CONTINUING ON TO GENEVA AND NEWARK

We continue on to Geneva, in Ontario County making our way to Geneva Lakefront Park on Seneca Lake where the Lois McClure is docked for tours. The 1862 replica 88-foot canal schooner is making its way to various ports culminating in Rochester for the World Canals Conference on September 17, 2010. The Lois McClure, hailing from Burlington, Vermont on Lake Champlain, is a replica of a type of boat once common throughout the region. Hopping aboard the ship allowed us to travel back to the 1800s when wooden boats lined the docks.

I'm told that during their heyday, canal schooners were homeported on Lake Champlain but regularly plied the canals, rivers and lakes between New York City, Quebec City and Montreal. Launched in 2004, the Lois McClure serves as a regional ambassador promoting the shared heritage of Quebecois, Vermonters and New Yorkers.

Newark, located in Wayne County, was our next destination. It was there that we met John Zornow an Historian. He first took us to the Arcadia Historic Museum. The front room had a collection of dinnerware which people purchased party style like Tupperware. The other rooms were devoted to the canal and its history.

It was down to the canal area to check out some of the remains of the original canal in Port Gibson as well as one of the locks to view a boat utilizing it.

Murals are the rage in the canal towns. John runs the Newark Chamber of Commerce Information Center located at the Spencer Knight Canal Port. It's a fabulous spot to relax from one of two chair swings and view both the docking boats and murals.

There is no fee to dock and facilities include water and electric as well as a the use of a restroom and shower.

Esther, Eunice and I had the pleasure of meeting Mayor Peter Blandino.

Dinner was at the Corner Restaurant at 101 W. Union Street. Picture having Chicken Francaise where the pieces of chicken are battered and fried and sitting in a sauce of lemon, white wine and butter. Now, instead of using chicken, the dish called for artichoke hearts.

DINNER, BREAKFAST AND OFF TO THE EAST

Dinner was at the Park Avenue Pub at 650 Park Avenue. Rustic and home-y restaurant. I started with their Risotto of the day, which was with crab meat. An onion salad, was not what one would think it to be. They take a whole Vidalia onion and stuff it with cranberries and couscous before baking it. I was trying to share it with Eunice but she began belching just looking at it. Oh, well. Both Eunice and Esther excused themselves from the table when my chicken entree arrived. Dessert was not turned down by neither as I ordered a triple chocolate bread pudding. Yum!

This particular Saturday evening, dinner ends at 10 p.m. and the restaurant becomes a karaoke bar. I sang two songs and thought I heard Esther and Eunice clucking along.

Afterward, I got a driving tour of the area's night life. Park Avenue and downtown East Avenue were packed with people, young and old, gay and straight, and various ethnicities.

I great night's sleep at the Strathallan and we're off to breakfast at Jine's, located just down the block from Park Avenue Pub. I had the Orange Marmalade French Toast. Eunice was eying one of their varieties of Eggs Benedict dishes but was ward off by the person eating it. I explained that she thought it might be a relative.

EASTMAN HOUSE

I would have walked off the calories from La-Tea-Da! but it was just a bit too far to the George Eastman House. Eastman, as in Eastman-Kodak, the film industry. The house, located at 900 East Avenue, officially named as the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, lends itself to a three part either self-guided or instructive tour.

First there are rooms on the main level that house exhibits and collections. Walk to the rear and you begin to view the home itself. It continues upstairs to view the bedrooms and then out to the gardens.

WELL LA-TEA-DA!

Esther, Eunice and I found this most darling place to have lunch. It's called La-Tea-Da! located at 258 Alexander Street at the corner of Park Avenue in an old purple painted Victorian home. This tearoom and parlour is owned by Maureen Becker, whose title is "Lady of the House".

It appears that if you are going to have an afternoon tea you might as well play the part. Various old hats are provided to set that Victorian mood. However, it's the young girls who get the whole "dress up" experience with dresses, boas, hats, etc. Needless to say, children's tea parties are one of Maureen's mainstreams. Play date for mom's brings them and their daughters for lunch and tea.

That's not to say that grown ups, including some men, don't flock to La-Tea-Da! for a fabulous afternoon, where one should expect to spend at least a few hours enjoying both the teas and delicious morsels of food.

Waitstaff are referred to an "Nippies". Your table is set with a large tea pot as the centerpiece and you are equipped with a bell to ring when you require the assistance of a Nippy.

Maureen purchases the loose teas and bags most of them. I think that it makes it easier to clean out the pot. Black, English, White, Green, Herbal and an entire category dedicated to Rooibos, my favorite. This is a "tea" that derives from a honey bush and usually from South Africa. I had the pleasure of sampling the Roobois "teas" of Belgian Chocolate, Red Mango, White Palace Marzipan, and Florida Orange.

As for the food, what could be more richer or tastier than Blueberry Soup? Hey, that's even more antioxidants! Add a sampling of salads and a croissant of turkey,
cranberry and gouda. Yummy!

When it comes to desserts, a scone with Devonshire Cream (her most delicious version) and jam, is the one that stands out and goes with the tea experience. It is not your ordinary scone. Maureen has created a more warm and moist recipe that looks and tastes as if a slice of biscuit-y cake is being served.

La-Tea-Da! has a veranda option for dining outdoors with a view of a lovely garden below.

As for Esther and Eunice, they said "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its tea."

Susan B. Anthony Anniversary

Saturday, August 21st, 2010 was the 90th anniversary of the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote. What better way to celebrate but at the Susan B. Anthony House and Susan B. Anthony Square, here in Rochester. Deborah Hughes, Executive Director of the Susan B. Anthony House was on hand to open the ceremony as politicians Louise Slaughter and Sandra Frankel delivered speeches and proclamations.

There are four buildings dedicated to this Susan B. Antony complex. The house itself is a museum with items that were donated by her family. A tour of the home is offered for a small fee. A second building abuts the house and used as a Visitor's Center complete with a gift shop.

Behind this center sits a Carriage House...more like a replica. It is used for exhibits as well as lectures and Tea. I suspect that the tea idea emanates from the two bronze statues in the park; that of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass having tea and most likely discussing what would be the 19th amendment.

The fourth building, btw, is across the street from the house and used for the administrative offices.