Sunday, August 14th - Sunday, August 21st 2022 … Two Lane Adventures Continue!

Today, August 14^th, we left Wellesley Island State Park and headed to Livonia New York. This is where we raised our family and we have many friends and a few family close by. It was our, Karen, Sheila and my, last walk in Wellesley Island. I will miss this area, it is beautiful, relaxing and a great place to walk!

We headed down I-81, because we are just ready to get to our next location. We passed by all the new exits to Fort Drum off I-81. Neither of us had any desire to exit and take a peak at the changes at Fort Drum. We exited I-81 at Pulaski. The quaint village of Pulaski is one of the premier salmon fishing destinations in the WORLD. The historic village of Pulaski, located on the banks of the World famous Salmon River, is a well-known and popular sport fishing destination.

From Pulaski we were on Route 3 and then turned onto 104B which is also an America's Byway, Great Lakes Seaway Trail. The Great Lakes Seaway Trail, formerly named and commonly known as the Seaway Trail, is a 518-mile National Scenic Byway in New York but with a small segment in Pennsylvania. The Trail consists of a series of designated roads and highways that travel along the Saint Lawrence Seaway - specifically Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the Saint Lawrence River. It begins at the Ohio state line in rural Erie County, Pennsylvania, and travels through several cities and villages (including Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Oswego, and Ogdensburg) before ending at the Seaway International Bridge  northeast of the Village of Massena. So, we passed by this trail on our way to Wellesley Island from Ausable Chasm.

We took a north-south route to move from Route 104 to Route 20 in Auburn. Just past Auburn on Route 20 is The Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. It was established on September 12, 1938 as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. A local builder, Peter Clark named his hilltop home "Montezuma" after the palace of the Aztec Emperor Montezuma in Mexico City. Eventually the Marsh, the Village, and the Refuge all acquired the same name.

In Canandaigua New York, there is a sculpture dedicated to the families of the Seneca Nation, the Haudenosaunee, who first inhabited this region and lived quietly, leaving a heritage of spirituality, language, culture and trade. It's a tribute to the birthplace of the Onondowahgah, "the people of the great hill" traced to one of the two hills on the southeastern shore of Canandaigua Lake. It was gifted to the town of Canandaigua by Dr. Dorothy A. Mariner and Dr. Allen S. Mariner. It was created and sculpted by Wayne Williams. It was dedicated on November 11, 2013.

We are staying at our good friend, Jimmy Wingate’s place. He has an open invitation for us. We park in front of his shop and have shade, electric and water. What more can you ask for! Plus, when he is done working on the farm or helping others, we have a chance to sit and visit with a great guy!

This was my first and best sunset picture while we were here. It gave me the inspiration of my hashtag #farmlife ... for my walks while we were here.

  

  

I walked every morning we were there. I walked out and back on a few roads the first day, but after that Charlie helped me map a 4-mile loop! So every day after that, it’s the route I took!

On Monday 9/15 we had an appointment for new sneakers and an alignment, on the car! The roads in the Canadian Maritimes, really took a toll on the car. Charlie says that those roads make NY roads seem smooth!

Monday night, we had a “date” with all of our Conesus Lake Sportsman’s Club gang. We met for Steak night at No BS Brewery. No BS Brew Company is a creator of fine craft beer with two locations. Their original manufacturing facility, complete with a tasting room and beer garden is located near the North End of Conesus Lake. A few year or so ago, they opened a second tasting room is located in the beautiful village of Victor. 

The owners of No BS Brew Company strive to build a culture by providing the highest quality craft beer while bringing people together to educate and entertain through experience, creative ideas and continuously improving processes.

On Tuesday we had an appointment to drop the RV off for brakes and service at Guenther’s in Lakeville. After we dropped it off and caught up with Mike, we headed back into Livonia for some breakfast at Wanda’s in the village. Since our home on wheels was out of commission, might as well let someone else do the cooking! We had a late morning meeting with Vincent, at L&M Financial, our “money guy” in Brighton. It was a good meeting, it is always good to hear your accounts are doing well. After our meeting, I was able to get into a Super Cuts in Henrietta and get a long overdue haircut. I have to admit that she did almost as good a job as Terry did on Maine! Some grocery shopping at Tops in Avon on the way home, since we got the call the motorhome was done and ready to come home! Tops is one of my favorite stores in this area, as long as you only shop the ad! But, they have buy 2 get 3 free on some items. It is amazing that they can still stay in business with deals like that!

On Wednesday morning, Charlie had a haircut with Dan in Livonia. He was long overdue too. After his haircut, he had time to come home and get cleaned up before we had breakfast with Fair “gang.” Jackie Sperring, Jim West, Fay & Anna Schneider, Dick & Deb Vallone and Jane Barnett. It was great to see all of them and catch-up! We relaxed in the afternoon and then Charlie was having Randy & Sheila Fitzsimmons over for a visit. While I was headed to Penfield, my old stomping grounds, to meet up with some girlfriends from high school. On the way, I stopped to visit my folk’s graves. They are buried on Baird Road at Oakwood Cemetery. Every time we are back in the area, I like to go by and sit for a while. Funny story from my past… At my Mom’s viewing before the funeral, a friend from school came up and said she “talks to my Dad every day.” My Dad had been dead for more than 10-years at that time. She must have seen the shocked look on my face and said “he is buried on the end of a row in Oakwood and I walk by every day and talk to him.” That made me feel nice, knowing that he was visited daily by a high school friend of mine.   

I met Karen, Kim and Ann at Don’s Original Restaurant & Pub. It was a beautiful night and we ate outside on the covered patio. This is the 2^nd or 3^rd year in a row that we have been able to get together and enjoy catching up on what we have missed about each other’s lives that we don’t put on social media! 

The 3-hours we enjoyed together went by so fast! I stuck with my weight reduction meal plan and had just one Summertime Shandy and ½ of my turkey BLT salad! But, the time spent with these ladies was worth every calorie I ate! It was an uneventful hour drive back to Livonia!

On Thursday, we went to Cohocton and visited with Donny (Charlie’s brother) & Donna. Donny & Donna have spent some time doing projects around the house since Donna has retired. Their hard work is paying off, the house looks amazing! We offered them a space to stay, if they wanted to venture to Florida this winter! 

Then we met Mike & Molly (Charlie’s sister) @ Station 26 in Cohocton and enjoyed lunch together. Mike is staying busy with their land and Molly is healing well from her surgery. It was an enjoyable time with the four of them! The food is always great at Station 26. 

I had 1/2 of my chef salad. Charlie had his chicken wings and fries! But I was not thinking and never got a picture of the 6 of us! That evening, we had dinner with Tony (our son), Margo (his wife), Natalee & Connor (our grandkids.) We enjoyed homemade spaghetti and meatballs and great company. No pictures, the kids are at that age! We did get to spend some quality time with Natalee. Connor is a typical boy and more interested in anything besides sitting and visiting! They are getting so grown-up! I can’t believe that Natalee is a freshman this fall!

Friday morning, we met Dave & Josette Peck for breakfast at Wanda’s in the village. I walked and then just continued my walk into the village of Livonia and met everyone at the restaurant. 

We usually see Dave & Josette in Florida, when they come to their house in Crystal Springs. But Josette still works, so they are quick trips to Florida for them! We had heard about the new murals in Livonia, but to see them in person were spectacular!

After breakfast, we headed over to Jackie’s house for a visit. She usually has a few “honey-do” things for Charlie to do. But, not this time. We just enjoyed visiting and catching up. IT was a beautiful day to visit a house on Conesus Lake! Charlie and I enjoyed a traditional Friday night fish fry at Wanda’s. When we lived in Hemlock and Conesus that was a fixture of our Friday nights! It was just as good as I remember them!

We had made a date with Jackie, that on Saturday we would go to see the Elvis Movie and then go to dinner at Texas Roadhouse in Henrietta. The movie was interesting, but it was not what I expected! The meal at Texas Roadhouse was excellent and the company was perfect!

On Sunday, we did our last grocery shopping trip to the local farm market and enjoyed another visit with our son, Tony.

It has been a great visit to our old "hometown."