Friday, 9 September. Staying with Curt. He has a really great drone. Got plans to do local documentaries with it. Should be interesting.
Rome to Chestertown, NY
Thursday, 8 September.
My high school is gone! Torn down. It was a pretty building.
A museum attraction called Erie Canal Village was created decades ago. My parents contributed an old building to the cause. Moving it across town was a big event. The Village grew to be truly village-sized, but now, sadly, it’s a ghost town. What makes it especially disappointing is that the Erie Canal was begun in 1817 in Rome. In 1967 the town had a large sesquicentennial celebration, without any Canal Village. Now that the bicentennial is just around the corner, I’d assumed there would be an even larger event. But with the Village in total decay, I guess not.
Also in my hometown is the grave of Francis Bellamy, author if the Pledge of Allegiance. It’s nicely maintained in the city cemetery, which is a pretty nice one, as cemeteries go. I’d never noticed before.
Lastly, in the 1960’s, largely thanks to Senator Robert Kennedy, a recreation of a revolutionary-era fort was built: Fort Stanwix. I’ve visited about a dozen forts this year, so I can speak with some knowledge that this one is a winner. People are dressed in period clothing, there is an education center with multiple movies, and the fort itself is excellent. Anyone interested in the era should make plans to visit.
The drive to Chestertown to see my brother was fun, but not extraordinary. Some of the road curves that once excited the nerves are hoo hum on a bike. Along the way I noticed that the only establishment I ever worked at that didn’t begin with “U.S. Navy” is gone. No great loss.
Watkins Glen to Rome, NY
Wednesday, 7 September. No pics.
Enjoyable country roads. Small towns. Stopped by Hamilton, NY. Saw grandfather and step grandmother’s gravesite. Cleaned it up. Was there only once before, so finding it was impressive. The Colgate University campus is so large now. New and old buildings mixed together. For the first time on this journey (4,500 miles?) I saw a Clinton sign on a front lawn. There was a woman sweeping the front porch (how cool is that?), so I stopped and told her. Funny.
If there is one location in Rome that holds nothing but happy memories it is The Savoy restaurant. The adjoining bar was always a mysterious darkness in my youth. Today I sat there. Had my eternal spaghetti and meat balls. They still have a picture of my dad on the wall, which isn’t saying that much. Lots of pictures.
Staying in a hotel. After three days in a tent, I needed some luxury.
Seneca Lake
Tuesday, 6 September. Stayed in place. Drove around Seneca Lake, famous for wine.
First took a morning walk along the upper reaches of Glen Creek. Nature is much better without a press of people. The work done to build walkways that blended with the gorge is excellent. It helped that the rock is soft. Overall, Watkins Glen is worth a visit. It isn’t the Grand Canyon, but few things are.
The tour around the lake was pleasant. Most of it is done well above and inland of the shoreline, but there are spots that give a nice view. The wineries are mostly one-hit wonders; Riesling. The few reds I tasted ranged from bad to okay. Prices are lower than California, so I won’t complain. But I had several fun conversations.
Not an unforgettable day. But it was worth the gas money.
Watkins Glen
Monday, 5 September.
The drive from Millersburg to Watkins Glen was mostly uneventful. Elmira has an old park, was well known 120 years ago, that the city is reviving. Nice effort to date. The merry-go-round is reputably the fastest one in the world, though there is no proof. It does go ’round very rapidly. It’s one of a number of carousels that has the ring grabbing device, which is where the phrase “to grab the brass ring” gets its origins.
In Danbury, PA I got my closest near-death experience of the entire year. As a pedestrian, in a legal crosswalk, with the “Walk” sign on. Driver turning left not only nearly hit me, but took umbrage at my impeding his movement. “I’m driving here!” he yelled.
Watkins Glen had an Indycar race on Sunday. The town is all about race cars. nice paintings and a walking history lesson along the street, which has its own Walk of Fame for racers worldwide.
I got a campsite and then toured most of the gorge cut out of the hillside by Glen Creek. It’s a really impressive sight with various walkways either right along the creek above it. The are stone bridges and tunnels cut in to the walls. It’s really quite a view. Of course, being Labor Day, it was pretty crowded. I’ll do more of it tomorrow.
I walked two miles from the campsite into town to do some wine tasting, only to learn that the only one in town is closed Mondays. Even Labor Day. Very disappointed.
Annapolis to Millersburg, PA
Sunday, 4 September. Brilliantly split the distance between DC and Baltimore. Didn’t have to get on either beltway. Visited Mt. Airy, Littlestown, Gettysburg, Carlisle and Millersburg. Gettysburg cannot be seen in less than a full day, so I essentially skipped it. Visited one battlefield/cemetery. Carlisle was good. I went because I knew Jim Thorpe (famous athlete) had gone to school there. Turns out it also had some involvement with the Gettysburg engagement. Millersburg is a tiny little town on the east bank of the Susquehanna River with a 3-car ferry to the west bank, which has a campground. Took the ferry to the campground. It was a slow, restful day. A lot of bikes on the road.
Grand Adventure, Part 2, Intermission: 40th Reunion
Friday and Saturday, 2-3 September. Attended 40th reunion with the Annapolis class of 1976. No pictures. I didn’t consider these two days to be part of the Adventure.
It was a good time and I’m glad I came. But now, on with the Adventure. I believe I’ll slow my speed of advance. I’ll head back to New York tomorrow, seeking a new route through Pennsylvania.
Harpers Ferry
Thursday, 1 Sep. I thought I’d check out Harpers Ferry before spending the day at the Air and Space Museum in Dulles. But ended up spending the day at Harpers Ferry. The Museum will have to wait.
National Historical Park. Not a National Historic Site. Read over some of the rules for naming stuff and it’ll make your head spin. Parking is an issue, so you park away from the town and take a shuttle. The Appalachian Trail goes through town. There’s an Information Center there about the Trail and I had a good time talking about my walk in Scotland, which is part of the International Appalachian Trail. There is also a Rail Trail that begins in DC and runs along the Potomac shoreline. Besides the famous rebellion by John Brown, a lot of Civil War conflicts occurred in town. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were involved in some of its past. I was surprised at the amount of history that is held by the place. The “Fort” where John Brown was defeated was deconstructed and moved four times. It’s now 50 yards from its place of origin.
Visited two tasting rooms. Had one taste at each one. Virginia’s pours are truly only one ounce. Maybe less. Hardly a single swallow. Quite different from what I’m used to in California. I can only guess that inspectors are particular about amounts. One Winery, Breaux Vineyards, was beautiful. Perfect place for a quiet afternoon watching the world turn. Wine was excellent too.
Had dinner at Mike’s American Restaurant in Springfield with an old friend. Just as I was putting on the helmet, a typical DC rainstorm hit. From nothing to everything between breaths. I got to a covered gas station within a minute, but in that time I became soaked. By the time I had my rain gear on the rain had mostly stopped. But spray from cars was intense. Made it to Annapolis after nightfall, the first time on the trip I drove in the dark.
Here for two days, attending reunion. Will not be reporting on that, so expect nothing more until Sunday.
Punxsutawney Phil and Other Pennsylvania Highlights
I was chased this morning by rain. Traffic and wind patterns kept me right on the leading edge for two hours. The weather plot would have no rain juuuuust a few miles ahead, but it would move as I moved. Got a little wet.
The rain didn’t get to Punxsutawney. No surprise: The town has an absolute fixation on the groundhog. Phil has his own quarters at the library, though his window needs some serious cleaning. Gobbler’s Knob is actually several miles outside of town (the movie used the war memorial park.) A guy gave me a “Happy Groundhog Day” coin. Fun.
Further south I had no rain. I very happily drove nearly all the way through Pennsylvania on local roads. Some twisties. Hills. Nice towns. At times there was a canopy of leaves over the road, other times a wide vista of green rolling landscape. Historical markers were in plain sight, but most didn’t really say much. Two confederate flags. Many Trump signs. One large yellow roadside sign: “Wear seat belts . . . for the next million miles!” Mercersburg (James Buchanan’s childhood home) was worthy of a stop, but I didn’t.
Hotel has laundry services. Clean cloths! No continental breakfast, but I’m 30 seconds away from a Waffle House. Thank goodness there aren’t any near my home. Nearly every time I visit one the server calls me darlin’ or dearie. We’ll see.
Frankenmuth, MI and a Shortcut to New York
Tuesday, 30 August.
On a lark I decided to go from Michigan to New York via Canada. Outside the box thinking. Really, Ohio is just so moderate. On the way to Port Huron I saw a sign for someplace called Frankenmuth. Who could resist? Turns out it’s a town founded by Germans and has continued that cultural feel. A real tourist destination. I could have spent the day there. They had perhaps the best humorous store I’d ever seen. Lots of fudge (again). A Celtic Store that had an entire Doctor Who section too! A covered bridge. Brewery. River rapids. Etc. I regretted leaving.
Crossing Canada from Michigan to New York was probably better than going through Ohio, but it was a close call. Hot, busy highway. I started to enter London, but it’s really just a large city. Had lunch; Peppercorn burger with cheese and bacon. Delicious. Also Jalapeño corn chowder. I asked for tea, meaning iced tea, but they gave me british hot tea. It was really good, but with the temp approaching 90, it seemed wrong.
There are at least 30 wine tasting rooms within 30 miles of Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side. “Organized Crime Winery”? I did stop at Peninsula Ridge Estate Winery just so I could say I did. Pretty place. Vineyards all around the shop. I bought some Pinot Grigio to drink tonight. Really very good, sough I may by slurring my words a litlte.(Sic)
Need to do laundry. Selected a quality hotel that had laundry service, but their washer is busted. Voiced my dissatisfaction. I’ll have to wait until tomorrow night.
Tomorrow I plan to visit Phil. I could go to Williamsport, but kids playing baseball to please their parents play second fiddle to a groundhog who has no idea what’s going on. I officially dislike temporal anomalies as being saps to easy screenplays (“Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey stuff”), but Groundhog Day is one of my favorite comedies.