Familiness

Posted on June 24, 2018 by Cindy

Rarely in our travels do we get to visit family. It’s not intentional, it’s just that we’ve been focusing on knocking off the foreign countries on our bucket list. We’ve been traveling internationally every other year, and only this year decided to use the years in between for domestic travel, which gives us the opportunity to visit more with family and friends.

For our Niagara trip, we decided to fly into Westchester County Airport, just north of New York City, an easy, direct flight from West Palm Beach. This would allow us to add some places to our itinerary that we’ve been wanting to see in upstate New York and begin and end our Grand Loop of Lake Ontario with Marcus’s brother, Elliot, and family in Greenwich, Connecticut, only eight miles from Westchester.

Our “easy” flight got in four hours late, and it was after 9:00pm when we rolled into Elliot and Christine’s driveway. Their kids, Alex and Sascha, ages six and five, were supposed to be in bed, but materialized at the bottom of the stairs as we came into the house. They were too excited to sleep. They escorted us to our bedroom where personal notes of welcome lay on our respective nightstands. Throughout our visit, they followed me around like ducklings, never more than a hug away. Well, except for those times when decorum dictated that I excuse myself. And even then, upon opening the bathroom door I would find them just where I’d left them. I loved it!

Over coffee in the mornings, I taught them how to solve kenken puzzles, and they reciprocated by helping me time my dry-eye therapy. I was the “mystery reader” in Sascha’s kindergarten class and attended Alexandra’s piano recital. I climbed the playscape with them at school and cheered them on during their running time trials around the cul-de-sac. We celebrated the weekend with “pizza-and-movie night” in the basement and munched on delectables out of a picnic hamper at a polo match. We (and a stuffed monkey) explored deep space in our rocket ship on the couch before dinner and, after dinner, played board games at the table. (The monkey excused himself from board games, however, saying he had an early start the next day.)

The days were packed with activity, but I vividly remember one quiet moment after Alex and Sascha had both rehearsed their upcoming recital pieces with their parents. I looked up from my spot on the couch and was struck by the familiness around me. Elliot and Christine were still at guitar and piano, enjoying some time together to dig into their own music. Sascha constructed skyscrapers with Jenga pieces in the light from the piano, stopping now and then to capture his creations with the camera on an iPad. And Alex and Marcus played chess at the dining room table in the room beyond. It’s been too many years since we’ve been this intimately engaged in the dynamics of a family. I miss it, but am so thankful that we had this opportunity to experience it again.

Thank you, Elliot and Christine, Alex and Sascha, for inviting us into your family, and for reminding us of an often-forgotten benefit of travel.♥

Hot bar!

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Cindy

The Fire Bar at Hawkeye’s

Recommended by our hosts at the B&B: The Fire Bar at the Hawkeye Bar & Grill at Cooperstown’s Otesaga Resort Hotel. Perfect spot to chill with a glass of wine, a bite to eat, and maybe even a game of bocce on the lawn, if you’re not too mesmerized by the view.

The Otesaga Resort Hotel is located at the south end of Otsego Lake in the Village of Cooperstown, New York, and hearkens back to the day when people from the City spent their summers at grand hotels such as this.

James Fenimore Cooper referred to Otsego Lake as Glimmerglass in his Leatherstocking Tales, a series of five novels featuring the character Natty Bumppo, also known as Hawkeye in The Last of the Mohicans, one of the Leatherstocking Tales. The lake also happens to be the source of the Susquehanna River, the 16th largest river in the United States, according to Wikipedia.

It’s no coincidence that Cooper’s stories took place in the area around Cooperstown. His father founded the village, and James grew up in what was then a 19th-century frontier town.

the sun setting on Glimmerglass (Otsego) Lake

The weather was perfect on this particular evening, a cloudless, late-spring promise of blissful summer days ahead. As the sun set we drew our chairs closer to the fire and watched for dugout canoes gliding silently across the Glimmerglass.

On the Homestretch

Posted on June 21, 2018 by Cindy

the Homestretch B&B

As we rounded Niagara, we entered the homestretch on our counterclockwise lap around Lake Ontario. We’ve driven from Greenwich, Connecticut, up the Hudson River Valley to Hyde Park and Lake Placid, across the St. Lawrence River into Ontario, through the 1000 Islands region to Toronto and Niagara. Now we’re back in New York, crossing the Finger Lakes region and the Catskills to return to Greenwich. I was looking for a place to stay in the Finger Lakes region and recalled an article I’d read about Cooperstown, New York. Yes, we all know it as a mecca for baseball fans because of the Hall of Fame, but the article asserted that the village is a destination in its own right. So I found us a B&B just outside of Cooperstown. Appropriately, it’s called the Homestretch B&B.

The Homestretch is owned by a lovely couple. He raises thoroughbred racehorses on their 105-acre farm, refurbishes antique homes (including their own), and is a master carpenter and artist. She is an executive assistant in the local hospital network and runs the B&B, in what precious free time is left in her week. Their two grown children are on their own, so they converted the family home into this perfectly pastoral retreat.

From herbed baked eggs and French toast for breakfast on the side porch to lazy evenings with a nightcap by the fire pit, this was the ideal way to wind down our trip.

the fire pit

bonus: dogs! Bailey & Bud

Yours till Niagara Falls

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Cindy

Geek alert!

Posted on June 18, 2018 by Cindy

elevation changes between the Great Lakes

Only two full days in the Niagara area, and the best-weather day will be at the Falls. What to do on the other?

A question came up in the car on our drive from Toronto to St. Catharines, Ontario, where we are staying in the Niagara region: If the Great Lakes Waterway connects the five Great Lakes, allowing navigation from the westernmost lake, Superior, to the easternmost lake, Ontario, and on through the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Atlantic Ocean, how do ships bypass the falls on the Niagara River? The Niagara is the natural connection between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. [Is it just us, or do other people have conversations like this in the car? A friend just shakes her head when I tell her these things and admonishes, “This is what happens when engineers intermarry.”]

ship entering Lock 3

Marcus had read that there is a manmade canal across the Niagara isthmus that was built to handle maritime traffic. I checked the road map. Sure enough: The Welland Canal connects the two lakes.

Why had I never heard of this canal? With its eight locks, it descends the Niagara escarpment from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario—100 meters* overall. It is the greatest elevation change between any two adjacent Great Lakes. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a canal that drops 100 meters over 43 kilometers in length. How is that possible? Guess where we’re going on our extra day?

*Note: We’re in Canada now, so I’m using metric units. If Jimmy Carter had had his way, the US would be using the metric system today, just like our neighbors to the north and almost everyone else everywhere. As it is, we are one of only three countries in the world that insist on using “traditional” units, the other two being Burma and Liberia. Seriously? [Sorry. Rant over.]

front gate of the lock holding back water

back gate closing behind ship

It turns out that the Welland Canal is the town line between St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake, so we didn’t have to drive far. We arrived at Lock 3 just as a ship was pulling in from the Lake Erie side. And it just barely fit! We stayed to watch the whole process, until the ship was on its way at the lower level to Lock 2 an hour and a half later.

maneuvering out of the lock at the lower level

After checking out the Welland Canal Museum, which is very conveniently located at Lock 3 and very well curated, we drove up the Niagara escarpment to Locks 4, 5, and 6. This is the steepest part of the grade, and the three locks–one right after another–climb the escarpment like watery steps.

Locks 4, 5, and 6 (courtesy of Google Earth)

Kudos to the engineers who built all four of the Welland Canals, from the original canal with its 40 manual locks in 1829 to the current canal utilizing eight hydraulic locks in 1932.

We were just wandering…

Posted on June 17, 2018 by Cindy

After leaving Yonge-Dundas Square, we continued our meander toward the waterfront. We stopped in at the Craft Beer Market for a snack and came across this unusual appetizer: fast-food sushi. Cheeseburger and fries wrapped in bacon, topped with a pickle. Barbecue sauce for seasoning. We couldn’t resist the novelty of it.

Toronto has a love/hate relationship going on with raccoons. Apparently, they’re running rampant, getting into residents’ trash and generally wreaking havoc, as these crafty little bandits are wont to do. They have become a counterculture icon for Toronto: you’re either for them or against them. Personally, I love raccoons. What’s not to love about a bandit that brings its own mask to the party?

I’m also a sucker for funny signs. We had to try out the Bier Markt just because the sign above their door made us laugh. Nothing funny about their charcuterie, however. It was delicious! It’s amazing what you find just by wandering.

Goodbye, Toronto! We will miss you, but it’s time to move on to the impetus for this trip: Niagara!

#turbanup

Posted on June 15, 2018 by Cindy

Yonge-Dundas Square

On our last day in Toronto, we wanted to get out and walk this city we’ve grown to love. Normally when we stay in one location for a week, we take at least one day off from exploring to catch up on laundry, pay bills, and generally take a break from sightseeing. But something about Toronto draws us outdoors. Perhaps it’s the compact size. Toronto is a very walkable city, especially from the location of our apartment in Church-Wellesley—almost downtown, yet with the feel of a quiet suburb. We love discovering the personalities of each of Toronto’s neighborhoods from our hub. And after living in our quiet little hamlet of Stuart for most of the year, the city offers such variety. We feel like kids in a candy store! Or perhaps it’s the amazing weather we’ve had this week. Who could sit indoors when the sunshine beckons from our floor-to-ceiling windows?

We didn’t really have a destination, so we headed toward the Harbourfront, where we seem to end up in our wanderings every day anyway. It was an overcast Sunday—not much going on as we headed downtown, except for a queue snaking through Allan Gardens, people waiting to buy cacti and succulents at the greenhouse. Must have been some sale!

We chose Yonge-Dundas Square, Toronto’s unofficial hub, as a waypoint. We were struck by the energy in the square when we visited a few days before and wondered what might be going on there this sleepy Sunday. Nothing sleepy about the square this morning! We arrived just in time for #turbanup.

Sikh for a day

The Sikh community was out en masse to educate the public about who they are, what they believe, and why they wear those colorful turbans, or Dastaar as they call it. Sikhi, the fifth largest religion in the world, originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of India. Guru Nanak Dev Ji taught that all people are from the same creator, regardless of social status, gender, or religion. Because there is no difference between royalty and anyone else, everyone should wear a crown, or Dastaar, as a constant reminder of a person’s value and importance, and also as a reminder of their personal, daily obligation to take care of other people.

Today everyone was invited to turban up. There were tables and tables of fabric in every color and shade imaginable, and experts to help you wrap it in whichever style you chose, be it farmer, warrior, or raj. They also provided lively music and a Sikh-style community banquet. Free food for all is an everyday practice at all Gurdwaras, Sikh temples.

community banquet

We had an enlightening discussion with a young, Sikh woman, and enjoyed watching everyone—Sikh and otherwise—participating in the festivities. Did I mention? I love this city!

Lakefront bike ride

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Cindy

Toronto Inukshuk Park

Activity for the day: a 30-kilometre (19-mile) bike ride along Lake Ontario. We rented bikes at the Harbourfront and started our tour on the west end of the lake trail at Toronto Inukshuk Park. I love these crazy man-shaped piles of rock created by the Inuits in northern Canada, Alaska, and Greenland to look like hunters lined up on the hillsides of the tundra. Two converging lines of inukshuks were used to funnel caribou into herds for easier hunting. They’ve become a symbol of native Canadian culture. Pretty ingenious, I’d say. But then, as my living room will attest, I’ve always had a fondness for stacking stones.

seven ducklings!

Next stop: Amsterdam Brewhouse for lunch. No better day than a biking day to order poutine. We eat this traditional Montréal dish every time we come to Canada: French fries topped with cheese curd and brown gravy. Comfort food at its tastiest!

poutine!

After carbo-loading, we rode the remaining nine kilometres to our easternmost destination, Tommy Thompson Park in Leslieville. You would never guess that this bird sanctuary, on a lacy peninsula extending into Lake Ontario, is so close to the city unless you happened to glance up to catch the Toronto skyline on the horizon.

Canada geese have returned for the summer

Toronto skyline from Tommy Thompson Park

the Distillery District

Our post-bike reward was visiting the Distillery District just east of Downtown. A refurbished old brick distillery originally built in 1832, it is now home to several boutiques, restaurants, cafes, and the Mill Street Brewery—forty buildings in all. According to Wikipedia, it is the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America. (You know how I love my superlatives!)

No spirits for us today, but we did enjoy a cold brew to help us cool off on this exceptionally warm and humid spring day. Great ride, great day!