Lisa and Rachel’s Literary Wanderings

Lisa and Rachel’s Literary Wanderings Literary sites, cultural museums, coffee shops, book stores and local food

We loved finding this map and realizing that we visited 8 of the 11 pictured regions! Our favorite may have been the Adi...
08/30/2025

We loved finding this map and realizing that we visited 8 of the 11 pictured regions! Our favorite may have been the Adirondack’s. What’s yours?

Our journey ended with the amazing Corning Glass museum where we made glass pendants and toured exhibits on the history ...
08/30/2025

Our journey ended with the amazing Corning Glass museum where we made glass pendants and toured exhibits on the history of glass and contemporary art glass pieces.
The last stop was in Elmira NY. We visited Mark Twain’s study and grave.
Then it was back to NYC. Friday we part ways. Rachel is staying in the city then going back to DC. Lisa met Bob for a 9 day cruise out of New York. Bon Voyage!

Thursday:The movement for women’s rights stemmed from the abolitionist movement. The first convention for women’s right...
08/29/2025

Thursday:
The movement for women’s rights stemmed from the abolitionist movement. The first convention for women’s rights took place in Seneca Falls NY in 1848 with a declaration of 19 sentiments. 100 people gathered to discuss and approve the sentiments. (Wouldn’t of be wonderful if we could have nonviotile conversations on hot topics today?). We visited the Women’s Rights National Park today, viewing the exhibits and listening to a lecture. We learned so much!
Much later in time, Frank Capra passed through Seneca Falls and the small town community atmosphere inspired the creation of the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”. We visited the museum dedicated to the cast and making of the movie.
The Seneca Lake region of the Finger Lakes is also known for vineyards and wineries…..dozens line the road. So, we had to make a stop, do a tasting and enjoy views of the lake under a beautiful blue sky.

Laura Ingall Wilder’s second book, Farmer Boy (we listened to it as we travelled) is about the 10th year of her husband’...
08/28/2025

Laura Ingall Wilder’s second book, Farmer Boy (we listened to it as we travelled) is about the 10th year of her husband’s (Almanzo) life on the farm in Burke, NY. Today we visited that farm and relived many scenes from the book. We even saw the black spot that he put on the wall of Mother’s parlor wallpaper. It was a lovely day to explore the house, grounds, barns and a one room school house replica. We were in Little House heaven!
Next we travelled to Chittenango, NY which is the birthplace of Frank Baum. The city claims him as their own (there is not much else there) with a museum called “Everything Oz”. They had collections on Baum’s life and works as well as the movies, theater productions and characters of his books, including costumes from the recent movie Wicked. It was a fun walk through time. Did you know that one of the 3 original pairs of ruby slippers was stolen ensuing a multi-year search by the FBI?
Tonight we are staying in the children’s playhouse of a great manor in Geneva, NY. We can see Seneca Lake from our porch.

We spent today between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. In our visit to the Saranac Laboratory, the first US-based lab for ...
08/27/2025

We spent today between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. In our visit to the Saranac Laboratory, the first US-based lab for tuberculosis research, we learned about Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau and his tuberculosis treatment that became wildly popular as patients came to “cure” in the fresh mountain air. Know those Adirondack chairs beloved at beaches and campgrounds far and wide? They were modeled after curing chairs that allowed patients to get their 24/7 rest and relaxation prescribed by Dr. Trudeau.

Turns out the crisp air was good for healing many types of ailments, as author Robert Louis Stevenson (think Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) ended up recovering from an illness with his family in Saranac during the winter of 1887. We had a one-of-a kind experience visiting the crowded, dumpy cottage where he lived, although our tour with the “resident curator” gave some interesting insight into Stevenson and his wife’s vibrant lives.

Other stops of the day included the Young Life Camp Saranac Village as well as the Olympic Center which housed the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics.

We bid farewell to the Catskills with a quick stop at a maple syrup farm and then a chairlift ride at Hunter Mountain Sk...
08/26/2025

We bid farewell to the Catskills with a quick stop at a maple syrup farm and then a chairlift ride at Hunter Mountain Ski Resort. At the top, the temperature dropped and we spotted red and yellow leaves.
We travelled to Troy NY to the home of Herman Melville. He wrote his first two books while living there.
Then, a final longish drive to Lake Saranac in the Adirondack Mountains. We passed lush mountains and valleys and sparkling lakes. We arrived at our lakefront hotel just as the sun was setting. Rachel went for a sunset kayak ride. Lisa enjoyed watching her from an Adirondack chair.

Catskills day! We spent our day in Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle territory, starting in Sleepy Hollow and then driv...
08/25/2025

Catskills day! We spent our day in Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle territory, starting in Sleepy Hollow and then driving through the winding farmland and lush rolling hills where we encountered a number of quirky stops!

In Tarrytown, we visited Irving’s home Sunnyside along the banks of the Hudson River. We learned he was a pioneer of the American folk tale and short story! Tarrytown is a destination for literary sites, like the Headless Horseman bridge and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, and historical ones, like one of New York’s oldest churches.

Some of our other stops included Hobart Book Village, tiny mountain town home to 7+ bookshops, and the Little Red Book Shack, a side-of-the-road series of run-down sheds chock full of books you can buy for a dollar on an honor system!

We finished the day at The Roxbury Motel, where each room is styled with its own theme. Our room of choice? The Wizard of Oz room! We were delighted by the yellow brick road entryway, emerald walls, ruby slippers, and more. Finished this delightful day of travel with a steak dinner and a hot tub soak!

And we’re off! Early morning train to NYC. A quick stop for pizza then a nice drive to Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, ho...
08/24/2025

And we’re off! Early morning train to NYC. A quick stop for pizza then a nice drive to Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, home to Washington Irving. We found a book shop (of course), had dinner in a literary themed tavern and watched the sunset over the Hudson River at the Riverwalk.

08/18/2025

We are preparing to embark on another literary journey sprinkled with history and culture in New York. We're travelling to the Hudson Valley, Catskills, Adirondacks, Finger Lakes, Central NY and NYC. We're visiting Washington Irving, Robert Lewis Stevenson, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mark Twain, Almanzo Wilder, Frank Baum, Herman Melville, Lucille Ball and Bedford Falls (Its a Wonderful Life). Follow along!

The trip of a lifetime has come to a close. While we are so sad our journey has ended, we have plenty of new reads to ke...
06/28/2023

The trip of a lifetime has come to a close. While we are so sad our journey has ended, we have plenty of new reads to keep us company. Thank you for coming along with us on our journey. Where should we go next?

Final counts!
Miles driven: 3,005
US states visited: 10
Canadian provinces visited: 2
Author’s homes: 25
Museums (not including home tours): 10
Bookstores: 8, at least!
National Parks: 2 (one USA, one Canada)
Lavender farms: 1
Coffee shops: 11, maybe more
Libraries: 1
Farmer’s Markets: 2
College campuses: 4
Musicals watched: 1
Board game cafes: 1
Author’s gravesites: 5
Pastries and blueberries and lobster consumed: countless…

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2608 Main St
Lake Placid, NY
12946

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