look for presidential museums and libraries and we were lucky enough to find two in the Buffalo area. The first was Theodore R. Roosevelt Inauguration National Historic Site. President Roosevelt was sworn in here at the home of Ansley Wilcox after the assassination of President McKinley. The museum was well organized and very informative.
The other presidential museum was the Millard Fillmore Museum. He served as president from 1850-1853. He began his presidency after the death of Zachary Taylor. Fillmore is considered one of the worst presidents mainly due to his stance on slavery. He certainly got the shaft when it came to museums. His museum consists of a 1500 square foot house with one volunteer who shows up by appointment only. Most of the contents are donated and some are not related to Fillmore at all. The volunteer was very protective of President Fillmore, and I thought she was going to come to blows with Steve when he made a comment that was not flattering to Fillmore.
The highlight of the stop was, of course, Niagara Falls. The weather was outstanding on the day we went with sunny skies and a high temperature of 70. We took the boat – Maid of the Mist to view the falls from the water. We also walked all over the park around the falls to see the Falls from different angles, The Falls were breathtaking and a must see.
We had an awesome time in the area and now we head to Cleveland and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
“Autumn Leaves” by Goo Goo Dolls. I chose this song, because we were here in the fall and the Goo Goo Dolls are from Buffalo, New York.