The Windmill Posts

Yes, another long day. Driving was monotonous except for the instant blizzard in which visibility was down to a couple hundred feet. Wasn’t perfectly vibing off the music of the day.

Started the day off with an extremely empty gas tank. Filled it up with the only non locking gas nozzle on the trip. I would encounter another one later in the day when I filled the tank as full as possible. More in a bit. I also stopped at the Largest WalMart On The Planet. No idea why it’s in Latham New York, but it is! It was essentially a regular Walmart but with more space between the aisles. And a second floor. I suppose I wasn’t expecting much but I was still disappointed.

After a couple of hours driving I stopped to see the Irish Stoplight. Many Irish helped build the Erie canal, and when it was done, a good few of them settled in Syracuse New York. There was a squabble about the green light on a stoplight being the bottom, and lesser somehow than the British, so they fought for a reversed order to the colors on this particular light. Eventually it settled down and we now have a light that’s reversed.

Was going to go to Niagara Falls and I heard the view was better from the Canadian side. After going through the border and talking to a delightful border guard (accent and all) I followed the signs. I was stressing a bit because I had a deadline I was trying to make so I could do my therapy call from the hotel. The drive was taking much longer to get to the falls, and when I got to the area parking was confusing and hard to find. I ended up going in the opposite direction so I just pulled over, took a few pictures, and went on my way. I’m sure it’s amazing, and I’m sure I would be impressed if I had more time and got closer.

As it turned out, my deadline was early by half an hour. But I made it to the hotel with a bit of time to spare. Luckily I had the extra time to be able to get gas, as I had been neglecting that for many, many miles. So much so in fact that I got down to 6 miles worth remaining. And then it was suddenly 2. But when I got off the highway it was back to 4. By the time I located the closest gas station it was down to 1. And as I pulled in, the car gave up telling me and just showed “–” – I put exactly 40 liters in, and I have a feeling that’s the exact size of my tank. So much for my early trip rule about “half means empty” in order to always have half a tank at the ready.

Tomorrow it’s straight through to my sister’s house where I’ll take a zero day. And then it’s the short long drive home.

Deets

• License Plates: collection complete
• States: NY, Ontario
• Countries seen so far: US, MX, CA
• Departed: 7:56 am EST, 32 degrees
• Original ETA 1:40 pm EST
• Arrival: 4:30 pm EST
• Warmest/Coldest: Death Valley 90°, Hamilton ON 12°
• Weather: Bright and Cold, then low visibility blizzard, then Partly sunny and cold
• Music:
  • Moxy Fruvous – Bargainville
  • Moby – Moby
  • M.I.A. – Kala
  • Muppets – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (new movie)
  • Walk off the Earth – Sing it all away
  • Mix

Observations

• Fleeing the country was easier than I thought
• Canadian interstates are just like US interstates, but I can go 110 instead of 65. Also, drivers are more polite.

Pictures