Three weddings down, one to go. Jeff and Ann’s wedding events were in downtown Madison where a highlight was the convention center at the lakefront.  The dinner the night before, the wedding, and the reception were a delightful blur of greetings, watching the couple, and sporadic conversations in the crowd.  We enjoyed recovering on Sunday before starting East on Monday.

We are now stopped in Niagara County at the shore of Lake Ontario.  We arrived here from near Leamington, Ontario where Heinz makes ketchup and where a sand-covered spit reaches south into Lake Erie.  The Point Pelee, or, to use the French, Pont Pelee, extends several miles from the adjacent shoreline and acts as a bird migrant trap.  It is famous among birders.  In this season every produce stand is open and peddling peaches, tomatoes, sweet corn, and cabbage even though the weather has been relatively dry and the fields are thirsty.  What a contrast to Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, where cool wet weather has maintained green pastures and road banks.  New York too seems much wetter.  

We enjoyed our stay in Canada and scored in avoiding the purchase of fuel or beer while in that high tax country.  We were a bit early to find migrating fowl, but still enjoyed seeing many orioles, blackbirds, and yellow warblers – “Pelee lemons”  to quote a resident - on the peninsula.  We also enjoyed watching a grand wind farm in the fields near the lake.  We have often said that Canada is a lovely place to visit.  We just don’t know how anyone can afford to live there.

We ate all our fresh produce and finished the beer before crossing the border into New York at Lewiston north of Niagara Falls.  The border wait is always a nuisance now, and the agent walked into our rig checking out the bathroom, for terrorists I suppose.  He then relaxed and asked about our rig before waving us in.  We restocked with groceries and beer before arriving here. 

We find this park with its lighthouse picaresque.  It almost filled over the weekend.  The muggy and stormy weather probably discouraged campers.  On Saturday we drove south to Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.  This preserve has pleasing vistas of wet prairies and ponds, but the ducks have not yet arrived and the birds were quiet.  With little shorebird habitat, the birding was dull and hot.  Mosquitoes and biting flies were a nuisance.  So, after lunch we drove into Medina, pronounced Med-eye-na, to visit the library for Internet access and see the Erie Canal.  Turns out the town was celebrating its heritage and we joined an architectural tour.  Seems that besides being an Erie Canal town, Medina is noted for its sandstone, some of which now resides as part of the New York State Capital and Brooklyn Bridge structures.  Of course it forms much of the classic architecture of Medina itself, and we were lectured to and showed its charm.  The residents of the community also charmed us with conversation during the walking tour.

Yesterday, we returned briefly to Canada to enjoy a walk along the Niagara River opposite its famous falls.  The morning there was especially steamy, and the Horseshoe Falls formed a grand billowing cloud that obscured the center of the falls but refreshed us where its fingers reached the lookouts.  Opposite the American Falls, the local atmosphere resembled that of a sauna.  Still, we enjoyed the views very much.  Having left our sandwiches in the car and having a last seven Canadian dollars (“loonies” and assorted change) burning a hole in our pocket, we walked into the extraordinarily tacky tourist district and bought a couple of bagels.  Then, seeing the sky turn from pasty white to battleship gray, we began our return to the car.  A few not unwelcome drops cooled us as we reached the visitor center at the car park. 

We refreshed there and I looked for a child to bless with our remaining change, but finding none deposited 60c Canadian on a post in the parking lot.  Someone will find it and consider himself lucky.  Returning to the border we had to drive around fallen limbs and a tree where the storm had been worse.  The wait at the border was some forty minutes.  Sad that security has made crossing for a few hours hardly worth the trouble.  We visited a few of the local Niagara wineries before returning to camp.

A severe storm here forced us out to lower our awning.  Rain fell on and off all night.  This morning was steamy.  On this day off we drove into the tiny town of Lyndonville where we laundered clothes and visited library.  This afternoon we are in camp.  Anne is reviewing medicine.  Another shower at Noon has kept the humidity near 100%.  We run the fan and may resort to air-conditioning later.  We will certainly cook outside.  The campground is nearly deserted.  A small assortment of songbirds are feeding in the willows, distracting me from making these notes.