Day 21: Rest Day, Buffalo, Pt. 2
Welcome
Yesterday we enjoyed another restful day in Buffalo, NY.
I took my breakfast al fresco on the balcony of our Airbnb after waking up from a delightful sleep in a real bed. It was another fine day on the eastern tip of Lake Erie and the sun warmed my back as the wind cooled my front; it was a perfect equilibrium of natural body temperature regulation. For the second day in a row I dined on an “all dressed” bagel from St Viateurs, toasted and smeared with cream cheese and topped with cucumber, salt and pepper, and chili flakes. One could read into this situation and perhaps imagine a scenario where I enjoyed my bagel so much the day before that I had to reconstruct an identical meal. But the reality is that I am but an impartial observer of breakfasts and any other presumptions are best left to the reader and their imagination.
When there were still thirty minutes remaining in the hour of eleven, I left the house on foot to explore the area in which we resided, Buffalo’s westside. Within minutes I had the parapets and turrets of a castle in my sights and shortly after that I was standing in front of the barbican of this imposing structure, the home to the 74th Regiment of the New York National Guard. The Connecticut Street Armoury was built in 1899 and although it may not be an authentic medieval fortress the sandstone walls are real enough. One thing is for certain – with the well-defended keep to fall back to the city of Buffalo can sleep easy knowing that they don’t have to worry about being burned at the hands of the British Redcoats.
I continued north along Niagara Avenue and soon arrived at the mouth of the Niagara River, where the waters of Lake Erie converge into a fast-flowing waterway and head north, over the Niagara Falls and eventually emptying into Lake Ontario. Not only was I greeted by this incredible natural performance of water, but I found myself next to a pair of fine structures of comparable beauty and excellence. The first was the Peace Bridge, the 97-year-old structure that is the vehicular link between Canada and the United States. Five arched spans and a deck-type truss span carry three reversible lanes of vehicle traffic 1,770 metres over the deadly waters of the Niagara, with four thousand trucks a day changing hands between the two countries.
Carrying two bicycle lanes and one walking lane across a major interstate, a railway line, and a sliver of water, is the Shoreline Trail Bridge, a 56m steel truss bridge that is only seven years old but has vastly improved access to the lakeshores. It leads directly to a scenic overlook with seating and panoramic views, a piece of infrastructure which I thoroughly put through its paces.
From here my walk took me east through handsome suburban streets, zig zagging roughly in the direction of the St Vincent DePaul store where I was hoping to score some reusable serving-ware for the bus. I hadn’t counted on it being Labour Day and the St Vinnies was closed, but on the journey there I saw tens of beautiful gardens and not a small amount of striking architecture.
One of the challenges I faced throughout the day was crossing roads. Many of the signalled crossings (I’m not sure if they are called crosswalks or traffic light crossings or something else) were out of action, or at least didn’t allow me to cross the road in what I would call a reasonable amount of time. There are instructions at these crossings, and they are very complicated, so I spent time memorising them and kept a picture of the instructions on my phone in case I needed a reference part way through the crossing.
The flip side of this is the attitude drivers have to pedestrians in this city, which is that if they get even a whiff, even a tiny sense in the reptilian part of their brain, perhaps a tingle on the back of the neck that leads them to think you might want to cross a road they will gently and immediately come to a halt and politely gesture for you to begin your passage across the street. It doesn’t matter how many vehicles that get held up or how much it interferes with the flow of traffic, the drivers always make you feel welcome on their tarseal territory.
Everyone ended up having a relaxing afternoon yesterday. Jon and Liz hung out at the accommodation and Tristan and Gabe went to see a movie about aliens. We reconvened in the evening around the dining table where we experienced the rare tour treat of a home cooked meal, an experience that was elevated by the challenge of using Airbnb cookware. Improvised solutions for graters and strainers and ramekins were found by the two chefs and they put together a delicious spread which we enjoyed on real China plates (amazon brand) and with real metal cutlery. We were all knackered from such a relaxing day and we retired to bed for the earliest bedtime we had known in weeks.
