La Reunion

Fui a Rochester en un avion una día después de tener una ventana nueva.  (I went to Rochester in a plane one day after we have a new window.... haven't been introduced to "windshield" yet, and verb tenses are still beyond my reach!)

Was it only a coincidence that the windshield arrived a day or so after the Mister told the expediter that the lane sense was having trouble reading the lanes due to the crack, and sometimes tried to turn him into a different lane, and perhaps this was unsafe? Hmm....

But anyway, I had my reservations to fly, so fly I did. Sarah and I had planned to stay at the same hotel. She was driving up from New York as she wanted to stop and see some of her friends on the way. I took a Lyft to the hotel, and walked into the lobby at the same time that she walked in from the parking garage! We went off to the first event for the reunion weekend, a reception at the School President's house. It was delightful. There were about 6 folks from my class, and a few from classes ahead or behind my class. I also met Jim Townsend. He is a friend of Lani and Jim Ulrich, good friends who live at RiverBend in the winter. How uncanny that they discovered he was going to a HS reunion... and then, it turned out, we were going to the same HS reunion!

The next morning we had breakfast with my 10th grade sweetie and his family. It was fun to catch up with him, and to meet his daughters. Bethany, his oldest, lives in San Francisco. I would love to visit with her again... and, just maybe, get David in the picture, too! (Can you hear strains of "Matchmaker, matchmaker... make me a match?!)

The most impressive part of our visit was seeing a video about a Harley elective, "Hospice". Students learn how to provide hospice care and volunteer at different facilities in the area. The learning goes so far beyond the care aspects. It sounds like a phenomenal program. The founder of the program, Bob Kane, sent a letter to be read at the event. He sent his apologies about not being able to come to the event, and hoped that we enjoyed the video. He explained that chemo has done all that it can for him, and he is now on hospice. I am thinking that every student he touched with this program would give anything to be his hospice provider, as he enriched their lives in such an unusual way and they have a much different view about the end of life. Wow!

It was a great weekend. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk.... trying to catch up with some kids... er, old people,  we hadn't seen in decades! I am so glad that I went.

Following the reunion, since I was "in the neighborhood" I flew to Manchester, NH to see my BFF, Marjie. More talk, talk, talk... and we did some quilting on her long-arm machine.

 Some pictures of the weekend:

An obligatory stop at my old home. This tree used to be 6" in diameter, at most!

John, Laura, Rick, Burch, Cindy, Bill, Me, Laurie, Sarah

Jim Townsend and me

Bethany, Jim, Me, Sarah & Katie

Jim and Katie

Yummy dinner! 

F: John Rick, Gary, Laura, Liz, John, Laurie
Me, Sarah, Burch, Bill & Dave

Our project 

Cuteness on the plane. His owner didn't realize he was coming for a visit!

The Caloosahatchee River just a few hundred feet west of RiverBend

   

Eerie Erie

While we were visiting Rochester, NY we drove over the Erie Canal a few times. That brought a flood of memories back. I studied New York history when I was in 4th grade and I distinctly remember my fascination with the canal, and stories about how mules and horses used to pull barges from the Niagara River near Buffalo to the Hudson River near Albany. There was also a system of other canals that also allowed access to Lake Ontario and some of the other larger lakes in New York.



A few interesting facts (from "The Story of the New York State Canals"):

• The canal was begun in 1817 and completed in 1825
• Tolls were abolished in 1882, after earning 42 million dollars over its original cost
• The Erie Canal is 340.7 miles in length
• At minimum the canal is 75 feet in width
• Locks are at least 300 feet long and 44 1/2 feet wide
• Clearance under bridge must be at least 5 1/2 feet
• 57 locks that lift 6 to 40 1/2 feet are found along the length of the canal system
• The system of canals, including the Erie Canal and three branches, was called the Barge Canal..
• The system of canals, while no longer used primarily for transportation of goods, is now called the New York State Canal System
• Over 220 miles of the original towpaths, along which the mules used to plod as they pulled barges, are now walking and biking trails.

We drove out to one of the locks while we were exploring the area. It was a beautiful day to step back into history. I could almost see back in time. I could imagine the old barges filled with cargo going east or west.

Mr. Dreamy is walking with the lock tender. He (or someone) certainly does a nice job in maintaining the lock. Everything was freshly painted and the grounds were immaculate.

.... singing, "I've got an old mule and her name is Sal....

Time Travel

Time travel is now available at the Rochester (NY) International airport.

Now boarding in the concourse.... 

I kid you not. I walked into the terminal on my trip last fall and was immediately transported back in time 50 years.

This "Clock of Nations" was the centerpiece of the Midtown Plaza, the first urban enclosed mall in the US, which opened when I was a "tween". The plaza has just recently been demolished, succumbing to shifts in the population, the popularity of large enclosed malls in suburbia, the downturn in economy and the closing of two anchor department stores. Before the demolition of the plaza began, the clock was moved to the Rochester airport, and will later be installed in the new children's hospital.

source

The clock has 12 capsules, depicting 12 different nations. On the hour the capsules rotate around the axis, music plays, the doors of the capsules open and the figures for the specific hour move and turn. It is amazing technology for that time, in my opinion!

An image from the 70's

"Meet you at the clock" was the adage of the day, and I couldn't help but look around to see if I could find my mom! It was great to travel back in time, if only in my memory!