Falling Water

We left Albany this morning with a light rain falling, which it continued to do off and on most of the day.  We were headed west via the scenic route, Hwy 20, through the farm land of the northern Catskills. 

 We had a long way to go so we made ourselves pass up a lot of antique stores and keep going until we got to Richfield Springs, where we saw an arts fair in progress on the town green.  It was raining lightly, so we hurried through the stalls, but didn't leave empty handed.  I bought a hand carved wooden Santa for my collection.

All of that smoke was coming from the chicken bar be que.  But I'm afraid they had a wet picnic.

 Finally, at Cazenovia, we stopped for lunch at a Subway, which our GPS found for us, and it so happened that we wanted to check out this town anyway.  It was beautiful, with wonderful old houses and public buildings.

They had a little farmer's market going, and the rain had let up, so we walked over.

 I asked for a taste of the local strawberries.  Yum.

 Our destination was the Finger Lakes Region.  At Skaneateles, at the head of the lake by the same name,  we checked out another very beautiful town, explored the dock out on the lake, an antique store, and a few other shops.

 We noticed these bugs all over the wall and windows of this shop, so we asked.  Yes, it is May Fly time.  They hatch, mate, and die, but not before thickly settling on everything.   That reminds me of a sign I see often here, that we don't have.  When driving in a rural area and coming into a small village, our sign would say "Congestion", but here it says "Thickly Settled".  I love it.

 When we reached Auburn, we knew it was the end of our westward travels for today.  We would be heading south to Ithaca.  but first we needed to pay our respects to another remarkable woman, Harriet Tubman.

 This is the house that Harriet bought with the help of William Seward, the Secretary of State to President Lincoln.  Seward lived in Auburn, and his mansion near the town center is a national landmark.


Ms. Tubman's house is being restored and is not open.

 But the house next door that she bought to house the aged and infirm is now a museum.  We were too late for the tour, but this very nice gentleman showed us around.

 It was raining hard by the time we got to Fort Hill Cemetery, but we took the time to pay our respects to this great lady.  William Seward is buried there too.

 And then, as we headed south, the storm finally passed, the sun came out, and the temperature went up to the high 70's, just in time for us to do a little exploring in and around Ithaca.  First up, the waterfalls in Robert H Treman State Park.

 And then Buttermilk Falls.

 We checked into our lodgings, got some quick dinner at Panera Bread, and then went to find Cornell University.

 I had always heard about how beautiful the campus is, and I agree. And Cornell even has its own waterfall and gorge.

 The suspension bridge connects student housing to the campus, over the gorge.

 After riding in the car so long today it was good to get our exercise.

Tonight we are in Ithaca.  Tomorrow we'll be moving on again, north and west.  More falling water is in our near future, but it's not supposed to be rain.