August 16, 2011

August 16, 2011

The day after returning to Boston, Marc, my aunt Carol, and I all took a plane and met up with my dad in Rochester, New York. Marc went to the University of Rochester his freshman year of college, and my dad graduated from there in 1972. Seeing the school was one of our reasons for going to upstate New York, but another reason was to see Syracuse, where my dad and aunt grew up.

After Dad picked us up from the airport we all went to Letchworth State Park, which is known as the Grand Canyon of the East. The park was long and skinny, so we just took the road that goes all the way through it. We saw beautiful waterfalls, large forests, and a giant chair that my dad and I took turns sitting in. Giant chairs are fun, and if you don't believe me ask any other University of Oregon student. The park was pretty, but Marc and I were jaded after seeing Niagara Falls, so we didn't appreciate it as much as we could have.

Dad in a giant chair

The next day was our only full day in Rochester/Syracuse so it was very busy. First we went to the house where Susan B. Anthony lived. We got to see the room where she got arrested for voting, which was very cool for me. After seeing the house I am now inspired and want to read a biography about her. Near her house is a small park with a statue of Susan B. having lunch with Fredrick Douglass. Next, we went to the George Eastman house. Eastman started Kodak, so he was super rich an had an unnecessarily lavish home. He was such a perfectionist that he hired librarians to organize his collection of books, and hired an organ player to play for him every morning at 7:15 to wake him up. It was fun to learn the little quirks about his house, but what was more fun was that part of his home was converted into a photography museum. Their special exhibit was on the photographs taken by Norman Rockwell that he used to paint his pieces. The exhibit showed every photograph Rockwell used adding up to the final painting. That exhibit was probably one of the best I have ever seen. It was fun having an exhibit that allowed us to see Rockwell's creative process in a visually interesting way.

Me and Susan

After the museum we ran through the torrential downpour and piled into the car to head for Syracuse. My dad's family lived in Syracuse because my grandfather was an organic chemistry professor for the University of Syracuse for ______ years (insert large number). They lived in two different houses in the area, and instead of just driving by I convinced my dad to let me get out and ask the current owners if we could go inside. The owners of both houses were really happy to have them see the inside. My dad and Carol seemed really happy to see the houses again, and told us all kind of old stories they remembered.

First House

Second house

One story I am deciding to share with the world is about my dad when he was 3. Apparently at some point their cousin came to visit for a while and stayed with my aunt in her upstairs bedroom. My aunt told me that my father was enraptured with their cousin (her being 17 and very pretty), so every morning of her visit he would sit on the bottom step of the staircase and patiently wait for her to come downstairs. Because of our visit I have now walked on those steps, and am happier for it.

Chemistry building at University of Syracuse

After seeing the houses and a few of their old schools, my dad dropped us off for dinner while he visited with an old friend from high school. The three of us ate at a Friday's, and quickly learned about 2 for 1 cocktails. We also remembered that none of us were driving, so mojitos all around!

Library at U of R

The next morning we went back to the University of Rochester to see some of the buildings that were closed during the weekend. We went inside the library and I saw the beautiful reading rooms that may have been the reason Marc went there. We also went to Wilson Commons, which is their version of the EMU at the University of Oregon. On one side of this building is the library, and on the other side is a statue that was erected with the intention that it would always look at the library. See the dilemma? The U of R certainly did, so they designed Wilson Commons to have a giant glass arboretum so that the statue could actually still see the library. Tradition is crazy stuff.

All four of us then took a plane back to Boston, which is where a whole other set of adventures happened. Keep Reading!

 -Amelia