From The Road: Saratoga, Chatauqua, Erie - Aquatic Tourism

September 25, 2007

Chugging across the narrow end of Lake Champlain on a ferry was restful, cool, and fun. Peachy enjoyed getting off her tired tires for a while, and Penny hung over the railing watching the flocks of birds and waving to the power boaters speeding by. When we docked, we were in the craggy beginnings of the Adirondacks! We spent a couple of days in and around the beautiful water of Lake George with dear friends, and then headed south into Saratoga Springs. Being August, the place was bustling, and Penny decided to fore go a dip in the mineral waters there, though we did like the various horse statues on the sidewalks, all decorated by different artists, and all beautiful and festive.

The northern part of New York is very agricultural, and we passed by some fields where the corn, while perhaps not quite as high as an elephant's eye, would certainly hide your average Buick. This was the beginning of the corn belt which was to accompany us for the next several weeks through numerous states, alternating with soybeans ad infinitum.

Grapes also grow well in that region, and the vineyards stretched for miles, only grudgingly making way for a house now and then. I stopped at a roadside stand to buy blueberries, zucchini, and garlic (the best!), from a really nice woman who also grows great flowers (I probably stopped because the flowers were so lovely). She and her husband cultivate several acres of grapes which are sold to a local cooperative for making juice and jam. She said that there had been no rain for the past month and a half, and we both hoped that the harvest would be OK in spite of that lack.

A dream for many years was fulfilled when I spent a day at The Chatauqua Institute on Lake Chatauqua. It is a wondrous place, part vacation, part fun and fellowship, and a large part culture and creative arts. I heard how Francis of Assisi's prayers were influenced by Muslim form, and a discussion on a book, "The Tent of Abraham", written by a Catholic nun, a Rabbi, and a Muslim scholar. Wonderful and worthwhile.

Walking by the Erie Canal turned into a living history lesson, and I reflected on how important it is to experience things, not always to just read or hear about them. The people who have been part of our history in the USA are a varied bunch, independent, brave, generous, ruthless, and more. I am excited to be able to see more of the places I have read about, and the lasting effects many of our forefathers and -mothers have wrought.

Noted in passing:
A bumper sticker urging, "KEEP AURORA WILD", not your everyday Chamber of Commerce message, surely.
A sign for a nudist resort in Candor, NY.
A jaunty life-sized skeleton perched at a picnic table and wearing a beret, seemingly waiting for a glass of wine. That waiter must have been really slow.
My favorite, a vending machine selling live bait. Those fishermen are serious!

Shalom