River Cruising Water Cooler

[Coral]

4 hours ago, ural guy said:

Well, it's not a fancy Audi, but she'll do for me.  Traded in the 2012  Ural for a 2021.  The dealer is in Ohio, so picked it up Friday morning, am putting miles on it (500 so far) with a return to dealer Monday for first service then return to Upstate NY.

 

I had no idea what Ural was. Now I do! Congrats!

[Daisi]

Nice ride.  We have been to Talcott Falls, very pretty sight, and @jpalbny, Sackett's Harbor is well worth the visit.  We used to go to Watertown quite often for weekend getaways, loved touring around the area..and of course taking the tours of Singer's and Bolt's Castles.   

[capriccio]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

I grew up just south of you in Cortland County. Tough part of the state - it is gorgeous in Spring/Summer/Fall but those winters are brutal.

 

Both our kids went to school in upstate New York (Ithaca and Syracuse).  We had been living in Belgium and Greece while our daughter was in middle and high school and she had just about zero experience with snow.  When we went on the tour of the Ithaca College campus with our daughter they said that the average snowfall was 64 inches a year.  She looked at me panicked and said, "but I'm only 64 inches tall!"  Our son, who went to high school in Virginia, was quite proud when Syracuse University won the Golden Snowball Award (a competition at that time between Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse) freshman year with over 120 inches of snow.  Both kids had their fill of winter and settled in northern Virginia after graduation.

[Host Jazzbeau]

How much snow do you get in the Shenandoah Valley?  We drive through there on our way back from the Snowbird Escape, but usually drive down I-95 for safer weather in January.

[capriccio]

 

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

How much snow do you get in the Shenandoah Valley?  We drive through there on our way back from the Snowbird Escape, but usually drive down I-95 for safer weather in January.

 

It averages about 2 feet a year but can vary greatly depending on location and elevation.  We were there until early January this year and got a 7 inch snowfall before Christmas.   It was the first snow DH and I had experienced since moving to Florida in January 2013. That was enough!  We much prefer to see pictures of the granddaughters experiencing snow in northern Virginia now.

[ural guy]

Thanks folks, the world is so small!

 

JP-  If you had stopped in Sackett's, you could have toured Madison Barracks.  It an old Army base, US Grant was stationed there at one time.  The Navy had a big shipyard also, and it played a role in stopping a British attack during the 1812 war.  Here is Molly from the same photo shoot, in front of one of the old buildings.

 

 

The housing has been converted to townhouses.  The local High School use to hold a haunted house in the old hospital, which was abandoned for years.  Super creepy, and due to liability, they can't hold it there anymore.  Our German exchange student could not understand what was going on and bailed, not sure if they have them in Germany?

 

Cortland is very pretty, I love the rolling hills.  To the east of you, those valley roads, 8, 12, 26 are great riding.  To the west, the finger lakes.  Not a bad place to be from!  There's also some college nearby, Cornell, maybe you've heard of it?  (Stupid 'The Office' reference.)

 

Daisi-  we reciprocate, Kingston is a favorite spot for us to 'pop over' for an afternoon.  It's actually a bit embarrassing how nice Kingston is compared to some upstate towns.  Caught an old time movie being filmed in front of all the limestone buildings once.  They covered the asphalt with dirt, brought in hitching posts for horses.  Fort Henry and the prison museum both are worth a stop.

 

Neat thing to do, is take the ferry from Kingston to Wolfe Island, it's free.  Then you can take a second ferry from the island to Cape Vincent NY.  That ferry you pay for, maybe 10-12 cars can fit, but they still have the Customs checkpoint.  That's gotta be cush duty, compared to the main crossing where you go from the 401 to I-81 in states.

Fun fact, NYS flies the Canadian flag alongside the US one at the Watertown and A-bay state rest areas off I-81.  I think that's pretty cool, my family has always thought we have more in common with southern Ontario than NYC.

 

Cappricio-  And Binghamton won the Golden Snowball this year, which is pretty rare.  A lot of noreasters came that far inland but don't make it to Syracuse or Buffalo.  We really didn't have a lot of snow either (comparatively).  Youngest daughter just graduated from SUNY Binghamton, and I went to ESF (environmental/forestry), which is co-located with SU, even took some classes with SU.

 

Almost 800 miles down, another 70 to the shop for that first service.

 

 

[jpalbny]

1 hour ago, ural guy said:

Cortland is very pretty, I love the rolling hills.  To the east of you, those valley roads, 8, 12, 26 are great riding.  To the west, the finger lakes.  Not a bad place to be from!  There's also some college nearby, Cornell, maybe you've heard of it?  (Stupid 'The Office' reference.)

 

...and I went to ESF (environmental/forestry), which is co-located with SU, even took some classes with SU.

 

My younger brother went to ESF, probably around 1998-2001. Then he went on to Cornell for a PhD in Environmental Engineering or something else I can't understand... So yes I know both of those colleges!

 

I used to drive on 26 on my way back and forth to college. I know 8/12 but didn't drive there as much. I used to tear around in a Saab Sonnett in those days. Not much bigger than your Ural. It really is beautiful country. But those winters... My Dad couldn't take it and moved to Virginia.

 

Now I hardly go there because nobody from the family lives there anymore. My youngest brother works for Cornell (high up in their IT dept) so we do go to Ithaca from time to time and see him. In fact we just made plans to meet up next weekend. We decided (last-minute) to explore some of NW Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh so we'll drive out the southern route through PA, stay in Pittsburgh, then come home via southern and western NY, making a stop in Ithaca.

 

No time for the Finger Lakes but we go there a lot. It's nice to visit when you can choose the season!

[ural guy]

JP:  Heading up north on RT 26 to school...was it up in Potsdam?  Wife went to Clarkson.

 

I started college late due to Army, so graduated in 1999.  Didn't know many students as I already had 3 kids and was a commuter.  ESF really is a very good school.

 

College/Army disconnect:  A youngster was talking about Panama City.  I asked him a question about why he would go there, and how they were recovering, I had been there a year after the invasion.  Turns out, Florida has a Panama City as well.  Another time, they were talking about Ranger school...but the one up in Wanakena, Adirondacs.  And that one doesn't have a mountain phase, or call for fire training, or....

 

I really was impressed by the younger students intelligence and passion for the environment, gotta say that.  At the time, lumber competitions were the only school sport!    

 

Capriccio-  Where in Northern VA?  I grew up in Falls Church, suburbia, where the police drove Volvos (only dealership in city limits, and it matched their yuppiness).  Spouse from the Salt City itself, the rust belt  city known as Syracuse.

 

[capriccio]

2 hours ago, ural guy said:

Capriccio-  Where in Northern VA?  I grew up in Falls Church, suburbia, where the police drove Volvos (only dealership in city limits, and it matched their yuppiness).  Spouse from the Salt City itself, the rust belt  city known as Syracuse.

 

DH and I went to Georgetown and settled in Arlington decades ago.  We then spent most of the 80s and 90s living in Europe and returned to Arlington in 2000.  Our son now lives about 1 mile from where we lived when he was in high school and our daughter lives in Annandale. 

 

I laughed at the story about the Falls Church city police cars because we just told that to a friend last week!  Don Beyer, Jr. (as in Don Beyer Volvo) has been the member of Congress from Falls Church, Arlington and Alexandria since 2015.

 

My DH has a brother-in-law from Syracuse and after attending Albany State, Johns Hopkins (for medical school and residency), and University of Michigan (fellowship) they settled in suburban Rochester.  A few years ago they bought a house on Lake Keuka.  We've always thought it was beautiful country since our first visit to Ithaca ("Ithaca is gorges') in 1999 but we do avoid visiting in the winters!

[Daisi]

@ural guy, yes, we usually went through Cape Vincent on the way home from our weekends.  Kingston is very close to us, we are often down for an afternoon drive, touring around the lakes north and also the River.  We have a fair amount of family there, so know it well.   Of course, we always have to stop into the cheese factories for curds & ice cream! 

 

Who knows, maybe some day you will see a car going by wildly waving if we spot your bike...and if it's a stranger...well, maybe we will have made their day! 🙂

 

[sharkster77]

We enjoy watching Murdoch Mysteries here in the states, which for those unfamiliar, is a Canadian Victorian-era police show set in Toronto.  It has a lot of quirkiness that we like.  When they filmed at the Kingston Jail we were inspired to look up Kingston ON and it appears to be a lovely place ( based on youtube videos we watched).

 

There was one episode when a character left Toronto to attend a medical conference in London.  We were baffled when she traveked back to Toronto in just a day, then realized the conference was in London ONTARIO!!!  Quick visit to Google Maps confirmed that was possible, even in 1900.

Edited April 12, 2021 by sharkster77

[Ritabob]

Tripping down memory lane pre covid is a fun pastime,  especially when our memories can become fuzzy and we only remember the good times.

We used to live in eastern Ontario right on the St. Lawrence River . We could daytrip to Ottawa,  Montreal,  Eastern Townships,  or South to Lake Placid.

RB

[notamermaid]

In my varied landscape of rivers, hills, towns, railways, bridges, fields, cows, farms, industrial estates, forests in ever changing combinations, I cannot imagine the vastness of the US. I find that Harley Davidson must have been designed for the huge straight roads, in my area with endless hills and new traffic challenges round every corner they look out of place. Especially at weekends you see European and Asian make motorbikes on windy roads through the hills. I had never heard of Urals!

 

I prefer metal around me and four wheels so yesterday it was time for another trip into the countryside. It rained literally all day so the Rhine valley was too bleak to enjoy. We went into the hills Northeast of Koblenz, an area called Kannebäckerland, which means land of jug bakers. It is known for its clay deposits and therefore making earthenware. After more than twenty years I revisited Grenzau, a village administered by Höhr-Grenzhausen. This is the village centre and castle:

 

See that big flower pot on the right in grey and blue? This is typical for the area. Höhr-Grenzhausen has a museum and there is also an academy for working with clay nearby. It is a biggish industry. Connected is the glass-making industry and if you happen to see a glass imprinted with Rastal or Sahm, it comes from this area or one of the factories of those two companies that also supply standardized drinking glasses for the hospitality trade.

 

The half-timbered building in scaffolding is a restaurant. It has a little beer garden at the river which looks quite inviting. I hope to be able to go back there in Summer.

 

Something that is special about this castle ruin is the tower which is triangular, the only one in present-day Germany.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

 

[Canal archive]

I had an answer from Channel 5 about there content not being available abroad and evidently it’s all to do with their broadcasting licence, in other words they don’t spend the extra money to extend their licence. I will see if I can find the source of the programme and ask them if it’s available elsewhere. CA

its made by a company called C21media.

Edited April 12, 2021 by Canal archive

[dogs4fun]

35 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

I had an answer from Channel 5 about there content not being available abroad and evidently it’s all to do with their broadcasting licence, in other words they don’t spend the extra money to extend their licence. I will see if I can find the source of the programme and ask them if it’s available elsewhere. CA

its made by a company called C21media.

Thanks for your efforts @Canal archive. There is a workaround that I found on youtube.

There are two episodes currently on youtube with Bill Nighy as the narrator, the Niagara River & the Moselle - I don't know which aired first. Beautiful photography!

Here are the links:

Niagara: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EbG4Vf8nUs

and

Moselle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdSHFG1WZ84

 

[Canal archive]

Wow didn’t think of that one well done dogs4fun. I thought the Roman wine barge looked a bit of fun. CA

[Ritabob]

Dogs4fun, thank you for posting the links!  I live less than an hour's drive from the Niagara river  and have cruised the Moselle a number of times. Spending an hour or two watching these videos will help my mental state.

RB 

[ural guy]

Notamermaid-  People ask my wife if she is nervous in the sidecar, and she tells them she has more steel around her than if we were on a 2 wheel bike, so she's good.  A sidecar bike has such a weird profile, it doesn't register in peoples brains, so I think they actually 'see' it more.  2 wheel bikes, I have no idea why, but cars make left turns in front of them all the time.

 

Ritabob- several of my coworkers grew up in Ogdensburg and Morristown, both right on the river.  They tell of the olden times, when they could take the boat across the river, stock up on the higher % alcohol beer, and be back in 20 minutes.  It wasn't going to Canada to them, it was just visiting the next town.  Good old days.

 

Daisi-  I try to wave to everyone who initiates, especially kids whose jaws drop as they've never seen a 'hack rig' before.  Really nice how many thumbs up you get, folks hollering 'where's it from?', etc.

 

Just yesterday I was trundling along, came to a stop light, and smelled weed.  Ok, a few cars around me, couldn't ID where it was coming from.  A few stops later, it's only 1 of the vehicles left.  Same distinctive smell.  Guy rolls down his window, 'Who makes that thing?'.  I tell him, he says nice bike, I say nice weed, he grins, I laugh as I am now going in a different direction than him.  On a motorcycle, you are truly immersed in the natural world, smells and all!

 

Don Beyer, didn't know that, pretty cool.  They sponsored our youth football team.  Their cars were much better than my team.  Sigh.

[Daisi]

17 hours ago, dogs4fun said:

Thanks for your efforts @Canal archive. There is a workaround that I found on youtube.

There are two episodes currently on youtube with Bill Nighy as the narrator, the Niagara River & the Moselle - I don't know which aired first. Beautiful photography!

Here are the links:

Niagara: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EbG4Vf8nUs

and

Moselle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdSHFG1WZ84

 

Thanks @dogs4funand @Canal archive.  We watched this last night and really enjoyed it.  Now another river to think about... 🙂

[notamermaid]

10 hours ago, ural guy said:

Notamermaid-  People ask my wife if she is nervous in the sidecar, and she tells them she has more steel around her than if we were on a 2 wheel bike, so she's good. 

I have never seriously contemplated riding in the sidecar. Perhaps I should give it a try. I wonder if hiring is an option around where I live. In this small but nice museum they will probably know: http://www.motorrad-museum-montabaur.de/start.htm

They have a motorbike with sidecar in there.

 

notamermaid

 

[sharkster77]

Question for our Canadian brethren out there:

 

I've mentioned here a few times that we were to go on a Canadian Rockies tour Sept. 2020 that was rescheduled for Sept. 2021.  As we move through 2021 I am feeling less and less confident that the trip will take place this coming fall.  Canadians out there---is the border closure renewed every month like it was last year, or is it closed until further notice.  I would be shocked if Americans are allowed into Canada 5 months from now.  

 

This impacts future trip planning.  We'd like to visit Scotland fall of 2022 (Lord, please, put this pandemic in the past!!!), but having the Canadian Rockies trip moved again would gunk things up.

[gnome12]

7 minutes ago, sharkster77 said:

Question for our Canadian brethren out there:

 

I've mentioned here a few times that we were to go on a Canadian Rockies tour Sept. 2020 that was rescheduled for Sept. 2021.  As we move through 2021 I am feeling less and less confident that the trip will take place this coming fall.  Canadians out there---is the border closure renewed every month like it was last year, or is it closed until further notice.  I would be shocked if Americans are allowed into Canada 5 months from now.  

 

This impacts future trip planning.  We'd like to visit Scotland fall of 2022 (Lord, please, put this pandemic in the past!!!), but having the Canadian Rockies trip moved again would gunk things up.

The border closures continue to be extended month by month; currently to April 21 with no end in sight. Our infections have been rising in the third wave, and even domestic travel is strongly discouraged. Sorry.

 

You might want to take a look at this depressing article from the Buffalo News

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/canadas-latest-covid-19-wave-threatens-to-prolong-border-closure/article_36fdfaa2-9894-11eb-b49b-7b8a5c23f837.html

[sharkster77]

2 hours ago, gnome12 said:

The border closures continue to be extended month by month; currently to April 21 with no end in sight. Our infections have been rising in the third wave, and even domestic travel is strongly discouraged. Sorry.

 

You might want to take a look at this depressing article from the Buffalo News

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/canadas-latest-covid-19-wave-threatens-to-prolong-border-closure/article_36fdfaa2-9894-11eb-b49b-7b8a5c23f837.html

Thank you @gnome12, no need to be sorry.  We were frankly relieved when our trip was cancelled last September, and would rather not be forced to take a trip when we don't feel completely safe, lest we cancel and lose our money.  I guess we pray that at some point the world becomes flooded with vaccine and 2022 becomes "safe".  I cannot see opening borders just to save businesses on either side----human lives are worth more than any busines, IMO.

Edited April 13, 2021 by sharkster77

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

This impacts future trip planning.  We'd like to visit Scotland fall of 2022 (Lord, please, put this pandemic in the past!!!), but having the Canadian Rockies trip moved again would gunk things up.

Scotland sets its own rules for borders and travel compared to England (much stricter).  So you need to watch that carefully too.  Iceland seems much more likely 😉

[sharkster77]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Scotland sets its own rules for borders and travel compared to England (much stricter).  So you need to watch that carefully too.  Iceland seems much more likely 😉

@Host Jazzbeau, my comments refer to visiting Scotland in 2022, not 2021.  I REALLY hope things are much better by fall of 2022!!  I don't know if I could take a THIRD year of this.

 

We've been to Iceland, actually.  Nice short 4 hr flight from Boston!