Day 14 - Watertown, NY

leg 10: 194 miles.
total miles: 3,107.

Rain last night (apparently) and some heavy fog this morning in Corning. No rush for us though since our run to Watertown today will be short so we had a bite of breakfast before heading for Watkins Glen.

Traffic on route 414 out of Corning was very light -- Sunday morning after all -- and we zipped along having the highway mostly to ourselves. At Watkins Glen we switched to route 14 north which took us along Seneca Lake. Along the way we saw numerous vineyards, tasting rooms and wine "cellars" although nearly all were still closed.

Once we reached Geneva we pulled off to appreciate the view of both the head of the lake looking south in the direction of Watkins Glen and the lovely town itself. In fact, we commented this whole area would be a wonderful place to spend a week or so tasting the local wines.

looking south down Seneca Lake



looking back toward Geneva

Maybe another time. But it was time to get back on the road.

We opted to skip getting on the New York Thruway (I-90), which we had travelled many times over the years and decided to meander our way along the upper reaches of the Finger Lakes to I-81 north.

And so we did getting turned around only once in Auburn, NY, at the head of Owasco Lake. From Auburn we passed through the curiously named Skaneateles, at the head of what else, Skaneateles Lake. From there we pushed right along until we reached I-81 just outside of Lafayette, NY and a few miles south of Syracuse, home of one of the world's largest concentrations of state police cruisers. They were certainly pulling in the revenue this morning. Too bad they don't spend it on the roads.

Once beyond Syracuse the drive to Watertown was smooth and traffic light. We exited at route 3, exit 45, in Watertown and found our hotel in short order.

After settling in we made our way to the MacDonald home near downtown Watertown where Christina had arranged a reception for family and friends who came for tomorrow's change of command ceremony.



Susan, Bonnie and Melissa

Glen flanked by two army buddies

Bergman siblings: Christina MacDonald, Melissa Parker and Jonathan Bergman

Susie bemused
Up tomorrow - change of command!

Day 13 - Corning, NY

leg 9: 203 miles.
total miles: 2,913.

Overcast and light drizzle this morning as we packed up and left our hotel in Gettysburg. We pulled right onto US 15 north and, except for a slight bypass in Harrisburg, PA, we remained on route 15 right into Corning, NY.

The drive was smooth, traffic light and although the speed limit fluctuated in Pennsylvania -- 55 to 65 to 55 then 45 and 35 through several small towns, we made good time. This was particularly true after Williamsport, PA, when we were informed that US 15 was the route of the future I-99, which meant the speed limit went up to 70 and stayed there until New York when it reverted to 65 again (sheesh).

About a half hour from Corning Susan called Dick and Dorothy who were going to meet us there. They were about half hour or so behind us.

After we checked into our hotel located right behind the museum we walked into the town, crossing the Chemung River on a lovely pedestrian bridge. Not long afterwards D&D arrived and we found a place for lunch, the Old World Cafe on Market Street in downtown Corning. Did I mention that it was prom night in Corning and there were nattily dressed couples with friends scattered around the cool Corning structures having their photos taken.

decorative entrance to the Corning corporate offices
After lunch the four of us walked back across the river to the Corning Glass Museum which we had visited last year in our trip out east. While D&D went to the museum Susie and I explored the museum shop (we were on the hunt for a birthday gift). We planned to meet up later at The Cellar on Market Street for dinner, the same place Susan and I had thoroughly enjoyed last year.

I'm happy to report that his time around we were not disappointed. We were even served by Carl, the same bartender who was on duty last April. Tasty food, perfect portions, broad wine list - all good.

Tomorrow the four of us head up to Watertown, New York, the final stop on our journey. Stay tuned!

Day 12 - Gettysburg

Today we explored more of the battlefield park and kicked off the morning looking for the other monuments dedicated to Michigan units who fought at Gettysburg. (The day before we had located those memorials to the 3rd, 4th and 5th Michigan Infantry regiments.)

Located in the East Cavalry Field on the eastern side of Route 15 and out of the normal flow of tourists to the park, you can find the memorial dedicated to the Michigan Cavalry Brigade under Brigadier General George A. Custer.


relief depicting the Michigan Cavalry Brigade engaging confederate general J.E.B. Stuart's forces on 3 July 1862

Returning to the main portion of the park we found two monuments down the front slope of Little Round Top, overlooking the "Valley of Death" and Devil's Den: the one dedicated to the Michigan Sharpshooters is not accessible except by scrambling over rocks and through the underbrush; anyway the park asks one to remain on the paths since they are presently restoring the landscape here.


The memorial to the 16th Michigan Infantry is accessible by a path that winds downhill. (Rather than returning uphill continue on the path that goes back around Little Round Top where you can see the memorial dedicated to Col. Strong Vincent.)


Close to the 5th Michigan Infantry monument is the memorial to the 1st Michigan Infantry.


The monument dedicated to the 9th Michigan battery is along Hancock Avenue almost directly opposite the Pennsylvania memorial.



The memorial dedicated to the 7th Michigan Infantry is just west of Hancock Avenue and south of the "Copse of Trees."


Copse of Trees to the far right
 You can find the memorial to the 24th Michigan Infantry just west of Gettysburg on Meredith Avenue.


Our mission complete -- all Michigan monuments located and photographed -- we turned our attention to the confederate lines.

Note that there are some 1,200 monuments and memorials throughout the park; we focused on only a handful that struck us as particularly poignant and evocative of the moment.

Located on West Confederate Avenue is the monument dedicated to the men who served for the state of North Carolina:

detail
 Just across West Confederate Avenue from the North Carolina memorial is the monument dedicated to the 11th Mississippi:


Also located on West Confederate Avenue is the monument dedicated to the men who served for the state of Virginia:

detail - there is also a larger-than-life size statue of Robert E. Lee on his horse Traveler on top
 A personal favorite of ours is the statue dedicated to Confederate General James Longstreet who warned Lee about the foolishness of attacking at Gettysburg:


Steve Hawks has put together an incredibly comprehensive website that provides details of the memorials including inscriptions, locations and much more.

Maryland






Berdan's Sharpshooters - New Hampshire
After the Peach Orchard, our most favorite place in the park is the "copse of trees" that highlights what has been described as the literal and figurative "high water mark" of the Confederacy. The assault by Longstreet's forces, euphemistically referred to as Pickett's Charge, failed at this very point. The confederates could go no further.


106 Pennsylvania just to the rear of the copse of trees


Within the cemetery is also another popular monument, this one dedicated to John Burns, a 70-something local citizen who grabbed his musket and joined the federal forces.

detail of the William Wells memorial
Memorial to Major William Wells who led the 1st Vermont Cavalry in a daring charge against confederate forces, for which action he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.


Father William Corby, chaplain of the 88th New York
We broke for lunch and head off to Panera, which as it turned out was right across from our hotel. After lunch we went back to our room and spent an hour or so on some needed downtime. Then it was back to the park for one last visit. We stopped first at the visitor center one last time and Susan hung out with an old Illinois friend.


they don't make 'em like this anymore

15th and 50th New York Engineers

relief depicting a typical pontoon bridge constructed by the engineers during the war

42nd New York

one last visit to the copse of trees


Longstreet's forces charged across this field straight to this position

72nd Pennsylvania in the Angle

Longstreet's assault

copse of trees from the Angle - confederates attacked from the right

the Angle

 71st Pennsylvania in the Angle


1st Pennsylvania Cavalry just behind the Angle


After leaving the park for the very last time we decided to let our inner flâneur and flâneuse take over. 

While looking over one of the tourist area maps Susie had found the Hauser winery located a few miles outside of Gettysburg that claimed to have not only locally produced wine and hard cider but gorgeous mountain views from their terrace. We decided to check it out and were not disappointed. We each had a flight of four of their wines for tasting (preferring the white and rosé over the two reds and then opted for a glass while we sat outside on the terrace taking in the view of the valley below.






It was getting on to supper time so we left the winery and headed back into Gettysburg. We recalled seeing a small restaurant along Chambersburg Street near the square, Food 101. We parked along the street -- using our credit card to pay the meter -- and then walked to the restaurant. There was a short wait and they suggested if we wanted a bottle of wine with dinner to walk across the street to the Knob Hill Winery (from Clear Spring, Maryland) and pick one up.

So we did.

The food was wonderful, the service delightful, altogether a much more pleasing supper than the one at the Dobbin House the night before.


Knob Hill Winery

Food 101

Tomorrow, it's off to Corning, New York and rendezvous with Dick and Dorothy!


Chihuly in the Japanese Garden

We returned to Meijer Gardens recently to finish off our tour of the Chihuly sculptures, this time focusing on the Japanese Garden. new take...