STW1 Hop 4: Grand Island NY to Streetsboro OH

236 miles via I-190 (north of Buffalo), NY 5, I-90, I-271 (west of Cleveland) and I-480 (west of Cleveland). Cumulative tow miles: 787. Truck miles: 340. Cumulative truck miles: 1273.

This was supposed to be an easy hop – one almost entirely on interstate highways. But I opted to travel almost 30 miles on NY 5 out of Buffalo instead of I-90. This route had the advantage of being both shorter and cheaper while being only a few minutes longer. And it avoided downtown Buffalo. I dutifully checked for low bridges at least 4 times. Clear. But when we got onto NY 5 the GPS – which is set to avoid low bridges – tried to re-route us at least 25 times in 25 miles. It was amusing at first, but then I began to wonder why it was being so insistent. I learned the reason about 3 miles short of where NY 5 was to join up with I-90: a low bridge (12′ 9″) stood in our way. Because I had grown wary, I saw the bridge – and the warning sign – in time to turn away. But we had to backtrack nearly 10 miles, creating both a fuel problem and extending the trip by 30 minutes. When we got to a rest area in Ohio I, for the second hop in a row, used the emergency fuel supply.

That didn’t turn out very well, either. The can slipped, the top popped off and about a quart of diesel spilled on the pavement. And my clothes. I traveled the last 40 miles smelling like a refinery.

For the record: I did not miss the low bridge in my route planning; it just wasn’t included in the database of low clearances that I use. That is a first – the database has never been wrong before. That shakes my confidence in my route-planning process. I may have to spend more time going over the entire route using Google Earth, to visually scan for railroad bridges. It is always railroad bridges.

That wasn’t the end of the misadventures. When we got to our destination the campground had us booked for 1 night rather than the 2 that has always been in my itinerary. Their mistake, I believe. They were able to find a site, but it was a back-in rather than a pull-through. But an easy back-in, so no big deal.

Our home in Grand Island (just north of Buffalo and near Niagara Falls) for 3 nights was the Niagara Falls / Grand Island KOA. This was a very large, very nice park with lots of facilities and activities for children. And it was located adjacent to an amusement park (“Fantasy Land”), so the park was swarming with children. But at least there weren’t any late night parties.

This campground was very clean, very well managed. But very expensive. I paid extra for the “premium patio” site, which gave me an upscale table and chairs and a concrete pad. Nice, but we really didn’t use it. A waste of money. Despite the good things about this campground there is simply no way that it was worth what they were charging. I think others agreed as the park was never more than half full, even after all the Friday night arrivals. We would stay here again, I guess, but no premium patio next time.