3 "full" days - Canada & New York

We had a surprisingly wonderful and jam-packed time in Ontario, Canada and Upstate NY. Fate had us literally stumbling over interesting activities right & left.

Highlights included:

• Michigan

  • Nothing against "Pure" Michigan (their somewhat confusing slogan), but we were getting antsy about moving eastward and just didn't stop long there. Instead we quickly crossed into Canada from Detroit.

• Canada . . .

  • Some things we noticed about Canada? Same acres of corn and soybeans as in every US state, but much better roads, fewer billboards, and MANY more wind turbines in the fields!

• Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario

  • Slept in two different vineyards: Our hosts were generous with their space and happy to sell us wine!

  • Niagara Falls: We rode our bikes down to the actual Niagara Falls in the morning. The falls were amazing, but the town around the area was sorta icky. Coney Island and Fisherman's Wharf times 10,000! Hard to imagine anything kitschier, but, hey, it still makes for an enduring memory. :-)

  • The 9th best 9-hole golf course in North America: AND it was also the OLDEST golf course in North America. Combined with our experience golfing in Culver, we're quickly becoming connoisseurs of 9-hole golf courses! . . . And on top of that, we got to play with a really wonderful couple from Nova Scotia who've now retired to Ontario to be closer to their grandchildren: Shelly and Brock.

  • Shawfest '22: It turns out that Niagara-on-the-Lake has a festival of plays much like Ashland, Oregon . . . only, instead of Shakespeare, it's patron saint is George Bernard Shaw. We saw a terrific play -- sitting in the VERY front row -- called "Just to Get Married". Written by Cicely Hamilton and in 1910 -- WELL BEFORE the 19th amendment. It's a play about the limited options that women had for careers back then (basically, just one: get married) and one woman's struggle against that idea.

• Seneca Falls, NY

  • The Women's Rights National Historical Park: The play in Canada set the stage for us wanting to stop in Seneca Falls. The town was the setting for the first ever convention on women's rights in 1948 -- spearheaded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott (and many others too numerous to name). The town has a really terrific museum dedicated both to the event and to women's rights in general. It spawned a great deal of thought and discussion for both of us.

• Cooperstown, NY

  • The Baseball Hall of Fame: Of course we both "needed" to stop at the HOF, and I think Randy could have spent the whole week there. ;-) There are tons of things to see, but we particularly loved everything Giants-related . . . as well as the 5-6 places that Addie Joss was mentioned. There's no known actual connection to "Uncle Addie" as far as anyone knows, but we like to pretend he's family. Among his many claims to fame are 2 no-hitters and the all-time record for career WHIP (Walks & Hits per Inning Pitched). He wasn't quite Christy Mathewson (the ex-Giant and one of the very first elections to the HOF), but he was very, very good.

  • The Farmer's Museum: At the suggestion of my good friend Kathy Moser, we visited the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown. We expected to just pop in and out, but ended up spending almost as long there as we did at the HOF! It's a really fascinating look at ALL facets of life on the farm in the 1800's. The docents are in character and tremendously knowledgeable, even cooking food from the 1800s. We also continued the theme of women's (and minority) rights as there were copious exhibits and examples of their importance to society despite the many, many injustices they were subject to.

  • Brewery Ommegang: One of our favorites. Terrific beer, not available enough on the west coast. The brewery is amazing. You need to go if you're ever in Cooperstown.

• Albany, NY

  • We had an absolutely wonderful visit with our friends Kathy and David. He works for the state in urban redevelopment and she works for an environmental non-profit. As a result, they're very very plugged into the revitalization of Albany. It's a lovely city on the river and we enjoyed it tremendously.

  • Plus, we got to see "Irish Rowing" on the Hudson. I never knew you could paddle so fast with an oar that looks like a 2x4! But I guess it helps when a barefoot priest blesses your boat before the race. :-)

  • Visiting Connor: Lastly, we got to visit with one of our son Adam's good friends from growing up. Connor just graduated from Duke and works now for a fascinating tech company in Albany. He's taking salsa lessons and we even got to see him and his friends put on a bit of a show at the National Hispanic Heritage celebration while we were there.

  • Unusual health advice: The story of the visit to Albany wouldn't be complete without mentioning the book of health advice we came across that had an unusual number of words dedicated to the benefits of a coffee enema. . . . While I'm sure someone's clearly found it useful (since they put it in the book), none of us were intrigued enough to try it. (yikes)

Thoughts for the day:

From Randy: Instead of creating my own thought for the day, I thought we might let some of the quotes we came across shine on their own. It's important to add though that this is just a small fraction of the inspiration that we were given across these three days.

I'm always struck by the actions of individual bravery that make up history. So often it feels as if an one person can never make a substantial difference, yet these men and women dared to have an impact even when hoping for such a result seemed like folly.

There were many important names I knew going in, but as I read more I was especially struck by the experiences of some of the folks I knew less about.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Lucretia Mott,

Laura Cornelius Kellogg and the matriarchal leaders of the Haudenosaunee tribes,

Hank Aaron & Roberto Clemente, and

Dred Scott & his wife Harriet.

Their stories are incredible, and their patience, determination, and personal strength were absolutely unimaginable.