Catching up

 OK, I am a slacker. I didn't quite feel up to writing yesterday so now this post will be about 4,000 words.  Well, maybe not that long.  I am wordy but not that wordy.

Yesterday was Rochester and the George Eastman museum.  But first a bit how we have gotten across New York.  Trust me, New York has plenty of interstate to speed the traveler on their way no matter which direction they might choose to go.  We have chosen a slower path and we have been lucky enough to basically follow the path of the historic Erie Canal.  You know, a mule name Sal and 15 miles on the Erie Canal, if you can remember that ditty.  The canal was more than 300 miles long, much more if you add in all the spurs and and extensions.  

The Erie Canal spawned industries, such as they were, and countless small towns, all developed between 1820 and 1840.  We went through most of them and most were charming though somewhat tattered.  It is all such a historic "trail" to follow.

Rochester is a great city, and a wonderful example of a city that has reinvented itself as the colors of the city have faded from yellow and blue.  The George Eastman museum was stunning.  Great displays (they have an "ur-Leica" on display!!  Kids, ask your parents to tell you how cool that was!  If nothing else, it was fun to see a camera worth millions of dollars.  His house shows what you can do if you have more money than you need and very good taste.  I thought that the mostly matching pipe organs were a nice touch--of course you would want organ music in stereo.  Another highlight were the gardens.  They have been rebuilt and replanted  with flowers that were called for in the original designs for the garden.  And very carefully attended.  We saw more than 15 volunteers primping the gardens.

Today we made it through the mountains.  They weren't the Alps but they were pretty impressive to drive through.  The Green Mountains are genteel mountains compared to the Rockies or Cascades.  They have nice rounded summits and are covered with trees.  They still provided a thrilling ride with steep roads and intemperate curves.  They did not provide Kodak Moment turn outs for photographers so I do not have photographic evidence of the journey.  

 One spot we stopped at was in Bennington, Vermont, another one of the fore-mentioned charming little towns.  The Old First Church is the oldest church in Vermont, and it was well worth the stop.  Paid for by selling the pews in the church, it is an impressive building.  Built when the fervor of the Great Awakening was still shaping New England, it is a "plain" church.  No stained glass or painted walls, but impressive in other ways.  Clean lines, simple, well-balanced, and just peaceful once you are in the church.  It is not small.  Several hundred congregants would fit easily in the sanctuary. 

We are in Keene, New Hampshire tonight and tomorrow we head to what we have thought would be our destination before we head back west. Amherst, MA is nice this time of the year so we will check it out.