I forgot about Rochester and Syracuse!

I actually wrote a piece about Rochester last week, but mostly it was a grumpy rant and not fit for posting. But Rochester and Syracuse are worth posting about…I’ll try to keep the grump factor to a minimum.

I went to the Rochester Institute for Technology to check out the Genesee Valley QuiltFest…it was quite a scene. Lots of interesting, beautiful, intricate and artsy quilts along with workshops and things to buy. My favorite part of it was a tour of the Art Quilts, a category I wasn’t even aware of until I saw the row of quilts marked as such. Several members of the Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) took a small group of us on a tour of the quilts, explaining the techniques, process and sometimes the meaning of the piece if it wasn’t obvious. At least one was hilariously obvious!

I had planned on walking around downtown until game time after QuiltFest – the Rochester Red Hawks were playing the Lehigh Valley Pig Irons – but before I could find a place to park a downpour erupted. I find it challenging to navigate a new downtown even in good circumstances, but in the downpour I got really stressed out. I found a spot near a restaurant I’d seen, pulled over, fed the meter and walked as fast as I could to the joint. It was pretty miserable, but the Drunken Noodles were good. For some weird reason I ordered a Thai iced coffee instead of iced tea. Not great. I realize I’m losing the battle against the grump factor.

I shifted gears and decided not to go to the game…I guessed it would be canceled anyhow…and found a movie to go to, Is God Is. Whew…provocative, deep, gory in a way that did not seem gratuitous but which seemed like it should have. It was intense. Cracker Barrel awaited me so I headed over and found a spot amongst my fellow campers for the night…another van or two, a bigger RV and a couple who, sadly, looked like they had lost their housing and were sleeping in their car. I haven’t seen that very often, maybe once or twice since I’ve been on the road. But I had seen plenty of people struggling as I drove around Rochester, much like I’d seen in nearly all but the smallest towns I’ve visited. The poverty rate in Rochester is high – about 29%; compare that to Seattle’s 10% and Tacoma’s 12.5%. The percentage of Black people and White people in Rochester is nearly the same and it seems pretty obvious to me that the high poverty rate is a reflection of the economic disparity between races. It’s a pattern that exists across the South as well and it’s well past time we implement policies like reparations that will change it.

On Sunday I found a great parking spot near the ball field and set out to find the Rochester Heritage Trail to see historical sites related to Rochester, ranging from “Harnessing the power of the Genesee River” to the Susan B. Anthony House and museum. I guess I was expecting something more developed, or maybe I hadn’t prepared well enough so that I’d know just what I was looking for. In any event, I got to the S.B.A. house, took a 10 minute stroll through the one room of exhibits, picked up a few postcards, and headed to the ball park for the 1:05 game.

The game was great – I actually got (not caught) a foul ball. Two brothers came up and the older one asked if he could have it. I made him work for it with a series of questions – what will you do with it? “Add it to my collection.” “How many do you have in your collection?” “Zero.” “Can you share it with your brother?” “No, I don’t see how that would work.” “Well, you could hang on to it for a week, then he could have it for a week…” I had to tell myself NOT to say “you know, like shared custody.” I asked the younger bro if he could share it…he was all in on that proposition so I handed it over and made their day. The Red Wings won, I chatted with my seat neighbors who gave me a few suggestions for how to get from Southwick to Portland on a scenic and interesting route, and I had kettle corn.

Syracuse was my next stop and my Harvest Host the first night was Crazy Daisies, a flower farm. From there I went to Labrador Hollow to hike; signage left much to be desired and the hike I wanted to go on was nowhere to be found. I found a different hike, nothing to write home about but at least I got outside and had a good walk. And I saw a frog.

I had a great time the next day in town – visited the Everson Museum of Art, hunted for locations with “Art in the Wndows,” and ate at the Salt City Market, Salt City being a nickname for Syracuse due to its history as a major salt producer in the U.S. Although hearing there was a place called the Cake Bar is what made me go there, I ended up having a creme brûlée bun…delicious! I also went to an exhibit called We Demand!: A Legacy of Activism in America at Syracuse University. I found out about a story telling event and headed to the Pink Rock Culture Co-op. Although encouraged, I didn’t tell a story and I thoroughly enjoyed what others shared. I had imagined well-polished stories like on the Moth, but this was much more casual; imagine sitting around a campfire telling whatever stories came to mind. The organizers of the event and others were super welcoming – it was a great evening, topped off when I won a drawing they had for first-timers and walked away with a bag of Aveda goodies.

I made one more stop on my way to my next Harvest Host – Lake Onandaga and the Ska-Nonh Great Law of Peace Center – https://www.skanonhcenter.org/. This visit gave me a fuller picture of the Haudenosaunee (Howdanashonay), the confederacy I first learned about in Seneca Falls.