We have parked for the night at a Cracker Barrel in Cicero, NY. 290 miles for the day on back roads in pouring rain so we can’t entertain you with gorgeous picture of sweeping landscapes. Most of New York we passed through is heavily forested and the clouds were low and dark and the rain was steady so most of what we could see was trees, hills and the winding road ahead.
We meandered across New York on a variety of back roads. If you looked at a map of our path across the state you would think we had been nipping a bit too much at the bottle. 9N, 29, 30, 5, 80, 20 – a potpourri of routes all going in different directions but generally leading us west. How much easier it would have been to hop on 90 (the Thruway) and arrive earlier or go farther. But even with the poor weather there were small towns and villages, each uniquely different, a reminder that before we created the interstate system you actually had to slow down and see the places you traveled through. We have lost much of that sense of place as we zip through the countryside at 70 miles per hour, seeing nothing but the taillights of the cars ahead and exit signs begging us to take a moment and get off the fast lane. -Shawn