Ithaca is Gorges

Sooo....this is the second time I am writing this message. I had the last one all done, clicked the "publish post" button and came up with a message that said, "your previous request was not processed." And EVERYTHING was gone. Not sure why, because I know it auto saves periodically. I'm a little frustrated, to say the least.



But I haven't thrown spelling completely out the window. "Ithaca is Gorges" is a slogan (ad campaign? What do you call it?) that has been around in Ithaca for as long as I've been aware. This time I broke down and bought the shirt (or two).

My flight out there was less than ideal. I'm going to cut this story even shorter than I already did the last time. I got a call in the middle of class (I was working a half day) and Continental said that my first flight was already delayed and if I didn't catch an earlier flight I would miss my connection. Another teacher came in to cover my class and I have her probably some verbally indecipherable instructions (thankfully I handed her my typed instructions that I had for the rest of my classes that day).

I was snoozing on one of my flights when I heard, "If there is a medical doctor on board, could you please make your way to the front of the plane?" I thought my worst airplane nightmare had come true (well maybe not the WORST), the pilot was out and someone else would have to be talked through landing the plane (forget the co-pilot). Luckily, it wasn't the pilot. Unluckily (for this person), it was a passenger that had a seizure. She ended up being okay, but she did get us to our airport 30 minutes early, funny how that works.

I'd like to say that was the end of that crazy airplane ride. I think it was pilot training day on my plane (or maybe something did actually happen to our pilot). Because the landing with the brakes in particular was like it was someone's first go-around. We braked so hard (TWICE) that stuff was rolling down the isles, people were grabbing onto the seats and everyone was commenting on the excessive braking. BUT...I will take too much braking over too little braking any day!

(And yes, that was the shortened version of that story, believe it or not!)

We made it to my grandparents (and dad's) old house. I was told some time ago the house was about 100 years old. But to me, it just doesn't look that old. I know my grandfather did update it several times though. Luckily, after my grandparents passed away we were able to sell it to other members of the family. So we are able to stop by anytime we want. I just think it is so beautiful sitting on top of the hill with the snow all around.

This is their yard from the side of the house. Yes it was snowing. It snowed steadily all day that day! The entire time we were there the highest the temperature got was 12 degrees and the low was negative 5. At one point when we were driving around my aunt was complaining about the foggy windows and not being able to see out the backseat (and maybe I had the heater half on my feet because I am from Texas and buy boots for looks, not for practicality. Therefore, my feet were wet and COLD.). But it was so cold outside, the condensation on the INSIDE of the windows FROZE!!! Then my aunt really could not see!

But she got us back for that one. She (accidently) left the seat belt hanging out of the car. We drove around for a day not knowing this. By the time we saw it, enough snow sludge had attached to it that it was the size of both of my fists put together! It was really gross and probably not something the rental car company was too happy about.

This is a picture of a couple of my grandfather's sheds. The closer one is where he kept his tractor, the farther one was for wood. The field you see just beyond the tree line (by the farther shed) was their property as well. Somewhere back there is a pond. My dad used to tell me he would ice skate on that pond. I didn't really believe him until we drove by it and it clearly looked like it was frozen solid. How cool...he could go ice skating in his back yard!

Ithaca has so many waterfalls. This is Buttermilk Falls.

We also went to the Cornell campus. The campus is so beautiful, with or without snow.

My brother and my dad both went to school at Cornell. And since my grandparents lived just down the road, we have forever received "Cornell Cheese" in the mail. It is the best cheese, white extra sharp cheddar. So while we were on campus, we stopped by the dairy to buy some of this cheese. We asked where the wheels of cheese were and the lady said, "we ran out and have ordered some more."

Ordered??? It's Cornell Cheese, don't you just go and get somemore? What is there to order?

Well as it turns out, when you name cheese, you don't actually have to make it in order to throw your name on it as if you did. It's like my entire world as I knew it has crumbled, Cornell cheese is not made at Cornell. I'm glad they lead people on that lie for years (and for some, like my grandparents and my father, lifetimes of lies).

But, it's hard to stay mad at a university over some cheese when it is this beautiful!

It is tradition in our family to take a picture in front of the clock tower. This is my brother, Brad, and my Aunt Patty.

This next picture makes you wonder, "what did happen to Waldo?" Here's the background story on that hat. I went to the bookstore at Cornell to buy one and found that there is only one hat that is not sold for $40. And that is because one box of toboggans got lost for several years, and that box held the toboggans that were from back in the "Where's Waldo?" era.

Not really. But still, it does make you think, "There's Waldo!"

We also went to Ithaca falls. This is on the walk to the falls. This is natural spring water that froze as it came down the cliff.

This is the actual Ithaca Falls.

In this picture I look happy, but in actuality, I am in freezing pain! The mist, shade and wind made for a bad combination!

This is a bush next to the waterfall. The ice is from the mist that has frozen to it!

This is the water just after the waterfall. Every time I see it, I have a deep desire to get an ice cold glass of water. It just looks so delicious.

The funeral went well. After it was over, a few of us talked about how we felt inspired to work harder in everything we do. I think my Great Aunt Peggy would be very proud to hear that she inspired several of us. She was a great woman and will be greatly missed!

This is the view from the Elks club, where the reception was. This is looking over at the hill that Cornell is on, you can see the clock tower even!

This is the "older crowd" of the family.

This is the "younger crowd" of the family. I like how we still call ourselves "young" even though there is not a single male that wasn't at least experiencing a receding hairline!

This is what is left of the Jones'. Now that is "keepin' up with the Jones'!

One last story to leave you with. This is about my Aunt Patty, which is the one in the exact middle in the picture above. Our hotel had a free continental breakfast which we attended. She was the first in line and the lady working there said to her, "Ma'am, would you like a tray?" And she took one and went and got herself an omelet. Then the lady that worked there said, "Ma'am, would you like a plate to put your omelet on?"

Gross, that is all I can say about that!

I hope you have at least started to get the point that "Ithaca (truly) is GORGES!"