First Stop: Elmira, NY

On the Friday before our trip I delivered flower vases to school. Saturday morning I led the Bone Builders class. Then we were off...

On September 14, 2013, Bob and I began our journey to Washington D.C. by way of Elmira where my sister and her husband live. Nancy greeted us at the door. Once inside, Dale asked if I'd like a ride on the carousel at Eldridge Park. "Yes!" was my instant reply and so we piled into Dale's antique Chevy for a quick trip to the park.

Nancy and Dale had spent the previous week on a car tour of Vermont and New Hampshire with this car and had visited my home one evening for dinner.

Eldridge Park existed when my boys were little. They and their cousins would go through the haunted house and ride the old wooden roller coaster. They always knew where to find me. I would be riding the carousel!

That's Dale on the left, Bob on the right, and Nancy hidden behind them.

Eldridge Park closed many years ago and most of what had been there was torn down or sold off. In recent years a few dedicated people decided to turn it into a community asset. Dale has been very active in this endeavor.

The carousel was the first thing the group worked to get running again. They had pictures of all the creatures on the outer ring and managed to have new ones carved to match the originals.

There are now a dozen or so of these purple dragon boats for people to take out onto the "lake" which is really just an oversized pond. These are relatively new additions to the park.

Below is one of the dragon boats that Dale is in charge of. It can roar and breathe smoke which adults love as much as the kids.

Before we left we got to ride on this dragon boat with Dale as our captain.

Another new feature is the restaurant with cars and boats, mostly for kids to sit in, but the red and yellow "boat" has a table and bench that young-at-heart adults can also enjoy.

There is a building that is perfect for dances and other events. A wedding was taking place while we were there.


Below is a new ride added just this year. 

Another recent addition is this kiddie ride.

There is space, and plans are underway, for another kiddie ride, but the group that has revitalized the park wants it to be more than just rides. They obtained a grant and raised other money to build a cement plaza with gardens.

There is also a replica of Mark Twain's studio that his sister-in-law had built for him on her farm so he could smoke his cigars away from her home! He did a lot of his writing there.

This is a view from the carousel with the fleet of dragon boats. Nancy and Dale are greeting another park patron

I could do this all day, going from one wooden horse to another.

Bob loves trains and one purpose of this trip is for him to visit the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland which is near Washington D.C..

This train, which runs around the miniature golf course at Eldridge Park, was a bonus...an unexpected train. Unfortunately, only kids get to ride these rails.

The miniature golf course includes some interesting rock sculptures and a fountain.

This park was once the backyard for the Eldridge's mansion so one object that still exists is a large decorative statue, a tureen with naked figures on it. Dale told us that some people were offended by the naked figures and wanted the thing removed. Fortunately, history and art won out over silliness.

Then it was time to return to Nancy and Dale's home for dinner. Dale's dad had owned a Mobil gas station in town (Dale has lived in Elmira for his whole life) and so an antique Mobil gas pump decorates their yard.

Next door is the house Dale grew up in. It is currently occupied by their youngest daughter.

Their older daughter and their son also live with their families on this same road. Because of this, the grandchildren are all nearby and often come to visit. The toys are well used.

Some years ago, Dale came home to find the living room picture window smashed. He thought they had an intruder, but it turned out that a partridge had flown through the window. It lay with a broken neck on one of the living room chairs. They had the bird stuffed and since he gave his life to be in the living room, that's where he now stays...

Nancy plays the piano. Our parents provided lessons for me too, but I was hopeless. Note the stuffed bird on the far wall.

After a good dinner and a good night's sleep, it was time for breakfast..

While dating William, who later became my second husband, I took one of his stained glass classes. I still have my compulsory straight line piece, the compulsory curved line piece has been lost, but this, my one and only "big" project, still graces the front door of Nancy and Dale's home.

After breakfast it was time for the second leg of our journey...on to Susan and Bob Edmunds' home in Manassus, Virginia.

Here Bob is loading up the car.
 
While we stayed with the Edmunds, having two Bobs in the house became confusing..."your Bob" and "my Bob" didn't really help much so eventually it became Farmer Bob (pictured here) and Pastor Bob because Bob Edmunds is a Presbyterian minister. He used to be at the Presbyterian church in Elmira, the church my mother attended and that Nancy and Dale went to until the Edmunds moved south.

Our mom would always have Susan and Bob Edmunds visit our cottage each summer, and so they became part of our family. Their girls now have children, and our children have children. It has become too crowded to all be at the cottage, so the Edmunds now rent a cottage nearby. We still see them each summer just as we do all the other parts of our family.

Another view of the plaza at Eldridge Park with the entrance to miniature golf and Mark Twain's studio, the little building in the background...

A closer look at the "boat table" in the restaurant. It's really a take-off on a part of the carousel. 

Another view of the carousel...I think that's a lion in the front left...sure isn't a horse's mane.

The interior of Mark Twain's studio. The original is on the campus of Elmira College.

The Mark Twain studio really is an odd little building...

The apple trees in Nancy and Dale's backyard, loaded with apples! I should have brought some of these home!