Norman Rockwell and upstate New York

Norman Rockwell, a well known American 20th century artist who defined and drew the covers for The Saturday Evening Post for over 47 years, settled down and died in Stockbridge MA "because New England is the best part of America, and Stockbridge is the best town in New England."

The museum honoring his works is located in West Stockbridge. We went to see it Friday morning... a good escape from the rain! After a yummy breakfast of potato casserole, yogurt, fruits, bacon, and toasts, we caught an informative tour that described the details and social events that affected his paintings.

Karen most enjoyed his iconic depictions of every-day American life while embedding subtleties of humor and irony. Keith agrees, and was amazed by how his oil paintings were so lifelike and photographic.

By noon, the rain has turned into a steady drizzle (Keith went to get the umbrella and walk Karen to the car in this picture), and we started our 220 mile drive to Ithaca, New York. Upstate New York looked similar to western Massachusetts; many green rolling hills covered with trees. Between Albany and Ithaca there really isn't much to see... we stopped at a very small town (nearest exit 12 miles away) and ate quickly at a diner called Chief Schenevus. It was empty... except for the old guy in the back corner who looked like he has sat there for the past year, and three younger guys that ordered and ate as if they did not need to go back to work that afternoon. Hmm... according to the US Census, the town of Schenevus had a population of 513 in 1990. We might have met 1% of the town already!

By the end of the tank of gas, we rolled into downtown Ithaca. Our B&B, the William Henry Miller Inn, was right in downtown about a block from a row of restaurants near the Ithaca Commons. The beautiful 3-story house was built in the late 1800s as a private residence by William Henry Miller, the first architect at Cornell, and was converted into an inn by 1988. Our room, "The Retreat" is on the top floor of the main house, and was definitely worth the lug of the suitcase up the stairs. The innkeeper, Lynette, is one of the best hostesses I have ever met: she is friendly, knowledgable, and eager to make sure our stay was as good as it can be. She even remembered we were driving cross country!

After checking in, we drove up the hill to check out Cornell University. Cornell is a huge school, and actually reminded us a little of Stanford with the campus loop and open spaces of green here and there. Unfortunately, because of the rain, we drove around the campus for half an hour instead of walking around. After seeing the long hills, and imagining the snow and blizzard winds that must blow through this hill-top campus in the winter, I have the utmost respect for my friends that went to school here. We also stopped by the Statler Hotel (School of Hotel Management and Hospitality), a JW Marriott training ground... especially considering how some of the staff are students, it was very nice looking. Next time I'd be tempted to stay here!

We had dinner at a happenin' tapas bar near our inn called Just A Taste. Their sangria and dishes were very good. We were told that the menu changes nightly, and that it's always busy -- they were right, we arrived at around 6pm (the restaurant opens at 5:30pm for dinner), and by 6:15, the restaurant was FULL. The dishes are not Spanish, but rather eclectic American fusion recipes served tapas-style: home-made linguisa served with grilled peppers, garlic infused greens with cheese and walnuts, olive fritters in a tomato cream sauce, skate wing in a white wine garlic broth, etc.

We finally went back to our inn after walking around downtown Ithaca a bit more, and by 8pm Lynette has baked desserts for the guests. There was a chocolate angel cake, white-chocolate and pineapple cookies, and fresh coffee. Yum! Another night of sitting around the inn to relax and unwind!