August 6 - August 11
Sunday - Day OneBarrie-Pittsburgh, Pa.This is a cloudy, rainy day. The wedding took place on a day that shone through a window in the humidity, clouds and rain. We all wake relatively early, and pack the car with all our bags - Mummy is spending the night at the Honeys', as Melissa and Adam are returning to North Bay today. We get to the Honeys' just after 9:15, unload the car - too enthusiastically, it turns out, because two small bags belonging to me get unloaded as well - and settle down to a very nice breakfast of french toast and bacon. I spend the morning chatting with Jane-Michele and Lieve, whom I really haven't had the chance to speak to yet, and then I drink coffee with two of the Honey family's closest friends, Margo, the designer who did the wedding, and Pauline, the pianist who played the prelude at the church. I am discovering that I like Tasha's family and friends very much. I also spend some time describing our cross-country trip to Adam and to Karen, one of Tasha's closest friends, who invites me to stay with her and Nathan, her husband, as they live in London. I promise to get her number from Tasha when we all get home. At eleven sharp Philip and I are on the road one more time. Our goal: Pittsburgh. On the way, though, we have planned to stop in Niagara Falls, Ont., so that Philip can see the falls, which he hasn't yet done. The drive to Toronto is fine; the road is not bad at all, and neither is Highway 401 when we first get onto it. However, that soon changes. As we merge onto the Queen Elizabeth Way, which is going to take us to the border, we pass two accidents - neither serious to the people in the vehicles, but not nice to the cars - one is a Mercedes which has slewed into the central barrier and has squashed its left fender, and the other is an unidentifiable American car which has caught on fire. These of course slow the traffic down somewhat. However, the radio reports slow movement on the QEW for a long way, and indeed, we crawl past Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, Grimsby (we say hello to Megan in our heads), and St Catharine's. The traffic becomes a jam as we get into Niagara. Even though it is a grey, rainy day, it seems that all the traffic that we have been stuck behind is going to the Falls! There is no parking near the Falls, and we really don't have the time to park and walk, so we drive along the Niagara Parkway, looking at the falls from the road. Even here it's impressive, and at least it's dry. Philip is satisfied with this view of the landmark, and we circle around and rejoin the highway. From there to the border, it is smooth sailing. We cross into the USA with no difficulty, and, waving goodbye to Canada, drive into Buffalo. By this time we are pretty hungry, as it has taken us four hours to get here, so we stop for a meal before starting out towards Pennsylvania. The ride is uneventful. The day is grey and it is sprying most of the way, and we are reminded of the day we left Canada the last time, although that rain was much heavier. As we near Pittsburgh, the traffic, which is all weekenders-returning-to-the-city traffic, grows heavier. We are geting tired by this time, and so we decide to stop in the suburban township of Cranberry (so small it isn't on our map) for the night. This is complicated somewhat by roadwork that makes the exit off the highway and the approach into town slow as molasses. Eventually we get where we want to go, and settle down for a good night's rest. |
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