The end of May is sometimes seen as the unofficial start to summer: a three-day weekend of cookouts, family gatherings, and heat from the sun that hasn’t been felt in months. WXXI’s Noelle Evans takes us on a bike ride along the Genesee Riverway Trail to Lake Ontario to experience a turning point in the seasons.
TRANSCRIPT
Evans: I'm at the entrance to middle falls crossing, and barely a block from St. Paul. Already the sound of birds is starting to overtake the sound of traffic
I don't have allergies to it so to me the pollen that floats around in the air is kind of magical. Kind of marks the space between me and the trees and the path in a way that I wouldn't be aware of if it weren't for it.
Why do I always feel like I get lost on the way to this lake? It's just north, like, how hard can it be?
GPS App: Head north on Genesee Riverway trail toward Maplewood drive.
(Sound of bike bell)
Evans: What are y'all taking pictures of?
Gerard de Haan: It's the river and the quietness and yeah, very nice people walking around and just relaxing, mainly relaxation.
(Sound of water under a dock)
Evans: I think they call this a harbor. There are some empty spots where boats would be if they weren't already out on the water. (To man on a sailboat) How long you've been sailing?
Mike M.: I started last July, just kind of fell in love with it. And now I do it every day. I put the boat in the water like four days ago and I don't think I've left since then. ... I’d like to sail around the world.
(Sound of waves, kids playing, grilling)
S: We’ve got some hamburgers and some hot dogs.
Evans: Classic.
S: Exactly. Something easy. Quick.
Man: Real quick. It's only Memorial Day weekend then there’s birthdays, Fourth of July.
S: At least it’s peaceful for Memorial Day right now.
(Sound of grilling continues, kids playing)
Evans: Here at Ontario Beach Park. It's a sort of a soft collision of seasons. At the lake the breezes cool. The sand is warmed by the sun. The sky is cloudless. It's a vast pale blue. The water is warmer than I would have expected.
Is it spring? Summer? Does it matter? I noticed so many in between spaces. The marsh between a river and a lake, the space between Rochester and international waters.
I tend to try to rush through transitions. But today it feels nice to embrace the in between spaces.
