no sleep 'til manchester (Day 9)

Free State Project migration Day 9 - Thurs. 5/26/05 At every other motel I'd stayed at, I appeared to be the last one to leave in the morning; but in Niagara Falls, the parking lot was still full when I left at around 9:00AM. I'd read about a place that offered a hot breakfast for only 99 cents, but I got a little lost downtown and never found it, so I settled for Starbucks. Holy Toledo. It cost $9.00 for a mocha and a pastry!! And since I hadn't bothered to convert any currency, I just gave the clerk a ten and let her keep the change. That has got to be the most expensive mocha of my life. The town of Niagara Falls is very touristy, but not nearly as gross as Keystone, South Dakota. I checked out the Hershey store, just for the heck of it. I was very excited about riding the Maid of the Mist by the waterfalls, and it was worth every penny. It was an incredible experience. Going by the American Falls (which are smaller), I was giggling uncontrollably. But going by the Bridal Veil (the more impressive, Canadian falls), I had difficulty breathing. I may even have suffered a minor heart attack; I had a pain in my chest afterwards. It was epic. I have recurring nightmares about tidal waves, so it was kind of freaky being at the foot of an enormous wall of water. Crossing the border back into the U.S. was significantly easier than crossing into Canada, oddly enough! I showed the guard my passport. He said "What is all this STUFF?" I said I was moving. He asked from where and to where. Then he said "OK!" I half wish I'd worn an Arab headdress, just to cause trouble. Crossing New York took a good chunk of the day. I cannot believe how much the toll road cost: over $12.00!! Escape from New York: At one point I was running low on gas, but I figured it was no problem, I'd wait a while so I could combine stopping for gas with a bathroom trip. But I misjudged how far apart the rest stops are on the Interstate. My warning light for no gas came on, and I was nowhere near a rest stop. That woke me up. I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and exited at the first opportunity, right before making it to the Massachusetts Turnpike, which wound up taking me into the village of Chatham. I stopped at a gas station, started to fill my tank, and the pump cut off after giving me a mere $0.47 worth of gas. What the hell?! I hung up the gas nozzle and spoke to the clerk, who said I could try again. But the second time, my credit card didn't work at all. The clerk said I could fill my tank, and then come into the office to pay. So I did that, and in the office, when he tried to run my credit card, it said I was over my limit. I was embarrassed and confused; I didn't think I was at my limit. Later on, when I had time to tally up my trip expenses, I found that I was NOT over my limit, not even close; I still don't know why the bank refused the charge. Bastards! Fortunately I had enough cash on me to cover it. I crossed the border into Massachusetts. Hooray! I could almost taste the free air of New Hampshire! But it started to rain for the first time in days. The traffic became terrible, the worst of the entire trip. At one point it was at a standstill. There was road construction; there were breakdowns; there was standing water on the freeway (which was very frightening). And there were a hell of a lot of Dunkin' Donuts at the rest stops; I was clearly approaching New Hampshire! I exited at what I thought was the rest stop at the border, hoping to take a photo of the "Welcome to New Hampshire" sign, but either there wasn't one or I just couldn't spot it in the dark and the rain. I remember very clearly the song that was playing on the radio, though: "Kickstart My Heart" by Motley Crue. Ah, the music of my youth! I was listening to Rock 101.1, a New Hampshire hard rock station, and they were talking about how they were having a big outdoor rock concert, with fireworks, for free, in Manchester that very weekend. My own personal Welcome party! I had forgotten to charge my cell phone the night before and its battery had died, so I didn't know if anyone was trying to check up on me and I couldn't let anyone know that I'd finally made it to New Hampshire. I made it to Manchester, and it was a good thing I'd visited the city recently because I got off course in the dark and the rain but knew how to get to my final destination. I stopped at one of the many, many Dunkin' Donuts in town for a celebratory Boston Creme, then continued on to my new home.