By now it was Thursday and the dire warnings regarding Hurricane Matthew were ramping up big time. Bruce did his best to ignore it, however, that was sometimes easier said than done. At one point he said if we shared the driving we could be back in Florida before it hit. I was not a fan of that plan for many reasons, not the least of which is I would have been a chicken to drive all that way! Cheryle got in touch, as did our son David, offering to help, but since I'd given my house keys to Pam at the last minute, she and Glen were kind enough to move all of our outdoor stuff into the house, doing their best to secure the property. As it turned out, thankfully, Orlando was largely spared any major damage.
We were anxious to get on the road, leaving the Microtel behind us. First stop was the old
Seneca Knitting Mill situated on water in "downtown" Seneca Falls. Although it doesn't look like much yet, the building on the right soon will become the National Women's Hall of Fame. Work is ongoing.
There is quite a lot of history connected to this town, including the Seneca Falls Convention held in the mid 1800's, attended by important women of the time championing women's rights. Should you care to learn more, visit the link above.
Another imposing school, and the requisite American flag with war memorials and Hostas in the foreground. Hostas? I chose this photo for Cheryle who managed to get hers to grow, whereas mine, despite the saucers of beer I filled nightly, were pretty darn pathetic.
Blue skies again!! Seemingly, in the middle of nowhere, a quilt shop appeared on the side of the road.
Passing it, as we were driving relatively fast, Bruce turned us right back around so I could visit
Patchwork Plus in Marcellus, New York.
Naturally, I came away with some goodies. Next stop, Hunter's Dinerant in Aurora, New York, for a late breakfast.
Right along Main Street, it is set on huge pilings over a creek. So, you read that right, Dinerant.
While sitting at the counter, enjoying our breakfast, a local sat down by Bruce. Naturally I wanted to know more about the name, and he was only to happy to tell us that in the 1950's when Mr. Hunter had it delivered to this spot, he thought combining diner and restaurant in the name would add a little more class to the place. He also mentioned Mr. Hunter was a little uppity. :)
Skaneateles, the village of which is situated on the shores of Lake Skaneateles, is a lovely town, with gorgeous homes. I mean seriously beautiful!
I never did figure out how to pronounce the name! A New York tourist destination for centuries, this hotel across from the lake is a testament to that.
Imagine...established in 1807!
Is there anyone on a road trip that could pass this scene by? Not these road warriors!
So, if Western New York is grape country, this part is apple country. Loads of places selling apple related goods, with some places, including this one, allowing you to pick your own. This was definitely my first time seeing an apple orchard! Bruce bought a bag of apples, pre-picked, and I bought some CIDER DONUTS that were scrumptious!
Not that I needed them, following our big breakfast, however, I could not resist the aroma.
And then there were more wind turbines..
and colorful trees beginning to show up more and more. The pastoral scenes were plentiful along the way; I am wondering how this must look covered in snow.
Having lived my whole life in flat Florida, I was thrilled to see the lovely rolling hills along our route.
A tiny little town where we stopped for gas had a sign for falls about nine miles off the road. Asking the attendant about them, he said he'd never been there, and didn't know anyone who had. Okay. Bruce found another little town nearby that did have some falls, albeit small ones.
Continuing on our way, we saw what looked like a large house, set at a crossroads near Waterville, NY. The sign said Michael's Fine Food & Spirits, and Bruce wondered if they served lunch. I, on the other hand, thought they sold gourmet food. We decided to turn around and find out. Lo and behold, it was a restaurant, that was not only lovely, but served delicious food as well. We were seated in the red room, with only one other gentleman as it was around 2 in the afternoon.
Pictured in the bottom of the mirror, he told us he made an annual pilgrimage since his wife died four years ago as they used to go there together. My grilled BLT with homemade chips was one of the best things I ate on the whole trip.
Two crazy coincidences with this stop. One, the man has a cousin who lived in Winter Park and his friend is an architect who designed a golf club house that Bruce worked on a gazillion years ago in Haines City, near the now defunct Boardwalks and Baseball!! So, that is one, but here's another, a little more recent. Once home, I mentioned the place to Pam and if you can imagine, she once lived in Waterville, her sister still lives nearby, and they have been there multiple times!!! Plus, they know Michael. What, my friends, are the chances of this happening????
Later on, as we were making our way to Albany, Mr. Peck needed a power nap. Stopping alongside the road in yet another small town, he parked, and your favorite blogger found this when she stepped out of the car.
Because I know you can't read the sign, I'll tell you what it says:
Tunicliff Mill
Built 1791 by Jedidiah Peck
who "would survey your farm in the forenoon,
preach a funeral sermon in afternoon
and talk politics all the week."
I must look at Ancestry and see if Jedidiah and Bruce are related! As you may know, he was born not all that far from where we parked.
Tired yet? We're almost to Albany....but first, take a look at what we drove by.
And then turned around for a closer inspection. While we were having a gander, a man stepped out of the pictured brownish building on the right. Happy to have a visitor, he invited us into the shop where they were working on a bar-b-que grill for Jay Leno. Not just any grill, but one housed in a carriage of sorts.
Because, that is what they do. The Merli Carriage Mfg. Co makes reproductions for the likes of....are you ready for this? Disney! Plus places like the Biltmore, Saks Fifth Avenue, and more. All in this machine shop.
Located in Duanesburg, New York,
James Duane, former Governor of New York, had dreams of making it the state capital back in the year of our Lord, 1765. History, everywhere you turn, or so it seemed to me.
While Duanesburg never became the capital of NY, nearby Albany did, and that is where we spent the night. Checking into our Hampton, we ate a scrumptious dinner at this place adjacent to the hotel.
Super stylish, we ate at the bar because it was pretty well full. As a fan of cool lighting I was delighted by these over the bar.
Doing our best to both ignore the hurricane news, and the nasty political news, we slept soundly after another day on the road.
Hope you felt like you were along for the ride,
Gail
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