Saturday, October 13, 2007

Rome/Utica

As we drove away from Ithaca, the clouds cleared, letting the sun brighten the crisp blue sky. It was windy and cold in Utica, where were staying, and the downtown was very quiet with few restaurants open for business. It was definitely an afternoon to stay in and enjoy some HotPot Cuisine. Having restocked some ingredients at the Wegman’s, I tossed some spinach and ricotta tortelloni in the boiling water along with some sun dried tomatoes and dried mushrooms. A parmesan sauce made from dried milk and parmesan cheese, some freshly ground pepper, and tuna topped the pasta for a satisfying and tasty meal.

The concert was a run out to Rome, New York. The concert was in the Rome Free Academy auditorium, a very nice facility in what was clearly a recently built school. Waiting for us back stage was a table dressed for Autumn with leaves, homemade cookies, and apple cider, courtesy of Glenn’s parents. Glenn was not the only local introduced during the concert; Audrey and Chris both graduated from the Rome Free Academy long before the new facility.

Program B always moves quickly for me; I have my one and only tacet followed by two works I thoroughly enjoy playing. Semper Fi was suddenly in front of me and the first half over in the blink of an eye. We tangoed through the second half and were on the bus in no time.

We woke to sunny skies and chilly temperatures; the best weather for a bracing walk. Karen, Lisa, and I walked up Genesee Street away from the downtown area and found ourselves on a wide boulevard lined with stately homes converted to law offices and dentistry. We turned up Pleasant Street, heading for the park we had spotted on Google Maps, and discovered Memorial Parkway, a divided roadway with statues and memorials every block or so. We walked a little more than our usual four miles, discarding gloves and pushing up sleeves as the sun and the exercise warmed us.

I spent some time on line researching the history of Utica; I was curious about the source of the money that built the magnificent homes. I soon expanded my search to future tour stops, and found a delightful web site on Vermont, complete with a Fall Foliage Forecast. It looks like we are heading into mid to peak color season in Burlington. The drive tomorrow should be spectacular.

No comments: