A Sunny Perspective

I've been walking Teddy pretty faithfully during this pandemic period. We've mostly had gray weather, but last week there was a spectacular sunny day.  We did our normal industrial river walk and I stopped to take this picture.  Two days later, we were walking on a not quite as nice (but still sunny) day and passed a roller blader who had stopped to take a picture at the same spot!

It's amazing how a sunny day can change your perspective on things.  I do normally find the bridge very interesting, but don't stop to look at it much.  Now that there hasn't been much to look at, it's possible to better appreciate it.

This is the Grand Island Bridge and it spans the East branch of the Niagara River, leading to Grand Island (duh!).  This bridge is often the bane of many Western New Yorker's existence.  It's vibrant blue color is the result of regular painting.  They shut down one span while they paint the other, causing traffic delays and all sorts of angst.  It seems like this is done every year!

When you look at the bridge on a bright sunny day, you can appreciate the aesthetics of the bright blue.  Both spans look identical, even though one was  built in 1935 and the other in 1965.  The occupancy of the island itself has not been without drama, as it was originally just a lease from the Indian Nation.  This is the route we most often take when traveling to Canada, which is off limits to us at this point.  It is really strange to have the border closed when you are so accustomed to moving through freely.

Now there is hardly any bridge traffic on it since we are all still obeying the Stay at Home restriction.  This means it's as enjoyable to drive over as it is to look at!