July 13th through July 21, 2025 including Trip to Seneca Falls, NY

 SUNDAY the 13th:  The movie THE BIG YEAR was featured during this mornings sermon, as the third week of LETS GO TO THE MOVIES. 

Leslie had told me about this movie, which is about birdwatchers who are obsessive and competitive and take a whole year off from their regular life to look for and find as many birds as possible  After church, Glenda, Dee Mann, Lori and I went to Kalamata's.  I had a wrap which was pretty good.  I went to PANERA to get a free drink before coming home.  I called Andrea in the early evening since she was not in church this morning.  She has an MRI scheduled tomorrow and is hoping to find out what is causing her severe constipation.  

MONDAY:  I couldn't find anyone to go to the Y with me to walk, so I went by myself and walked about 29 minutes, I think, and did ten minutes on the recumbent bike.  I also picked up a book at the library and got a drink from Panera.  And I used a coupon to get a six inch sub at SUBWAY.  I ate half of it when I dot home.  I puttered around doing things regarding sorting and getting rid of stuff, and sent Christa pictures of glass items that I want to pass on.  She will take some of them.  Peggy took Andreaa to an ER (not sure which one) after her doctor told her that she needs to get an IV.  Mary left a message expressing her concern because the owner of the place we plan to stay in this coming weekend has not responded to emails and phone messages she has left him.  I started packing a box to store for Christa, it has the orange and green antique glass that she wants among other items.  I took a nap at three p.m.  When I got up, Peggy had texted me that Andrea was admitted to the hospital in order to have an antibiotic IV.  I called Glenda and texted Lori about this situation, and also texted Andrea.  

TUESDAY the 15th:  I went to the Ladies Life Group this morning.  It was very well attended, I think there were fourteen or fifteen of us there.  It went very well.  I did not go out to lunch with the others because Peggy and I met to work on our Alaska trip plans.  We made some progress.  All three of us are OCEAN READY, having completed the checklist.  I went home and so did Peggy, but then she came to 17 and loaded the back of my car with some metal to take to the metal place on West Avenue.  I went with her and helped by throwing some stuff on the pile  After that, I took a nap.  When I got up I worked on trip plans for Alaska by calling four visitors centers and requesting tourism information and maps::  Juneau, Skagway, Ketchican and Victoria B.C. I also called the Chautauqua Institution to get more information about the historical bus tour, and I was successful. It is offered seven days a week and only costs ten dollars.  Then I called Marlene and we discussed the possibility of driving down on Sunday to take the tour, staying in a motel and going on Monday for the ADVOCATES FOR BALANCE at CHAUTAUQUA. event in the Atheneum Hotel.  Marlene agreed to drive if I pay for our lodging. I made the reservation at the Theatre Motel in Westfield, about a twenty minute drive from the Institute.  I am glad that is all set up.  We will be seeing a reanactor of the Marquis de Lafayette, who will retrace the Marquis' 24 state tour of the USA in 1824-25.  Marlene seems particularly interested in this, but I will have to do some research to learn more.  

WEDNESDAY:   I got up very early since I could not get back to sleep.  I started the elbow Mac boiling for tomorrows Senior Social at the Y.  I arrived a bit early at BASIL TOYOTA for my oil change, which turned into more than an oil change, since they recommended a new filter and alignment.  After that I went to my chiropractic appointment, and then to Panera to get a drink and then to Dollar Tree and then to WalMart since I needed items for this coming weekends trip to Senea Falls with Mary.  I think I have everything now.  I picked up a meal deals, using a coupon, at ARBY's.  I was eating it when Peg arrived to pick up a bunch of mason jars to give to Sarah Hull.  I gave her four or five more that I noticed a day or so ago on a shelf in the family room.  I puttered around a bit before taking a short nap.  When I got up, I finished putting together the Mac salad.  I called Mary in order to discuss what we will do for meals this coming weekend and she said all she is planning is to bring some dark chocolate and maybe pick up some cold cuts.  I had two ears of sweet corn and a peanut butter and jelly  sandwich for supper.  I straightened up the front seats and back seats of my car, and plan to vacuum it out tomorrow.  I brought in my picnic basket and straightened it out.  I started a load of laundry,  

THURSDAY:  I left early for the Y and went to the car cleaning place next door to the ice cream place on West Avenue.  I lost my quarters, because the vacuuming machine did not seem to work. I went to the library to pick up a book before going to the place on Transit, where I was able to vacuum out my car.  In fact that vacuum seemed to be never ending, it was still going when I left. I went to the Y for the Senior Social.  Deb, Marlene, Michaeline, Pam, Jan and I had a table to ourselves.  My macaroni salad was demolished, with only one serving left in the bottom of the bowl.  When I got home, I took a short nap.  I had called Betty and left a message asking if she would pick up my mail, and (I don't know why) she called Peggy to tell her that she will.  I threw together a four bean salad and make some tuna salad for my supper since I had a large lunch at the Y. (hot dog, fruit salad, several other salads and deserts).    

I took a few pictures of the blossoms on the Rose of Sharon bush in my front yard either yesterday or today:  

Friday July 18, 2025: I left Lockport right around ten thirty a.m.  I stopped at Panera and got a drink and headed  south on Transit towards the entrance to the thruway.  Unfortunately, I accidentally headed west instead of heading east I headed west, so I lost some time.  When I got off at the first exit, I was on Route 5 heading towards Batavia.  I figured I would get on the thruway in Batavia, but I saw a sign pointing to the thruway before Batavia, so I turned.  I stayed on the thruway until I got to Exit 41 and followed signs to get to downtown Seneca Falls.  I found a parking spot and went to the IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE MUSEUM. 

 I spent about twenty minutes there and then walked down to the Visitors Center where I picked up a bunch of tourist items.  Then I walked down to the National Womens Rights Park and used the Ladies room.  Then I returned to my car and put the address of the AirBnB into my navigation system.  It took me to the wrong address, but the right address was just around the corner. Here is a photograph I took of our AirBnb.

The code we had been given was not working. After contacting Mary and the owner, I finally was told that I needed to press another button after pressing 8585. Mary pulled up a couple of minutes later, before I took much of anything into the house.  After we got all of our stuff inside, Mary decided to find a supermarket so that she could get a few items.  I laid down and rested and listened to Ben Shapiro's show for today.  I may have dozed off a bit.  We ate our own food for supper instead of going out for supper.  I had some four bean salad, mac salad, chips, a couple of crackers and a chocolate chip cookie.  We figured out how to get the TV on and watched the very first episode of LAW and ORDER SVU.

SATURDAY:  Around ten fifteen a.m. we headed out for the SENECA ARMY DEPOT/WHITE DEER HAVEN.  Along the way, we stopped at a very small Amish baked goods shop and purchased a cherry pie and some sweet rolls.  We found WHITE DEER HAVEN but were a half an hour early, so I suggested that we continue driving south to see what we might see.  We drove about fifteen minutes south and turned around and came back.  We stopped at a farmstand.  We saw a huge old building with a historical sign that I would love to return to and check out someday.  When we got back to WHITE DEER HAVEN, Mary signed the waiver and we looked around the gift shop/information center.  There were four other people on the bus tour with us.  The air conditioning in the bus was not working very well but h the back door open (the door leading to the wheelchair lift( it was not terribly hot.  The tour was close to two hours.  We stopped and went into one of the old bunkers, and also at one of the very small bunkers. We stopped and walked to a beaver dam.  The tour guide was very informative and did a very good job.  We didn't see any white deer, since they avoid going out into the heat.  We did see a few regularly colored deer.  After that we decided to go to the Lavender Farm.  We had a hard time finding it and wasted time and gas because when we finally did find it, we were told by the owner that she had just returned from a trip and had not re-opened yet, plus she was sick.  So we headed back towards Seneca Falls and went to SAUDER's where we purchased some sweet corn and some dark chocolate covered cherries.  We decided to have supper at our lodging, so we went to a TOPS.  Mary stayed in the car (I think she wanted to use her phone( and I went in and purchased a rotisserie chicken and some peanut butter.  It was about four thirty when we got back to our house, and I immediately started a pot of water for the corn.  We had chicken, macaroni salad, four bean salad and the corn for supper.  We decided to have desert a bit later.  I uploaded my pictures to Flickr and emailed some pictures to Mary.  Mary took a nap and I found the latest episode of Victor Hanson's podcast on YouTube.  

Alan Dershowitz was on a jet with Epstein.  He sued a girl who claimed he abused her, but she withdrew. 

Dershowitz said there was never a list of clients, never published videos of what happened in bedrooms.  cameras surveilled outdoors and common use rooms.  there were a lot of people who visited the houses where this stuff went on.  When Bondi said she had a list, it was a list of people who were mentioned.  

SUNDAY July 20th:  Mary and I decided to go to Ovid, NY to the Historical Court House Complex (The Three Bears).  I called Leslie to check to see if she made it back to Auburn safely and she did!  I told her Mary and my plans for today and she said she wanted to meet up with us.  I told her to pack a picnic lunch and we would meet her at a state park (not sure which one yet) and I would call her later on to let her know what time.  She greed to that.  Mary and I found the THREE BEARS easily enough, but were disappointed that we could not go into the large courthouse or the small one.  The large one is having work done on it, and the docents did not have keys to the small one.  But we did get to go in the one in the middle, because it is the Visitors Center.  Our docent was very informative and interesting.  Both Mary and I purchased raffle tickets for a painting of the three buildings.  After leaving there, we headed to Cayuga Lake State Park.  Leslie had agreed to meet us there for a picnic, so I called her so she would know what time to leave her place in order to join us.  She got lost on the way, due to a detour, so Mary and I waited fifteen minutes or so until she got there. (Mary used this time to make phone calls).  When Leslie arrived, we decided to cross the road from the parking lot (where both of us paid seven dollars to get in) and use a picnic table along the edge of the lake.  We enjoyed our picnic lunch and talked "politics" for quite a while. We packed up and went back to our cars and decided to go to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.  Leslie led the way and Mary and I followed.  Leslie drove us down WILDLIFE DRIVE, which was very beautiful, but only a few birds were around to see.  Then We went back to Seneca Falls to LOCKS 2 and 3 (a double lock system).  I took several pictures.  Mary and Leslie were afraid to walk the bridge to cross the canal, but I did.  Then we decided to head back to our AirBnb, so Leslie could see it.  Mary was too tired to go out for supper, so Leslie and I went to downtown Seneca Falls and had supper at PARKERS ON FALL, which is a sports bar/restaurant.  It was kind of loud in there.  I had the broiled haddock, a baked potato and broccoli.  Leslie had the fried haddock with fries and coleslaw.  I loved my meal, but I think Leslie was disappointed with hers.  We decided to walk down Main Street and back on the opposite side before heading back to the AirBnb.  I invited Leslie in for desert, but she declined.  I tried the Amish fruit roll, and had two pieces, it is very good.  I found a recent VDH podcast on YouTube to watch before getting ready for bed.  

MONDAY the 21st:  I heard Mary up and moving around a few minutes after six a.m.  I stayed in bed for a few minutes but then decided to get up and get the day started.  Mary and I stripped our beds and packed our stuff up and we ready to leave right around nine a.m.  We stopped at IT'S A WONDERFUL BAKERY, but it was closed because it is Monday.  We said our goodbyes there.  Just down the street, I stopped to take a picture of this statue.  

I got on Route 20 and headed west.  I stopped in East Avon for lunch at TOM WAHL'S.  It was about fifteen minutes before eleven a.m. and I was feeling tired, so I reclined my seat and rested and I must have dozed off because when I opened my eyes it was almost eleven thirty.  I had a Wahlburger, onion rings and a drink.  I did not eat it all.  I had a few dark chocolate cherries in the car after I left Tom Wahl's.  In Leroy, where 5 and 20 split, I got on 5. I saw this mural before I left Leroy. 

I think I got on the thruway in Batavia and I know I got off in Pembroke.  I arrived home a couple of minutes before two p.m. I took everything into the house right away.  I put the food items away first.  I texted both Peggy and Mary to let them know I was home.  I laid down a little bit after three p.m. and I think I slept about an hour.  I spent the rest of the day at home and put most of my trip stuff away.  I did a load of laundry.