From Hammondsport we drove to Watkins Glen, NY. Then to Ithaca, NY where we turned north and followed the west side of Cayuga Lake to Seneca Falls where we turned northeast to Oswego where we stopped for the night. Before supper we rode to where the Oswego River dumps into Lake Ontario. Fort Ontario is located at the mouth of the river and it played an important part in American history. The fourth and current Fort Ontario is built on the ruins of three earlier fortifications dating to the French and Indian War, Revolutionary War, and War of 1812. It was occupied by the U.S. Army through World War II. From 1944 to 1946 the fort served as the only refugee camp in the United States for mostly Jewish victims of the Nazi Holocaust under an Executive Order from President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
While taking pictures and walking around the fort, I would not have believed that it looked like this aerial photo I found online.
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Wednesday morning, the 4th, we left Oswego and worked our way to Woodgate, NY where we entered the Adirondack Park.
We drove through the the park to Lake Placid where we stopped at the ice arenas.
From there it was on to Lake George where the Americade, a large motorcycle rally, was taking place. We thought about stopping for the night but decided to move on and ended up at Amsterdam for the night.
On Thursday we stopped at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Our timing was perfect as we got there right at 9:00 AM when they opened. We spent a couple hours there. I know, you true baseball fans are thinking, only 2 hours. Anyway, I’m sure glad we got there when we did as there was a very long line when we came out.
1987 World Champs.
1991 World Champs.
These were the only Hall of Famers that I knew who had played for the Twins.
These are life-sized carvings.
From Cooperstown we rode to the Catskill Mountains to visit Woodstock. Dale and I had not been back here since August of 1969. What?? I thought everyone was at Woodstock in 1969. Oh well, seeing as we were this close we decided to see what all the hoopla was about.
It is a quaint little town with a long main street. We did not go to the site of the festival although we noticed a few people who looked as if they had never left the site since 1969.
After we finished our ice-cream we hit the road again. There must be something in the Hasselberg genes that lets us sniff out ice cream parlors. We got it from our dad. While still in the Catskill’s we drove by this place with these metal sculptures. I just had to pull over and make a U-turn to see what it was all about.
This gives a new meaning to “Steel Guitar”.
If he had put string on this one he could have called it a “Fender guitar”.
It was a fun stop.
We stopped for the night in Hancock, NY.
On Friday we left Hancock and worked our way west to pick up US 6 that took us to Erie, PA. We had supper at a place I had never seen before but later found out they are a chain and even have on in Fargo, ND.
Dale found out that the RV would not be ready and could take another week to finish up so we decided to go straight home from Erie. It is about 960 miles to home.
So on Saturday we hit the road for home. I was secretly hoping we could get in a 1000 mile day but we got as far as Geneseo, IL after about 600 miles of riding and stopped because we could see heavy rain in front of us. Saved by the bell, or was that rain from my foolish thoughts.
Sunday was then an easy ride back home getting in by early afternoon.
While I was on the trip, Sandy was in South Dakota for three days visiting because her cousin, Dennis, and some of his family who were visiting from Denver. He wanted to show his family the area where he had grown up. Dennis had also made arrangements for Sandy and her folks to visit the farm home where Sandy lived through the age of five. Sandy’s father also lived in the house from early childhood through high school. The house has stood empty for two years and hasn’t been kept up for quite some time. It’s interesting how childhood memories seem so different in detail and size compared to actuality.
The house was built in 1929 from a mail-order kit from Sears Roebuck.
Sandy’s Dad and Dennis are reminiscing in the upstairs of the house.
Here are Sandy’s Mom and Dad explaining some of the original farm details to Dennis. Even though Sandy only lived there until almost age 6, she remembered some details her folks had forgotten.
Again, here are Sandy’s Dad, Mom, Dennis and his son, Joel, on the left.
Until next time,
Dave and Sandy
