Sheila may have been absolutely stoked to arrive at our friends Ben and Elisabeth's house yesterday, but little did she know that the next day we'd be giving her a well-overdue bath! Sheila hates baths, but we had ample room to wash and dry her in the backyard. Washing Sheila is a 2-person job, because Lisette has to hold onto Sheila's legs so she doesn't escape, while Michael gives her a good scrub with the dog shampoo and washes it off. But clearly Sheila also recognizes that she needed a bath, because she offered little resistance to the wash! She did shake off the water while Lisette was holding onto her though, hilariously drenching her face and glasses.
A big THANK YOU to Ben and Elisabeth for being legendary hosts to us while we were in town. Like we always say, it's the people we meet and catch up with that really have a big impact on our travels, and we are so appreciative of the kindness, hospitality and generosity of a lot of folks along the way!
We had a big day ahead of us (lots of driving), so our last stop in Syracuse ended up being at Syracuse University. We are always so in awe of all the universities we visit in the US--the buildings look so stately, the grounds are immaculate, and they're huge campuses. Definitely the case with Syracuse University--it was nice to cycle around and see a sliver of the campus! One of the most fascinating spots wasn't a building, however, but the Tree of 40 Fruit, a tree with different branches grafted together to produce 40 different types of stone fruits, including cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, and almonds. Since we're now in autumn, the branches were pretty bare as the fruit will likely blossom again next spring and summer, but we could definitely see that the branches were different to each other! Surprisingly, there were no plaques denoting this interesting project, although apparently several of these trees exist.
A Drizzle, Then a Downpour
It was overcast in the morning, but as we left Syracuse, it was starting to drizzle, which made for an almost unreal sight when we arrived at Cross Island Chapel, the world's smallest church. It sits in the middle of a pond, which was a chartreuse shade of vivid green thanks to the excessive amount of algae in it. Surrounding the chapel were autumnal trees, and next to the chapel, jutting out from another rock, s a white cross. The only way to get to the chapel is to row over to it, and there's a jetty that's just large enough to take 2-3 people across. And if you can't get there, there are a couple of deck chairs next to the plaque denoting the name of the church and it's accomplishment, so you can sit and stare across the pond at it, and ponder its existence.
And now for a very, very long drive--about 92 miles (148 kilometers). It continued to drizzle, and we hadn't planned to see any stops along the way, although it was nice to see more of the changing autumn leaves as we cruised along. One unplanned stop, however, was at Mabee Farm Historic Site, the oldest house still standing in the Mohawk Valley, in the town of Rotterdam. But we didn't stop because of the farm but because there were a ton of fun art installations and lanterns at the front for the Autumn Glow Festival! The event takes place at night so the lanterns would all light up, although we're not sure if the event still happened as when we got out, it was raining more heavily.
By the time we arrived at the town of Schenectady, the rain had turned into a downpour! The rain was coming down so hard that it was crashing loudly onto our windshield, with the wipers struggling to wipe the water off before more fat raindrops fell across. The streets were quickly flooding, and we drove through massive puddles, splashing up miniature lakes onto the footpath, which would have saturated anyone who dared to cross our path. The roofs of buildings were also creating their own rainfalls, trying as best as they could to rid themselves of the water that was continuously banking up from the skies above.
We had wanted to see the Nott Memorial, an elaborate, stone-masonry building in Union College that's the only 16-sided building in North America. While we were able to see it, the rain was so strong--and the streets in the College so narrow--that we had to reverse slowly from the street we turned into as the downpour continued.
Rather than continuing onto Albany, the nonstop torrential rain--and the shorter days that we're now experiencing--meant that our last stop for the evening was "Mallmart," so called because it is the largest Walmart store in the US. Previously there was a Sam's Club and Walmart store on the premises, but when the former closed, Walmart took over their lease, creating this 2-story supercenter. However, it doesn't actually feel that big because it is 2 stories, making the layout different from the others we've been to. Fortunately, since Walmart is generally pretty good about overnight parking, this is where we stationed ourselves for the night.
Day 223: Albany
The next morning we made it into downtown Albany, heading to the (free!) New York State Museum. We recently went to the free state museum of West Virginia in Charleston and while we're not sure if every state has a free museum, these last 2 have been really fantastic places to visit! We'd paid for parking up the road for about an hour, so we had to be quick in touring the extensive exhibits. Similar to the one in West Virginia, it starts with the state's prehistoric history and the native people who lived in the area, before going through different notable periods--including Harlem in the 1920s, and September 11, 2001. There was also an exhibit showing the fire engines over the years, including some interesting steam engines and how these were used back in the day.
The museum continues on the 4th floor of the building--there's not too much there except for a couple of planes, vehicles and the Papa Burger statue (a restored 9-foot-tall fiberglass mascot for the A&W Root Beer chain of restaurants from the 1960s). One of the main attractions on this floor is the New York State Museum Carousel, built around 1914. It's still operational, and can take up to 10 riders at a time.
After the museum, we hightailed across the road to see the Empire State Plaza, a large public square with a couple of unique buildings around its perimeter, and a pool in the middle. The Egg is a huge, concrete, oval-shaped building that's a performing arts venue. Meanwhile, the New York State Capitol is very different to the other capitol buildings we've visited on this trip--rather than the usual distinctive dome, this one has a very European, late nineteenth-century architectural design, that could easily have fit into a city like Riga, as well as being here in New York. In front is the characteristic "I ♡ NY" symbol that's synonymous with the state.
Our parking meter had run out, so we headed back to the RV, deciding to make and have lunch before we left. As we were finishing up having lunch, neither of us was paying attention, but a parking attendant came along and gave us a ticket! Ergh! Michael ended up running out to talk to her, and she said she hadn't seen us inside as she would've knocked, but we could contest it with City Hall. Well, now we know that Albany's parking police can be sticklers for time!
Our last couple of stops were brief: seeing outside the Palace Theatre, a live entertainment venue that still operates today and has been around for almost a century, as well as the World's Largest Nipper Statue. Nipper was the canine mascot of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), a defunct consumer electronics company. Weighing 4 tons and standing at 28-foot tall, the steel and fiberglass statue of Nipper was based on a real dog, and is the last one remaining, guarding the RCA building from its roof.
Smaller Towns in New York
In the nearby city of Troy there's the Gasholder House, a historic brick building that was operated by the Troy Gas Light Company. While today natural gas is used to power homes, in the 19th century it was manufactured gas, which needed to be stored locally before distribution. This Gasholder House was one of many that existed in the US northeast region, and there are now only about 10 of these buildings left. It's kind of overgrown around it, but a positive that this rare building still exists.
About 30 minutes from Troy is the village of Ballston Spa, known for being "America's First Watering Place," because of its mineral springs that were frequented by people seeking health and recreation--similar to the treatments provided in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which we visited in July. There's a main road--Milton Avenue (Route 50)--that runs through Ballston Spa, so while it was small and charming, with lots of boutique cafes, restaurants and shops, it was busy, with continual traffic running through! There's a National Bottle Museum that is on Route 50, which has over 3,700 antique bottles, and details the history of bottle-making. It costs $5, but we decided to skip it--we actually felt that the front of the museum could have shown more bottles and things in general to draw attention to the place, to make it more exciting!
Saratoga Springs
The area around Ballston Spa is full of mineral springs, and spa treatments. Further north is the city of Saratoga Springs, known as a hub for thoroughbred horse racing, and home to the Saratoga Race Course. For us, we were keen to visit Saratoga Spa State Park, which includes mineral baths, a pool complex and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, spread out across 2,379 acres.
Within the park, we could see natural springs on the side of the road, nonchalantly spouting water skywards! Near where we parked, we saw natural springs like the Polaris Spring, constantly spouting natural seltzer type water.
We went on could smell sulfur while walking past some springs, reminding us also of our visit to Thermopolis in Wyoming back in June, although Sheila got very sick from drinking some of the sulfur water, so we knew to be extra vigilant this time! Fortunately, there wasn't as much of the scent or evidence of sulfur at Saratoga Springs, and we went on a short hike, seeing Orenda Spring Tufa, a giant dome created by mineral deposits from the Orenda Spring over the last century or so, with vivid colors of white, orange and brown. The hike was gorgeous, because the path in places was lined with fallen autumn leaves, adding more vibrant colors to the stunning scenery. We were definitely visiting in what seemed to be the best time of year!
What we were most excited about at Saratoga Spa State Park, however, was filling up with free, fresh, drinkable spring water to take with us! Just like at Hot Springs in Arkansas and in the Pacific North West, there are springs that constantly run for people to simply come and fill up their bottles with delicious, mineral-rich, non-carbonated water. The State Seal Spring had 4 taps with constantly-running water, so we filled up a bottle and Sheila's water jug (we wonder if Sheila will taste the difference?). While we were filling Sheila's big water jug, a lady came along with two bags filled with bottles of various sizes, reusing various juice bottles and other vessels. She mentioned that she comes every week, as she lives close by and can drink this water throughout the week. If we we lived nearby, we'd definitely be doing this too!
The New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center was closed by the time we arrived, which is dedicated to the state's military history. However, it was still a worthwhile stop, as the building is captivating in its own right, with vibrant red brick and a castle-like turret. There are also a couple of artifacts in front, including a tank from last century, and an 1861 13-inch seacoast mortar--a siege weapon that was used in coastal fortifications during the US Civil War.
Sleeping by the Chalet
Tomorrow, we'll continue to explore upstate New York, with its gorgeous fall scenery. We stopped at the Adirondacks Welcome Center, a fantastic rest stop with restrooms, amenities, maps, and vending machines. The building looks like a winter chalet, and there was an ample dog park for Sheila to walk around before nighttime, next to a kid's playground. We parked next to a line of trucks, getting to watch a stunning sunset with its rich shades of orange, pink, purple. Such a lovely way to end a packed day!