7/19/21 - We visited the Henry Ford Museum today. The museum is more than just cars or Ford for that matter. The museum includes a collection of cars, trucks, race cars, manufacturing equipment, planes, trains and a village/farm that includes historic houses that were moved to create a town of sorts. We also toured the Rouge F150 truck plant which encompasses 2,000 acres under roof. The plant has been retooled over the last 100 years. The plant tour was very cool as we watched a new ford truck completed every 92 minutes. Due to the worldwide chip shortage there were a sea of F150's stored on lots. 

Exploded view of the model T

The weiner car

Ford GT Lemans winner

Roosevelt's presidential Car

B&O locomotive which is about 200 feet long

JFK Limo that he was shot in

50's concept house

1963 Chrysler's turbine concept car

Bonneville Salt Lake record holder at 409 miles per hour. Still holds the record for the fastest wheel powered car vs the jet engine record holders which were faster.

 7/18/21 - Today was a travel day from Buffalo to Detroit, roughly 375 miles. The drive would have been considerably shorter if we were able to travel through Canada. The border is still closed. Along the way in Mentor, Ohio, we stopped at the home of President James Garfield, the 20th president. You may have forgotten from your school days (I did) that he was shot and died 2 months later in 1881 at the age of 49. His presidency lasted only 200 days. He served in Congress for 17 years. His claims to fame include:

• 1859 Elected to the Ohio Senate
• 1861 Lt Colonel -Civil War
• 1862 Elected to Congress
• 1880 Elected President
• March 1881 Inaugurated
• July 2, 1881 was shot
• Sept. 19, 1881 died from wounds/infection.

While in office he led fiscal reform and founded the Board of Education.

Garfield owned and farmed 150 acres with the windmill pumping water to the house and fields. The home was also on a natural gas well that was used for lighting and heat.

 7/17/21 - We had a monsoon on our drive from the Finger Lakes Region to Buffalo. Major highways were flooded and we passsed several homes that were flooded as well. The rain continued for our day of adventure at Niagara Falls. The rain didn't slow us down as we figured we would get wet anyway on the Maid of the Mist. Although this is our third time visiting this area it never gets old. Such fun!

American Falls

 Wendy and Jo (Jess's sister) had fun with their rain suits.

And of course ice cream stop was in order thanks to Debby Deweese. Best ice cream in Buffalo.

Wendy and kids headed out for the light show at the falls.

 7/16/21 - We spent a second day in the Finger Lakes region - Geneva. Brian/Jess and family along with AB's good friend Ella, joined us late last night @ 1 am having worked all day. Today was much cooler, mid 70's and so far no rain. Tomorrow's forecast is 1-2 inches in this area and Niagara Falls where we are headed next. 

While in Geneva we toured the Sonnenberg Estate, a small cottage built in 1886, with 40 + rooms on 150 acres owned by Frederick & Mary Thompson. Frederick, or Rick as I like to refer to him was an executive & director of First Nat'l Bank of NY, now Citibank. The Thompsons never had children and left the estate complete with furnishings to a relative who later gave the estate to the State of NY and in turn to a non-profit. While it is quite something to see, it is in need of repair and maintenance. A planned $6,100,000 renovation is just starting.

Of course the day would not be complete without ice cream. The largest portions for small cones I have ever seen.

Campground fun.

 7/15/21 - Today, we traveled to Farmington NY. near the top of Seneca Lake (Finger Lakes region of NY). It was a pretty warm day- in the 90's -but it's projected to cool off to the mid 70's for the next couple of days. On the way we drove by Harriett Tubman's home in Auburn, NY. The road passing her home was under major construction so the house was closed and no where to stop, ugh!. We did however, go to her grave site @ Fort Hill Cemetery. Cool fact: William Seward sold her the property for the house which was illegal at time because she was married and black. Back in the day married women could not own property. You guessed it, Seward- Secretary of State for Lincoln who also lived in Auburn arranged the purchase Alaska. 

Since we were on a roll for rights of people, we stopped at the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls. This is where women united in July 1848 and held the first Women's Rights Convention. 

We spent the balance of the afternoon in the quaint town of Geneva seeing the sights along Seneca Lake.

Belhurst Castle - now hotel right on the lake.

We capped the day at a winery with live music

And finally made it back to our home away from home.

 We spent a lazy day exploring Verona and Rome NY. First was Ft Stanwix,originally constructed in 1758 by the British as a base camp to capture French forts in Niagara, NY, Kingston ON and on the St Lawrence River to Montreal. In 1776 the Fort was later used by the Continental Army to defend against the British. One of its claim to fame was that the fort never surrendered during the revolutionary war led by Geo. Washington.  Over the next 100 + years the fort burned and fell in disrepair. The city of Rome was eventually built on its site. In the 1930's plans were laid to rebuild,  but wasn't until the 1970's the city of Rome was able to purchase and donate the property to the National Park Service. The NPS funded the reconstruction of the earth and timber fort- moats and all. 

Rome is a quint town with beautiful parks etc. The Erie canal runs through on its was to Albany.

And of course, a day is not complete without an ice cream!

 First night out after regrouping at home for 5 days from Assateague Island. Today we traveled 340 miles through the mountains of NE PA and New York to Verona, Ny. (near Rome, Ny). We are staying at the Villages at Turning Stone (casino) on the Oneida Nation reservation. No plans to gamble but this is a very plush campground. All good so far!