Day 49: Turning Point

We visited Saratoga National Historical Park today, which memorializes the two battles fought on its fields in 1777. Many historians say that the October 7 victory won by the Americans over the British that year was the most important not only of the Revolutionary War, but of the last 1,000 years. While not large in scale or casualities when compared with other battles, it was nonetheless the first decisive victory over King George III's army (considered the best in the world at that time) and lead to France's decision to declare war on Britain, turning the colonists' rebellion into a world war.

The national park consists of an auto tour that takes visitors to key places in the campaigns' topography...the key skirmishes, headquarters, fortifications and even a wheat field in which British scouts were attacked while gathering grain to feed the besieged army. The countryside, which overlooks the Hudson River, is serene and beautiful. We found it difficult to imagine the hard-fought engagements of 235 years ago.  One building remains from that time...a farmhouse that was used as a command headquarters by the American forces. Outside its front door, the girls learned the steps necessary to load and fire a musket (using wooden sticks, not the real thing!), drill in military formation and patrol the field. Kelsey was especially convincing in her light blue sunglasses. :-)

We drove a few miles north to complete the experience, climbing the 188 steps of the 155-foot obelisk erected in 1877 to commemorate the site of the British surrender following the 2nd Battle of Saratoga. We learned it's one of four such obelisks in the country, the tallest being the Washington Monument in D.C.  The Saratoga Monument has four niches near its base, but only three contain statues of key commanders in the battles. The fourth is empty and would have held a statue of Benedict Arnold, perhaps one of the greatest military leaders of his time and without whom the Battle of Saratoga would have surely ended in the Americans' defeat. Arnold's name is not found anywhere within the park, and the niche is bare, due to his treasonous defection in 1780. Had he stayed the course with the Colonists, historians theorize his name would be memorialized throughout the country in similar fashion to Washington's. We're listening to an A&E podcast about him and are intrigued to learn more about this complicated man who is often likened to Napoleon in temperament and talent.

As our journey has brought us to this Mid-Atlantic part of the country, which played host to so many significant events in our nation's birth, we're challenged to stay focused and keep dates and names in their correct places. Getting lots of sleep is going to be key, and we're committing to get to bed earlier than midnight, which has become a bit of a habit in recent weeks! On that note, goodnight!

Saratoga recruits

Our lunchtime view over the fields of Saratoga

Cannon position above the Hudson River

Farmhouse used as American headquarters

155-foot Saratoga Monument...the empty niche is on the far side

View from the top of the monument, Vermont is in the distance

.

Day 48: When in Rome...

We're settled into a charming campground north of Albany, and Stan's out socializing with the neighbors at their campfire! This will be brief and sans photos this evening; this place has Internet service, but only at the lodge, which prevents me from my best writing posture: reclined in bed with my jammies on.

We journeyed across the state on I-90, a toll-road. The price was pretty steep for four axles, but the smooth road was well worth it. So why the title tonight? We stopped in Rome, NY, to visit Fort Stanwix, a significant outpost during the French and Indian War and one which endured a grueling siege by the British during the early years of the Revolutionary War. We saw a group of re-enactors fire a three-pound cannon--it's LOUD!--and learned about the limited (and often misguided) medical care available to the 500 troops stationed there in the mid-1700s. We came away very grateful for Tylenol, Walgreens, excellent doctors and readily available showers.

We hope to find a Starbucks or some other place with wifi tomorrow so that we can enjoy a livestream of Stan's dad preaching in Colorado Springs...a rare treat now that he's retired. After that, we'll probably take in Saratoga NP, just a few miles away. The Adirondacks are calling to us.

the girls are partway across the bridge into heavily-fortified Fort Stanwix

spectators at a 3-pound cannon demonstration

Day 47: Movers and Shakers

The Women's Rights National Historical Park is easy to miss...we did, driving right by it in Seneca Falls, NY! We were so busy admiring the charming Victorian houses on the other side of the street that we were blind to the large buildings associated with the site. One of them contains the remnants of the Methodist meeting hall in which the first Women's Rights Convention was held in 1848. Hard to believe that the bill for a woman's right to vote wasn't passed until 1920--72 years later. The visitor center features a very moving centerpiece of lifesize bronze statues that depict the leaders in the movement's early days.

We caught the national park site on our way to Auburn, a few miles away, where we had the tremendous privilege of seeing our lifelong friend Mark Epperson perform in "42nd Street." The musical was produced in a theater that's billed as Summertime Broadway in the Finger Lakes. Top-notch Broadway performers (Mark included!) made for a delightful show...the girls were mesmorized by the tap dancing and are already trying to reproduce some of the numbers. By chance, today is Mark's 3-year anniversary of arriving in NY. We were blessed to enjoy deep conversation with him over dinner and are so proud to call this gifted man a true friend. We hope to connect with him in NYC in a couple of months. We'll go to sleep tonight with "Lullaby of Broadway" running through our minds. Wonderful! 

Bronze statues of leaders in the Women's Rights Movement, which began in Seneca Falls in 1848.

Kelsey giving her own speech in the shell of the Methodist meeting hall

Outside the theater, following the show

Mark and his toe-tapping fans

Day 46: Wheels

How 'bout a bike ride on the Erie Canal? That's how we began our day! It was Kelsey's longest solo ride to date, and Kendall never complained about her somewhat obstructed view. :-) We hoped to see a boat moving along the canal, but no luck. The ride was so beautiful, and our only companions were a lot of geese and, at the end and just in time to take a photo for us, a couple of nice ladies out for a casual ride like us. The towpaths of most canals have now been converted to bike trails, and we'd love to explore many others.

Trying to outrun the rain predicted for later in the day, we had put off school til after the ride. The girls did some excellent work, and it paid off in a much-anticipated trip to the movie theather to see "Cars 2". As I make these notes of our day, the girls and Stan are at the bounce pillow...they will miss it when we move on. Thus far, each of our campgrounds has had something unique that helps it stick in our memory. The bounce pillow will be hard to beat.

Day 45: Oh, the Romance!

We celebrated our 15th anniversary with a rousing day of laundry, naps and haircuts...Be still, our beating hearts! The low-key day felt so good to all of us; it's easy for us to forget how the fatigue of this type of travel can build up. We did venture out of the campground for a wonderful dinner overlooking Canandaigua Lake. A big paddleboat, the Canandaigua Lady, was making her pass at the north end of the lake, while upwards of 30 sailboats cruised the middle. It was really beautiful.

A game of "20 Questions" has become our nightly routine at mealtime...one of us thinks of a place we've visited on the trip, and the rest of us ask yes or no questions until we can correctly guess the answer. We can't believe how many places have blended together in our trip history; it's a great exercise to pull them from the recesses of our brain and enjoy the memories all over again.

A campfire and s'mores rounded out the day. And Kendall enjoyed reading "Green Eggs and Ham" for the video camera. She's so proud of herself and talks of no longer being a "little girl." Now she's a "big girl like Kels" :-)

Tonight's photos: the waterfront of Canadaigua Lake, where we played before dinner and received some much needed doggie therapy, and our after-dinner campfire.

Day 44: Waterworks

Wow! Niagara Falls is more majestic and powerful than either of us expected. And although the crowds were huge, we were able to take in the two touristy things on our list: the Maid of the Mist boat ride into the falls' spray (fun fact: it's the nation's oldest tourist attraction, operating since the mid 1880s), and the Behind the Falls tour, walking through tunnels behind Horseshoe Falls (the Canadian side) and out near the base of the falls, 25 feet above the water. The sight that amazed us the most was standing beside the top of Horseshoe Falls and watching as 34 million gallons of water per minute plunged 175 feet into the basin. We learned that the water comes from all of the Great Lakes except Ontario, into which the Niagara River goes after its journey over the Falls. We waved to the Beaver Island water, wishing we could have squeezed in a visit and played in it on the island...one of our favorite places on earth (it's in northern Lake Michigan).

The girls now have a Canadian stamp in their passports (we had to ask for it and, as the stamper is so seldom used anymore, the passport control agent had to look around on his countertop to find it). We'd heard from friends familiar with Niagara that the Canadian side is less commercialized, and as we arrived from the south, we'd agree. But on leaving to the north and crossing the Rainbow bridge, which leads into downtown Buffalo, tacky tourist traps assailed us from every direction on both sides of the river. The Falls more than make up for the eye-sores, and we'd go back again in a heartbeat, hopefully to stay in a hotel overlooking the water; we'd like to watch the Friday night fireworks or even visit in winter when ice has transformed the water's plunge into castles.

We picked up another national park site on our drive out of Buffalo, and it's a mouthful: the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural House National Historic Site. The Wilcox home is the centerpiece of the exhibit, as it's the place in which Roosevelt was sworn into office following the death of President McKinley. Roosevelt, the consummate outdoorsman, had been in the Adirondacks on a hunting trip when McKinley was shot after delivering a speech at the 1901 Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo. Following surgery to remove the bullets, doctors initially expected a full recovery; but infection set in and he died eight days later. The national historical site was renovated just a year or two ago; it features interactive touch screens in every room and a multi-media experience in which Roosevelt's beliefs and platform are presented in a dynamic format. In our initial encounter with the man, we're convinced he'd be a source of great leadership and wisdom in our country's present circumstances; so many of the issues he addressed are before us today, in varying degrees. We look forward to engaging with him again on Long Island, when we visit his birthplace in early September. Hard to believe we're nearing August!

American Falls

Horseshoe Falls with one of the Maid of the Mist fleet in its center

Along the rim

Headed into the falls!

Beside the plunge

Teddy and friends

Tuckered!

Day 43: Locked Up

There's no better way to understand a canal lock than to ride a boat through one! Following a "school" morning, we had a two-hour ride up and back down locks 34 and 35 on the Erie Canal in Lockport. The two locks lower vessels an amazing 50 feet from the Lake Erie side to the Albany side. Construction on this engineering marvel began in 1817. It took years to cut through layers of limestone, flint and shale, and the drill marks are visible in many spots. We learned that both the star drill bit and the wheel barrow were invented during the construction of the Erie Canal.

Perhaps the high point of the trip for the girls was not at the top level of the locks, but when we were nearing the end of the trip and "Captain Bob" invited each of them to steer the boat. He's a grandpa who loves kids...a very obvious trait.

We attempted to visit the Eastman Mansion (home of Kodak founder George Eastman) in Rochester, but it was closed for a private gathering. We toured the beautiful gardens and then wandered our way south to the camper and a delicious dinner outdoors. We'll enjoy a campfire tonight, and any faces that become covered in roasted marshmallow will be washed clean tomorrow in the spray of Niagara Falls.

The original locks are on the right...a rise of five that are now used as spillways. The two locks on the left replaced them for the 50-foot rise.

Gates closing behind us in the first lock. Notice the dark line on the walls...the level to which the water rises. The second lock is nearly identical. Each takes about 10 minutes.

Going up!

Kelsey in the power seat, Captain Bob beside her.

The Eastman House and some of its many gardens

Day 42: All is well

We've had the best evening! But I'll start at the beginning of the day...we made it out of Portersville just fine. In fact, Stan received compliments from fellow campers about how he manuevered Teensie out of our site. The drive to the Finger Lakes region of New York ( a little south of Rochester) was so beautiful and, aside from paying high tolls on the interstate, we thoroughly enjoyed the journey. The temps are a bit cooler here, allowing us to open all the windows and turn off the A/C, at least for now. We even ate outdoors tonight. As the meal was wrapping up, we began a game of "20 Questions" involving places we've visited thus far. It's a good exercise in not forgetting all we've been to and seen.

Our campground is wonderful...shade trees, level sites, pool, fishing pond and a bounce pillow, something that's new to us. But is it ever fun! Stan and I nearly choked, we were laughing so hard with the girls, bouncing around on a giant air cushion that's a bit like a curved trampoline. (See below)
Tomorrow we'll tackle some schoolwork with the girls in the morning and then head to a couple of sites in Rochester. We'll be here for six nights, and we're really looking forward to slowing down a bit...the hectic pace of the past week is catching up with us. And we couldn't pick a prettier and more relaxing spot in which to enjoy our 15th anniversary later this week!

As always, we're missing family and friends, and we'd welcome any emails/texts/calls. New York is far away from all we know and love. :-)

Day 41: Planes, Trains and...Submarines?!

Our day in Pittsburgh began with a ride up and back down the Duquesne Incline, also called a plane or funicular. Built back in the 1880s as a commuter route, it's still in heavy use today, and not only by tourists. The ride on rails up the steep mountain overlooking the convergence of the three rivers takes about three minutes each way. We believe the mechanism is similar to that used in the portage railroad that we learned about yesterday. The kids just love how various parts of our trip overlap or have connections!

The viewing deck at the top of the incline looks directly down (and across the Ohio) at the Carnegie Science Center and its famous submarine exhibit, the Requin. Before we knew it, we'd moved the truck over a bridge and were in the bowels of the sub, which was launched in 1945, near the end of WWII. It was used as a radar picket until 1968, when it was decommissioned because advances in technology had made much of its instrumentation obselete. We have new respect and understanding for the hard life endured by submariners. And to think that a crew of 81 filled the cramped sub in which we sometimes felt claustrophobic! As an incentive for service, subs are known to serve the very best food in the military. I hope steak and lobster were compensation enough for those tough guys.

We spent a few more hours at the Carnegie Science Center, playing in the robotics lab and viewing the amazing model train display, which features life in western Pennsylvania. And thanks to that display, we now can say we saw Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater house (and didn't have to pay over $70 for the privilege!).

Turns out its Christmas in July this weekend at our campground. You wouldn't believe the light displays and kitschy decorations, which people are viewing on hayrides, singing carols the entire way. We surprised the girls, pulling out some snowflake lights we'd tucked away for December. They're so happy to fit in with the festivities. Many folks here are seasonal, meaning they have a camper parked on a permanent basis and use it as a weekend place. They have flowers planted around deck patios, lampposts (which tonight are sporting red and green bulbs) and windsocks and decorative banners of every imaginable flavor. We hope our Christmas joy isn't spoiled tomorrow morning as we pull out...I'm still quite nervous about getting Teensie over some of the tilted spots. If you remember, say a little prayer for Stan (and me!) this evening, that he can get Teensie out in an upright posture. She'll work much better that way for our drive to the Finger Lakes region of New York tomorrow. :-)

Going up?

View from the top of the Duquesne Incline

Aboard the Requin

Kendall clambering over the bulkhead--"I'll do it--don't help!"

Kelsey vs. Robot in a fierce game of air hockey. She gave it her all but was no match for the quick reflexes of the machine, developed by the Robotics students at Carnegie Mellon University.

Fallingwater...now you've seen it, too!

Christmas in July at Bear Run Campground