It’s important to take the left at the Niagara River and head towards Buffalo and Erie. A wrong turn and 5 miles later you will be making a large splash over Niagara Falls!
The Niagara River is 36 miles long. It flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, then to the St. Lawrence Seaway, and finally to the Atlantic Ocean. The change in elevation from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario is 325 feet, with Niagara Falls accounting for a 175 foot in change. The current of the Niagara River, with 4 of the great lakes flowing into it, is quite strong. At the Peace Bridge it is 5 mph+ going against us. At the upper rapids, the current is a whopping 41 mph. This is definitely not a river to have an engine malfunction or a boat without enough power to fight the current.
We stop for diesel and then head to Buffalo.
The Captain forecasts Lake Erie to be smooth. Like most forecasters, he is not entirely right. It was not exactly smooth, but our recent travels on the calm waters of the Erie Canal may have lowered our tolerance. It wasn’t awful, but you definitely had to hold on when moving about, reminiscent of our ocean days. I will miss the smooth waters of the Erie Canal!
Lake Erie is the 4th largest of the Great Lakes. It is the shallowest and smallest by volume, which can cause the waves to kick up very fast, making its reputation as one of the deadliest lakes. It is home to the world renowned walleye fish, which I will expect to see on many menus in my future!
We arrive to Erie, PA around 2:00 PM.
We arrive into the marina. It is near the convention center, which is extremely nice, positioned right on the water.
We spend two days in Erie, mainly because the weather turns bad. We deal with one really soggy day.
We take advantage of any break in the rain and walk around Erie.
Rainy day became laundry day. The marina was very quiet, not even the pirate boat ventured out. The sun finally showed its face in the early evening and we retreated to Oliver’s for dinner, on the roof top of the nearby Hampton Inn. We check out their new beer garden afterwards.
Next stop – Captain Tom’s hometown of Rocky River, OH! Looking forward to it!!!❤
Injured toe on Captain Tom?
Just a cut. I didn’t think it would stick out like a sore thumb! 🤣
Really loving your blog Jackie!! looking forward to seeing Rocky River!
Thanks Polly!
Wow that is some current!! Buffalo on waters edge looks very nice.