By Joe Kirchmyer
How do you explore Buffalo?
Until yesterday, I had always enjoyed exploring the city on foot, car or occasionally by bike. But on Saturday, Sept. 5, my wife Maureen and I decided to join Explore Buffalo and Elevator Alley Kayak for a unique water perspective of one of Buffalo’s most historic areas.
Our group of 12 — 10 adventure seekers and our two awesome guides, Kim and Ann — met just before 10 a.m. at Mutual Riverfront Park on Hamburg Street in the city’s Old First Ward. We were greeted by Jason of Elevator Alley Kayak who supplied the kayaks, life vests and oars for our 2.5-hour guided tour. After receiving some safety instructions from Kim and Ann, we were quickly on our way.
I should probably mention that this was our first time ever aboard kayaks and, being in our fifties, we were most likely the oldest guests on the tour. Still, we managed to keep up with the group pretty well despite our inexperience.
Our first stop on the tour was also a new stop on the tour — to see the SS Columbia up close and personal. The old ship is similar in style to the SS Canadiana that ferried passengers from Buffalo to Crystal Beach back in the day. It will remain in Buffalo for about a year before heading to a shipyard in Kingston for major renovations. Currently, it looks like a ghost ship, but it’s good to know that it will one day return to its original glory.
This adventure was as historic as it was athletic, with Kim and Ann filling our minds with facts about all of the major sites along the way — grain elevators, some working, some not; tug boats; the historic Edward M. Cotter fireboat, itself a National Historic Landmark built in 1900; Buffalo Naval & Military Park, where we were dwarfed by the hull of the 610-foot USS Little Rock; and finally, out to the 1833 lighthouse on Buffalo’s Coast Guard Base, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Then we turned around for the trip back to our starting point.
The Elevator Alley Kayak tours will continue at 10 a.m. on Sept. 12, 13, 19, 20, 26 and 27. For more information on these tours and other upcoming adventures offered by Explore Buffalo, please visit explorebuffalo.org, call 245-3032 or email ex*****@ex************.org.
And to see more photos from our adventure, please visit BuffaloScoop.com’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BuffaloScoop.
Would you like to invite BuffaloScoop.com along for a unique adventure in Buffalo, Western New York or southern Ontario? If so, please contact Joe Kirchmyer at jk********@ve*****.net.
