Adventures with Cheryl and Dan: Geneology, Fabric, Broadway and Some History Thrown In

Got an new version (2012) of our same Ford Escape and we have immediately started to put as many miles on it as we had the previous one(2008). Love the blind side mirrors which mean I don't have to wake up hubby to ask if it's ok to change lanes anymore.

Our first stop was in Corning, New York.

We were allowed to take photos here unlike the fabulous Morse Museum with all the Tiffany in Florida.

This great piece by Dale Chihuly was in a main lobby area. As you can imagine, the gift shop was fabulous. I only spent $15 on a glass paperweight that was marked down from $25 and when I tore off the paper label there was another under it that read MADE IN CHINA. Its still very nice.

Hot glass demo.

She made a penguin. Very hard to photo.

Great example of cut glass.

Our second day brought us to Kingston, New York where my mother's side of the family hailed from before they moved to Ohio.

Kingston is a very old city with a lot of Dutch history. My relatives, however, were German Catholic and Protestant Irish.

My memories of Kingston were of staying in this house with my Aunt Gert and Uncle Dep on West Chestnut St.

The street ends in a cup-de-sac with this view down to the Rondout Creek which flows into the Hudson River.

We stopped here over 20 years ago and did not see this. I thought it had a date on the urn, but cannot see anything in the photo.

Then and now:

This was the home of my great grand-parents and later of a great aunt and uncle.

Just a few houses down is the home of another great aunt. These house hang on a hillside with no houses on the opposite side of the street. Only garage on the upside and I find this one kind of charming.

Best view I got of the Kingston Lighthouse from across the river.

River cruises are available in the summer.

This is downtown Kingston which has been nicely renovated with shops and restaurants and a visitors center. Kingston also has an uptown which is less interesting except for the Dutch historical sites I unfortunately didn't get to them.

One place we did get to however was a bit "up the creek" in Eddyville.

It has been the family since 1955 and grown quite a bit. Since my time in Kingston was as a child before this, I never saw it before. We stayed so late talking...long after closing, I didn't get any good exteriors and almost forgot to take this:

The cousins and Aunt Ginger

And now to Broadway and fabric shopping. A short ride over a bridge and through some beautiful country from Kingston is the Rhinecliff Amtrak station where you can park free for up to 10 days (if you get a spot) . The ride takes you along the Hudson all the way into the NYC. Its cheap and fast and comfortable.

The station is old, charming and has a very helpful staff.

This is MOOD of Project Runway fame. If you are a fabric fanatic like me head over to my other blog at Thimble Fingers for more. I really don't want to repeat it all here. Shopped all afternoon and hubby carried it all! We had a late lunch, no dinner and headed off to the theater. This was the impetus for this whole trip. When I saw that they were going to make a musical about the life of Carole King I was crossing my fingers it would be good. It is great! And we had great seats. No I did not take this photo from my seat. NO PHOTOGRAPHY ALLOWED. I borrowed this from the internet.

Hoping Jessie Mueller's portrayal earns her the Tony this year.

When we emerged from the theater it was a drenching rain and cabs are nowhere or taken and the subway is daunting, especially at night. So we race walked 12 blocks without umbrellas and grabbed some deli food and ate it on the beds in our typical tiny hotel room. It was located very close to Penn Station which ups the price and lowers the size.

Saturday morning was a visit to a flea market in a parking garage. Very unlike our local fleas. The vendors were extremely chatty and the stuff was truly different. See THIMBLE FINGERS for more on this.

Had a scheduled noon tour of Rockefeller Center and whizzed by here hoping to come back later, but didn't make it.

This is the iconic symbol of Rockefeller Center.

Except when its the Christmas tree.

This is the spot where they place the Christmas tree each year. The center plaque gets engraved with the date and is given to the donor of the tree.

Sotheby's, the auction house is housed in one of the buildings. Here is a painting in the window which I like better with the reflections added to it. As to art, there is also this:

This is on the CEILING!

This guy with a sickle flanks one side of a door. His companion with a hammer on the other side wields a hammer. David Rockefeller flipped after he saw it...too late. How many people even give it a glance or turn into communists?

This is probably what most people associate with Rockefeller Center. Oh, and Saturday Night Live.

Then we went up to "Top of the Rock" which has better views than the Empire State Building. It may not be as high but after getting way up there its pretty hard to tell the difference.

Tourists take pictures of other tourists.

When I snapped them I put the Empire State Building between them.

Regular shot

Artsy shot

Above is my favorite photo of the whole trip. It is the carousel in Bryant Park which is a great little park behind the NY Public Library. Many workers like to eat lunch there. We tried the day before but it started to rain. Everyone had moved to the sun and left a lot of empty chairs and tables under the trees.

We then headed back to the train and Kingston. Below is a sunsetting view of the Hudson River from the train.

We stopped by for a visit with Eleanor and Franklin in Hyde Park which is on the eastern bank of the Hudson about 30 minutes from Kingston. Another beautiful drive that included charming Rhinebeck. No time to stop as we spent all our time at the house and museum and still didn't see everything.