Parental Road Trip Part 2

After a few days resting at my house in Michigan it was time to set out on the next leg of our trip.  I would have preferred to drive around Lake Erie through Ohio, the small corner of Pennsylvania, into New York to go to Niagara Falls.  My parents chose to drive through Ontario.  Therefore trip 2 through the border this summer. 

I will say I really dislike driving on major highways, so I was routed across into Windsor and told to follow 3.  We visited Point Pelee Park, and then got a little lost somehow.  We eventually arrived in Niagara Falls around 2pm.  I visited Niagara Falls about 15 years ago, and I was very disappointed.  It was more touristy than the previous visit and there were so many people that it was difficult to get close to the walkway even.  Bobbin and I took a wee stroll and took a few pictures.

 American Falls

Since the last time I visited they have put a cement point on top of the wall that runs along to discourage people from leaning over, or sitting on the wall. 

After the excitement we crossed the Rainbow bridge into the US near Niagara Falls New York.

Day 2 we were heading toward Buffalo, New York to meet some distant cousins along the way.  We stopped in Syracuse, NY at Calico Gals Quilt Shop. 

Neat quilt shop with a cute Row by Row, and lot of different types of fabrics. I fell in love with these two black on white prints. 

Then onto Clinton to meet Dorothy and her sweet husband.  My mother had met Dorothy doing genealogical research looking for information regarding a 3X great grandfather.  We had a short visit and then headed east further. 

We left the New York Throughway at Canajoharie and drove up into the mountains toward Sharon Springs, New York. Sharon Springs was once a spa resort.  The part of the family my mother had been looking for were Abenaki  (People of the Dawnland) which were an Algonquian People and ranged from Maine, into Quebec, and throughout New York.  Somehow this ancestor had been put on a census record as a 'Black Canadian' and therefore he could purchase property since he was considered "white" and he owned a large home and property in Sharon Springs at one time.  The site where his home was now stands empty.  What is sad is that when he passed away because he was married to an indian woman she could not inherit so the property was seized.  It was interesting to see the area, and hear the history of our family, but also of this tribe that I belong to.  Trying to imagine how this ancestor and his wife traveled from Odanak, Quebec to Sharon Springs, New York.  You can read more about the Abanaki here.  We went and visited the cemetery where the ancestor and his wife were buried.  Then headed toward Clifton Park for the night. We had an awesome room in a fairly new LaQuinta.  

The next morning we awoke, we were going to meet 2 different sets of relatives.  One around lunch time and another for dinner, but we had time to kill in between.  Our first stop was  The Quiltbug Quilt Shop.  Tiny quilt shop, but the owner was super nice.  Of course I had to do some stash enhancements.

Looking for the quilt shop I had spied a place called the Pine Bush Preserve, and I had to check it out.  The Albany Pine Bush is one of the largest of 20 inland pine barrens in the world.  They have a great Discovery Center for kids, lots of hiking trails and it was very informative.

I saw a fisher, it was stuffed but man it was a lot bigger than I was expecting.

And neat flowers.  Bobbin liked this place, she could go out and explore. 

We met one family member in Rensselaer.  We had decided to pick up a pizza and take it to her house.  My mom wanted me to stop at the police station and ask where a good pizza shop was--um just no.  I had looked pizza up on my phone and saw a shop that had great reviews called Cugino's Pizzaria.  It was across the street from the police station and imagine the smile on my face when I walked in and saw about 10 policemen waiting for lunch.  The pizza was awesome well worth the wait.  There is just something about New York style pizza you can't beat.  We then drove by the State Capitol in Albany, is mighty impressive. 

We met the next set of family at a Cheesecake Factory for dinner and visited.  It was interesting to meet them and make more familial connections.  We stayed a 2nd night in Clifton Park.  I kept seeing this building and I kept telling my parents I bet it used to be a stage stop hotel.  They laughed at me.  I finally had an opportunity to stop and get a picture.

See the sign?  I was right!  That was 3 nights in the books.  Where to next?  Wait and see!