Week Four: Glass, Flowers, and Stranger Danger
Day 22- I ate a flower today, it tasted like an extra spicy radish. How did this happen you wonder? Don’t worry, I did not pick it in the wild and hope for the best. This week I’m staying at one of those places that has beautiful grounds, a farm to table restaurant, and as it turns out a greenhouse where they grow some of their own plants and herbs for the chefs to cook with. They even just purchased a batch of bees that arrived on this very morning, however it will take them a full year to produce their own honey so they won’t have any to use in the restaurant until next year. How do I know all this you ask? Well because I was randomly invited into the greenhouse on a tour, of course. And I went in. This surprises none of you.
On this lovely afternoon I decided to leave the hotel room to explore. I was simply walking the hotel grounds minding my own business when a nice man peeks out of the greenhouse door and says “Hey, would you like a tour of my greenhouse?” and I’m thinking “That’s what she said” but out loud I say “You bet I would!” because he looked kind and harmless and I’m all about trying new things right now. At this very moment I am hearing a couple of you in my ear saying “nooooooo, don’t go in there, it’s a trap” but I ignore you and go in anyway. After all, the windows are made of see-through glass, so chances are I’m good. Inside he tells me the whole story about how the greenhouse came to be and it’s cutting-edge technology in place to manage it, then he hands me an orange flower and says go ahead and eat it, it’s edible. Again, I hear a couple of you saying “noooooo, don’t eat that, it’s a trick,” I pause for one second, but then I eat it anyway, because he looked kind and harmless and I’m all about trying new things right now.
To the few of you on this email that held pre-trip stranger danger practice sessions – I am sure you are disappointed with my actions here, however all turned out fine, he was indeed kind and harmless - you should relish in the fact that I’m at least hearing you in my ear when unusual circumstances present themselves. It’s a start. Take it as a small win.
Day 23- I don’t really remember what I did this day, it was a lazy visit this week at this inn. They had an ice cream shop across the street, I ate a lot of ice cream, so I probably got ice cream this day. It is safe to say I definitely did get ice cream this day. One other thing I am certain that I did on this day is go to yoga at 8:00am and sound healing meditation at 9:00am. I went to those classes all four days I stayed at this inn because they were free and they were amazing and in addition to trying new things I am working on being ultra fit and healthy. This yoga was so great, it was the kind of yoga where you just stretch and roll things out and don’t have to do any hard things, but somehow it all works to get rid of aches and pains and calm you deep in the soul. I want more yoga like this in my life, no downward dog, I hate downward dog. It’s awkward and I never feel like I’m doing it right. The teacher said this yoga was Iyengar inspired, but it sounds like this is her own creation, I am in awe of her. Adding yogi to my possibility list for my next chapter. I think on this day I committed to an Iyengar inspired yoga retreat in India in 2027. In fact It is safe to say I definitely did. Yikes emoji here.
Day 24 – On this day it rained and I did the most exciting thing ever – wait for it……….. I went on my second (not first) barn quilt tour! What is a barn quilt tour you ask and can your grandmother join me next time? It is basically just another town’s way of putting red hearts in windows. A community thing to spread goodwill. Expression through art, in this case wooden “quilts” hanging on houses and barns in the countryside. A scavenger hunt really, meant to draw attention and tourists to the area. People like me and your grandmother drive around, soak in the beauty, take pictures of the scenery, and hopefully shop and eat in the local establishments along the way. And yes, your grandmother can join me next time if she drives so I can take my pictures.
This is where I went on my first barn quilt tour in Wisconsin about four years ago: Shawano Country | Barn Quilts. Some of my pictures from that trip are my all time faves. I’ll attach one here.
This is info on today’s tour in Leroy NY: Barn Quilt Trail of LeRoy, NY - Genesee County, NY Unfortunately for Leroy, the barn quilts were way better in Wisconsin, and what I remember on this barn quilt tour is the attached sign on someone’s lawn. This is a stranger I don’t want to run into. The exact opposite of spreading good will and love. Poor Kathy. I crossed out her last name on the sign to avoid any additional spreading of bad vibes. Leroy would be so sad to know that this is what I remember most from my tour.
Anyway, apparently this is a thing all around the country so look for a barn quilt tour near you, or don’t.
Day 25 - I’m at a new hotel outside of Ithaca now, on Cayuga Lake. Checked out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, even borrowed their binocs and went birding. Am I the oldest person you know or what? More waterfalls this day. Drove through Ithaca, neat city, kind of like a Burlington VT feel. I noticed their version of red hearts and barn quilts are murals on a lot of the buildings around the city and wow, they have a ton. The entire city is engaged in spreading the love. Very cool vibe. I’ll attach one here.
Day 26 – Drove through the countryside on my way to the Corning Museum of Glass. Noticed something new – a horse sitting/laying down on all fours. I realized every time I see horses they are standing in a barn, around a barn, or in a field. They are never laying around. I asked A.I. how often horses sit. They said 1-3 hours a day, 15 minutes at a time. Have you ever seen a horse sitting? Lots of city people like me here, so thinking I can’t be the only one that missed this all my life.
So anyway, I get to the museum - exceptional.
Watched a man turn a strip of glass into a champagne flute in fifteen minutes.
Made a glass flower myself, did not eat it.
Floored by the Nature room and their “trees” made out of different colored drinking glasses. They also had a big display in this room from an artist out of Sheboygan Falls WI, where many of you live close to. See big round white glass prehistoric plants table in attached nature room pic.
Could not believe my eyes when I walked by a “painting” made of glass and it was a horse sitting down. Attaching pic of this wonder. How did they do this?? The time it must have taken.
On the way home I stopped in yet another adorable town, Watkins Glen. I was taking a picture of a beautiful block in the center of town with a few historical buildings connected, including an old movie theater. I was standing on the sidewalk very close to a stop sign. After taking the picture I turned and saw a man in a dump truck stopped at the stop sign and looking at me. I’m on full stranger danger alert, given all the pre-trip practice sessions, but then this nice man simply says “When I was a kid that used to be triple X rated movies only.” LMAO as he drives away.
Day 27 – Heading to my next stop in the Catskills, stopped at a few places along the way, the most notable was unexpected, unremarkable, yet remarkable somehow. It was smack in the middle of the state, well before the Catskills. It was a town called Owego, it had a huge Welcome mural at the start of the town and the green was so awesome I had to circle some of the streets before I passed it by entirely. Turns out its on the historic registry, there were blocks of amazing homes from the 1800’s, not overly prestigious right now, but they certainly were at some point. I saw a boy delivering newspapers in a wagon, the town seemed stuck in time, in such a good way. I stopped for a coffee in the town center, I mentioned to the girl at the shop that I thought the neighborhood was so historic and beautiful. She’s like “huh? This old place? It’s just a run down town really. I guess I never noticed.” Beauty right in all our own backyards. Do you notice?
I checked into my next place that afternoon, a Cindy Lauper style airstream at a glamping park in Saugerties NY, I could not be more excited! I’m here for the week. Will share details next post.
Pictures attached:
Barn Quilt from Wisconsin, doing it right.
Poor Kathy
Glass Museum pics 1-4
“Ithaca Lights” and “Love Saugerties” – More folks with the right idea. Let’s end on this note.
xoxo
Kim
