Oh, The Sights We See!

Next Stop, Camp Chautaugua, NY

As we broke camp at Gotta Getaway RV Park, near Belleview, OH, on June 20, 2017, we were excited about our next stop, Camp Chautaugua, on Lake Chautaugua, near Jamestown, NY.  That would be our base camp to venture out to see Niagara Falls!

We planned to stay seven days at this Park, even though it would be the most expensive RV Park we would stay at over our ten-month adventure.  The short-term rate was about $50/day.  The area proved to be full of various sight-seeing opportunities that made the stay well worth it.  After all this was our honeymoon, as we had been married less than a year at this point.

If you want to follow us on the map, we were on US Hwy 20 in Belleview, OH, and took that highway on towards Cleveland.  Before getting to Cleveland, US Hwy 20 becomes I-480, which joins I-90 near downtown Cleveland.  We got a good look at Lake Erie as we passed through Cleveland.  The highway soon angled away from Lake Erie.  We see a lot of exits to small towns on our way to Erie, PA.  Going off my wife, Connie’s, journal, we left our OH park at 8:30 a.m. and passed by Erie, PA about 1:50 p.m.  This would be a short travel day.

We soon turned off I-90 onto I-86, which took us to Lake Chautaugua and our destination, Camp Chautaugua.  We arrived there about 2:30 p.m.  The road through PA and into NY was a steady climb and the scenery was beautiful! 

Dinner by the water!

After getting checked in and the RV set up, we rested a while.  We were told of an area called Bemus Point, on the lake, where we could get supper.  We dined at the Italian Fisherman, out on the deck by the water!  We had Blackened Cod in a wrap with Italian Chips—so yummy!

After driving into Lakewood to the Walmart for supplies, we made our way back to camp.  I was glad to see we had cable TV.  Luckily, I had the cable to make the connection.  We had a beautiful evening but the rain came again as we went to bed.  We had been rained on nearly every day of our first week on the road!

Fishing from the dock

The next morning, I gathered my fishing equipment together while Connie gathered the laundry.  She would do that while I fished from the dock.  I should note here for my fellow fishermen that each state has temporary fishing licenses available to us travelers.  For the record, I did help Connie load and unload the laundry into the laundry area.

The camp office has the laundry attached.  And, the office was a short distance to the water, with the swimming pool on the way.  I was able to fish from the boat docks.  I did not catch anything but fishing does not guarantee a catch. 

Connie had visited with other campers while doing the wash.  One lady, who stays there all summer, said they refer to us, who just stop by for a week or less, as transients!  No wonder we are parked so far away from the water!

The Chautaugua Institution

After a sandwich for lunch, we set out to see the Chautaugua Institution, which is a non-profit education center and summer resort, located on 750 acres, in Chautaugua, NY, which is the county seat for Chautaugua County.  The Institution is owned by the Chautaugua Foundation, which is located in New York City.  It is on the northwest shore of Lake Chautaugua.  Do you see the pattern here?

We did not take a tour.  We drove through the grounds, through several Victorian homes and a park area with an amphitheater.  They have speakers there throughout the summer.  On the weekend there are hundreds of visitors.

Then Jamestown before supper!

After that, we headed south to Lakewood.  We stopped at a cheese shop on the way, called Reverie Creamery.  It was a specialty cheese shop.  We sampled and bought some to try later.  We made another stop at a fruit stand, in Stow, NY, just south of the Camp entrance, for fresh strawberries.

We stopped for ice cream on our way to Jamestown.  (We do that a lot!).  Our destination was the Desilu Studios Museum, because Jamestown was the home town of Lucille Ball!  It was fun!

We got back to camp in time to swim a while before fixing steak and sweet potato over an open fire pit for supper.  It was very good!  We enjoyed a fireside chat until about 10 p.m.

Niagara Falls Day!

After our morning coffee and oatmeal for breakfast, we unloaded the tricycles (more about them, later) from the back of the truck.  We headed out at 9:30 a.m.  We drove north along the Lake, going through several villages or townships, as they call them in NY, on our way to Westfield, NY and the turnpike to Buffalo.  Past Buffalo, we drove over the Niagara River on the Big Blue Bridge to Grand Island and over the river again to the Niagara Scenic Parkway into Niagara Falls, NY, the city, and Niagara Falls State Park.  Do you see a pattern?

We were there on a Thursday but the number of visitors was still large.  The parking lot is very large and we had to park the truck ($20 for the day) a long way from the Maid of the Mist ticket building.  We decided to see the Falls in the boat, at the suggestion of Peggy, my cousin Dean’s wife.  I found out, later, that Dean had done the same thing I did on the way to boarding the boat.  As they were trying to hurry us to the boat so it could leave on time, I tried to put my blue poncho on while walking fast and found that I was trying to get my head into the arm hole!  Ugh!

It was raining that day, of course.  However, we had ponchos on since we were going to get wet next to the Falls anyway!  The American Falls land on boulders so the boat cannot get very close.  The Canadian Falls drop directly into the river so the boat can get fairly close to experience the mist off the Falls.  What a great experience!

The Hard Rock Café!

After our boat ride, we walked through the park to take pictures and then we headed to the Hard Rock Café for a tasty lunch.  We had brought our passports so we could go over to Canada.  However, we would have to walk across the bridge and my knees were hurting bad!  So, I owe Connie a trip to Canada, now!

Back to Camp

We cooked brats and hotdogs over an open fire for supper.  However, rain kept us from eating outdoors on the picnic table.  After three episodes of Blue Bloods and Tums, we headed to bed to dream about the great day we had at the Falls!

And that’s not all!

That was day three of our week at Camp Chautaugua.  There is more to come in my blog, next week.  Until then, happy travels!