Northbound

We are on the road again.  This time it is a driving trip to upstate New York.  We are taking in the sights and visiting Matt’s parents.  The one difference is this time, Zoe is along for the ride.

The first day was a full moon.  And while Matt gets annoyed when I blame anything out of the ordinary on the full moon, I believe it had alot to do with the events on our first day.

Almost first thing, we were confronted with this truck.  OK, it is in tow but it was a bit unnerving following it.

Then we made the turn onto route 15 off I-81.  For a moment I thought we had jumped states and ended up in some rural part of West Virginia.  But it was just a rough start to an otherwise beautiful drive up 15.  Nicely underused road except for one spot that we decided to have lunch.  Extreme views of the wide river and stunning vistas.  Beautiful places along this route.

Early evening we made it to Corning, NY to discover that our usual hotel was completely booked due to a marathon the next morning.  Which happened to coincide with our plans to visit the Corning Museum of Glass.  I had been looking forward to this since we started planning this trip.  So after a few stops and a few more full hotels and hotels that just wouldn’t take dogs.

Eventually we settled for a motel that was located mere feet from the on ramp – how convenient!  This was the kind of place that I didn’t want to take my shoes off and you are sure if the walls could talk there would be blue flashing lights involved.  My barefeet never touched the floor.  It was the kind of place that even after a shower I still felt dirty.  yuck!  Mercifully we survived the night, very little real sleep and Zoe in between us all night.

During our quest to find our hotel room, I notice a Panera and we headed straight for it the next morning. Bagels, Chi Tea and a real internet connection….. ahhh back to civilization.  It was a turning point.  The events of the previous day and night were behind us and it was a new day.  And we were laughing about it.

The Corning Museum of Glass was fantastic for a glass nerd like me.  Matt enjoyed it as well.  We soaked in every bit, while Zoe chilled out and slept in the car.  It was an overcast day in the low 60’s so she was in a very comfortable place.

The building is of course mostly glass but quite beautiful.  It is a campus of several buildings.

It follows nicely in the several blocks it occupies.  Inside you are greeted by the first big piece by Dale Chihuly.

You have probably seen something by him as he is very popular.  His style is

very distinctive.  Upon closer inspection, I noticed that it is constructed much like a Southern bottle tree – almost exactly!  Now I understand.

The Corning staff was very friendly (yes even for Yankees, there I said it).

One of the security guards was nice enough to point out some hard to see details in one of the pieces.  We saw all kinds of glass through the ages and different processes.

I even got the chance to turn some big glass in the kiln …. OK not really.

We then headed north to Rochester.  Matt needed to check out old haunts.  It has been 28 years since I visited so not much was familiar to me.  We did drive through/around RIT.  I did consider going there for college and Matt did attend there.  It has changed a bit and grown outward.

Then we got lucky.  We found a magnificent Hampton Inn that gladly accepted dogs.  All three of us had a great night and are now feeling refreshed and ready to take on the Adirondacks.

Tonight we end up at Matt’s parents.  We are hopeful that Zoe and Mozart become friends.  I am looking forward to seeing them and the fall foliage.