After our Randy Rainbow show, we stayed in a Real Hotel in New Haven, Connecticut. In the morning, we made our way to Rochester, New York. It was an easy drive. Toll roads are the nicest roads! Other than the country roads with no trucks.
While in Rochester, it was mostly a lot of down time. Not driving was priority #1. But we did celebrate our rights. The first couple days were at the house, enjoying rights like:
Our right to snuggle.
Our right to smooch.
Our right to love.
Our right to lounge.
Our right to cuddle.
And of course, more serious rights. Like the right to vote and the right to be free.
Wednesday, Trish had three meetings throughout the day, so I went off on my own to Seneca Falls, NY to visit the Women’s Rights National Historical Park and to Auburn, NY to visit the Harriet Tubman Home.
The Women’s Rights park consists of a visitor center with exhibits and the site of the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, which was the location of the first Women’s Rights Convention in July, 1848. I made it in time for the ranger talk, and I was the solo attendee, so the ranger and I had a good conversation.
The building itself went through many iterations over the decades, including a roller rink, a mechanic's shop, and apartments, but in recent years the National Park Service restored the building to what it was during the mid-1800s. Much of the building is original, but they did have to rebuild the front and back walls.
I learned a lot and came away with a renewed sense of hope, duty, and inspiration. So many women fought for so hard for our rights, and we are still needing to fight. We mustn’t take the right to vote for granted!
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| The stair-step paint represents the original stairs. You can see the original holes for joists that held the gallery above (represented by a painting). You can see original brick and some of the original plaster (behind plexiglass). |
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| This is where Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott stood and inspired women's rights. |
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This was a gift from a Baha'i organization. Its accompanying plaque is below. |
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| Many women were jailed in the fight for our rights. Don't take your right to vote for granted! |
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| Elizabeth Cady Stanton's and Susan B. Anthony's handshake. |
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| Lovely Seneca Canal through Seneca Falls. |
After visiting the visitor center, I zipped over to the Harriet Tubman site. It was the last piece of property she owned, and she had deeded it to the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in 1903 (I think). The tour guide explained the National Park Service’s relationship to the site, but it was a bit murky. The NPS owns the church itself but the site I visited, consisting of a visitor center and a lecture/tour, is controlled wholly by the AME Zion Church.
It was an unusual “tour.” After I paid my $7, I thought I was again going to be the only spectator, but others trickled in. The tour guide was a spirited ex-pastor (or current pastor?) who told the story of Tubman’s life with voices, acting, and *pop* *pop* “POP QUIZ!” It was cringe-worthy at times, but during the one the hour lecture, I learned a lot about Harriet. She was an incredible, incredible human being. Wow.
The final bit of the tour was visiting a building on the property that Tubman used as a boarding house of sorts for the “elderly and infirm.” It was the only building on the 20-something acre property still standing, save her house, which is undergoing restoration.
The building was outfitted with period furniture that was not used by Tubman, save the bedroom, which had furniture that was gifted by her dependents and we were told that the bed was once she slept in.
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| We were told that they were told that Harriet slept in this bed. |
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| Our guide explaining the use of the ice box. |
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| The soup tureen in the middle was gifted by Harriet's dependents. The other china is contemporary. |
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| The exterior of the building, which was used for housing the "elderly and infirm." |
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| The exterior of Harriet Tubman's actual home, which is being renovated. |
Afterwards, I celebrated my right to huge soft-serve ice cream cones.
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| Very berry swirl. Yummers. |
The next morning, I was ready to head home, after a birthday hug and a goodbye to Mrs. H and Trish and the the whole gang in Rochester. It was the end of the road for Trish, who is staying in New York with her family. I'll miss her in the co-pilot's seat!
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| Poppy's Spot in Rochester |
- 2891 miles
- 62 hours of driving
- Avg. 15.9 mpg (according to Poppy)
Total Stats:
- 6457 miles
- 136 hours of driving
- 15.8 mpg (according to Poppy; at the end I'll figure the true gas economy)
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