Provencetown, Driving in NEW ENGLAND, and Niagra Falls, the US side

Last week was a lot of fun, I arrived in Provincetown on Wednesday after finding this delightful little campground in the Pocono's another Passport America Site. (I am learning that those are hit or miss, but when on a tight budget it really is delightful when you don't have to spend a fortune on sites.). I stayed at that site both coming and going from Provincetown and it really was nice since both times I was able to do some cleaning and organizing in the van which I am learning has to be done on a very regular interval!!!

Provencetown was an experience. One of the nicest places you could visit.  Of course almost everyone was local as it was still way early in the season, and was a bit cold. While not everything was open I found plenty to do and shop, well window shop! I have no place for stuff. It was fun hanging out in the evenings, on Wednesday I got to experience Drag Bingo for the first time and Thursday a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity in a bar, it was a hoot!!! On Friday, I splurged for a professional drag show called Illusions. It was a great selection of song, the right amount of camp, and performers who really seemed to have fun. It may have been one of the best I've been too.   

Joy found her beach and never wanted to go, that is until we lost the ball. She was devastated!! but that is OK, we both did so much walking we were limping by the time we left.

I am glad I made the way out to Provencetown, While it is totally out of the way from anything else I am doing on this journey there was something renewing about being in a context that is so removed from my reality. I think it could be best summed up by this: In living in San Jose I am always thinking about theft having had my car broken into among other things, then driving through the south were old men carry guns like women carry purses and signs of keep out and barbed fences all over. Up to that point, one conclusion I started to make was that we must be in some dystopian reality where nothing was safe. So on my first night while biking back to Commerce Street the main area, I asked a local where to lock up my bike, he laughed and said "just put it anywhere except in front of a door."

I asked back, "but where do I lock it up"

He cracked up saying  "its not the summer don't worry about it."

The ease and comfort of a statement like that helped remind me of the goodness that can be found beyond the fears that often drive us. Granted, I still worried about my bike but as I eased more into the culture of that area, the more things opened for me and the experience really became something I wished I could have had more of, unfortunately, plans had already been made, which was probably a good thing since I overshot my daily budget by a lot while there.

After driving through the Pocono's again I mad my way to the Niagara Falls area and the lovely little campground behind the Cinderella Motel. Yes, for those more geographically astute then I, the Pocono's are not on the way from Cape Cod, but that is what I did and I am glad because my drive the last part of Saturday though the national park on all day Sunday might have been one of the most beautiful I have been on with all of the spring buds on the trees and very little traffic!

Today, I made it to the falls. I am very glad that I did. Joy stayed back a the campsite and I took off on the bike. I am so glad I brought that! It was about a 9 mile bike ride but on the bike I got to go places cars couldn't like getting right next to the river. That was amazing because the river was so smooth and clear unless you know you would never guess was ahead. But there was that point when things changed and the rapids grew and then there were the falls. I kept getting turned around and Siri was no help so I just followed the crowd. That is not always a good Idea, but this time and after $28 I ended up on the Maid of the Mist boat to go right into the middle of the horseshoe falls. 

I was in utter amazement and the power and force, yet the peace and tranquility of the waterfall. It was an odd mix, but made sense as I watch the birds play and listen to the people laughing. Nature at its best, being in the moment without worry about what was or what was to come. There was God!

As for the Rest of Niagara, It is obvious that the Canada side is where it is at, there were twice as many people over there and there really was not anything open on the American side. Though I have never seen so many Indian Restaurants in my life which would have been great, but being in the buffalo area I felt like I needed to get wings, which I did and they were decent.

Tomorrow, hopefully I will head over to Canada, I don't think I have anything that will exclude me from entering but you never know.  If I do get in, I have a couple great sites lined up at breweries and one campground for their opening weekend. If I don't maybe Vermont?