Fingerlakes Region New York - Day 2

This morning we are exploring the town we are staying in, Ithaca Falls.  Our hotel was very close to Cornell University and the Falls.  So we saw a lot of students. 

The tunnel below is very short - you can see out the other side.  It might be part of Ezra's Tunnel which opens up on top of the falls.  Ezra's Tunnel was built around 1832 as a waterway tunnel.  It fed into a raceway that provided the power for most of Ithaca.  People used to go through the tunnel to get to the top of the falls to swim and sun.  Several students died.  It was gated off at the top in 2018 after a long controversary.

                                        

Just across the street is this interesting house.

And the falls themselves.

After we finished exploring this area we walked back to the parking lot.  I could not resist using the fisheye lens to photo this house.

We drove through the countryside on our way to Moravia. 

Moravia is filled with 19th Century houses.  We parked across the street from this church to skype with daughter Alexis in Amsterdam.  Isn't technology amazing?

Here is a fixer upper for you!  Probably a bargain now.  It reminds me of haunted houses I have seen.

This was a tavern early on in history.

The house below was purported to be the oldest house in the town of Moravia.

As we headed back to Ithaca Falls we stopped outside of another small town.  We found a parking spot in an abandoned school yard.  And walked up and down the road taking photos.  Cornfields and big skies make interesting photos.

The next morning we headed back to the airport and home.  The trip was short, but it accomplished its purpose.  We saw something much different than the mountain west.  

Fingerlakes Region of New York in September

 We really needed to get out of Dodge!  We decided the risks were worth it.  So we booked our tickets with United and packed our bags.

Being at the Albuquerque airport was surreal.  It was so empty!

Chicago O'Hare was much busier.  Most people were in compliance and wearing a mask.  Both flights were very full.  We stayed in a hotel near the Rochester airport the first and last nights.  The other two nights in Ithaca - so we were more centralized.  On the way there we stopped in the town of Canandaigua which is on Canandaigua Lake.  The boat houses were fun to photograph.  There were signs explaining the historical background of the area as well as an interesting tidbit that they had to pass a law saying no one could live in the boat houses - they were for boats only.

The Yacht Club

We drove from the waterfront to the main street through town.  Lots of interesting  19th Century homes.  Many of the houses have been refurbished and look like new - at least from the outside.

Some government buildings were also interesting to see.

We were not planning to visit any wineries - though this region is known for it's excellent wine.  We saw an interesting looking one, and decided to visit.  Only to find out that they (and all of the other wineries) are open by appointment only.  We stopped to take photos of the grapes on our way out.

We drove between Canandaigua and Seneca lakes, on our way to Watkins Glen.  Another quaint town on a lake - this time on Seneca lake.

It is quite far away, but can you see the Dollar flag next to the U.S. flag?

Continuing Life with Covid 19 - September 2020

 I had forgotten I wrote that post on Covid back in March.  I left it as a draft to deal with our new reality.  I first went on a frenzy of making masks for us and to donate.  I had some left over cotton material from a quilting project I never finished that was perfect for the task.  When I ran out of that a friend from Rotary who also had left over material from quilting projects, gave me an even larger amount of material.  Altogether, I made about 150 of masks.  

Over time I started noticing a lot of pain in my left thumb joint.  I went to a doctor to see what the problem was.  Turns out all the repetitive motion from sewing was causing some arthritis to act up.  And for the first time in my life, the doctor gave me the answer I wanted to hear.  He said there was a simple surgery that would solve the problem.  My next questions was, and how long before the arthritis comes back?  His answer NEVER!  Most often whenever I go to a doctor with an issue the answer is much different.  Well, you've got many issues and we don't know which of your problems is causing the pain, so we can't help you.  But of course after I stopped sewing - the pain went away.

Lisa and Tim are evacuated from Kiev, Ukraine and move temporally to Albuquerque.  This keeps me busy going back and forth to their rental in the Cherry Hills neighborhood.  They have a swimming pool so they are able to exercise and keep the kids busy.  We spend a lot of time with the grandkids.

After the mask episode was finished I was at loose ends trying to figure out how to spend my time.  Making masks was a way to feel like I was doing my part to help us all get through the pandemic.  My Rotary Club as well as every other club and group in New Mexico was closed down.  A couple of us started talking about a way for us to meet on-line.  About that time, Michael got the purchased version of Zoom so he could meet remotely with all the people in Ghana as well as meetings here at home.  Several of us got the free version of Zoom - but your meetings can only be 40 minutes long.  Michael sets up the Club's Rotary meeting and sends me an invite - I then send it out to everyone else in the Club.  I have all the Club members email and phone information on my computer - Mike does not.

I still can't figure out what I can do to feel like I am doing something good.  Rotary does a few projects - but my back and right shoulder are causing problems - I can't do the heavy lifting any more.  One of the speakers at Rotary were two men who were going to offer a class on "Flourishing" to start in mid September.  It was canceled.  I was able to borrow the book "Authentic Happiness" that the class was based on from Cheryl and started reading it.  

During this whole time - Mike and I are trying to figure out how to work around each other everyday! It seems no one can hear him on Zoom - so he talks really loud.  I can't concentrate when he talks loud.  We rearranged some areas of the house.  Mike started using the craft room as his office - he can shut the door.  I bought a noise machine.  But something is still missing - we are not traveling!  We are not taking photos and posting!

Where can we go?  A family member suggests New York City.  Their Covid 19 numbers have finally come down.  The City was hit very hard and it took them months to get a handle on it.  NM lists NY as a place a New Mexican could go to with out quarantining.  NY feels the same about NM.  I am a little leary of big cities - I am not excited about going to NYC.  Friends in the past have raved about how beautiful the Finger Lakes area of NY is -Now that is something I can get excited about.

Dealing with the Coronovirus!

No photos in this post.  Instead of anticipating our next trip, we have canceled all and are hunkering down like everyone else. 

If something like this had to happen - the timing is right for me.  Right after I returned from the Portugal and the Netherlands trip, my computer got hacked.  It was on March 2 while our niece, Rene Michelle was visiting us.  I noticed a strange email from the bank we used to wire money to Ghana.  Something about they were sorry they could not send out my wire request.  Thank goodness - because I had not requested a wire to be sent.  Shortly after I got a text from Lisa - did you send this weird email??  Followed by more friends asking about strange emails.  Then a call from our Investment bank - they had gotten an email requesting money be sent as well.  The rest of the week was spent changing passwords immeadiately.  Followed up by closing accounts and opening new ones.  Crazy stressful!  But it was successful - no money was stolen.

There was also a strange email address in my quickbooks.  That may be where the hackers got into my email.  Don't know for sure.  It took all week to get that fixed.

In between all that crazyness, I went to Passport Health, USA to get a yellow fever shot in anticipation of our trip to Ghana.  I was told it may take up to a week before any symptons might show up.  That was a good thing.  Because Saturday I was feeling really bad.  Totally exhausted, muscles ached, really bad headache.  My doctor did not think I had coronovirus as I did not have any breathing problems.  So maybe it was from the shot - or I might have caught another virus.  It took all of the next week before I even felt like doing anything but sitting in my chair.

Meanwhile we are hearing that a lot of countries in Europe have been severly effected by the virus.  Lisa and Tim spent a week in Portugal about the second week of February - they were put on a two week volunteery quarentine by the Embassy/State Department when they returned. 

Mike and I are debating if we should cancel our trip.  We were to go to Accra, Ghana for me to meet Gail and Patricia Grant who are working on the Theodora Project with us.  And to meet the ladies and other people that Mike has been working with.  Then we were to go to Poland for a week, followed by Berlin, Germany for a week and lastly 5 days in the south of Turkey.  In Berlin we were to share our time with Jocelyn and Alex.  In Turkey we would have been with Lisa & Tim in a nice resort.  We have to talk to them about it - Tim is resistant to canceling.  Then I researched Turkish Airlines cancelation policies - you had to cancel your plans by March 16 if you wanted them to waive the change fees. 

Mike spent the weekend canceling all our plans.  So now - no trip - and I have time to relax and get over the stress of the computer hack - and whatever illness I had.

California's 17 Mile Road - Pebble Beach

This is slightly out of order - as I totally forgot about these pictures.  At the end of January we took a quick trip to Salinas, CA to see some dear friends.  I have driven this road several times - but it always impresses me with its beauty.  We were there at the worst time of day - so the photos don't do the area justice. 

These are my footprints:  The fight foot is in a medical boot because of an injury to my instep.