Olcutt Beach, NY

On the same day we visited Fort Niagara we then went to find lunch and visit Olcutt Beach where there was an amusement park geared to youngsters.

I have Tom the Backroads Traveler to thank for telling me about this park



We arrived after lunch so it was almost nap time for granddaughter.  Her mom purchased one ticket for one ride. This place must have some endowment because the price of the rides are still only 25 cents.

There was a magic show going on but we didn't dawdle there.

All the rides were under cover so even on a rainy day this is a nice place to visit with small ones.

Here's granddaughter riding in a car.  She was all smiles but sorry no frontal shots allowed by parents.

From here we walked to Lake Ontario expecting to put our feet in the water but the sign told us otherwise.

We viewed it from above and then headed back.

More on our visit to Buffalo area to come.

Fort Niagara

Hard to tell what you're looking at here, but it is the entrance to Fort Niagara situated on the point where the Niagara River enters Lake Ontario.

We spent a Saturday morning in mid-July here when we were visiting daughter Sarah, son in law. William and granddaughter in their new environs of Buffalo, NY.

As forts go this is a large one with a storied past.

It's a New York State Park now and filled with stuff to make your visit interesting including ...

re-enactors.

What's strange about this fort is this French looking chateau inside the walls.

Fort Niagara was first a French fort.  And the French not wanting to upset the native peoples built the chateau as their fort in 1726.

If you know your history, Britain beat the French in the French and Indian War so the fort became British.  Battlements were built by the British.

It stayed in British hands through the American Revolutionary War but was handed over once the colonies won independence.

During the War of 1812 the British recaptured it.

But the British had to give it back once the war was settled.

Re-enactors stage a demonstration of the cannon.

Below is when it fired.  It startled me so much I couldn't stay centered.

This building is called the French Castle.

Here's the rooms of the Fort commandant.

Here is one of them.

Fort Niagara is directly across the river from Niagara on the Lake which was settled by Loyalists during the American Revolution.  There was some mention at the fort of Patriots burning that settlement to the ground but I could find no mention of that when I searched to refresh my memory of the history.