Fair Haven, NY to Sodus Point, NY:

June 9, 2012

The "railroad" runs underground here.

The forecast was for periods of showers in the morning with more rain and thundershowers by midday. We discussed staying in our $40 a night accommodations another day but Rhona had another laughing (or crying) spell which nearly paralyzed her again. It rained every pedal stroke of the 22 miles on the way to Sodus Point where we checked into Silver Waters B&B at 10:30 am. It never rained a drop for the rest of the day.

One of the owners of the B&B was an avid gardener and the back garden had many thriving plants that I have quickly killed in our West Virginia shale soil. Watching him working in the garden, I commented on the amount of daily work required to maintain it. He said it wasn't a problem, because he had to spend every day there anyway to run the B&B. He said they are not able to afford to take the time to go on vacation because the profit margin is quite thin.

Sodus Point is a bay on Lake Ontario. While today there is only recreational boating activity, at one time Pennsylvania coal was loaded here and malt was created for Genessee beer.

Our B&B had been a stop on the Underground Railroad. A tunnel led from the bay into the kitchen portion of the house. In our bedroom was a false fireplace (behind the bed headboard) which concealed a hiding space.

The door to the closet was cut at an angle at the top.

Inside the very shallow closet was the access to the hiding space. The access was closed off and insulated by the current owners

I was a little skeptical about the story about an underground tunnel. We went down to the water's edge. Apparently the fugitive slaves would work their way down to a place further up the bay through a marsh. A small rowboat would bring them to the shore and they would quickly enter the tunnel and head up this hill. I couldn't see any evidence of the tunnel here, but in the garden of the B&B it was still possible to see the depression in the lawn above the tunnel.

The tunnel crossed the street and was accessed by several other houses and a hotel, so this was a neighborhood project. In recent years an Inn in one of the buildings had to block off the tunnel because guests kept exploring the tunnel. The cynic in me made it hard to imagine all the neighbors getting together and expending the tremendous amount of money and hard labor that would be involved in digging the long and extensive tunnel. I wonder if it may have been dug initially for the purpose of smuggling and subsequently used to hide fugitive slaves. Regardless, it was a fascinating place to visit.

The Sodus Point Lighthouse museum was worth the time for a tour.

Isn't this a romantic shot? We always say a tandem bicycle ride is one of the most romantic things a couple can do together. Rhona surmised this would be a popular place for outdoor weddings and sure enough as we were leaving, they were setting up for a wedding.

No visit to a lighthouse would be complete without a climb up to the actual light. This spiral stairway was a little claustrophobic, especially since people must have been shorter with smaller feet when it was built.

I didn't find out how much wattage was involved in this light, but it sure looks like there is a standard CFL bulb inside. Who would of thought...

This impressive US Government sign would have been more imposing if...

... it wasn't posted on the community welcome Center center.

My fingers are going numb from typing on this phone so I'm going to finish this later after we finish the tour. I'll include additional pictures stored on the good camera.

Today's ride: 21 miles (34 km)
Total: 1,464 miles (2,356 km)

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