We received approximately 3 feet of snow on the High Peaks between the 25th and 27th and, sure enough, Whiteface was covered with snow on her peak the morning I left, living up to her name. I got up early on the 27th and was pulling out of my driveway by 6:30am. It was cold, about 38F degrees, but I was determined to head out.
I planned to take route 3 west through the park and pick up Rte. 104 west just below Pulaski. I rode 104 along Lake Ontario and picked up Rte. 78 South just east of Niagara Falls. I picked up Rte. 5 west just north of Buffalo. There was some road construction in Buffalo, so I got a little turned around, but eventually found my way. I stopped for a brief break at a beautiful marina in Buffalo. The break was nice, especially after being lost. However, it was getting late, now about 6:30pm. I got back on the road and picked up Rte. 20 west on the other side of Buffalo. I began to realize I was not going to make it to Cleveland that night. Just west of Erie PA, I threw in the towel. It was now 9:30pm and I'd been on the road for 15+ hours! With the help of my sister, I found a Super 8 in Erie to bed down for the night. What the heck, it was starting to rain and the room was only $69.00! At this point, it was Heaven!!
I woke up the next morning, got my free continental breakfast, not bad, and started thinking about my final leg into Cleveland. It had rained pretty hard over night and I had to wait a bit. At about 10am, the rain lightened up and I decided to head out. I figured I'd hit Cleveland at about 1pm. I continued down Rte. 20, now riding along Lake Erie. I found Rte. 534 South in Geneva, OH. Nice road through some Amish country. Thankfully, the weather was much better. Hot, humid, but partly sunny. I took 534 to Rte. 322 East, aka Mayfield Road. Nana and Pop's old road. Pretty cool. However, the road was not fun. There was a lot of construction, a road closure and a major detour; which, as we know from Buffalo, I am not good with. I finally made it to Little Italy in Cleveland at 2;30pm. I came over a hill and there was Maria waving me down. I wasn't sure how we were going to find each other, but it was as if we planned it. There she was. I pulled over, we greeted each other briefly and off we went to her house. Let me tell you, by this time all I wanted to do was get off that bike, but it was another 1/2 hour to her house. I wanted to take the fastest route possible, so that included some pretty heavily traveled interstates and 65 - 70 mph. Honestly, I didn't care. I just wanted to get there!!!
So, there I was, at Maria's in Broadview Heights, OH after 600+ miles and about 21.5 hours behind the bars. I had a great time at Maria's. It was great to see her and Phil and Vincent and Lizzie. It had been a long time. That night, my Aunt Gail, Beth, her GF and Aunt Norma and Uncle Joe came over to Maria's for a "Ghetto Bon Fire". Ghetto, because the fire was in an old metal garbage can in the driveway. Ah, I didn't care. I was with family I hadn't seen in years, good food and beer.
We had a great time that week. I reconnected with Maria and was able to spend a lot of time with her. It was like we were teenagers again! We went to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame one day. Another day the whole family went to Put in Bay - awesome! and another day we all went to Amish Country. It was Sunday, so not much was open, but we made the best of it and saw some nice sites. The next day, Monday, Maria and I went to Rock Creek and saw Nana and Pop's old house. It was sad, because It looked nothing like when they lived there, but time goes on, right. We went down to the lake where 10 years ago I put Nan's ashes, per her wishes, with Mom and my cousin Rob. Pop is also there. We sat for a while and reminisced about when we used to come there as kids. Where we were used to be a boat launch and beach, but was now covered in grass. We left soon after and found ourselves in the west side Amish Country and I had a great, traditional Amish lunch and Mary Yoder's Amish Kitchen. Just awesome. At one point, we also drove by Nona and Papa's house in Parma. It looked somewhat the same. Maybe not as well taken care of as when they had it, but certainly recognizable. So many great memories in that house. Too many to go into here. What I was finding most pleasurable was spending time with my sister. We had a great time all week. I slept on her couch all week with her dog, Duke at my feet. Made me miss my dogs.
Their house is in the process of being renovated,but is coming along. She has nearly 2 acres. A mixture of woods and yard. Very nice. I would sit out in the morning and watch the Deer. That is until their crazy little dog LuLu would start chasing them. Imagine that, a little 8 - 10 pound dog chasing huge deer! But you know what? The Deer ran from her. Funny stuff.
I was leaving on Tuesday, June 4th. On Sunday we went to Aunt Norma and Uncle Joe's for dinner. I love their house! It sits on a cliff over Lake Erie and has stunning views of the lake and Cleveland. We had a great dinner of Sausage and pepper subs. Aunt Norma really out did herself! Uncle Joe is doing well. I was happy to see that. I took some unbelievable pictures of the sunset over Lake Eire. Amazing! The next night we went to Aunt Gail's in Parma for another great dinner. Beth and her GF were there, finally, Cousin Elena, and Aunt Norma. Uncle Joe had a prior commitment. We had a great time. I love my cousins like sisters. They are twins and we are about the same age. I think I'm a tad older, but not much. I hated to leave. We were having such a good time, but I had a road trip to start the next morning and we had to head at about 9pm.
All in all, a great week with Maria and everyone. I saw some family members, both on the La Selva side and Lovell side I had not seen in years. Most of all, I think I am proudest of Lizzie and Vincent. They have become such great young adults. Lizzie is smart and funny and Vincent is doing well in school and playing football. I am a PROUD uncle! The only missing component was Niece E.L.E.N.A. She and her fiance Brandon moved to Virginia a while ago. Brandon was transferred with his job. I am happy to report that they are dong very well. Elena is expecting, so I am going to be a great uncle soon. Imagine that! I love Elena so much. I may not have told her enough, i don't know, but I hope she knows that. I am SOOO proud of her for the woman she has become. She continues to dabble in the music business, but most of all, I think she's looking forward to being a mom. I believe she'll be a great one!
This is the end of Part one. Part two will consist of the trip home. I left for home on Tuesday, June 4th at 6:30am. The story of that adventure is coming in the next few day...
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