+ updated at 5:26pm EST, November 11, 2009 + This is the second post on places near my home in upstate New York. + Once again I call your attention to a website devoted to upstate NY: Round The Bend's Upstate New York.
+ In EXPLORING UPSTATE NEW YORK -- 1, I said I will focus on my former hometown, Richfield Springs, also called Richfield Spa or just Richfield where I was the Pastor of The Church of Christ Uniting (Presbyterian & Mehodist) from 1988 to 1999. I will do that now simply by offering some links and related thoughts:
The Richfield Springs Mercury - When I lived in Richfield Springs, this newspaper was published as part of the weekly Cooperstown newspaper. It came back to life on its own some time after I left in1999. It began sometime in the nineteenth century.
US Route 20 - Route 20 crosses the USA from Boston, Massachusetts to Newport, Oregon on the Pacific.
The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad - Richfield Springs was at the end of a branch line of this historic railroad. The Spa was a popular destination from the 1880s until the 1920s. Hotels with access to the mineral springs lined Main Street (Route 20).
Canadarago Lake - Beautiful and nearby. I had a sailboat docked each summer at the home of a member of my church. Lots of fun! A storm snapped my mast one night. The weather forecast did not include high winds but I knew I was in trouble when I heard the whistling of the winds that night. It was the remnants of Hurricane Hugo which had hit Charleston SC with a vengeance. I really enjoyed sailing on the lake when the leaves were changing in early October.
+ Updated at 10:01am ESDT, Friday, October 2, 2009 -- A lot of additions since I began this post Sunday. + This is the first post on places near my home in upstate New York. Some say "Upstate" begins at the Bronx-Yonkers line! Since I don't live in or near Yonkers, my upstate region explorations will probably not cover the Hudson Valley or The Catskills or The Bear Mountain region as much as places closer to home. Anything North or West of Albany will get my attention. Let me name regions or cities I will be exploring here: Central New York Utica The Mohawk Valley The Erie Canal Oneonta Cooperstown The Adirondacks The North Country Syracuse Western New York The Finger Lakes Rochester Buffalo Niagara Falls Eventually I may offer a separate post (or posts) on each of these places. But, for now, I plan to offer numbered posts on Exploring Upstate New York. I will let you know when I'm finished updating a post and moving on to the next one. I plan to keep updating this one for a few days or even weeks. I have lived in Central New York (which includes Utica & Syracuse) for 18 of the last 21 years. From 1988 to 1999 I lived in Richfield Springs on Route 20 & Route 28 and Route 167, 13 miles North of Cooperstown on Route 28 and 13 miles South of Mohawk & Herkimer & Ilion, also on Route 28. Little Falls is 17 miles South on Route 167. The last 4 named places are on the Mohawk River and also the Erie Canal. From 1999 to 2002, I lived in Syracuse. Since 2005, I have lived in Whitesboro & Rochester. My Aunt lived in Oneonta from around 1958 to around 1995. My Norwegian-born Grandmother lived with her until her death in 1978 at the age of 97. So, let's begin this exploration in the Susquehanna city of Oneonta where I collected a lot of baseball cards in 1959. I still have them and they might be worth a couple thousdand dollars. My Aunt was a Professor of Health Education at the state college in Oneonta, now called SUNY Oneonta. Oneonta, Cooperstown and Richfield Springs are located witin a region designated by Travel publicists as The Leatherstocking Region or Central New York. Here's an excerpt from a website I just discovered on The Central Leatherstocking Region: "Being surrounded by interstate highways makes this region one that's convenient to travel to and from. Of course, once you're here, you may not be quite so interested in travelling "from"!"
The Susquehanna begins at Cooperstown on Lake Otsego. Cooperstown is famous for the Baseball Hall of Fame and some other less important attractions! Since I retired I've had the opportunity to lead worship at Cooperstown's Presbyterian Church several times. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's find out why Oneonta is such an important Upstate town. Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Oneonta: "When the Delaware and Hudson Railroad reached Oneonta, the village began a growth spurt due to its role as a railroad center and its growing industries. Oneonta was once home to the largest locomotive roundhouse in the world."
+ A Baseball aside about 1959: The New York Yankees (Bronx Bombers) won every American league pennant from 1949 to 1964 except 2. In 1954, The Cleveland Indians won an amazing 111 games to finish 8 games ahead of the Yankees. Then they went on to get swept in the World Series by the New York Giants. In 1959, the Chicago White Sox won the pennant but went on to lose the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers. I loved the 1959 White Sox. Luis Aparicio, Nellie Fox, Billy Pierce, Sherm Lollar and Minnie Minoso come to mind. My wife lived in the Chicago area until 1959 and was also a White Sox fan.
+ Now, let's go to another part of upstate where my family has a lot of history, The North Country. My mom, my sister and my daughter all went to the state college in Potsdam, now called SUNY Potsdam. My Son-in-law went to Clarkson University which is also in Potsdam. A cousin also went to SUNY Potsdam and married a Clarkson graduate.
+ When I close this post and begin EXPLORING UPSTATE NEW YORK -- 2, I will focus on my former hometown, Richfield Springs, also called Richfield Spa or just Richfield. I was the Pastor of The Church of Christ Uniting (Presbyterian & Mehodist) from 1988 to 1999.
+ Post Trip Update: Mary & I had a wonderful time in Manhattan including seeing The Lion King, worshipping at Judson Memorial Church on Washington Square, dining at The Tavern on the Green on the day of our 40th wedding anniversary, seeing New York from the "The Top of the Rock" (the viewing area at the top of the skyscraper in Rockefeller Center), enjoying a free concert in Central Park where we heard Los Soneros de Oriente -- a great band playing Cuban music. We were quite happy with the accomodations at the Hotel Wolcott on 31st Street & Fifth Avenue.
THE FOLLOWING ENTRIES WERE POSTED BEFORE OUR TRIP:
+ The Central Park Conservancy offers information on free events including the Harlem Meer Performance Festival with Sunday afternoon concerts during the summer at The Charles A. Dana Discovery Center. + We found 2 seats at a more or less reasonable price for The Lion King this Saturday night. + This post is open for more sharing. Your comments are welcome and could be added. Do you have any good NYC links or ideas for us? + Sticker Shock is our response to Broadway Theater tickets so we are looking for other ideas for fun this weekend in New York City. In March, we were blessed with the opportunity to see 2 great shows in London at much more reasonable prices. We saw Jersey Boys & Billy Elliott. But I haven't totally ruled out paying the big bucks to see Wicked on Broadway. + TripCart offers some ideas for fun in NYC. + ManhattanBarsoffers a list of comedy clubs in Manhattan & wine bars & other fun spots. + But maybe we should be educated or culturally or spiritually enriched. A great church we could attend is Judson Memorial. + LonelyPlanet loves New York!
+ As anticipated, some of us men went to the New York Transit Museum in an abandoned sunway station during the baby shower at the nearby Marriott Brooklyn Bridge. I never found out why the transit sysytem abandoned that particular station, the original Court Street station.
The NYC natives introduced my brother-in-law from Tennessee and me to Junior's on Flatbush Avenue. That's about 6 short blocks West of the Marriott and the Transit Museum. Junior's is an NYC institution specializing in wonderful cheesecakes. Mine was delicious ... with cherries.
Soon after that, twelve of us ate at an Italian restaurant in the trendy Park Slope neighborhood. It was quite chilly yesterday at dawn so we decided against a walk over the East River on the Brooklyn Bridge or a Coney Island excursion. We opted instead for that stroll through Prospect Park. But the Brooklyn Botanic Garden which is right across the street from Prospect Park got our attention.
We happened upon the annual Cherry Blossom Festival with the blossoms in full bloom. What a treat. Emily, our 4-year old granddaughter loved it as did Mary & Sharon and me. We saw and heard some great Japanese style drumming. A volunteer guide led us on an intersting walk through the beautiful Japanese garden which has been a part of the BBG since 1915.
While the females, including my wife and my daughter and my granddaughter, give my neice a baby shower at the Marriott Brooklyn Bridge, the males connected with those females plan to visit the New York Transit Museum which is found in an old subway station in Brooklyn. I wonder why they abandoned that particular station. Maybe I will find out tomorrow.
It will take about 5 hours to drive from Utica to Brooklyn. Some stormy weather is on the way so we might not get to walk over the East River on the Brooklyn Bridge or stroll through Prospect Park.
It will be nice to see some of the family. We will be dining out together after the shower. We will be coming back on Sunday.
+ We decided it would be better for me to come along and drive to Brooklyn rather than take the train. It is a great train ride from Utica to NYC. Maybe we can do it some time in the future when we are not carrying gifts to a shower on a tight schedule.
While the females, including my wife and my daughter and my granddaughter, give my neice a baby shower at the 
