New York and Cross-Country Road Trip

9/2/25 – Pat took me to the Syracuse airport for my 8am flight to Denver.  The flight and Uber went well and I got to my dad’s hospital at mid-day.  The emergency situation had subsided and although he was tired, he was ready and anxious to get out of the hospital.  He, Sandy, and I caught up while we waited until 5pm for him to be discharged.  Then we started driving 1700 miles through CO, KS, MO, IL, IN, OH, WV, PA, WV, and MD.  I did all the driving over the 4 days while Sandy made sure my dad was comfortable and booked hotels. 

9/5/25 – Pat drove ~6 hours from the RV (near Phelps, NY) to meet us when we arrived in the Oxford, MD, area.  We helped get my dad comfortable and then unpacked the car.  They were very happy to be home and we had a nice evening together. 

When we were discussing RV craftsmanship (or lack thereof!), we wondered if the Amish, known for quality construction, ever do RV work.  When I googled "Amish-built RVs", this is what came up!!

9/6/26 – Knowing they were pretty settled, Pat and I left in the morning and drove through MD, DE, PA, and NY to get back to the RV by dinnertime. 

9/7/25 – We got up around 4am to pick up my niece (near Syracuse) and get to the 7am start of our half marathon in Sackets Harbor.  We had nice views of Lake Ontario and some buildings from The War of 1812 (US versus British).  The three of us ran together for the first half and then Rebecca stepped on the gas! 

Rebecca’s 1^st half marathon and our 31^st state

In the afternoon, we met back at Rebecca’s apartment, which has lovely views of Oneida Lake (just north of Syracuse).  We used her washer/dryer, toured the facilities in her complex, and took her dog, Hazel, for a walk by the lake. 

We stopped by Rebecca's Hobie Cat club, drove by Lockheed Martin (where she works on radar systems), and went out for some BBQ

9/8/25 – Pat and I spent the day driving around Seneca Lake.

Seneca Lake one of the 11 Finger Lakes in upstate New York

Luckily my guide book helped me choose three wineries to visit…there are over FIFTY wineries and breweries around this ONE lake! 

Our favorite winery was Fox Run, which had beautiful grounds and this amazing metal gate

Pat snatched a grape. It is almost harvest time.

We also stopped at an Amish/Mennonite farm that offered flights of 4, 8, or 12 ice cream & cheese samples

After leaving the lake, we went to the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park where we learned about the 1^st (ca. 1825), 2^nd (ca. 1862), and 3^rd (ca. 1918) Erie Canals, which allowed ships to travel from the Great Lakes, to the Hudson River, to New York City, and then to the Atlantic Ocean.   

We walked through Lock 52 which was bypassed by the 3rd canal system in 1918

The museum curator told us to watch for fossilized fish in the rock used to build the canal walls!

Today, most Great Lakes boats use the Welland Canal (which bypasses Niagara Falls and connects Lake Ontario with Lake Erie) and then the St. Lawrence Seaway to get to the Atlantic.

Our last stop of the day was to visit the current Erie Canal in the town of Lyons.

The Erie Canal is now used primarily for pleasure cruising

While in this little town, we learned it was the Peppermint Capital of the world in the mid-1800s...made possible by its proximity to the Erie Canal!

9/9/25 - A day to catch up on food shopping, chores, blog, etc. We had to miss a couple of things in New York for me to help my dad and Sandy... but we are now back on our planned adventure. We drive through Pennsylvania and into Ohio tomorrow.

My dad is doing well and I am very glad that I could spend the time with them and help them get back to Maryland!!