Staying Close to Home

Wow! What a week-end. My challenge? To entertain myself for an entire week-end within a 30 mile radius of home. As those of you who live in my area know, that isn’t really much of a challenge. There is so much to do here that it is just a matter of getting yourself up off the couch or in my case, stepping away from work for a few days. I often feel guilty for not “getting enough done” over the week-end. Maybe the real challenge is how not to work all week-end!

Anyway, here’s how it goes. I started my day on Saturday with a hearty breakfast on
the deck. It’s so nice to get outside early on these hot summer days. While I thought about the day ahead, I enjoyed watching this butterfly take nectar from my flowers. There were lots of honey bees getting their fill, too. I’m part of something called the Sunflower Project where we count and report on the number of honey bees we attract. I don’t have sunflowers this year but will make a report anyway. After my report, it was time to hit the road.

My first stop was to a new gift shop in downtown Clifton Springs called Off the Beaten Path. It’s kind of a new age shop that reminds me of Woodstock, New York. You get the idea. I’ve been looking for new pillows and found this one.
I don’t have an African or even animal décor but liked the colors in this one. It’s a nice mother/child image. Isn’t it amazing how such a small purchase can bring new life to your home and make you happy?

I had received a post card earlier in the week from the Phelps Arts Center alerting me to an exhibit called Temples & Towers from Toothpick City II. What? Toothpicks you say? The Phelps Arts Center is less than 5 miles from my house so off I go. I have to admit to being a bit cynical about this exhibit. Well shame on me. It was crazy amazing. The exhibit includes 55 toothpick replicas of towers and religious buildings around the world from the Stratosphere in Las Vegas to St. Peter’s Basilica & Square in Rome. The detail was incredible. The more I looked, the more I discovered. A definite “thumbs up” on that one.




Next stop was a consignment shop a few miles down the road from the Arts Center. I have passed this shop many times on the way to somewhere else but have never taken the time to stop. That ends today! At Gabriella’s Consignment Shop there is quite an array of interesting “stuff” to be found. It’s the kind of place that you just know holds a treasure that has been waiting just for you. I was casually looking through the used clothing rack when voila! I made a super exciting find! Way back in the day I worked in an upscale clothing store that carried such things as
Pendleton suits. I was just crazy for them but they were way out of my price range. I had come to think of them as just the ultimate luxury. Over the years I have looked at these suits with the thought of treating myself but they either didn’t fit well or were not to my taste. At Gabriella’s I found a navy blue, classic style Pendleton wool blazer that fit just perfectly. It was tagged at $6.25! I grabbed it like I was at a Filene’s basement sale in NYC, sure someone would tear it out of my hands. I rushed to the register to seal the deal only to discover that it was 60% off. The final price was just $2.50! I am so super excited that I almost can’t wait for fall to get here so that I can wear it.

The last stop for the day was at a little shop called Chickadee Lane. This is a cute little shop owned by the woman who used to do all my floral arrangements in Clifton Springs. The shop has dried flower arrangements, antiques, hooked rugs and supplies. She wasn’t in the shop but a friend from another lifetime was. Its sad how you can move through your life without keeping connected to people you really like. Life, kids, work, etc. all seem to conspire against me. Finding an old friend: Priceless!

I’m not religious and don’t attend any religious services but I think of Sunday as a family day or a day of reflection. That being said, I decided to go hang out at the beach. What better way to reflect upon the week than to lie in the sun and watch the water. On my way to the beach, I decided to stop off at the Sodus Bay Lighthouse Museum.
I was met at the door by a lovely gentleman who was just so pleased to be there showing people around. He walked me through the first few exhibits with such pride. I climbed to the top of the lighthouse, squeezing myself through the small hatch at the top. What a pretty view.

A band was setting up for their summer concert series so I decided to stay a while. I found a nice bench in the shade overlooking Lake Ontario. I ate my lunch, read my book and gazed out at the sailboats. Several nice people came to sit with me on my bench and I enjoyed some pleasant conversations.
The breeze was so nice and the music so soothing that I never made it to the beach. The thought of sitting out in the sun compared to my idyllic location had lost its appeal.

So I’m home again reflecting on my wonderful week-end. I challenge you to find fun and adventure in your own neighborhood. Enjoy the scenery and the people you meet along the way. Take notice of the things around you and appreciate what they have to offer. Happy wandering!

Canoeing: Plant a Seed and Hope it Grows

Let me preface my post by saying that I just love being near, on, or in the water. I don’t know if that love comes from my mother taking the family to the beach all summer long or something to do with a past life. In any case, I don’t discriminate between bodies of water. Creeks, lakes, rivers, oceans: I love them all equally. There is just something so peaceful and renewing about being around water.

I have been lucky enough to live fairly close to bodies of water my entire life. Lake Champlain and the Saranac River were very accessible during my “growing” years. Life in New Jersey brought the Atlantic Ocean and our house near Buffalo was about 10 minutes from the shores of Lake Erie. Our move to the Finger Lakes region brought a new wealth of lakes, ponds and the Erie Canal to explore and enjoy.

My life in the Finger Lakes and the enjoyment in the views of the lakes started me thinking about owning a canoe of my very own. The thought of paddling in the waters of the Finger Lakes region just sounded so relaxing and soothing. Just think of the near-silent dipping of a paddle in a calm body of water propelling you forward into the sunset enjoying the scenery and wildlife all around you on a beautiful summer evening.

And so the challenge begins. I planted the seed of owning a canoe with my husband 15 years ago when we moved to the Finger Lakes. I explained how nice it would be to get out onto the water and enjoy the natural resources around us. I thought he was listening until he went out and bought a very nice 17’ Bayliner motor boat. It was a beautiful boat, but it was loud and smelly. Certainly not the calm and peaceful experience I thought of with a canoe. We sped around several of the Finger Lakes and even brought it up to the Adirondacks a few times. Our youngest daughter learned to water ski; something impossible to do with a canoe. But the boat just got to be too much trouble. It was always a production to get it into the water and after a few years it was for sale.

In the meantime, we have had a few positive canoe experiences. A paddling trip on the Delaware River Water Gap was very enjoyable but it still didn’t convince Tom that we needed a canoe of our own. Not until we borrowed a canoe this past summer and used it on Loon Lake in the Adirondacks did he start to seriously think of buying one. His addiction to Craig’s List came into play and by the end of the summer we were the proud owners of a canoe. My request was that before taking it to the Adirondacks we take it for a paddle on the Erie Canal.

Lo and behold, my dream of owning a canoe and paddling on the Erie Canal was finally realized this past week-end. For about 45 minutes on Sunday morning we paddled along the canal. The water was as smooth as glass and the fish were jumping all around us. It was a wonderful experience.

Was preparing myself physically for paddling a canoe on the Erie Canal the challenge? No, the real challenge was convincing my husband over a span of 15 years to give it a try! So plant your own seed and have patience. You just never know.

Public Transportation

Growing up in the country, there really weren’t many opportunities for me to take advantage of a public transportation system. With the exception of the school bus, I was able to get wherever I needed to be by car. When I went away to school I began to use the Greyhound bus service to get back and forth from Plattsburgh to Albany. It certainly was a culture shock to be dropped at the bus terminal in downtown Albany in 1977!

During my time in Albany, I started taking a bus to do my grocery shopping. As anyone who has grown up in a rural environment knows, you buy food for at least a two-week period. It didn’t occur to me until it was too late that I would have to carry all those bags onto the bus and then walk from the bus stop to my apartment. I still remember the ache in my arms by the time I got home. I didn’t make that mistake again. I had another opportunity to take advantage of a bus service in Philadelphia a few years ago when Erin and I were visiting. We had a short distance to travel and were told the bus was the best way to get there. Wow. First the bus was late getting to our stop and then it left us off in the middle of nowhere. I think I’ll leave bus travel to others from now on.

In recent years, I have been taking advantage of travel by train. The train is such an easy, comfortable way to travel. It takes a bit longer than driving but the seats are comfortable and the stations are easy to get around, not mention beautiful examples of architecture steeped in history. I remember my parents taking the family on a train from Plattsburgh to Ticonderoga so we could experience travel by rail before it became obsolete. Now the state of New York is vying for federal funds to create a high-speed train service. Apparently trains aren’t going anywhere soon.

I recently took a quick trip to New York City. I drove the first leg of the trip to Erin’s apartment which is near New Paltz. Our plan was to take the commuter train into the city. We knew that the parking lot for the commuter train would be very crowded on a weekday so we took advantage of a shuttle bus which took us straight to the train stop. This was great because we didn’t have to worry about parking and walking across a large parking lot in the rain. After about an hour and a half we reached Grand Central Station. Within minutes we were on the streets of NYC ready for our day none the worse for wear.

While I wouldn’t want to make that commute every day, it’s a great way to travel for an occasional visit. Travel by train is a definite improvement over taking the bus and I highly recommend it. Give it a try and good luck with your travels!

GPS: Friend or Foe?

I have to admit that I have always been “directionally” challenged. I’m one of those people who can turn around in a room and be totally lost. Not that this handicap has stopped me from driving wherever I wanted to go but it usually takes me a bit longer to get there. Surprisingly enough, I always led the caravan on Girl Scout trips. We always turned around at least once. What a leader!

You can imagine my excitement when the personal GPS units came on the market. Finally, directions to wherever I wanted to go. No more planning for that extra hour or so for “lost” time. Of course I have heard the funny references to the unit directing people into lakes, etc. Hmm, I’m not so sure. This brings me to my recent adventure.

Hilary and I set out from her apartment in Fairport to visit the Rochester Museum and Science Center. The directions were easily found listed under the museum section in the GPS information center. We were off, feeling pretty confident. We found our exit and first few turns without a problem. As we got closer to reaching our destination, the unit appeared to be directing us to turn down a dead end street. I couldn’t believe this was correct and tried to get the unit to recalculate several times. This meant several turns around the block on snow-covered streets with cars parked on the street. It was pretty tight.

After two or three times around the block, I decided that maybe the dead-end street ended in the parking lot of the museum. Stranger things have happened. When we got to the end of the street, there was a chain link fence. And lo and behold, the museum was just on the other side! Now technically, the GPS did get us to our destination we just weren’t willing to take the extra step and scale the fence.

We did end up finding the parking lot for the museum but the exhibit was sold out and we were turned away. I wonder if I had told my harrowing tale if they would have let us in. After all, the street did look pretty scary.