August 2004 Getaway

Posted thru August 18, 2004 - Scroll down by day

Saturday, August 7, 2004 High Bridge, NJ to Plattsburgh, NY

We left home at 10:30 am Saturday August 7 with no particular route in mind other than we were going to spend the evening in Plattsburgh, New York. Driving was slow on the New York Thruway as there were tons of vacationers heading for the Catskills and the Adirondacks. We made a lunch stop on the thruway and made a side trip to Rensselaer, NY. Back in my employed days I spent a lot of time at the Rensselaer plant for BASF. The plant was scheduled for shut down when I retired and I wanted to see the site three years after shut-down. Sad sight to see a site that was active a few years ago sitting like an empty shell. No life anywhere.

North of Albany we cut over to take the scenic route thru Hudson Falls to Ticonderoga and Crown Point. It was a beautiful road as we approached the Adirondacks and Ticonderoga. It was threatening rain and we did have two downpours during the ride. what that produced however was two spectacular rainbows one of which I captured on camera.

At Plattsburgh we checked into the Days Inn and had dinner at the Butcherblock right across the road. I must be getting old. I read the menu as having an item "Horny Balsamic Chicken". The waitress had a good laugh and said that if so it would soon become their favorite dish. Failing eyesight can get you in trouble.

The Old BASF Plant at Rensselaer

Looking towards the Adirondacks

There is a tractor under the rainbow

Sunday August 8, 2004, Plattsburgh, NY to North Hero, VT

After church in Plattsburgh we headed south on Route 9 past the abandoned air force base to see the nations oldest natural attraction at Ausable Chasm.  Ausable Chasm is a gorge that is carved through layer upon layer of rock which in places in excess of one hundred and fifty feet deep. It has been owned by the same family since the 1870's and they have made quite a business out of it. For around $15.00 each you get a green armband which entitles you to walk the trails along the gorge and view the gorge. You then can opt to take water rafting trips after you have walked about 3/4 of the gorge. This if course is extra. We opted out of the rafting and just did the walk. Pictures below will tell the spectacular story.

It just so happened that on this particular Sunday all of the inhabitants of Tokyo were at the gorge. One of the trail personnel told us that we should have been there last week as all of Japan had been there. Everybody has to be somewhere and I can't begrudge the Japanese for wanting to see the US and spending their Yen converted to Dollars. We walked the entire trail and even did the "Inner Sanctum" Trail which takes you down into the gorge on a path carved into the edges of the cliff. There were sets of steps leading down gradually and on the other end they were steep in leading you back to the rim trail. Mom did well on the trail and was the one responsible for taking the lower trail. We came across some people from Trenton that were poster children for "Why you should hate people from New Jersey". They could find nothing positive to say about New York State other than that the scenery at the gorge was beautiful. They couldn't stand the small towns and couldn't wait to get to Quebec City (where everybody hates anybody from the US - according to travel legend) and Boston. We wondered why they came to the country. At the end of the trail you get a ride back to the visitors parking lot.

From Ausable Chasm we headed back to Plattsburgh to take the Grand Island ferry over to Vermont. Mom has a friend who lives in North Hero, Vt. and we had arranged to spend the night with them. North Hero is one of the group of Islands in Lake Champlain. Mom and I fell in love with the area on first sight and the visit with friends only made it so much better. The views from their house faced west across one of the bays on Champlain and even though it rained in the afternoon for a short while and was cloudy for a large part of the late afternoon, they promised us a spectacular sunset. Boy did they deliver. All the way up until 7:30 I was a doubting Thomas and am glad I didn't propose a wager on the issue. In the afternoon we did visit The Shrine of St. Anne which was on the site of the former Fort St. Anne. The evening was capped off with a great dinner and conversation around the table.

Champlain with Feathered Friends

Elephant Head in Ausable Chasm

Looking towards the Falls from the Chasm trail

Part of the lower Trail

The rafters waiting to for their craft to be lowered from above.

And they are off

Rainbow Falls at Ausable Chasm

St. Annes Shrine

Is that a sunset or what

The colors were spectacular

Monday, August 9, 2004, North Hero, Vt. to Montreal, QC, CA

After a gourmet breakfast we finally left from North Hero and started out for our destination of the day - Montreal. It is only about 60 miles from North Hero and the Canadian Border is only about 10 miles from there. We crossed over at Rouses Point where we weren't even asked to show our passports. A few minor questions about our intended itinerary and we were free to go. It wasn't long before we were trying to figure out where we wanted to be. After some initial confusion and the help of two pedestrians we would up at the Days Inn on Guy St. They didn't have rooms and the male clerk at the front desk was not very helpful in suggesting alternatives. His female counterpart was as friendly as he would permit her to be and we sort of headed for the front door. We headed to the tourist information bureau and were greeted by a Dorothy Welsh who was very helpful in finding us reasonable lodging at the Travellodge and getting us settled down to a normal heartbeat. Our hats oif to Dorothy. We decided to take a Grey Line bus tour of Montreal as an introduction to the city. The tour lasted three hours which in final analysis was too long and detailed. We did get to see the outside of the Basilica of Notre Dame, ride past the Olympic Village, tour some interesting neighborhoods and get up to the St. Joseph Oratory and also up Mount Royal Park which is the highest point in the city. No building can be built higher that Mount Royal. We will visit the Basilica tomorrow as there was no time to go in in the 20 minutes allocated to that area. We will also go to the Oratory tomorrow.  Details of those areas will follow the visit. Dinner was in Chinatown which is right around the corner from the hotel.

Carriages Across the street from the Basilical of Notre Dame

Statue of Maisonevue - defender of Montreal against the Iroquois

Rectory of the Basilica

Oratory of St.Joseph near Mount Royal

View of the old Olympic Park from Mount Royal

 Tuesday, August 10, 2004, Montreal, QC,CA.

Today we visited the Basilica of Notre Dame, The Sailors Chapel, and returned to see the interior of the Oratory of St. Joseph. We had hoped to see the art museum also but that was not to be. After entering the basilica and wandering around a bit we joined an English tour. I will not bore anyone with all the details. The church was consecrated in 1829 but it's interior was not finished until 1880. And what an interior it is. The church has been seen on TV with Pavarotti in a Christmas Special. The back sanctuary was torched by an arsonist in 1979 but restoration has been made of this chapel. For you hockey fans Mario Lemieaux was married in the main church and for you music fans so was Celine Dion. Former Prime Minister Trudeau was buried from this church with Fidel Castro and Jimmy Carter in attendance.

After the Basilica we wandered over to the Sailors Chapel which is about a 10 minute walk from the basilica. It is in the port area which is why it has been called the Sailors Chapel even though it has a very long French name not associated with sailors. It is a beautiful church.  Our wanderings to retrieve the car from the garage led us past a protester who wanted to put Cheney back in a straight jacket. I told him that he should be put in a straight jacket.

After getting the car out of hock ($13.00 Canadian) we drove up to the Oratory of St joseph to take a tour of this facility. Lunch at their cafeteria/snack bar was a bit shabby but we survived. The help had an attitude on top of that. We took the tour with an English speaking French girl and mom and I were the only ones on the tour. She first took us into the crypt church where Brother Andre is buried and then into the upper basilica. The tour took almost three hours.

Brother Andre had wanted to join the priesthood but had been turned down because of health reasons. After a period of time he was able to join the Brotherhood of Holy Cross but was only given the menial job of a doorman at the school. Br. Andre was devoted to St. Joseph and prayed to him constantly. Being a doorman he had contact with many people and soon stories spread that Br. Andre had curative powers. As his fame spread more and more people came to seek his help and soon he build a tiny chapel/oratory to St. Joseph. The flow of pilgrims was huge and from the donations even in Br. Andre's time, the crypt church and oratory were finished and the upper basilica was well under way. The dome of the basilica is the second largest in the world only beaten by St. Peters at the Vatican. When Brother Andre died in the late 20's, more than a million people attended the viewing.  After Br. Andre's death his heart was put on display at the oratory. For a while it was missing as someone was holding it for ransom but three years after the theft, it was returned intact. We did walk thru the museum which was filled with Nativity sets from all over the world.

Dinner was at Schwartz's Delicatessen. You can't say you have been to Montreal without having smoked meat and Schwartz's is the place. The smoked brisket was delicious. It is a small hole in the wall with no ambiance, no menu, grab a chair and someone will be waiting on you in a minute. We were going to wander over to the Casino but it started to rain heavily and so we stayed in the hotel.

Interior of Basilica of Notre Dame

Crucifix at basilica

Altar piece in restored chapel

Rear of the chapel

Interior of the Sailors Chapel

St. Joseph at the Oratory(Crypt Level) Br. andre is buried beneath this statue.

Inside the Upper Basilica

Second largest Dome in the world

The apostles carved in wood

St. Joseph inside the Crypt church

Wednesday, August 11, 2004, Montreal, QC, CA to Cornwall, On, CA

We planned to go to Upper Canada Village today but decided to go see the Montreal Fine Arts Museum in the morning and then drive to Cornwall, Ontario to get ready to go to Upper Canada Village tomorrow. We found that the Art Museum didn't open until 11:00 AM so we decided first to go to see the Biodome at the Olympic Stadium and then go to the Art Museum afterward if we were still up to it. The Biodome is housed in the Olympic building which was designed as a Velodrome (bicycle racing). It has been turned into a building which houses four different eco-systems and some of the creatures that inhabit them. The environments are "Tropical Forrest", "Laurentian Forest", (Canadian Forrest north of Montreal), "St. Lawrence Marine Ecosystem" and the "Polar World".

When we arrived, in the grassy area were a few tents with "Lego" logo's all over them and a lot of activity. Upon inquiry we found that there was an attempt to set a Guiness Book of Records mark for the worlds longest Millipede made from Lego blocks. We were welcomed to come in and be a part of history which we did for a few minutes. Then we continued on to the Biodome. We rented the audio program in English of course and spent about two hours going thru the exhibits. All I can say is that they were well worth the visit. The tropical forest  was hot and muggy but did contain many of the animals in such an environment. Of particular interest were a pair of Blue parrots which were noted for their ability to remove screws and bolts with their beaks. The tape said that all the fasteners had to be tightened with wrenches. At one time one of them had been taken to a vet for care and in a short time had dismantled a half of his cage. I will not describe all of the creatures in detail. I will say that the fish tanks were interesting. The St. Lawrence Marine system contained a tank with huge sturgeon, halibut, pollock, mackerel, and large cod. Very interesting.

After the Biodome we decided that we were not up for the art museum and decided instead to get on the road to Cornwall. We did make a stop at two craft stores for Mom. At one of the stores our purchase involved paying with exact change and the subject of mixing US pennies into the Canadian currency system came up. I was surprised to find that the storekeeper said that they separate even the US pennies from the Canadian as the exchange rate is $1.30CN for $1.00US. I can't imagine separating 100 pennies to gain the 30c. I guess you have to be here to understand that. We also found a WallMart in Cornwall. Not surprising as the US bridge is about a mile away.

Olympic Stadium - where the Expos play this year

The Lego Millipede in progress

Paca's in the Tropical forest

Tamarind Monkey in Tropical forrest

In the tropical forest

The dismantling parrots

Ibis in the tropical forest

Otter in a very rare still moment

A sleeping porcupine in the tree

Penguins in the Polar World

Thursday, August 12, 2004, Cornwall, On, CA to Upper Canada Village

Today we visited the recreated village known as Upper Canada Village. All of the buildings are original but were relocated here when the St. Lawrence Seaway caused flooding of the original sites. This is a truly unique experience. All of the buildings had interpreters and the period they were representing was the 1860's. It is not really possible to see this site in one day. We got in at opening time at 930 AM and by 5:00PM quitting time still had not seen it all. Perhaps it was that we stayed too long in some of the buildings that had really interesting interpreters. We stayed about a half hour talking with the tinsmith who was very interesting. Another display that took up a lot of time was the up and down sawmill and also the drag saw used for cutting firewood. We also spent a lot of time in the grist mill and the woolen mill. About the only disappointing thing was that some of the crafts I wanted to see were being demonstrated by helpers. The blacksmith was supposed to also cover wheelwrighting but the blacksmith on duty did not know a thing about wheel making. He said that the regular guy was not on today. Same with the chairmaker in the cabinet shop. He had never made a chair but was covering for the man off duty. The miller was really the apprenticed cooper but the fully qualified cooper was not on site today. All of the other buildings were covered by qualified interpreters who told about the crafts and stressed that they were interpreting only the 1860's era. Of particular interest was the woman in the dressmaker's shop. She was full of information on the dress codes for women in the 1860's period and the impacts of the reform movement in women's dress. She must have been a history teacher at one time and we could have listened to her for very much longer but it was 5:00 PM and they were closing.

We did learn that all of the employees at the Village belonged to the Union. Could we try that at Millbrook? We will come back here in 2005.

Robeson House - Wealthy money lender

Anglican Church

Canal Scow at work in the rain.

Two horsepower wagon

Rose on her birthday going in to shop

Drag Saw - the horse connected to the wheel, the wheel connected to the saw.

Business end of the drag Saw

Up and down Sawmill - Carriage can handle a 30 inch log 20 feet long

Log bein prepared for cutting. About 20 minutes per cut with present water load.

Fluffing one side of the blanket with a Fulton Teasel Drum

Loading real flour at the mill

We just missed the stagecoach

The village spinner

Some fine brooms

The shoemakers shop - no shoemaker in today.

Friday, August 13, 2004, Cornwall, On, CA to Ottawa, ON, CA

We altered our plan of heading for Toronto today and instead headed to Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. The purpose was twofold, first to visit a wool store that Mom learned about in the village yesterday and second, we heard that Ottawa has a lot to see. Our hearing was not wrong. We had planned to get to Ottawa by 9:30 AM to see the changing of the guard at 10:00 AM but it was pouring rain in Cornwall and the  ceremony is not held in bad weather. After visiting the worlds biggest wool store we headed to the parliament hill area of Ottawa. We wanted to take in two attractions today - a tour of the parliament building and also the Canadian National Art Gallery. We signed up for the 5:30 PM English speaking tour of the Parliament building and headed for the art museum which closes at 5:00 PM giving us plenty of time to make the tour.

On the way to the art museum we walked past the US embassy in Canada which appeared as a fortress in the street. Concrete barriers and also a high metal fence. Story of the times i guess. The National Art Gallery is a very modern building with a lot of glass. The permanent collections are free of charge with charges for the visiting exhibits. We chose to look at the permanent collection which consisted of the Canadian Art Section, European and American Art and also the Inuit Collection. Pictures were not permitted in the Canadian and Inuit sections, the two exhibits that impressed us the most. The Rideau Chapel in the Canadian Section was a moved to the museum after it was scheduled to be razed. It is magnificent. The stone and ivory carvings of the Inuits were spectacular in their motif but sorry no pictures.

After the art museum we returned to the Parliament Hill to take the tour. First we had to go thru security to get into the building. It was similar to airport checks but more thorough. Mom's watch set the bells off. The tour takes you thru the major chambers of the building. The House of Commons similar to our House of Reps. was closed to visitors as the seating is being re-arranged for the upcoming sessions. The ruling party does not have a majority so there will be a lot of shifting of seats. We did get to into the Senate Chamber. While Canada's House of Commons is elected, the Senate is appointed by the Prime Minister and the Senator's can hold that seat until they are 75 years old. They can be appointed at 30 years of age which is very uncommon. The government organization is very similar to England. The guide was very good in his explanation of the system and the checks and balances that exist. A bill must be approved in both houses to pass. Regional bias in the House of Representatives is balanced by the non-regional proportions of the Senate. Canada as a nation only started in 1867 with the confederation. National unity was necessary to offset fears of takeover from the US after the Civil War and also the need to combine the east and west with a railroad. As separate provinces national security and economic growth were not possible. After the tour we went to the top of the Parliament Tower which is known as the Peace Tower. The elevator can only handle 6 people per trip and one of the guards said that on busy days as many as 2000 people go up. Some wait two hours to get up there. The view from the Peace Tower is pretty.

For dinner we went to Don Cherry's Restaurant. Don Cherry is a famous hockey announcer in Canada and he should stick to announcing rather than trying to run a restaurant chain. It was the worst meal of the trip so far. After dinner we headed to the 10:00 PM light show on the Parliament buildings. The French version is run at 9:00 PM and us anglophiles get ours later. The show consists of music, and dialogue while lights and pictures are flashed on the Parliament Building. The theme of course is strongly nationalistic but it was very entertaining.    

The most photographed man in Ottawa

Parliament Building

US Embassy in Ottawa

Canadian National Gallery

Looking up the Ceiling of the gallery

Rideau Chapel - there are ways to get pictures

Parliament Across the Park

Rideau Canal Locks

East Block of Parliament Hill from Peace Tower

Parliament Building at the night light show

Saturday, August 14, 2004, Ottawa, ON, CA to Oshawa, ON,CA

After a quick breakfast at Tim Horton's we rushed over to Parliament Hill to catch the changing of the guard ceremony on the green. After a brief explanation of the ceremony (in French and English) the sounds of a military band could be heard coming behind us. Sure enough on the street behind us the Red Uniformed Band and Guard wearing their bear skin caps were marching up the street and into the parade ground. The old guard unit was set up on the left and the new guard unit was on the right. The band was centered in the other end of the field facing the two units. The officers went thru a whole bunch of commands,one unit in English and the other in French. The traditional snap step at the end of each stop was very obvious. You could hear the stomp of the boot even into the grass. The officers inspected the new guard and the old guard. Then the keys of the barracks at the Governor Generals residence were passed to the new guard officer and the band struck up a tune and the process was over. During the inspection, the bagpipes played a very pretty air. Much pomp and circumstance. We were lucky in selecting the spot to watch the proceedings as the whole procession passed right in front of us.

From Ottawa our plan was to get to Niagara Falls for the evening. At some point I noticed a sigh at an exit that a woodcarving site was nearby. We were going to combine lunch with the stop at the carving shop. Little did we know that the location of these activities would take us 36 km to a little town of Merrickville and little did we know that the stop would last for about three hours. Merrickville was named after a William Merrick who left New England as a loyalist during the Revolutionary War. I guess he did well enough here to have the town named after him. The town has turned into a New Hope, Pa. but without the obvious signs of the element there and also not as big as New Hope. It is filled with arts and craft shops of all kinds and also a lot of small cafe's. The wood carving shop was great and I wound up purchasing a carving of a "woodland spirit" and also a book on carving. Mom visited some stores and even purchased some items. Think of that. By the time we left at 4:00 PM we were informed that Niagara Falls was about 5 hours away. I decided I didn't want to drive until 9:00 PM to and opted to stop at Oshawa outside of Toronto.

Old Guard Unit Heading left

New Guard Unit lined up on right

Old Guard Unit

The bagpipes in performance

The band on the way out

RCMP street band in front of visitors center - they were good

Street performer in Merrickville

Street scene of Merrickville

Sunday, August 15, 2004, Oshawa,ON,CA To Niagara Falls,ON,CA

After church in Oshawa we headed towards Niagara Falls. We drove thru Niagara on the Lake hoping to make a stop there but being a weekend with a craft fair in town along with several churches running rummage sales, the parking situation was completely insane. So it was a drive thru with a heading straight to Niagara Falls. We pulled into the Days Inn Fallsview parking lot and called the front desk to find availability and rate of a room. I have found that by making a phone reservation you most times get a better rate than walking in like a deer in headlights. She quoted a rate which I agreed to and told her I would be right in. I walked into the lobby and was waited on by someone other than the one taking the call and I got a rate for $12.00 less than the phone quote. Not to worry I lost these savings at the Casino.

While we couldn't get into the room yet Mom said that there was a German restaurant and she had to go to the restroom. I asked her if she knew how to "P" in German. The restrooms in the Days Inn lobby worked fine. We ate lunch in the deli at the Galleria in front of the Fallsview Casino and headed for the falls. There is an incline people mover for $2.00 each which takes you to a point directly next to where the Horseshoe Falls drop over the edge. The falls were in good order. They were creating a mist which with the wind in the right direction could soak you even if the sun was out.  We walked to a point opposite the American Falls watching the Maid of the Mist boats run up to the falls. On the USA side there was a tethered balloon ride which afforded the patrons a view of the falls. On this particular day the American Falls were more visible because of the quantity of mist coming off the Horseshoe Falls.  The walk up the hill to the Days Inn was a torture.

We left the room at 8:00 PM to spend some more time in the Casino and also to get to the 10:00 PM fireworks show which occurs every Friday and Sunday during the summer months. The motel does run a shuttle to the casino and back so we picked up two tickets for the return trip. We left the casino winless and took the incline down to the river level again. The mist was worse in the evening than in the daytime as the wind direction was drenching the spectators over a large area. We moved out of the drench zone and watched a nice but short 8 minutse fireworks display.

American Falls from Fallsview Terrace

American Falls

Maid of the Mist past the American falls

Maid of the Mist in front of the Horseshoe Falls

Mom in front of the American Falls

Me in front of the American Falls

Left edge of the Horseshoe Falls

Horseshoe Falls


Monday, August 16, 2004, Niagara Falls,ON,CA to Buffalo, NY

A strange thing happened this morning. Never while traveling have we slept until 9:45 AM but I guess there is always a first time. We got on the road by 10:30 AM and back to Niagara on the Lake to start out with a late breakfast and do some sightseeing there as yesterday it was impossible. Today the parking was a lot easier but there was still a lot of people all over the streets and the tiny shops. After brunch we drove down to where the Niagara River flows in to create Lake Ontario. Across the river you could see the US and Fort Niagara. There is a waterfront park with a small beach on the Canadian side here which seemed popular with the visitors or locals.

From the park we went over to the fort that was on the Canadian side of the river, Fort George. Durning the War of 1812, the American Navy along with the guns at Fort Niagara destroyed Fort George. The Americans invaded Fort george and re-built some fortifications and held the fort for about 7 months. In December of 1813, the Americans decided that they were in danger of loosing their re-supply capabilities and abandoned the fort. They left the fort in charge of a Canadian sympathetic to the US and ordered him to burn the fort. He must have had bad hearing as instead he razed the town of Niagara on the Lake leaving the population in a tough position in winter. The English did come in and in retaliation captured Fort Niagara and burned every settlement on the US side from Fort Niagara down to Buffalo. The Brittish held Fort Niagara for the duration of the war and was returned to the US with the peace treaty. The fort has been re-created as all of it deteriorated after the war and the only building left standing was the powder magazine which had been used by farmers as a storage shed. Even this building has now been restored. We walked thru the buildings some of which were occupied by interpreters. We stayed thru a musket firing demonstration.

After Niagara on the Lake which is a very pretty town, surrounded by beautiful farm land and about a thousand wineries, we drove the Niagara Parkway back to Niagara Falls to take the Peace Bridge to the US. We stopped at a few places to view the Niagara River. One of the interesting places was the whirlpool. At this point, the river only a mile or two below the horseshoe falls makes a 90 degree turn to the right. The river is really roaring at this point and to accomplish the 90 degree turn has carved a huge circle which then permits the water to slide out the side to continue its path to Lake Ontario. There is a cable car across the river here which takes people across to get a view of the Niagara River gorge. A jet boat operates in these waters to give people thrills and there were many people on Skiddoo type craft running up into the onrushing water. One guy toppled his craft twice and it is a wonder he didn't get knocked off the craft.

We went thru customs and immigration with no problems. Only a few common questions plus the picture ID's. We stayed in Buffalo as tomorrow we are going to East Aurora, NY to investigate a source of veneers for the shaker boxes I make in my spare time. We will be in Weedsport, NY tomorrow evening to visit with some friends formerly from High Bridge and are planning a Wednesday arrival at home.

Downtown Niagara on the Lake

Fort Niagara - its the US there

Beach at Niagara on the Lake - no swimmers here

Thru the blockhouse rifle slit at Fort George

Musket firing demonstration at Fort George

View of Niagara River towards Niagara on the Lake

Niagara River - whilpool area - see the 90 degree corner the river makes here

Cable Car at the whirlpools

Jetboat operating in the whirlpool

The guy in the middle flipped twice in this section of the whilrpool

Wednesday, August 18, 2004, Weedsport, NY to High Bridge, NJ

On Tuesday we stopped at East Aurora to take a look at the veneer museum and purchase some heavier walnut veneer for the Shaker boxes I will make at Millbrook Days this year. We stopped for the day and evening in Weedsport to visit with some friends. We planned to drive straight home from Weedsport about 4 hours and be home by 1:00 PM at the latest. There was a sign that said "Harriet Tubman Home" 12 miles which the car had to find. The Harriet Tubman Home is in Auburn NY and is the home where the famed "Underground Railroad" heroine settled even before the Civil War. According to the information in the visitors center she made 19 trips back to the South after she escaped from Maryland to Philadelphia in 1849 and led approximately 300 people to freedom in the North and Canada. In 1857 with the help of William Seward - former governor of NY and later Lincoln's Secretary of State she purchased property in Auburn NY. Being subject to the fugitive slave laws herself she was not able to buy the property herself. After service in the Union Cause where she was a spy, a nurse and also led one military venture she returned to Auburn to run a farm on her property and also to run an old peoples home for former Slaves. She died in 1913 at the age of 93 or 95. Her home is under restoration now having been recently acquired back from the people that bought the house from the Tubman family after her death. The Old Peoples Home is the house she died in and both properties are now owned by the AME Zion Church and are being restored for visitation purposes. We took a small bus tour offered as part of the admission price and visited the cemetery where Harriet is buried and also the site of the AME Zion Church which is no longer used for services but being restored for tourists like us. The driver said that the church is in the process of acquiring designation as a National Historic Site and that upon getting this designation it will be just as important a monument as the Statue of Liberty or the Lincoln Memorial.

We then drove over to the Willard Chapel which was formerly a part of Auburn Seminary which has moved to NYC. This chapel is the only remaining building which was completely designed and decorated by Louis Comfort Tiffany. After the Auburn Seminary moved to NYC, it was sold to the Seventh Day Adventists who held it for a period of time and then sold it to an Antique dealer who was going to strip and sell  off all the windows and chandeliers. The Auburn Preservation society was able to purchase the property for $500k before the wreckers came in. It would have been a crime to break up this site. Auburn, NY is a very pretty town with stately homes. The Seward Mansion looked spectacular and we must make a trip back there to investigate it. We drove along Lake Sheneatteles and had lunch in Homer NY and arrived home at 5:00 PM. Only 4 hours later than planned. 

Harriet Tubman Old Age Home

Harriet Tubman Home - to be restored

Willard Chapel-Tiffany Lamp and Window

Willard Chapel - Lamp

Willard Chapel - Windows

 

  

 

   

 

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