From Louisville to Niagara Falls

After almost nine days, we are saying goodbye to our friends in Louisville today. We still have just under three days ahead of us before we fly back to Germany. So we have to make it back to New York in that time.

However, we are not taking the direct route to New York, but are making a “small” detour via Niagara Falls. This means we now have 550 mi (885 km) to cover before we reach Niagara Falls. We will be passing through four states (Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York).

We set off around noon. The first leg takes us via Cincinnati and Columbus to Cleveland. We spend the night here so that we can visit the great waterfalls the next day and drive on to New Jersey. This turns out to be very optimistic.

We spend the night in a motel somewhere between Cleveland and Erie.

The next morning, we grab some coffee and a light breakfast and enjoy it in Presque Isle State Park. The park is a beautiful piece of nature right outside the city of Erie.

We continue on to Buffalo (approx. 150 km) and thus into the state of New York. The city hall, built in Art Deco style and home to one of the oldest elevators still in operation, is particularly worth seeing. This elevator takes you to the publicly accessible viewing platform on the 25th floor.

As announced yesterday, we are naturally spending too much time everywhere and therefore do not arrive at Niagara Falls until noon. Incidentally, we intend to travel to New Jersey today, which is another 600 km. However, let us focus on the magnificent waterfalls for now.

There are plenty of parking spaces, and I think we paid $5 for the day. The weather is really getting to us; it's almost 30 degrees, but gray and very humid. So after a few minutes, your whole body feels sticky. So we walk through Niagara Falls State Park and let the mighty, cascading masses of water wash over us. However, although you are right next to the falls on the American side, you get a better overall view from the Canadian side. So we decide to make a quick detour to Canada at around 3 p.m. The parking situation on the Canadian side means that it is only a short trip. Fifteen minutes for $5, if you can find a parking space. Anyway, it's time to take a quick look, snap a few photos, and head back.

And now we only have the announced 370 miles (600 km) to New Jersey left to go. And as if that weren't enough, the hotel is shabbier than I could have imagined. But since it's almost midnight now, we'll just try to get some sleep and not spoil our last day.