Day 30--Lockport to Spencerport, NY

Tuesday May 15, 2012

My apologies for not announcing the following donations and Memory Miles donations. I did not receive news of these donations until today.

• Lisa Smith, Memory Miles for Vivian Little; Lisa is the JKH Director
• Roger & Marla Stevens, Roger cares for the JKH computer system and his wife, Marla, is my hairdresser of 25 years
• Ilda & Doug Hershey, in honor of Susan S. Walker's "From Heartland to Harbor" bicycle ride; Doug & Ilda are longtime members of my bicycle club, the Stillwater Red Dirt Pedalers
• Ellen King in memory of the wonderful Bloomers and Schuylers who came before us; Ellen is one of my Scotia, NY, cousins, now transplanted in RI; maybe we'll get together at ride's end
• Lois Schuyler in memory of Margret Bloomer and Lucy Schuyler; Lois is my sister-in-law whom I will definitely see at ride's end as her house is my destination
• Jay Smith, in memory of Dan Smith

THANK YOU all for your generosity! Your donations put us a blink away from $14,000!

Daughter Jessica joined me today. Yahoo! The plan was for Hansi and Rob to shuttle me to Lockport so that I could avoid the metro areas of Buffalo and Niagara. Both drove because their cars are small and we needed to get one bike and one B.O.B. in each car. On the way to Lockport, we stopped at the Buffalo Airport Holiday Inn and collected Jess. She had gotten in at 2 a.m. that morning and told me later that she assembled her bike and got things together just 10 minutes before we arrived at 10 a.m.

In Lockport, we said good by to Hansi and Rob and took some parting pix in the parking lot. Unfortunately I forgot to set the camera correctly before giving it to a willing stranger who volunteered to take our pix. All the pix turned out blue. But, I cleaned them up the best I could, and one is below. Thank you my Canadian cuzzes for a wonderful rest day in St Catharines and for the shuttle service from Buffalo and to Lockport . . . to say nothing of the run to the bike shop, the food, the drink, the manicure, the shopping, and fun!

Parting shot of Rob, Jessica, Susan, and Hansi. Thank you my cousins for a wonderful rest day!

We did not get more than 2.01 miles from our start before Jess got a rear flat. She repaired it quickly, however, and in no time we were back on the road. The route today was primarily 31A/31/NY-5 bicycle route. Very undemanding, wide shouldered road with few commercial areas.

Here's another one for you, Joel. I know it's not a muscle car, but it's pretty pretty nonetheless. The guy said he drove it  from California to its new home here in New York.

We stopped twice. The first time at some shaded picnic tables at a large plant. Here we ate the peanut butter sandwiches and bananas Hansi had provided. Husband Jeff called to say that he had finally managed to get a photo of one of the two barred owlets in a tree in our ravine (see below). We stopped again about 20 miles from Spencerport at a convenience store where we bought cold drinks and replenished our water.

We got to Aurora House hospice about 4:30 . . . to a grand reception! We were flagged down when we got opposite. Christine, a reporter, was there as well as Director Dianne Kandt, RN, and Karen Kuebler, RN, and Jeannie, Liz, Sue, and many other staff of this wonderful hospice. We were handed ice water when we pulled up, and then posed for photos, and then Christine interviewed me. I think her newspaper's name is Westside News.

Susan, Karen Kuebler, Director Dianne Kandt, and Jessica

After this we were shown our room (the whole downstairs) and taken on a tour of this sunny, open house. Over non-alcoholic pina coladas we got to meet all of these people and others who dropped in. After the excitement and introductions died down, we were left to ourselves. The house has a volunteer room, kitchen, pantries, laundry, living room (see below), two bright airy patient rooms that open to a flower-filled deck, and a large living area downstairs for family -- the area Jess and I will occupy tonight. At the moment there are no patients. I think one is expected at 11 tomorrow.

After everyone left, Jess and I sat down to dinner. We are in wine country, so Dianne had run out and returned with a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine to go with our dinner. Liz had put garlic-cheddar chicken in the oven. The refrigerator contained a delicious spinach, strawberry / blueberry, slivered almond salad, with poppyseed dressing; also a large bowl of sesame chicken pasta. We were left with a large plate of chocolate chip cookies. This meal and the solitude was a delicious way to end our busy day. Once again I felt like a princess. We were treated like royalty.

Tomorrow we will meet Dave, a gentleman who will bike the canal tow path with us and take us on a little side tour into Rochester. I have several connections with Rochester, NY. It was here at Brighton H.S. that I had my first teaching job in 1968 and 1969. I taught 10th and 11th grade English and was the school's Drama Director. We put on the musicals Brigadoon and Carnival, as well as Waiting for Godot, the melodrama Egad What a Cad, and took a children's play, Once Upon a Clothesline, on the road to area grade schools. Also, my brother, Phil, got his doctorate at the University of Rochester, and my sister-in-law worked as a nurse at Strong Memorial Hospital.

Tomorrow we travel to Newark and the Newark-Wayne Community Hospital where we'll spend the night. Now'tis bed . . . zzzzz.