Baldwinsville, New York

When we were in Baldwinsville, New York, we saw the places that Mom told me about in her stories. Now I can actually visualize her stories. It was neat to see all the places there, and I took some pictures of these places. We were able to visit the Methodist church where my mother was baptized and confirmed. The church is beautiful with stained glass windows. Downtown is revitalized, which brings back to what it used to look like. The locals say it’s getting better every year.

We also tried to find my grandparents’ graves in Riverview Cemetery. It was raining and raining. At the cemetery, Rob asked the Canada geese if they knew where the graves were. They just sat there and looked at him as if he was crazy. They hissed at him. I didn’t know that they do that. After 45 minutes of treading softly up and down the graves in the rain, we gave up. I bought some flowers for the graves and ended up putting them on the graves that looked lonely. It’s the thought that counts.

I also took pictures of the Erie Canal and the Seneca River. There were some trout jumping that day. Blue heron was standing on a ledge by the river.

On the way back from Quebec, we stopped in Lowville, which is pronounced as Low (rhymes with cow) ville. It’s not too far away from Mom’s hometown. We stayed with Rob’s friend from seminary for a night. It was a nice visit. They treated us to a dinner at a local restaurant. One of the side dishes was salted potatoes. I ordered it, and amazingly it tasted just like Mom’s boiled potatoes. Apparently, Syracuse, New York had a huge salt mine and the workers used to put potatoes in a brine for lunch. Nowadays, they put a lot of salt in the boiling water and after boiling, they add butter to the potatoes. Mmm-hmm! It tastes like home.

** This was my first real taste of taking pictures using our new camera. I was learning how to hold the camera steady and focused. It was also windy and rainy that day.

On the road again

This time, we are traveling to Quebec. My dear friend and old colleague has a family cottage at the lake, where she spends her summers. She invited Rob to preach at the village church. The community at the lake invite ministers to come one Sunday and lead the worship services at the village church. I’m looking forward to this. We will also spend a day in Montreal.

Right now, we are in upstate New York where my mom grew up. The town she grew up is a quaint, beautiful town that sits on Seneca River. While I’m here, I will take pictures of the landmarks: her house, her mother’s store, her father’s office, her grade school, and her church. I also plan to visit my grandparents’ graves. I have never met them, because they both died before I was born. Yet, in some ways, I do feel close to them because of my mom’s stories.

While I’m in Quebec, this blog will be on a short hiatus. The area is remote, and the Internet access is via dial-up modem. Frankly, I don’t have the patience to deal with dial-up. I am going to relax and enjoy the scenery. I also plan to read books, walk, kayak, and nap.

I will write about this trip in later entries along with some pictures.