Saturday, July 9, 2011

July 4-8, 2011 Trip to Lockport

JULY 4, 2011 (Monday) I headed out this morning to go to Lockport to be there for my Dad's surgery the next day. I had decided to take a different route, so that I might be able to see some areas of the state that I had not been to before. I headed east a bit and took I-88 to Bainbridge, and then headed west on 41, towards Whitney Point.

In Coventry, I was hoping to see the old one room schoolhouse that has been made into a museum, but I didn't. I took one picture of a building which formerly housed a milk processing plant.
Now the building houses a company that transports milk.
I drove through Greene, but did not stop, since I had been there recently. I had been to Triangle (the next town) recently, also, but I had not noticed an interesting building that had a window display upstairs. Here is a pic:
In that large upstairs window there is a decorated Christmas tree and a mannequin standing next to it.

In Lisle, I took a few pics. I really like this old building with the very large flag:


In Richford, New York, I saw a building that must have been a store in a former life. Here is a picture.
Richford is the birthplace of John D. Rockefeller, but I did not look for the historical marker for that.

There is a geocache hidden in a cemetery in Brooktondale, but I did not find it because I was leery of climbing either up or down the hill to the stump I thought it was in. BUT, I did find a cute little store:

Their website says the store opened up recently, but perhaps it was used as a store in "the olden days".

Slatersville Springs, a hamlet in the Town of Caroline is an interesting place, a place I would love to spend more time in someday. I located the springs, there used to be a geocache hidden here, which is how I found the information about the springs.
I was only intending to turn around, but I saw this very interesting fountain. Here is a pic of the fountain: which is pretty much behind the Caroline Town Hall.

The Caroline Town Hall was a schoolhouse in its former life:

On County Road 4 in Schuyler County, I noticed a restored blacksmith shop, here is a pic: It is in a small hamlet called Logan.

In Valois, I quickly found a geocache in the Valois Cemetery. Valois is another town that I would like to have time to explore someday.

When I headed up 414, I passed several wineries. It was close to noon, and I was getting hungry so I stopped at Wagner Winery and Brewery.
The restaurant turned out to be much fancier than I thought it might be, and I thought it would take too long if I ordered a full lunch. So, I ordered a bowl of onion soup, which was served up promptly. It was good!

The towns of Lodi and Ovid were interesting. Lodi has a downtown that is almost like a semi ghost town, there are so many empty storefronts.
In Ovid I found a geocache at a large convenience store but I could not really look for one behind the firehouse (OVID 911) because there were teenagers hanging around and watching me.

Further north, I had the feeling I was in an Amish/Mennonite area and it turns out I was. I stopped at a roadside stand and a negro Mennonite woman came out and sold me some jam.

In Waterloo, I saw something I had never seen before: a very large memorial to men who died in the Civil War. I stopped and took several pictures.



About this time, I realized that my drive was taking WAY longer than I planned, so I aborted my original driving itinery and drove north and got on the thruway. I hate thruway driving, but it is the fastest way to get where you want to go. I took the thruway to Batavia and then got off.

I saw this huge birds nest (eagle?)
in the area of the Alabama swamps and then I noticed the Town of Lockport Historians Building in an old one room schoolhouse at the end of Chestnut Ridge.

I think I arrived in Lockport around five p.m. Dad was fasting, so Peggy and I went out to supper at PANERA'S BREAD. It was a really good meal of sandwich and salad. Peggy and I walked down to the school around ten p.m. to view the annual fireworks display. We ran into Mike and his ladyfriend (Janie). The fireworks display was very good and actually VERY long. Unfortunately, the neighbors on Phelps Street were setting fireworks off and partying long into the night.

Tuesday: July 5, 2011: Dad had to be at Roswell at six a.m., so we left Lockport at five a.m. It was a torturously long day............the surgery was eight or nine hours. FINALLY, Dr. Guru came out and told us that it went well, and that he thinks the cancer has not spread outside of the bladder, which was removed. After that, we waited an hour and a half or longer until we were allowed to see him for a few minutes in ICU. He indicated that he could hear us, but we told him not to talk. At one point, he gave the A-OK sign. That night Peggy, Mike and I had supper at the ANCHOR BAR, the place where chicken wings were invented. It was a great meal.

Roswell Park Cancer Center is an amazing place. Here are a few pictures I took there. This is the front entrance.
While we were waiting (nine hours or so) for Dad's surgery to be completed, this woman came around with a rolling table full of craft supplies. She gave me some "boondoggle" supplies (I remember doing this in summer camp when I was a kid) and she showed me how to get started. I had a heck of a time, but finally got it started and worked on it quite a bit, but didn't get very far! It was a good diversion, though.

One of the nicest things at Roswell was the grand piano in the lobby/mezzanine. Most of the day someone was playing piano or cello or like in this picture: a duet

It was very pleasant and soothing.

 That evening Mike, Peggy and I went out for supper at THE ANCHOR BAR...the place where Buffalo chicken wings were discovered

It was a great meal. I had a Reuben (well, they really do not know what a REAL Rueben is, but it was fine). We shared an order of the mild chicken wings and they were very good. After supper, Peggy and I made one last stop in ICU to see Dad. He tried to talk to us, but we told him not to, but he gave us the A-OK sign, which was very encouraging. Peggy and I didn't get back to Lockport until around ten p.m. I was sooooo worn out, that when Peggy asked me for a hug before going upstairs to her apartment, I told her I was too tired to get up! I slept great that night.

July 6th, 2011 (Tuesday) : Peggy needed to make a hospital visit to an elderly lady who is dying of cancer in Millard Filmore Hospital. I had lunch at LaPorts (half order of chicken and biscuits) and met up with her at her church (where she works). We went to Millard Filmore first. By the time Peggy and I got to Roswell, Dad had been moved to the seventh floor, to a semi-private room. His throat was scratchy due to the tube down his nose, so he did a lot of communicating by gesture and writing. Peg and I spent most of the day, and Gail and Mike were there, also. That night, Peggy and I went out to eat at FAT BOB'S SMOKEHOUSE, a small restaurant that she had found earlier in the day when she went for a walk.


It was great! After supper, we went back to Dad's room to say goodnight to him. This was the one and only night that he had to be in a semi-private room. He was very unhappy with his roommate and we requested a private room.

July 7th, 2011. I did some cleaning and laundry in Dad's apartment this morning before meeting up with Peggy at her church. We went to Roswell, and arrived about the time Gail and her husband Bob were leaving. Dad had been moved to his new private room. By this time, he is able to do some walking around the hallway, with help from nursing staff. He tried to take some liquids by mouth, but was having a very hard time with that. I read a few pages out of a mens devotional and DAILY BREAD to him, he seems to enjoy that. I can't remember the name of the restaurant Peggy and I ate at, it was basically a bar that specializes in making their own beer (many varieties). We ate outside right on the sidewalk, and it was a nice relaxing meal. I had a MONTE CRISTO sandwich and she had a wrap. We went back to Roswell to say goodnight to Dad before going back to Lockport. Since I had to leave the next morning, Dad and I said our goodbyes.

July 8th, 2011: I left a few minutes after eight a.m. and headed home. I drove out the transit, stopping in East Amherst to find a geocache. It was quick and easy, but the best part of it was seeing this ghost sign behind a couple of dumpsters close to the cache.
Then I got on the thruway and got off at Exit 47 and drove south to pick up 5 and 20. In Leroy, I found a geocache. I went through Caledonia, Avon, East Avon and Lima. It was too early for lunch at Tom Wahl's when I passed through Avon. Darn!!! In Lima I went into the old American Hotel.

It was still too early for lunch. I saw an interesting old fire station. No stops in Bloomfield or Canandaigua, but I stopped for lunch at a Chinese Buffet in Geneva. It was good!

My plans were to pick up the exact same route that I took to GET to Lockport at this point. However, I went down East Lake Road (east of Seneca Lake) thinking it would get me where I wanted to go, but it didn't. The road ended. So I drove back and got on 96A and drove south to 96. In the village of Romulus, I stopped to go in and take a picture of this store, which looks like it used to be a gas station. I went inside with a five dollar bill, thinking I might find something to purchase BUT most of the shelves were empty.
They offer milk, soda, bread and lots of snack items, probably more than that, it was just a bit unsettling to see so many empty shelves.

After that, I didn't see much to take pictures of for a while. In Ithaca, I needed to find a rest room, and while looking, I saw an area that appears to be very historic, but I will have to save that for another time. Just this side of Bainbridge, I saw this empty church.
I was thinking it might be the church that the conservative church group that runs PINE RIDGE GROCERY in Bainbridge has.

I arrived home around 5:30 p.m. It was a long, but enjoyable day. It was good to get home.

My complete set of pics from this trip can be seen here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juneny/sets/72157627155796468/

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