New York to New Hampshire

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Days 15-16:   Continuing on from Ithaca, we took the other way out, south and then east instead of north to I-80. Back roads had served us well so far, and we greatly enjoyed seeing the countryside. Well, at least I did. I suspect Greg longed for a city after miles and miles of heavy deciduous forest and only small towns.

 The village of Owego was voted "The Coolest Small Town  in the United States" by readers of Budget Travel Magazine in 2009.

I think we were still in Owego when I snapped this picture of the most brightly colored statue I've ever seen, a tribute to firemen.





Along the road, I kept trying to get a picture of these "reverse mohawk" haircuts on the hillsides. We finally got close enough to see that the trees had been cut away to run power lines over the hills. You can't see the poles in the photo, but they are there. The clear cut itself is striking.

This country is lush and beautiful, the open spaces dotted with  farms and red barns, while the towns nestle among trees.

I almost missed this sign proclaiming Troy the historical home of "Uncle Sam." Samuel Wilson, a local butcher and meat-packer, supplied beef to troops during the War of 1812. The barrels were marked with U.S. for United States, but the story arose that the soldiers jokingly said that "Uncle Sam" was taking care of them.







 And, OMG, New York obviously doesn't have the strict emission laws that California has. It's amazing how you get used to something--or lack of it--and really notice when the rules change. Greg and I both said, "Whoa!" when this guy up ahead of us took off after a red light.

We spent the night in Clifton Park, not far from Troy, and took off early the morning of day 16 for a sprint across Vermont and most of New Hampshire in one day. Our son and his family live in a tiny village only about an hour west of the Maine/New Hampshire border.






It killed me to pass by interesting historical sites, knowing we would not come back this way, but it was a 22-mile round trip to this one and the clock was ticking, so we had to be satisfied with the spectacular scenery on the way--like the breath-taking view that opened up as we rounded this curve.

We arrived at our hotel in North Conway early in the evening and called for information on how to get to the graduation ceremony the next morning. Whew!

Next week, we celebrate our grandkids' graduations, visit with family and take a well-earned rest for 5 days, before hitting the road for the journey home via a different route.