We laid in a field in the middle of the woods on the cold ground as the sun went down below the horizon. Deer ate at the meadows edge and stars started to appear a little at a time. By the time we were huddled together and shivering in the pitch black, the milky way was in full view above us from horizon to horizon. Satellites zoomed past and planes chased each other across the sky. Shooting stars burned bright as they passed the atmosphere. Magical. Even if you cant come to one of these places, take some time at least once to go somewhere where there is no light pollution for the city and lay with your back against the earth and watch the sky. The best comment of the night came from Becca. "Mom, this is the weirdest thing we have ever done on any of our trips." It'll be a memorable one I'm thinking. ;-)
We woke this morning to dense fog and a chilly 38 degrees. The trees were wrapped in fog and mist which made for a beautiful drive north toward New York and Niagara Falls. The temps came up and the sun peaked out just as we were arriving at the falls.
I will say this about the falls. WOW! They are really a show of natures power. Its fascinating to see that amount of water coming down a river and just drop off. You can see the mist about a mile out from arrival. I will also say that I think its been a bit ruined by the hand of man as most things are. There isnt a direction to look at the stunning display of nature without a giant building or concrete this or that in the way. In my opinion it really does take away from the natural awe of it all. That being said, I am glad we saw it. Its obviously one of those things that a person should see in their lifetime, but its sad to see the commercialization of it all. We walked the trail and looked at the all the viewpoints and headed out. I like to imagine what it might have looked like 100 or 200 or more years ago.
Heading east we set our sites on Rochester and the Susan B Anthony House. Susan B Anthony was an integral part of the woman's suffrage movement and the abolition movement. Her story is fascinating. She was strong, independent and committed to bringing the rights of the American white male to women and African Americans. She fought to get women the right to own their own property, hold their own money, enter into agreements on their own and of course vote! We had an absolutely adorable elderly woman lead us around the house for an hour showing us the home and telling us her story. One of the best historical tours we've been to on our trips. So powerful. She lived until she was 86, just 14 years short of the historic 19th amendment giving women the right to vote nation wide.
Did you know New Zealand was the first country in the world to allow women to vote in the late 1800's? And one of the last was Switzerland in 1970!
Our last stop was about an hour farther east in Seneca Falls, NY at the Women's Rights Historical Park. Another good stop with lots of history on the women's rights movements, but not nearly as cool as our tour at the house.
Tonight we had to do laundry in the hotel, another first on these trips, but tomorrow we will be clean and ready to finish the second half of the last trip. Its sneaking up fast!
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