Neither Ron nor I have been to visit his oldest brother Dale and wife Marie in Ithaca. Since they're planning to move closer to one of their sons in VT next year, this was our last year to have a reason to visit Ithaca. Dale professed at Cornell University and retired four years ago; Marie nursed at the local hospital and retired a couple years before that.
We enplaned in Phoenix Wednesday morning to fly to Philadelphia (referred to as "Philly" by those in the know), where we connected to a flight to Ithaca.
Did I ever say I wasn't a geek? I had a window seat! I had to take (blurry) pictures of my first Back East Fall Colors!
Ithaca has a population of about 30,000 and this airport reminded me of the one we flew into in Grand Island, NE, with a similar population.
Dale and Marie picked us up and the driving we did to get to their home gave us a good start on those spectacular fall colors.
Our hosts had a full slate of touristing planned for us. They chose drives that included endless scenes of color,
and destinations that were replete with local history. Of which there is a lot. And it's important history.
Thursday we drove to Auburn. Our first stop was the Harriet Tubman property. Holy Smokes! History in the East is very different than history in the West. LOTS older, and of different significance to the country. The schoolbook Harriet Tubman I knew about took on a whole different reality as we read about her in the museum and saw her actual home.
Marie said there are many of these signs along roadways. There were put there when the means of transportation were such that you could read and enjoy them as you traveled. That would be a few MPH ago!
This was Harriet's primary residence, and was closed to tourists.
Harriet owned and operated this house as a Home For The Aged, and lived here the last two years of her life.
The museum was full of interesting facts and true stories of this woman whom Wikipedia calls "a major conductor of the Underground Railroad". She was an amazing example of the difference one person CAN make.
Next in Auburn was the residence of William H. Seward.
Known by me only as the agent of "Seward's Folly", not only was Alaska not a folly, he was a prominent politician of his times.
The Seward family planned for perpetuity. This house was donated fully intact. The clothing in the closets had notes in the pockets saying who wore it and where it had been worn.
Our final stop in Auburn was at the cemetery.
We visited the grave sites of Harriet Tubman
as well as William Seward and his wife.
The drive home included a stop at the fantastic MacKenzie-Childs furniture factory. Described as eclectic (really expensive, too), here's a sample. It was a fun hour looking at these creations.
Friday, brother Ed, his wife Paula and their son Joshua made the drive up from the Washington D.C. area to join us for the weekend. As their arrival was in the afternoon, we spent the morning in the Ithaca area sampling the many waterfalls.
Taughannock Falls:
Buttermilk Falls:
In Tremain State Park, we followed this wonderful trail built by the CCC:
The trail took us to Upper Falls:
and Lower Falls.
In town, Ithaca Falls:
Once Ed and family arrived, Dale took us on a driving tour of Cornell University campus. It's not a single entity. There is a main campus, but various satellite campuses are located throughout the Ithaca area. And what would a campus be without its own falls?
College life is known to have it's stresses, and you can imagine that Cornell University would not be on the list of the country's "party schools". It's an Ivy League school, with a high degree of history, prestige, and expectation of performance. I took this photo of Fall Creek from a suspension bridge that crosses Fall Creek Gorge on campus. There have been enough student suicides from this bridge to warrant the wire you see, which reaches about 15' high. Yikes.
Ron's birthday was this day, and we celebrated with cake and ice cream.
Saturday we drove to Geneva and met Dale and Marie's daughter Becky and her husband Matt for a very nice lunch and chat at the restaurant of the Belhurst Castle.
Cornell University is well known for its Ornithology Department, and we had time for a brief stop at the Ornithology Lab on our way home.
Sunday Ed & Family departed for points south, and with Marie at the wheel, we headed north to Canada and Niagara Falls. Driving through a bit of snow didn't bother us a bit!
We stopped in Seneca Falls, which is considered the birthplace of the Women's Suffrage movement in the U.S. This statue and plaque commemorate the meeting of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who were instrumental in the movement. There's that history again.
Niagara Falls is best viewed from the Canadian side, so we crossed the border into Canada.
With an overnight stay planned, we checked into our hotel then walked to the viewing area for the Falls.
There are actually three Falls. On the American side, American Falls and smaller Bridal Veil Falls to the right.
On the Canadian side, Horseshoe Falls.
The Falls are fed by the Niagara River, which in turn is fed by Lakes Erie and Ontario. 20% of the world's fresh water goes over these falls. Stunning, and worth seeing.
The area has been popular for a couple hundred years, and because there is no ready way to interact with the Falls, the area is intensely commercialized. The Falls are surrounded by high-rise hotels and casinos, and no end of tourist activities at $20 a pop. Ron and I chose to go "Behind the Falls" for a closer view.
A visit to the local IMAX rounded out this day. The movie included a general history of the area, and in the same building was a small museum containing many of the devices daredevils have used to go over the falls through the years. Yes, many with fatal results.
There is an associated Niagara Parks system that offers plenty of activities, including trails, gardens, culinary opportunities, and golf. On Monday we went to the Butterfly Conservatory. Dale and Marie highly recommended it, and it did not disappoint. In fact, it was not only the best of the three butterfly gardens I've visited, but I may never go to another one because it can't possibly be as good!
At 11,000 square feet, the Conservatory is a controlled tropical environment. The flora is beautifully and lushly maintained.
In the winter season, the butterfly population is kept at about 2,000. That's enough butterflies fluttering around to keep your attention! Butterflies are both raised at the conservatory and imported.
Time to head back to Ithaca. We made another stop in Seneca Falls intending to visit the Women's Suffrage museum; despite our double-checked information it was closed. We made do very satisfactorily with the National Women's Hall of Fame, which contained a few artifacts, photographs and information about women past and present who have been nominated for their contributions to the country.
Our last stop was at Aurora Inn in Aurora for a special treat of dessert and coffee. The Inn is one of several local historical residences restored by a woman who attended the local college, made her fortune, and came back to show her thanks in this way.
With our flight home the next day, our time in Ithaca was finished. Many thanks to our hosts Dale and Marie for their hospitality and thoroughly excellent choices of attractions to share with us.
