I Love New York Travel

As a kid, I disliked yellow. As an adult, I like its sunny disposition and cheery brightness. More than anything, I love yellow for what it means to us historians in New York State: historical markers! While on the road, I am always seeking out these blue and yellow historical markers punctuated on open fields or next to old homes.

The state license plate design once looked like these historical markers with the blue body with yellow trim. Now, they are white with the Statue of Liberty on them. I much prefer the historical marker look, it depicts more of what New York is: loaded with history.

You can find more assorted historical markers at my Flickr site and the State’s official marker site, here.

Taken on the shores of Oneida Lake, at Lewis Point, NY. The lake is, for the most part, still frozen in mid-March. But there are slushy spots and I could see the water moving below thin ice areas. No sane person would dare traverse the ice now; it’s too unsteady.

Still, my son and I threw heavy rocks on the frozen lake, and the rocks smartly bounced off the ice. Yet I would not allow him to step on the lake. Maybe in January when temperatures are sub-zero again…. I’ve seen enough of those Western/pioneer-story movies, with people in wagons trying to cross frozen bodies of water in the spring…. *shudder*

Rowhouses in Geneva, NY, near Seneca Lake.

The photo has a bluish cast to it, probably due to the frigid air. My poor camera was freezing with the rest of us! It was about 3 or 4 degrees Fahreinheit this day we visited the lake.

The rowhouses are brightly colored and very neat. Geneva is a beautiful city. So many Upstate cities have been in decline since the 1970s, but not Geneva.