Bicycling New England, the
Erie Canal, & around Lake Ontario 2005
Buffalo, NY

July 14, 2005
Rest Day

Today we spent going to museums and getting bicycle boxes so we could ship our bicycle back home after we finish going around Lake Ontario. First we went to the Buffalo museum of fine arts where they were in the process of putting together a display of very modern art. The good news the price was free for today. We saw everything from two pieces of steel one balanced on the other in a corner and leaning on both corner walls to jigsaw puzzles glued to plywood with each piece painted a specific color to make a pattern. Some of the paintings were laid out on the floor and some were just a series of painted lines on a large square piece of wood. Jim is not much for modern art, but we all had a better appreciation after our tour.

We left the art museum and drove a short distance and visited the Buffalo historical museum. Jim enjoyed this place immensely. They had displays on products that had been made in Buffalo in the past as well as the present. One display was how the Erie Canal had influenced the growth of the Buffalo area. Another display showed some of the architectural work done on buildings in the area. At one time Buffalo was a major steel producing center as well as a major clothing producer, both of which are no longer prevalent in the area.

After leaving the museums we went to the Amtrak station where we bought a bicycle box for shipping the bicycle back home. We also stopped at a bicycle shop and bought chain lubricant and obtained another bicycle box to use as padding during shipment. We then went back to Bruce's house and rested. Amber came home from work. After she arrived, Bruce and Jim went to the airport where we rented a car for our trip to Tipp City tomorrow. Bruce then went to pick up his dog from the doggie sitter. We planned to go to an outdoor theater to watch a play but shortly after Bruce and Dexter (his dog) arrived back home the rain gods visited Buffalo. For the next couple of hours it rained so hard that at times it was difficult to see more than a few hundred feet. We decided to not go to the outdoor theater but stayed home and ate a great supper prepared by Amber and visited.