We come toward the end of our time here in North America and we find ourselves looking forward; forward to Italy, forward to Spain, forward to Oktoberfest. We are definitely being challenged to PAY ATTENTION to the cool experiences and unique history of the region we have travelled through this last week.
One of those cool experiences was a taking a boat cruise on the Erie Canal. “I got a mule, and her name is Sal……..” is a line from the song Erie Canal that lots of people have sung at some point or another. Safonia sang by far the most awesome version at the last concert we performed with them in May. We of course had to do a video to Safonia members while we were on the boat with our friends Julian and Janette in the actual Erie Canal! There was a very interesting history narration as went west to east through Lock 18 and a little beyond.
Our travels through Canada and the U.S. have brought home to us that waterways were the original superhighways as people moved through the continent. The Erie Canal was instrumental to commercial expansion throughout the Great Lakes region and the original route can be seen here and there as you drive highways and interstates. Rivers, lakes, streams, oceans, bays, and inlets all shaped the history of human habitation and continue to influence population patterns, commerce and connections today.
Janette and Julian Taylor moved to Rochester last year, so we swung by to catch up with them and get a tour of their new hometown. A little wine, a little food and a hilarious game of “Cards Against Humanity” helped us remember why we like these two complex and interesting humans so much.
The State of New York is far across from Maine to Rochester, so we stopped in Albany for a night & had an amazing meal followed up with a big as my head ice cream sundae from Guptill’s. Our Erie Canal experience began in Albany at the Easterly end of the canal where the canal joins the the Hudson River. One sign we read said we could make it to New York City in less than a day via boat from that point!
Lest you think we only hung out at the Erie Canal and it’s environs, we did finally end up at our final destination ~ Reston, Virginia at Erin’s parent’s home. This is our home base as we prepare for the Western Europe/SE Asia portion of the trip ~ once again looking forward as we try to remain present. Before we went inside, we took this selfie to commemorate a total of 10,997 miles and reaching the final destination in this portion of the trek.
Onward to the present and our last week in the U.S. before being gone for the next 6 months. (That feels really daunting at the moment frankly!). Wish us luck as we prepare for the future and continue to Be Here Now as much as possible.
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