Tag: New York

Rochester Recap

I failed to mention that getting out of Minnesota was a bit of an issue. My flight from MSP to ORD on the day I was supposed to leave was delayed and then delayed and then delayed again. I ended up spending another night in Minnesota and leaving the next day. The next flight took me through DC where I grabbed a picture of the Washington Monument.

The park and ride where I had left my car was gracious enough to give me the extra night for free, so there was a plus side. The pet sitter I booked through Rover.com was also accommodating and adjusted her schedule, so she could stop in to see Arthur. And, well, another night in MN is never a bad thing.

On a sunny weekend in late August, I went on a boat cruise off the Erie Canal. I guess I never realized how long the canal is, but I saw part of it, heard the Erie Canal song, and saw some wildlife. I didn’t spend as much time in Rochester itself as I thought I would, but this was a nice overview. I sat my a nice couple for part of the trip, and they were very positive about the Rochester area and the sites we saw while on the cruise.

Arthur did ok in Irondequoit. He spent a lot of time under the covers and playing with his toys. He took very good care of me, especially after I wounded myself.

So, I burned myself on the stove when I was taking a pizza out of the oven and somehow bruised myself at some point. The burn is healing nicely, and the bruise disappeared quickly. 🍫🍫 YAY for another scar?

I was glad we were able to make this stop in the Rochester area. It was a nice-sized area, and the people I met were all very kind and approachable, but it didn’t feel like home.

Our next stop, for seven whole months, is Orchard Park, NY. Yes, the home of the Buffalo Bills. Yes, one of the snowiest places in the NE. I’m looking forward to calling a place home for that length of time and having a stable location for Arthur.

Last Days in The Mitten

When I was in Muskegon, I found this great screen print. I bought the tank top version since it was so hot that day. One thing that caught my eye was that every one of my finalist cities in on or near one of the Great Lakes. The water has always had a pull on me. Maybe it was growing up in a city with five lakes, or maybe it is just how powerful water is? There’s just something about it that draws me in; I have the utmost respect for it.

I think I say it every time I leave one location for another, but it’s hard to believe that it was already time to leave Michigan. There were a few errands that I needed to run on my last day, and I wanted to be sure I had enough time to load the car and get everything settled. In the evening, my friend, her husband, and I went out for dinner at The Green Well. We had a lovely time and barely talked about work (a minor miracle!). Then we walked down to Furniture City Creamery for dessert where we all enjoyed some very good ice cream. I had mine in this adorable kid-sized cake cup, and it was the perfect night cap and toast to Grand Rapids.

There were two options for us to get to our next destination – Irondequoit, NY (just to the east of Rochester). We could go through Canada, or we could go through Ohio. Ohio had its appeal since we wouldn’t have to cross the borders, but the trip would be about an hour longer. Right now, border crossing as a naturalized American citizen is unsettling at best. Believe it or not, I don’t have a prison record or a speeding ticket to my name, but I can’t help feeling a certain way about “testing” my documents at the border. Did I mention that I hate driving through Ohio?

So, we went through Canada, and it was lovely. Crossing into Canada took longer than it took to get back into the US. There was quite the line. We stopped at one roadside rest area on the way for a break. The roads were perfect, and Arthur barely complained. I did make an effort to make sure he didn’t over-eat before left. He found a comfy spot under the passenger seat, and we made it to Irondequoit in around 7 hours. When entering the US again, the border guard did have some very good questions for me, but I passed the test with flying colors, and we were back in the US without any issues.

Just a Little More Michigan

Michigan brought the return of my famous tater tot hotdish, some delightful banana bread, and lots of local fruit – the strawberries and cherries were my favorite.

Just a couple more works of “art” from Michigan – the beautiful marble gallery wall at the Muskegon Art Museum, this lovely dress I found at the grocery store, Meijer, on clearance, and Arthur admiring the light art that my coffee cup made on the wall one morning.

Overall, Michigan was fantastic. I liked Grand Rapids more than I thought I would and felt quite at home there. If you forced me to rank them now, Michigan has the edge over Chicagoland.

Until Next Time…

I typically only write after I’ve been somewhere and not while I’m there. With my upcoming 8-month stay in New York, it’s going to be hard to keep that up unless I become grossly behind on the blog. So, I’ve decided to write while in place, but the details may become more vague to preserve some anonymity. Thank you, as always, for reading along with us. More adventures to come!

13 Days Flew By

When I think back to our time in NY, it surprises me that we were only there for 13 days. We had so many adventures, and I still don’t think I saw everything that I wanted to see.

Confession time. For some reason, I’d never seen It’s a Wonderful Life. I have no idea why. I love Christmas – ask anyone who knows me. It’s my favorite. I also really like Jimmy Stewart; I’ve seen The Philadelphia Story more times than I can count. In college, I did the scene about lassoing the moon for a speech class. So, I did things backwards – I went to the city that inspired the classic story of gratitude and giving before I watched the film.

The plaque reads: “The Village of Seneca Falls may have inspired the hometown look of Frank Capra’s 1946 holiday film classic It’s a Wonderful Life. Mr. Capra is known to have visited here in the mid-1940s at the time the screenplay for the film was being developed. Many similarities exist between Seneca Falls and the fictional “Bedford Falls.” Among these are the design of the Bridge Street bridge, the use of several place and personal names, and the village’s geographical location.”

The gentleman on the right is the person who took the picture in my magnet. He was handling the purchases in a movie-themed gift shop and shared that it was his photo on the magnet. I told him I wanted a picture of him with it, and he couldn’t believe it. He was a delight; his shirt even matches the magnet. And, since my visit, I have finally seen It’s a Wonderful Life.

Seneca Falls is also the home of the very first women’s right’s convention where the women (and some men) gathered debuted the Declaration of Sentiments. They have preserved the building where they met, and there’s a museum adjacent to the building. There was a park ranger who gave a talk that afternoon as well. Read more on their website: https://www.nps.gov/wori/index.htm. I didn’t realize this was also in Seneca Falls when I decided to visit – what a powerful surprise.

Left – The hall. Right – The water feature and mural on the side of the museum.

I am so prepared and still laughing. 😉

Next time – one last post about our time in New York.

August in New York

After our stop in PA, we headed up to the Syracuse, New York, region to stay at the Oneida Shores Campground near Brewerton. While relatively small, this was a really nice campground with just electric and water hook-ups but with a dump station. There was plenty of area to walk around and sit by Oneida Lake. The shower area was pretty good as well, so overall, it was a nice two-week stay, and I was glad we made the stop.

I rented a car to go out and see some of the sites and explore Syracuse and Ithaca and the Finger Lakes areas. I made two different trips into the Finger Lakes region and really enjoyed the community of Auburn and Seneca Falls.

On whim, I drove to Ithaca. Cornell was a school that really interested me when I was high school. At the time, it just seemed too far away for school and too expensive, so I set it aside. Driving around Ithaca, I think it would’ve been a good fit for that young Ms Haps. The old Ms Haps thinks the steep hills and winters might not be the best fit now. I bought a new pliers since I left mine somewhere. 🍫 I had a drive around town, enjoyed the scenery, and then had a lovely drive in the countryside to a small Finger Lakes community called Auburn.

What a great surprise this little town was. I happened upon one of their last summer Downtown Auburn Saturday Markets that they were having. They had live music, and I had lunch at a local spot – Parker’s Grill and Tap House. The food was fine, the cider was good, but the atmosphere was lively and fun. I went for a nice walk around town and discovered a few things that I really found appealing for a return trip.

One of the many beautiful historic homes in Auburn is The Seward House, and it is available for tour, so I stopped in to see the beautiful woodwork and the rustic kitchen. Seward served as the Secretary of State for both President Lincoln and Johnson, and it was a gorgeous home filled with books and many pictures from all of Sewards international connections.

While I was at the Seward House, they also gave me a map to the local cemetery where the Sewards and Harriet Tubman are buried. There were beautiful tributes to them as well as a just a well-kept resting place for all the loved ones there.

Arthur had a good rest in NY and enjoyed the lake breezes at the campground.

Next up – more New York exploration in Seneca Falls and Buffalo.