On The Road Again

Vineyards in winter.


Apple orchards in the snow. You can still smell the apples when you drive by.


A vineyard in front of a house. Click for a better view. It's hard to take these pics while driving.


Close to Niagara Falls.


Entering New York State


We are actually in Seneca country. The Seneca Indians made the American government respect a treaty and were given a huge amount of land in this area of New York State.


There are signs all along the side of the highway enticing you to buy liquor and cigarettes and to gamble at the casino.



An all American city? Why is it different than any other? Buffalo wings were invented here though so I guess that counts for something.



This is what Buffalo mostly looks like. It's not too exciting.


We are very close to Canada.


This is how I always know I am close to Buffalo.


Endless power lines. Niagara Power. I saw this police car pulling someone over for speeding. I was thinking.....glad that's not me. About 20 minutes later it was.


These power lines run right over peoples homes. And if they are not ominous enough.....


There are power plants every where too.



I decided to get off of the thruway and take the scenic route. Decisions like this always add hours to my trips. You can see where I exited. ATTICA!!! Attica is a penitentiary in upstate New York. It was built in 1930. It has housed many famous criminals over the years. David Berkowitz, the son of Sam murderer was here. Right now, Mark David Chapman, John Lennon's killer, is here. Next time I travel this way I will allow extra time to go there and take photos.


Teddy is enjoying the trip so far.


This is what a lot of New York State looks like.


A whole lot of nothing. So, as I was sailing through this whole lot of nothing with virtually empty roads, I suddenly noticed flashing lights behind me. I got nabbed by radar blowing through a 55 MPH zone doing 73Mph. I don't even know what the fine is. I have to wait until it is determined by a judge. Lead foot! I like putting the pedal to the metal. What can I say?



Finally we arrived at Lake Geneva.


There is a beautiful park along the lake which Teddy likes to walk in.


There were sea gulls every where.


Teddy could not understand why the sea gulls would not play with her.


Smart sea gulls.


This lamp post served as a sea gull landing pad. One after another they would fly in and push the one in front of them off the top.


The victor!


Back on the road again, we saw these signs on the side of the roads all over this area. This is quite a controversial issue. The Cayuga Indians want the government to give them 150 miles of land and 1 billion dollars. Once they receive the land they become a sovereign nation. This means that they are not governed by the United States. They pay no taxes and can open casinos. In 2002 the State of New York lost 385 million dollars in cigarette taxes to the Indians so you can see why so many people are against this.


Finally we arrived at the farmhouse. Teddy is immediately ready to go out exploring.




Here she is resting her chin on the arm of the chair imploring me to take her outside. I certainly can not resist that look.

Comments

I lived in upstate NY for 10 years. I lived in Hornell, which is near Corning. Lake Geneva is beautiful! Stay warm and try not to get any more tickets!
Penny
I like that you include us in your trip. We all get to see new places and landscapes. Of course you know by now Teddy pulls my heartstrings everytime I see her. It is hard to tell the "sweet face" no.

Be safe, warm and happy.
Welcome to New York! :)
You have a farmhouse there? How wonderful!
I ♥ Teddy
Jeanine DeNitto said…
I remember that quite a few years back ny state wanted to tax the Seneca reserve and since rt 17/86 crosses their land (and probably other major roads as well) they set up roadblocks on the highway to protest. They were quite successful. They owned that land fair and square, so I can't see why the state of ny feels they lost 385 million dollars in taxes when it wasnt theirs anyway.

And I personally hope the Cayuga succeed as well.
Sharon Day said…
Oh that Teddy! She sees more of the country than me, that well-traveled companion! I decided to come back in my next life as one of your pups. Curl up in the pretty garden and beg for scraps when you're cooking. Sounds good to me. As a ghost hunter, I am terribly curious of that intensive grid around Niagra and all those power lines are creating a better haunting scenario. I'll have to look into it. Thanks for the inspiration. Stay safe and warm.
Bridgett said…
LOL...nothing wrong with a bit of a lead foot! I have one too. :)

Thanks for the little tour. Having never been to that part of NY, I find it very interesting. I'd really like to see that prison too.

Enjoy your little getaway!
Orchards and vineyards are beautiful even in winter. Our climate has been to cold for the common grapes for making wine, but nowdays new sorts have come so we can see them here too in southern parts of Sweden.

When we can sea gulls here it means spring has arrived :-) I so long to see them again!


I have bocome real good at ignoring beautiful dog eyes :-) I think it helps by having three big ones :-) :-)

Over here the speed tickets are fixed to how fast one drives and it´s bl..y expensive. I hope Yours is reasonable!
Have a great trip!
Christer.
brokenteepee said…
Two words: cruise control

Have fun!
That darling Teddy..sitting in the back of the car....too cute..that face...

the snow looks beautiful...truth be told...i wish i was in the snow..i really miss seasons living here in california...i wish i lived in New England...but here i am...maybe someday..

the music is wonderful....

more later
and hugs to teddy
kary and buddy
xxx
Anonymous said…
Oh she is a sweetie pie ! I love the one of her traveling ;-)
seagulls in winter is so different for me I've never seen that before . We've the same trouble here in Canada with aboriginal people ciggerettes and gambling . I felt so so bad when we went out to pick cedar in the bog I usually pick from there had been a group in , they cut a huge area down just to collect branches . They left the tress fallen just felt like a death spot . It actually hurt my soul to be there . dh said the trees were at least over 100yrs .
It makes me a bit mad too for those of us who do not do this or exploit the land etc. and are aboriginal are then all grouped in together we all look bad . You can see where stereotypes originate that is for sure .
anyway once again I enjoyed your post ;-)
thanks a bunch
In answer to your question, no I have never been there. When I lived in NY I spent most of my time around the finger lake region.....

Hope you enjoy working on mosaics...let me know if you have any questions, you can just email me....take care.
Penny
That's one of the things I love about blogging..I get to see places I would never otherwise see.

We will be heading for Maine in August. I missed last years trip due to illness. My husbands family is there. The one thing I hate about going is leaving Mele behind for two weeks.
I was almost relieved when I couldn't go last summer.
It looked like Teddy was really enjoying her trip! I can't wait to see your Spring and Summer pictures. :)
Hugs,
Mona
Jennifer Rose said…
where I lived in Canada, there was a huge dispute over some land with the natives. there was fighting and road blocks set up, someone ran into a power station and knocked power out for a huge area. not really sure what happened with it, really should find out.

really enjoy seeing the pictures :) the sign should read: come to Canada. home of the beaver and mounties :) Teddy looks so cute resting on the chair :D
Anonymous said…
People outside of New York don't realize the great majority of it is actually rural. Everyone seems to think that New York city is 90% of the state.

Buffalo actually has some wonderful sites--most unseen from the Thruway. My husband is from there and I've visited many times. Oh, and I set my Jeff Resnick mystery series there, too. The city is practically a character in the books.

Love your blog!