49th Wedding Anniversary Trip Part 2

Next stop: Bedford Falls, oops, I mean Seneca Falls, NY. "It's A Wonderful Life" is my hand downs, forever and ever favorite movie. No matter how many times I watch it, I laugh, I cry and I just feel good. I wait for my favorite lines that I never tire of hearing, not just the classic ending lines. I am also a big Jimmy Stewart fan.

Frank Capra was known to have spent time in Seneca Falls, and many believe that this town was the inspiration for the movie. The movie was filmed on an 89-acre movie ranch where the entire town was created (75 buildings, 20 full grown oak trees were planted, a main street made and it was filmed there except for a few extra locations, like the school gymnasium which actually had and still has, a pool below the gym floor.

Capra never said that Seneca Falls was Bedford Falls, as he wanted many people to identify with it in their own hometowns, however, even Zuzu, Karolyn Grimes, believes that this was the inspiration, and she returns for the annual celebration every year. Other fellow actors who have attended are Carol Coombs (Janie Bailey), Jimmy Hawkins (Timmy Bailey), Janine Roose (young Violet Bick), Michael Chapin (young George's friend) and twins, Donald and Ronald Collins (little Pete Bailey). We have been so tempted to attend the It's a Wonderful Life festival which is held every year in December, but we know the weather is unpredictable, and we were concerned about the crowds. So, this year we decided to go "off season" and planned our vacation around this special stop.

The bridge, as George said, could be our own bridge in Pleasant Valley, they are similar. Unfortunately, that is the only commonality with Barkhamsted and Seneca Falls. Here's another view of the bridge taken from a gazebo. 

This is the outside of the "It's a Wonderful Life Museum". 

Inside you are invited to make a donation in the basket, just as George Bailey's friends did to save him.

You can make a wish on a cigar lighter, like George did. "Hot dog!"

The museum has a wealth of information about the different actors and photographs. Now, I'll be quiet and share some more photos of the exhibits, again, like the previous post, saving the only authentic artifact from the movie to the end. 

Here is a New York Emmy Award that was presented to the museum.

And here is the only authentic souvenir from the movie. The earrings worn by Violet Bick, actress Gloria Grahame. They say there were actually her own earrings.

And once again, in the gift shop next door, a photo op. This would (and may still) be my Christmas card picture, if I can only figure out how to crop out the right-side background. I wish the kind soul taking the picture, had centered it differently. But here's the proof, we were in Bedford Falls. 

A visit to Seneca Falls would not be complete without visiting the remembrances of the historic women's right movements. We ended our day seeing these Ripples of Change statues of these amazing women who came together to fight for their rights and future rights of all women.

Unfortunately, there is a bigger statue park but it was under renovations, so we could not see it. We did come across this little park.

We continued the next day learning about the women's movement, with a side trip first, which I will continue on part 3. 

49th Wedding Anniversary Trip Part 1

 

We decided to celebrate our 49th wedding anniversary with a little vacation to see some sites we'd been wanting to see, some re-visiting of sites and some new sites. It was an extremely diversified vacation. We have vacationed in New York state before, but this vacation in particular, I was reminded of how beautiful and diversified the state itself is, with mountains and fields and lakes and waterfalls and cities, we avoided the latter and found most of the driving off of major highways. 

Let me also add that I found this awesome ap, called Wanderlog. It was extremely helpful in planning this constantly on the move vacation unlike a one-destination vacation. 

The first stop was the world's smallest church! This was the Cross Island Chapel in Oneida, NY. We only saw it from shore, as you need a rowboat to reach it. Weddings have taken place here. 

These unique trees are near the chapel.

We had some awesome sandwiches at this place in Rome. I had the "Go home you're drunk" and it was delicious. I think George had the "Not your Mama's chicken parm sandwich. 

Not to freak you out, but I had to take a picture of this. There was a cool little square dot that you push to click on the mirror of the bathroom where we stayed. When it lit up the frame and I looked into it, it made my pupils look rectangular. Really kind of freaky. You may have to zoom in. Just a silly diversion.

Our first full day we started by seeing the Chittenango Falls, Very impressive.

You couldn't even see the bottom from where we were standing. Not great for those with a fear of heights! I didn't even try to look. 

On our way to our next stop, we were off to see the wizard in Chittenango.

The Everything Oz museum is small but mighty with everything they have related to the Wizard of Oz. It is chock full of information about the books and movie. Most of the items are replicas that were used in play productions. There is only one item from the original movie, which was pointed out to me when I asked. I will save that for the end here. In the meantime, here are a few pictures of some of the exhibits. 

 

What I found most interesting here, was that Baum was in a sense, self-published. The George M. Hill publishing company did not want to publish because of the expense of the colorful illustrations, so Baum and Denslow agreed to pay all printing costs--first for "Father Goose" and then the next year, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." 

You might wonder if I took a picture of everything in the museum. I did not. There was so much more. If you love "The Wizard of Oz", I suggest you stop by. And now, as I promised, a picture of the one original item from the movie! Get out your magnifying glass.  In the lower righthand corner of this frame are little pieces of the actual straw hat the Ray Bolger wore in the movie. Talk about grasping at straws for something authentic. 

But it was a great little museum and a lot of fun. I only wondered why they didn't have the yellow brick road painted on the floor or even a yellow brick welcome mat in front. I asked and they said they had thought about it and that was all. Oh, well. At least they did have a good photo op for us.

Next blog post, our next stop, another favorite movie.

Our Christmas message to you this year

 

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." is the opening line to a classic favorite, "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. That man had a way with words. 2023 was one of those years for us. We had milestone birthdays and family gatherings and were reunited with family members after many years. We even had a vacation to New Hampshire and Maine coast. The worst of times was losing two loved ones, a sister and a niece. 

Cleaning out George's sister's apartment, we were again reminded the value of our earthly possessions. and the older we get, the more we notice just how much we have accumulated in our lives. Purging can be such a daunting task. Often things will take us down memory lane as we decide whether to let go of the tangible piece of a memory that we are holding in our hands. 

When I was purging some of our things this year, I stumbled across the copy of the rules for our first road rally in August 1975. We were given clues and drove all around Bloomfield area looking for specific landmarks--mind you, this was before cell phones, so it was all brain power. It was timed so that if you went too fast, you were penalized. The distance between clues was in kilometers and we had to convert them to miles. 

I love games and puzzles. This was a challenge and the stress of reading clues, converting mileage, and finding the landmarks tested our ability to problem solve and handle stress together, which led us both to doubt our upcoming wedding in November. Perhaps this should be part of pre-marital counseling. Despite the bad parts, we always, over the years, whenever we heard of a road rally, jumped on the chance to do it. Later we learned about letter boxing and had fun deciphering those clues, sometimes successfully and other times not so well--one time we even got lost in the woods. But we don't give up and we are proud to say that we won a scavenger hunt in Norfolk only a few years ago.

Why am I rambling on about this? Well, I was thinking about how much I love trivia and learning. I find myself on the internet on so many rabbit trails or down rabbit holes that I even googled the difference between those two terms. I mean who doesn't need to know that Borden's cow, Elsie, was married to Elmer (of the glue fame) and they had two children, Beauregard and Buella? Or that penguins take 10,000 4 second power naps (microsleeps) a day? Or that Karen is the name of a foreign language? Those are just a sampling of the trails I have followed.

I was thinking about our lives and how they are like a scavenger hunt. Some seek money, some fame, some love, some just fun. How we get there is our journey. We learn some things along the way, some the hard way, some just by our accumulation of lifelong experiences. 

This fall we took a 12-week Alpha course at our church (we highly recommend it). One week we were challenged to study this famous painting, "The Light of the World" based on Revelation 3:20 "Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me." It is obvious that Jesus is knocking at a door that hasn't been opened with the weeds growing on the outside, representing the unbelieving heart. The door has no door handle on the outside, only the person on the other side can open the door. I went on more rabbit trails and to not take up too much room, here, I'll give you these clues to think about in the painting: "the word is a lamp unto my feet", the apple tree, the holes in the hand, the stars on the lantern, a bat, so many things to study. I also learned the artist, William Holman Hunt, was an atheist earlier in his life. But mostly this picture touched us. Note he is looking straight ahead perhaps to his next stop. The greatest treasure to seek is to open the door and follow the light of that lamp, the word of God, to lead the way in our earthly journey as we follow trails we didn't expect to be on.

For George and me, as our lives go through the worst of times and the best of times, we always know that the Word of God is a lamp to our feet and will guide us when we find ourselves too deep in that hole or lost on a trail, not knowing which way to go. At Christmas we are reminded that Jesus came to the earth to light the way for us through his sacrifice. We wish you the best of times this Christmas. It doesn't always happen, but regardless of the times, our Christmas wish for you is may your door be open, your path be lit, and your hearts be joyful. Wishing you many Christmas blessings.

Our 48th "Panniversary" or 48 years of standing the test of time in the kitchen and in marriage

 

This pot has been in use for 48 years. It’s part of a set of six, plus lids, that have lived with us from the day we were married. We bought a Saladmaster set at the Big E a little over a month before our wedding day. It was our first big purchase together.

We remember my parents reaction when they found out how much we spent on them. They obviously questioned our financial decision and perhaps worried about our future. The salesman’s presentation was just too convincing. Over the years, we have seen others in our circle of friends replace their pots and pans a number of times. We pat ourselves on the back for the purchase that has remained faithful all these years. It was a good investment after all.

Now there have been times when we have burnt things in the pot and really wondered if we were going to get it clean again. We scrubbed and soaked and scrubbed and soaked. Some have been difficult stains that took time and patience. Usually a baking soda paste does the trick and the set still remains in great condition, not exactly just like new, but in very good condition.

As I was scrubbing one of these pots recently, I was thinking that this pot represents our marriage. It was all shiny and new and without any scratches in the beginning. The handle was a bright black, not dull like now. We all start out our married lives, all shiny and new.

Over time, there have been situations where things have not gone well, and work has to be put into scrubbing and making things as close to new as possible. Sometimes it means soaking and scrubbing and more of the same. A loosened handle may have needed tightening, which was easily fixed. The quality and sturdiness of the pots (our relationship) has helped them to remain functioning and sometimes it amazes me how well they have stood the trials of time. Sometimes we feel it’s a lesson to others, “So there! We made it after all.” And other times, you can look at the pots and say, "Wow, they don’t look like they have been through anything, except for aging, they don’t look like they have been in use for 48 years."

Today we celebrate 48 years of using these pots and pans. 48 years of making delicious dishes and some not so good dishes. 48 years of service to our family and friends. 48 years of cleaning up messes, 48 years of being strong and faithful. Today we will probably not be using these dishes as we go out to celebrate our 48^th  wedding anniversary, but they will always remind us of our first purchase and as it turns out, symbolic purchase of our lives together.