I am in New York today. Cortland to be specific. I've taken pics but I'm too tired to upload them now. I may post them tomorrow. I'm uploading a video and hope it won't take long. So left Virginia and had another scary and long drive. Though it wasn't that far the speeds were slow which made this a 5 hour drive. Had a scary thing happen with another driver but luckily I was in control of the situation and did the right thing and didn't panic. And then it was back in the mountains and I sort of got to do that scary driving I was afraid of. Driving by cliffs on one side and on the other side falling rocks. No rocks fell while I was driving but there were signs about falling rocks and I saw rocks near the road that had fallen so I kept an eye on the cliff walls when I went under them. I do not like driving in the mountains.

I finally made it to Cortland and I don't like this hotel. Worst one so far. After being spoiled at the Aloft this place sucks. The staff is friendly and nice but the biggest complaint is the gross smoke smell. It was in the halls and in the rooms. They moved me to another room which was slightly better but the building needs to be rebuilt. It's in the walls. Also I saw many employees smoking on the property and it's supposed to be all non smoking. Why are there even ash trays by the door ways? The pool is closed not that I would use it anyway but that was a sign things aren't good. Also the fire alarm is not working which makes me think it's been sabotaged so they can get away with smoking. So despite great customer service that's not enough to make up for poisoned air and furniture. I'm leaving all my stuff closed as I don't need all my clothes for the trip ruined. I purposely left Fear in the car so he won't get messed up. The other good hotels are booked which surprised me because WTF is there to do in Cortland? There's nothing and no one here. THe parking lots were not full so it's not like they would be booked. I don't know but I hope on the way home to get the Hampton which is next door. The shower was great though. Nice and hot and good high pressure. It helped me unwind.

The one thing cool about this place is there is a river. Not a creek a real river. There are so many birds and lovely plants here. I really enjoyed walking around. One funny thing that happened was I was watching a part that was fast. There were two bushes beside me so I could not see to my peripheral. Suddenly a kayaker went by real fast and yelled "WHOA!" Then he was gone. It was so funny and I didn't know he was there. I didn't know this river could be kayaked. Well hope he didn't crash. I'll be sure to explore this more on the return trip. Here's one of the videos I took.



So tomorrow I cross into Canada. I'm a bit nervous about it. Not sure I can get Oggdenburg to show up on my GPS. I got the Canada map for my Garmin. I hope it works out and that crossing the border won't be hard. I have my passport and my papers for my car and all I could need. I'm throwing away all food tonight to be safe.

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