Oct 15, 2018 Adventures in the National Capital - bye Bret

Monday morning breakfast at Denny's with our favorite Union College student. Here he is standing next to the Denny's sign on the corner of Liberty Avenue and Nott, across the street from Clarkson University's Schenectady campus.

We dropped him back at his dorm before starting the drive southward.  Through NY to PA, stopping to get some apples for taste-testing at a cider mill.




The Pocono Mountains were lovely, the trees have another week or so before changing, then we hit the fog and the vistas were otherworldly. We passed through Hershey, and we had to get some chocolate.

The bridge over the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg was lovely in the fog. On through MD to VA.




Here's Randy at Arete Associate's Chantilly office. Then we went into D.C.

Oct 14, 2018 Adventures in the Capital District - market & museum

Sunday began with Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church in Schenectady. Next, off to the Green Market for some shopping and lunch. The building in the photo is City Hall, the cousins are Maureen and Catherine.

Next, on to the New York State Museum in Albany, the State Capital. Great exhibits for all of us!

Photo below, the view from the top of the Museum: the State Capital Building, the reflecting pool used for ice skating in the winter, and The Egg, the performing arts center.  Riding the Carousel inside the Museum. Finally, relaxing in the sun room and watching the sunset over the Mohawk River.

Oct 13, 2018 Adventures in the Capital District - Union & Pine Bush

It was a rainy Saturday morning, yet we went ahead and took the Union College historical walking tour with Bret. We learned all sorts of facts, such as when a student there, President Chester Arthur carved his name into a window sill (now in their special collections); the movie "The Way We Were" was filmed there, and the fake ivy on the Nott Memorial caused damage to the building; Union was established in 1795 and was asked to be a member of the Ivy League, but they declined as they did not want to be elitist; they took the name "Union" as it was the first college to admit students from 16 different religious sects.  Photos of the 16-sided Nott Memorial, inside and out, designed by Edward Potter (we don't think that's a relative).


In the afternoon, we went to the Albany Pine Bush Reserve, an interesting area that Bret visited in his environmental geology field lab which he wanted to share with us. This is a "globally rare ecosystem" of forest growing on fossilized sand dunes. It is home to the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly, which we did not see, although we caught a glimpse of a fast-moving garter snake.   http://www.albanypinebush.org/about-the-pine-bush/origins-of-the-pine-bush-2



Then we took a few minutes to pay respects at the Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery. Later, we finished the day at Scarborough restaurant in Latham, very fittingly with a dozen cousins. Once a Dutch colonial farmhouse, this building was their childhood home and a place we used to visit before being converted into a restaurant.
http://www.scarboroughslatham.com/about.html

Oct 12, 2018 Adventures in the Capital District - Lock 7 & Union

The greater Albany NY area is known as the Capital District, and we were out and about it in today, Friday Oct 13.  Randy and Bryn started at Lock 7 of the Erie Canal along the Mohawk River. Unfortunately there were no boats using the lock.



Then off to visit Union College's Kelly Adirondack Center, with it's wall-sized topographic map of the mountains.



Next, to Little Italy for lunch at Civitello's, followed by a drive to Maple Ridge ski area. We had hoped for spectacular views and vivid fall colors, but found neither.

Then we went back to Union College and saw a lock of George Washington's hair. Last year it was discovered in a book from Alexander Hamilton's family in the library's special collections, plus we enjoyed the original Audubon prints on display.



We met up with Bret when he got out of class, then had a great time talking with professors at the Geology Department's reception.  We picked up Chinese food and ate with cousins Catherine and Maureen.

Oct 8 - 11, 2018, here we go again

Reed drove Randy to LAX in the wee hours of the morning on Monday, Oct 8. Randy went off to Washington D.C. for work. On Tuesday night, Bryn's friend Jean drove her to the flyaway bus to LAX for a red-eye flight, and on Wednesday morning she saw this spectacular sunrise over Washington D.C. Although in the same place, Bryn and Randy couldn't see each other but settled for talking on the phone during her layover before she continued on to Albany NY.  Maureen picked her up, we walked through the Schenectady Stockade area (17th century homes), peeked inside the Historical Society, and also hit the AAA for some local maps. It's still unseasonably warm, with gardens in bloom and monarch butterflies in flight, and the trees are changing but have not yet peaked. Bryn picked up the van and went to Catherine's for the night. The rain came on Thursday. Catherine and Bryn visited Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Leo, then took Elizabeth to lunch, where we met Chris and Roz.  We were at the Tailored Tea in Latham. This house, built around 1806, is now on the National Register of Historic Places. In our family, it was where my grandfather's cousins once lived and my mother once played.



Later in the day we picked up this hitch-hiker and took him to dinner, followed by another trip to Albany airport, this time to pick up Randy. So 3 Potters are now in NY, and one is home going to school.  It is Union College Homecoming and Parent Weekend!

Bryn travels on, Days 14 & 15

Tuesday, September 4, 2018.  Maureen and Bryn visited Loretta on her farm. She was a school friend of Bryn's mother. Then we stopped at Union College to drop off some of Bret's shirts that were left in the laundry, but he was too busy with new friends and wasn't able to pick them up.  We returned to Maureen's where Bryn packed up the van and packed up her suitcase. Catherine came over and we had a nice quiet evening. This was truly a delightful trip, with such generosity shown by friends and relatives across the country. Garden tomatoes and cucumbers were also a treat.

Wednesday, September 5.

In Schenectady NY, Bret started his classes at Union College. Back home, Randy went to work.  Reed didn't come on the trip as he had been away during the summer, working at a Boy Scout camp in the Sierras.

Bryn did the last-minute preparations for leaving the van, then Maureen drove her to the airport.  On the flight home (Albany - Chicago - LAX), the plane went by Lake Ontario, and flew over Lakes Erie and Michigan - three of the five Great Lakes.

Lake Ontario

Lake Erie

Lake Michigan

Stay tuned, because we'll be going back in October to see Bret for Parents' Weekend, then Randy and Bryn will get in the van and continue this adventure as we head back home.

Bryn & Randy travel on, Day 13

Monday, September 3, Labor Day.  We got up early and left the house at 4 a.m., Bryn drove Randy to the Albany airport so he could fly home.  On the way back, Bryn saw a fox run across the road, the first wild fox she'd ever seen. She regretted not being able to get a photo for iNaturalist.  After getting a nap, Bryn and Maureen got out about town, walking through Central Park (Schenectady's Crown Jewel), with its rose garden, pond, and more.  Then we went to Niskayuna Lion Gate Park, where we walked the bike trail which was the original tow path along the Mohawk River for the Erie Canal. Bryn was snapping away, getting photos of hawks, flowers, dragonflies, wild grapes, and more species for iNaturalist.  Finally, we went to Lock 7 on the Erie Canal. Because it was a holiday, there were quite a few people out in their pleasure boats, and we were able to watch the lock work. Once it drained and the boats went downriver, the next time it filled and the boats went upriver. It is a fascinating piece of history and engineering.

Central Park Rose Garden

Lock gates close and water drains.

Lower water level lets the boats continue downriver.

This boat was raised and continued upriver.

Lock 7 on the Erie Canal, Mohawk River.









Later in the afternoon, we headed to Catherine and Tom's for some swimming and a bbq. And - you guessed it - more cousins!  Kate, Patrick, Jake and Sophia left before Bryn took the family photo - Steve, Matt, Vinny, Cindy, Maureen, Chris, Roz, Philip, Catherine, Tom, Mary Rose, James. And there were more cousins in the area that couldn't make it over that day!  Truly, Bret will be surrounded by relatives during his Union College years.

And after this, we went to see Aunt Elizabeth & Uncle Leo. Beginning at 4 a.m., it was a really long day, but seeing the sights and all of these special people made it a wonderful day.

Bret's Journey, Day 12

Sunday, September 2, 2018.  Bret's roommate moved in, and we were able to meet him and his family. There were talks for parents, lunch for everyone, and an assembly where we were greeted by Union College's president, dean of first-year students, and recruiter. Union College was founded in 1795, and it has some interesting architecture, for more info see
https://www.union.edu/about/history/campus

Left - Memorial Chapel; middle - steeple, St John the Evangelist Church, located across Union Street; right - Nott Tower.

Olin Hall has an observatory. This will be Bret's hangout, as it houses the environmental science, geology, and paleontology departments, collections, and labs.

 While we were driving around New England, Bret canoed around Lake George, went hiking and swimming, and spent each night camping on a different island as part of his pre-orientation Ironman trip. We said bye to Bret, as he joins the Union College Class of 2022. He continues with his orientation tonight and for the next two days, and then starts classes on Wednesday, September 5. Tonight we had a quiet dinner at Maureen's house. We prepped the van, and Randy packed to fly out.

Bryn & Randy travel on, Day 11

Saturday, September 1.  Randy went off to deal with maintenance on the van's tires.  Bryn joined cousins Catherine and Maureen and went to the festival at the Iroquois Indian Museum at Howest Caves.  https://www.iroquoismuseum.org/festivals  We enjoyed talking to the artists, seeing the exhibits, watching the Sky family dancers and the storyteller.

 
 That night, we had pizza at Maureen's and were joined by even more cousins.
Having many cousins in the area is one of the things Bryn likes about Union College.