Rich and varied days

One of the joys of a road trip!

We left Buffalo this morning, bidding the City Hall farewell and taking the chance to snap a last picture with the light in a better direction than previously.  Isn’t it magnificent?

We left the city on our favourite US20, heading out through the suburbs and out along the Lake Erie shore.

Our first stop was one of those places which we’ve read about and yet, had no idea what to expect.  The Kazoo Company in Eden, NY has been making them since they were invented and our visit was fun and also rather interesting.  It’s a small place with maybe 15 – 20 employees, mostly people with some learning disability, as the two women who run the gift shop explained.

Half an hour later, having watched the process of manufacture, learned a little of the history and how to play the kazoo, we left with our purchases (Oh yes!) and continued on our way.

Feel free to report this driver who was on his phone for the several miles he was in front of us, texting or facetiming, but certainly not concentrating fully on his driving.  He was one of several drivers we noticed today; thankfully spotting them in time to keep well out of their way.

The wide open dairy farming landscape changed as we headed west, into the wine growing region of NY state.  We passed acres of vineyards and small wineries offering tastings.  No, we weren’t tempted – we had too far to travel.

Our next stop was Jamestown; a clue to the main reason for our stopping here is in the picture above (though I am too young to recognise it, too )

It was the birthplace and home of Lucille Ball and the town has many references to her as well as a small museum and visitor centre, which we enjoyed.  It’s here where the annual Lucille Ball Comedy Fest takes place and where annual conventions involve hordes of lookie likies.

In taking a photograph of the mural way down the street, I also captured the Erie Railroad bridge for my Hero – though I think he found better images on the internet (hardly surprising).

Onward then, through Chataqua County, home to the Chataqua adult education movement, which, I learned, was a system of travelling lecturers, bringing knowledge and performance to people living in rural America in the late 19th and early 20th century. 

We crossed the state line and drove into Pennsylvania, past signs alerting us to Amish buggies on the road, though there were none to be seen today.

A little further, our next stop appeared on the signpost.  We had Conneaut on our map, and knowing it to be just inside Ohio, I got my camera at the ready to snatch a shot of the sign.

I know.

The White Turkey Drive In was our reason for stopping.  Thankfully, not too busy, we pulled up and stepped out onto Ohio ground for the first time – kerching!!  My 35th state, I believe?

Someone’s Root Beer Float was a little larger than he imagined, but was declared one of the best!

With the afternoon half gone, we took the Interstate for the last part of our journey to make it to Cleveland in reasonable time.  Another grand city awaits our exploration and we have plans for tomorrow which include a similarly rich variety of experiences to look forward to.

I’m also thankful to report that I found a note on our bed when we arrived.

Oh Canada! Oh Frank! Oh Heck!

We began the day with a series of bridges, gantries, tolls and suchlike, because our plan was to visit Niagara Falls, and we felt the best viewing place was over the border in Canada.

It’s not actually that far and with passports, EESTA forms, proof of our return flights home and anything else an Immigration Officer might request to see, we negotiated our way through it all.

Just when we thought we’d made it, there was yet another set of signs and choices to be made.  Not to mention a grumpy Canadian Immigration Officer who wanted to know the answers to several questions including why we were here, why we visit the USA so often, when we were going home and had we any firearms or alcohol with us?

At last.  We were in Canada.

We weren’t interested in all the hokum and tacky stuff downtown, like Ripley’s Believe it or Not and Louis Tussauds Waxworks – we just wanted to see the falls.  So, parking the car in a convenient if pricey place just across the road from the water, we got out our cameras and off we went.  The American Falls were looking lovely.

Right on cue, the Maid of the Mist chugged past and we all agreed, we really didn’t want to get wet.  We’d view the falls from terra firma, thank you.

A little further along the pathway, the Horseshoe Falls came into view.  There were quite a few people here already, though at least on this Monday morning we could easily find space to take our pictures.

We went a little further along the pathway, getting a bit closer to the falls, though by now were all reaching the conclusion that we’d more or less seen what we had come to see, however breathtakingly spectacular it is.

We were all very pleased we’d decided to stay dry!

 

Though, even here, we were getting a bit damp!  Perhaps it was time to return to the car?

Just before we do, we’ll take a quick look at the nightmare hotel where we stayed on our last visit here – the white tower in the centre of the photo.  Though I was blogging in August 2006, I didn’t make any mention of our visit to Niagara, nor did I mention the scary fire alarm when we were on the 31st floor of that tower.  It is, however, one of my most read reviews on Trip Advisor!

We jumped in the car and headed back to the bridge.

The traffic was moving s-l-o-w-l-y, as the immigration process was taking time.  At one point, those in the front of the car were in the USA and my mobile art studio was still in Canada!

Over by the Maid of the Mist jetty and viewing platform, we could see that there could well be some interesting views from the American side.  Should we go and see?

Well, this was taking such an age, perhaps it’d be better to simply press on and see something else on our wishlist?  First though, we had to run the gauntlet of the snarky US immigration guy, determined as he was to belittle us before allowing us a grudging re-entry.

We took refuge in a fast food restaurant and ate lunch with a fascinating show going on outside, as a woman look a liking to a pile of carpet remnants on the pavement.  Reinforcements were soon on hand and others decided they’d like a piece of the carpet, too.

We needed to move to a more worthwhile location and thankfully, one such place was within a couple of miles.  Frank Lloyd Wright had designed and built this house for Darwin Martin and his family and before we’d even set foot on the site we were happy!

It’s said to be the finest example of his Prairie designs and the more we saw, the more we loved it.  The planting was exquisite, the details stunning – as in any FLW structure, every tiny detail had been considered and perfectly resolved.

Sadly, no photographs inside the house so the pictures on the website will have to do!

Rather than return to the hotel and go out to supper later, this evening we decided to drop by the Anchor Bar for some original Buffalo Wings on the way back.

The menu was extensive but of course, we ordered buffalo wings – and Anchor home fries, and some boneless chicken wings  for me, who doesn’t particularly like gnawing on skin and bones!

The trouble is, the portions are so huge that even when we’d finished, we’d hardly left our mark on those plates.

Oh heck!

The Hotel Life

Whilst on a road trip in the USA, we find the Hampton Inn brand of hotel suits us very well indeed.  Generally well located, they offer a reliable and consistent product at a reasonable price.  The Hampton Inn in downtown Buffalo is unusually plush and our room particularly spacious.  There is, however, one individual quirk which we’ve not seen previously.

All over the ceiling, by every sprinkler, in fact, is a “no hanger” sign.  Someone at some point must have used one to hang a coathanger with disastrous consequences.  The notices have provoked a different response from each of the three of us and those responses are quite revealing:

Mark: “Well, who on earth would do such a stupid thing?”

Me: “Oh, just think of the mess if all those sprinklers went off”

Mary: “As if I could even reach one"!”

The other Hampton Inn quirk which has developed since our last stay in one is the post it note highlighting clean sheets and duvet covers.

What?!  Like weren’t they clean before?  Surely, it’s no more than could be expected in any hotel?  Welcome to the practice of “pre-emptive advertising” – by highlighting the fact that everything is clean, there’s the vague suggestion that elsewhere, that’s not necessarily the case.

But for me, it simply makes me wonder about the times when there isn’t a note there, especially when the post it note only appeared on the second night of our stay last week!  Ewww…

Time to shuffle off

Someone’s been threatening to burst into song all day.  If you’re not familiar with the song from 42nd Street, then perhaps you won’t guess that we are now in Buffalo.

We drove along one of the Finger Lakes this morning from Ithaca, heading towards Rochester.  Thankfully, it was warm and sunny and the rain of the last few days appears to have moved on.

The landscape here is of rich farmlands dotted with a farm here and there, the buildings frequently dwarfed by several large silos.

The Amish farms are easy to recognise, because there are no electricity cables connecting them to the grid.

Of course, the large number of black buggies parked outside the large barn on this Sunday morning also gave the game away.  Perhaps the whole village was there inside, attending a service?

Throughout the last few days, we have come across the Erie Canal (cue another song) and here, it was wide and rather fuller than I imagined.  The couple in the motor boat were travelling at a rather faster speed than would have been permitted on a British canal, that’s for sure!

Soon, we were approaching Rochester and the lush green fields gave way to broad avenues and busy streets.

Whilst stopped at traffic lights, we spotted the neon sign in this sandwich shop.  I think it could have been phrased better, don’t you?

Our destination was here: Susan B Anthony’s house.  We’d already “met” her yesterday in Seneca Falls, but here her story was the focus and our guide, Linda, was a storyteller of the first degree.  She added a few additional details to the story we heard yesterday and did so in such a way that we were all captivated by her every word.

We continued a little further down the street to view the statue of Miss Anthony chatting to Frederick Douglass over a cup of tea.  The bright sunshine made photography difficult, but I wasn’t complaining!  Frederick Douglass was another figure in the story we’ve come to know better: An escaped slave, he made his way north by means of the Underground Railroad and perhaps we’ll encounter him again when we find out more about that?

Whilst in Rochester, we wanted to take a look downtown too.  The distinctive skyscraper bears the name of the Eastman Kodak company, no longer the major employer it was, sadly.

 

We were heading for the Rennes Bridge, to view the High Falls.

Quite a landmark in the city centre, the falls were surrounded by a rather scruffy collection of former warehouses and factories.  But on a lovely Sunday afternoon, that didn’t matter to us, especially when the sound of a railroad whistle caught our attention as it chugged over the bridge above the falls, completing the scene nicely!

From Rochester, it was just a couple of hours drive to Buffalo, our stop for a couple of nights.  No sooner had we arrived than we were out looking at the wonderful architecture.

So many fine views of contrasting styles and materials.

Interesting modern details, such as the US Constitution written on the windows of the Courthouse.  Yes, of course we searched out the 19th Amendment following our theme of the last couple of days and sure enough, there it was, repeated several times over the course of the windows.

The Liberty building had distinctive figures up there on both rooftops.

I liked the expression here

and when we remembered to look up, the reward was clear to see.

Buffalo is a surprisingly monumental city and we are delighted we included it in our plans.  We’re going to head out and visit America’s oldest State Park tomorrow, taking our passports with us “just in case”.

Fingers crossed, the sun will still be shining.

Inspiring Women

We are in Ithaca, in the Finger Lakes region of NY state and home to Cornell University.  Thankfully, we woke to dry weather this morning and having enjoyed breakfast here at the hotel, we headed out in a northerly direction to Seneca Falls.

We didn’t go far for our first stop, though.  The Taughannock Falls are on the edge of Ithaca, just the other side of Lake Cayuga and were the first place on our list.  In little more than five minutes we’d got out of the car, taken our pictures and were ready to go.  We continued our discussion of why people appear to consider it acceptable to wear pyjamas beyond their bedrooms, prompted by observation of two men, old enough to know better, at breakfast in the hotel.

Hmm.  What happened to standards?

We drove swiftly on through rich green farmlands, past Amish farms with interesting washing lines, travelling too fast to capture the quilt and the horse and buggy adequately.

The men were working in the fields whilst the women – oh, the women!  They were at home in the garden, playing volleyball wearing full length dresses in pastel shades of blue, pink and lavender and each had a white cotton bonnet on her head, too.   What a lovely sight, full of joy and spirit – simple pleasures indeed and the picture will stay in my mind for a long time.

We carried on along the road with the buggy lane on each side and were soon approaching the city of Seneca Falls, our focus for the morning.

Sadly, we couldn’t park any closer to the Women’s Rights National Historic Park Visitor Center!

We were here because this is where the landmark Women’s Rights meeting took place in 1848, demanding full and equal rights with men.  The statue in the picture above shows Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony being introduced to one another by Amelia Bloomer; all three women were key figures in the movement and inspired thousands of others to take up the cause.  Seneca Falls, the home of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, became the location for temperance and abolition meetings which were used to address women’s issues.

I’ve written before about how we admire the National Parks Ranger service and this morning, one of their number gave an excellent talk at Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s former home.  One particular sentence he spoke about married women’s lack of inheritance rights gave much food for thought and explained why so many women felt the need to take action:

“A wife could be a heartbeat away from destitution; that was her husband’s heartbeat”

We took time to explore the former Wesleyan Chapel where that first meeting took place, and of course browsed the Visitors’ Center, feeling we had not only seen everything there was to see, but also in my case, learned a whole lot too.

The travelling companions gathered up the maps and we headed for Syracuse, where the Erie Canal Museum was on our list.

Four lines of railway tracks used to pass through this city centre but on this Saturday afternoon all was looking rather bleak and empty.  One cop car lurked in a far corner so we parked very carefully!

The huge Erie canal passed through the city too, right alongside those railway lines and here, there was a weigh house so the charges and tolls could be calculated.

Now, little remains of the canal but a bit of metalwork here and there and the museum sitting alongside in the old Weigh House.

Does all of this look a little bleak and foresaken?  You bet it was.  Even the charming young woman in the museum couldn’t really bring the place to life and after watching a short film about the heydays of the canal and taking a look around, we decided we’d had enough.

Sorry Syracuse.

We headed back to Ithaca wondering if it might be time we cleared out the car a little   I had 50% off coupons for Michaels and JoAnns burning a hole in my pocket, so we made a couple of shortish stops and I saved quite a few $$$.

Dinner tonight was at the Moosewood Kitchen, in Ithaca, where the food was delicious and “different”. 

As I’m sitting here typing, I’m thinking about those women at Seneca Falls who worked tirelessly to create a world where women like Mary and I can go about wearing trousers, spending our own money and have exactly the same rights as anyone else.

And then I think about the women playing volleyball in long dresses and bonnets.  Their choice?