10/13/2012 gathering/geocaching/etc.

A bunch of us met up at the field house at Thayer Farm  between Cooperstown and Springfield, on the west side of Otsego Lake at nine a.m. this morning.  Shortly later, we carpooled and took off for Judd Falls in Cherry Valley, New York to look for gpsbarb's golden ammo can.  She recently completed finding 1000 geocaches, and when this happens, other geocachers often hide a golden ammo to honor it.  LCSM and I had not found an old cache there, so we looked for and found that one first, and then all of us
(about twelve, I think) headed down the trail for this two part geocache, which gpsbarb found.

Then we piled into vehicles and headed back to the Glimmerglass Opera House where Team-Ducky's

golden ammo can was hidden.  This was a seven part cache, with a unique ending.  Between the two hikes, it was really a workout.

Then it was back to the Thayer Farm where Bill cooked burgers and ribs on the grill while the rest of us
made our own duckie, and then we all shared in a dish to pass lunch.  Chef Ducky's apple walnut cake was outstanding, as was Mr. Science's sausage bread.

Leslie and I were the first to leave, around three p.m., since I had agreed to meet up with Carol to go to Norwich for ColorFest.  However, I cancelled out, since I was so worn out from the day.  

Willy's Corn Maze Adventure

My friend Terry wanted to go to a corn maze, so when I found out that Willy's near Westford has one, I set up a time to go with her. On the way to meet her, I stopped at a new restaurant in Oneonta, HUMPHREY'S, which is having a "soft opening" this week with inexpensive small servings of their main dishes, sandwiches and sides.  I had lasagna and roasted corn pepper salad, which was pretty good.

Terry and I met up at Price Chopper and headed out 88. The weather changed several times while we were driving there, and was not very nice when we arrived.  We browsed the gift shop, I bought some cider and a tiny pumpkin and the weather cleared up so we decided to go for it.  Indeed, it was warmer inside the maze, since we were protected from the wind.

After walking several yards, we came to a fork in the corn, and I told Terry to go left while I went right, and that I thought we would meet up soon. I was wrong. I finished the corn maze and she was nowhere to be seen. Hollering for her did not seem to work and I was just about to go down to the barn and tell the owners that I needed help finding my lost friend, when she showed up. She said she had not been able to find her way out, so she had to turn around and come back. Anyways, I was relieved that she was safe and sound!!!!!

I suggested we go to the Westford General Store, an l854 store that I have not been to in a few years. Once there, we decided to have a cup of hot chocolate, which we enjoyed while sharing the Oneonta Daily Star. I found the section of senior citizens activities and teased Terry about activities she and I can do there! She was not very impressed!!! The worker at the store told us about some of the vintage and antique items that are on display. We enjoyed looking at them.

We took the back roads to Worcester and looked for a geocache in the cemetery behind the Catholic Church.  Ground zero was in a spot where there was no possibility of a hiding spot.  I ran into El Fartero, and we chatted a bit, and then Terry and I had to leave to get to our supper engagement on time.  As I was leaving, El Fartero came up to my car and showed me the cache which he had found.  I told him I would return another time, probably with Luckless.

Our last stop of the day was at the Elm Park Methodist Church where we had a harvest dinner.  Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, coleslaw and winter squash, and pie for desert.  It was delicious!!!

Delhi Afternoon Adventure

After work, I met up with Connie at Home Depot so that I could drive her to Delhi to pick up the ashes of her dog, Pea-Dee, who was euthanized last week due to severely advanced cancer.  As soon as we got to Delhi, we decided to have lunch and we went to TUNA 3, a small Japanese restaurant.  The meal was good, but the kitchen was having some kind of issue today, and it took a long time for our food to arrive.  The California roll was outstanding.   
     After that I took Connie to THE HEART OF THE CATSKILLS so she could pick up the urn and ashes.  She said she wanted to stay and visit the dogs, so I went to the nearby Delaware County Historical Museum while she did that.  I was told when I arrived that the buildings were closed down for the winter, but the woman working the desk offered to open them up for me.  I thoroughly enjoyed going in the buildings and taking pictures.  Here are a few:  
  The larger building on the right is a small blacksmith shop.  

And this is a toll gate building.  

     After using the rest room at the museum, I went back to HEART OF THE CATSKILLS, where Connie was waiting for me.  I suggested we take a drive down the road to see Fitch's Covered Bridge and the old church there.  She agreed, and off we went.  Then we went back downtown to check out an art gallery we saw earlier.  We thoroughly enjoyed meeting Rachel, the owner and manager of  an art and framing shop.  She told us about a bookstore down the street that offers great baked goods, so off we headed.   We stopped to check out a Vintage Clothing Shop, but it is closed on Tuesdays.  

Our last stop was at the Blue Bee Cafe and Steinway Books which is a delightful small shop, which Rachel from the art store told us about. We each bought a cupcake and looked around.  And then we headed for Oneonta.  It was a fun afternoon!

Third Annual Plattepalooza

It was an interesting and different sort of day today.  Leslie and I met up in Oneonta to go to an event known as
The PLATTEPALOOZA near Roxbury, New York.  Leslie wanted to avoid going to Stamford on the way to Roxbury, so we tried some back roads.  Unfortunately, the Delaware County Map was not exact, and a bridge or two were closed down, and the back route did not work.  We finally had to go to Stamford to find our way to where we were going.
     Our first stop was at WOODCHUCK LODGE near Roxbury.  It was the  vacation home of naturalist John Burroughs and his retirement home.  The inside has been kept in the same condition as it was when he died.  It is indeed rustic and interesting.
     Then it was off to Plattekill Mountain for the Plattepalooza.  The flier up above pretty much tells about it.  The reason we went was for geocaching.  However, after eating a burger there, I began to feel ill and told Leslie that I could not make it up the mountain.  We located one geocache outside the lodge and then headed towards Oneonta.
     We stopped at a small, old cemetery we saw along the way and I took a few pictures.  We stopped in Grand Gorge and I vomited, and then I felt better, and we continued on to Stamford where Leslie found two geocaches.

Durham Area/Fall Color Daytrip Adventure!!!

Linda and I met up on Route 23 at her mechanics shop this morning and headed out towards East Durham, New York.  The purpose of this day trip was to view the fall color, which has peaked.  We headed out Route 23 and went through Stamford, Grand Gorge and Prattsville.   We stopped near Ashland so I could show St. Joseph's Chapel to Linda.  She loved it, and when she tried the door, it was unlocked and we went inside.  Here are pics: While there, a beautiful young buck meandered into the cemetery and we took a few pictures.  None of mine turned out all that good.

     We continued on our way to East Durham, stopping a few times to take pictures of the gorgeous fall color.  Once in East Durham, we located the Lady of Knock Shrine.  Linda was disappointed that it was not open.  We had lunch at the CLOVER CAFE (very good) and then went to Lawyers Store.  Then we went to the Durham Center Museum, which was fantastic.  It includes a research library and an old schoolhouse.  The curators were very friendly and interesting.  The curators were very friendly and very helpful.  I didn't catch their names.  They are a husband and wife team.  Mr. Curator agreed to have his picture taken:

    We drove back to East Durham to find a bathroom and to find the remains of the Irish Cultural Center.  A brick map of Ireland with counties separated remains as well as the one house that was dismantled in Ireland and brought here (I think in l989).  Unfortunately, the cultural  center has been moved to Albany. Here is the house:  Apparently, it is furnished with typical Irish furniture, etc. but it was kind of a long walk up to it, and we were running out of time, so I didn't peek in the windows.

      We started to head home.  Unfortunately, some of the county roads which were on the tourism map were not marked, so we missed a turn and had to rely to using my GPS.   Our last stop was in Grand Gorge to have ice cream.  It was a great and very colorful day!!!

Columbus, old hotel and Norwich Adventure

Farmers Market in Morris, NY, a photo by JuneNY on Flickr.

Carol and I met up in New Berlin and drove togther to the Community Church in Columbus, New York for their annual Harvest Dinner (I think they have been doing this for over 80 years). It was a wonderful meal, even though Carol got a piece of roast beef stuck behind her tonsils and I got the hiccups so bad that I had to go outside in the middle of the meal. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, squash, all sorts of salads, rolls or quick bread and desert. Carol purchased a take out meal for her husband, Phil.  After the dinner, I asked Carol what she wanted to do. She didn't have any firm ideas, but I suggested she take the take home meal to her house and refrigerate it for her husbands supper.

On the way there, we noticed that the front door of the Columbia Hotel was open. This bar, restaurant, hotel has been empty for about fifteen years I think. I suggested to Carol that she might go up and ask if we could go inside and check it out. Instead, she went up and asked the people working on it if it was open for business. We were told that their son had purchased it and that it might open up in a few years as possibly a B and B.

I have always wanted to see the inside of this place, so I asked if I could, and I was told "OK, but be careful". I checked out both the upstairs and the downstairs. The best part was the murals painted on the front and back wall of a large open room upstairs. The woman who took me upstairs said that civil war soldiers used to meet up there to discuss strategy.

We took Phil's supper home to him and dropped it off and headed to Norwich.  I wanted to see Carol' s former daughter in laws new shop THE ARTISTS PALETTE.  After stopping there, we went to several shops, including this great consignment shop, which I hope to return to.
.  .   The old clock on Main Street which will be repaired soon.  This old theatre will probably be closed down soon.   When we were done in Norwich, Carol showed me how to get to Pokeville, which was just a few minutes away.  I wanted to check out the old store there.

I dropped Carol off at her car in South New Berlin and headed for home.  I stopped to take a few color pictures, and here is one:   One last stop was at the Morris Farmers Market, where I purchased two cookies and saw this:  It was another one of those wonderful but exhausting days.  I was in bed by 9:30 and asleep a few minutes later.  I

carol

Carol asked me to take some pictures of her after we finished our Harvest Dinner at the Presbyterian Church in Gilbertsville, NY.  I have strict instructions to NOT put them on facebook......so here they are!!!

ARCHEOLOGY ADVENTURE

Birchwood Archeology: Gilbertsville, NY, a photo by JuneNY on Flickr.

what a day!!! I worked all morning at FSA and a little while before quitting time, my friend Connie called. She told me that her dog, PeaDee was euthanized yesterday, a few days after being diagnosed with a very invasive, fast moving cancer. She asked me if I would drive her out to Delhi to the place where they do cremations. I agreed and we met up at Home Depot, and then we went to the Oneonta Veterinary, where we picked up PeaDee. We went to Delhi to the Veterinary place there, and dropped him off for cremation. It was a difficult trip both ways for Connie, since she loved her dog dearly. She had only had him a few months, after rescuing him from an abusive household.

I arrived home about forty minutes before I had to leave to meet up with Carol in Morris to go to a Harvest Dinner at the Presbyterian Church in Gilbertsville. The dinner was great! (turkey, stuffing, real mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, squash and pie for desert). After that, we decided to walk around Gilbertsville a little bit, hoping to walk off some of those calories.

Right near where we were parked, we noticed a house with an interesting sign on it BIRCHWOOD  ARCHEOLOGY   We were wondering if it was a shop or a museum or whatever.   I said to Carol "do we dare go up and peek in the window?" and she did just that. I asked her what she saw, and she said "I see a guy". The guy came to the front door and introduced himself and invited us in to show us some artifacts.

He told us all about the work he does, and showed us some of the tools of his trade, and MANY, MANY artifacts. WOW!!!!! It was so interesting.  Most of his work is in other areas of the state and the USA, he rarely does any around Otsego County.

Unfortunately, Carol thought the presidential candidate debate started at seven p.m. tonight, so we kind of rushed through the tour in order to get home for that........and it doesn't start until NINE P.M.!!!!

Anyways, it was a really neat experience, something out of the ordinary........I guess it pays to be curious and to peek into windows!!!!!

Fall Colors Adventure

Fall 041, a photo by JuneNY on Flickr.

Every fall, I try to arrange a day trip to see the fall colors with my friend Judy. Today we headed out towards Tannersville. The day started out very overcast, but gradually many of the clouds gave way to blue sky.....
Judy was particularly interested when we drove through Prattsville, a small village which was severely damaged in last years flooding of the Schoharie Creek.

I think the first place we stopped was at a pullover just beyond Haines Falls on Route 23a.  The sign said Kaaterskill Clove, and it appeared to be a parking area for a trailhead.  Then we headed back to Tannersville, where we chose to have lunch at the Tannersville General Store.   After ordering, I stepped outside onto Main Street and I took several pictures of the colorful buildings.  Here are a couple:  We both had sandwiches.  Then we headed back the way we came and we found that the Mountain Top Historical Society (which we had passed before) was open.  We stopped and went inside.  One of the volunteers showed us some pictures and told us about the huge old hotels that are now gone.  She also told us how to get to the old restored railroad depot.  From there we went to find the abandoned and rotting Cold Springs Hotel, the other side of Tannersville, and after that to ALL SOULS CHURCH, where I found a geocache.  The church is magnificent.  Then we drove west through Hunter and turned onto 296 to go up to East Windham to try to find the FIVE STATE LOOKOUT.  Along the way, Judy spotted the MOUNTAIN DRIVE IN, which she recalled going to during the summer she worked at The Sugar Maples Resort in Maplecrest.
     We found the Five State Lookout, but it was not what we expected.  It was a small area on the grounds of a fancy hotel restaurant, no signs or anything to point out the five states.  But, I did get a few good pictures including this one.  And then we started for home.  We agreed that if we saw a place to get ice cream we would stop.  We found one the other side of Grand Gorge, and I went up and purchased dishes of ice cream which we ate in the car.  I had butterscotch flavorburst!  We arrived back at Judy's place and I helped her with a few household chores and then headed for home.  What a long day.  I was in bed around nine p.m. and fell right asleep.