Passenger Princess Log, Day 9: Buffalo to Albany, New York

465 Miles to Boston

We technically cheated today.  Yes, Highway 20 is still the goal, and we got back on, but on a once in a lifetime trip, we have to do once in a lifetime things. When Niagara Falls and the world’s greatest carousel museum are only a few miles away, you don’t keep riding; you must turn. 
If it hadn’t already been 90 degrees by 8:30 when we arrived, Niagara Falls might have been more romantic. Instead, we joined thousands of equally sweaty tourists to the overlook and through the visitor’s center. The falls are undeniably impressive, but after 25 years in Oregon, I have become accustomed to waterfalls that tumble through forests instead of parking lots. I guess I am spoiled.

I think the cooling spray was my favorite part

Niagara Falls may be the big draw to the area, but for me it was just the warm-up. For me, the real destination was the Herschell Factory Carrousel Museum.

I can only imagine how hot it would have been for workers inside

Once again, we were waiting at the door when it opened–that seems to be a recurring theme on our trip.  The smell of sawdust still permeates the building, and I like to imagine that the dust and grease on the floor and in the walls are remnants of the magic that was once created in the space. It doesn’t feel so much like a museum as a factory where the workers simply stepped out for lunch.

The good stuff before we get to the good stuff (the carousel) and the man himself, Allan Herschell

The museum is housed in the original factory building built in 1872. Today, the museum still houses a carving shop, and it is also the only place in the world producing Wurlitzer music rolls using the original equipment. 

Of course I rode the carousel. The organ still plays, and the cymbal is still clanged using the original mechanism, now powered by an engine. 

The museum showcases a collection showcasing the history of kiddie rides and carousel horses in the Herschell style

I rode and laughed and looked in the mirrors and realized that I was on the only carousel in the world still housed in the factory where it was built. The two inner rows of horses were the earlier style with horsehair manes and tails, while the outer row was the later style with painted hair. The lover’s chariot still spins, and the docent told the story of young couples choosing carousels as a favorite date spot, because even with a chaperone in tow, they could sit in the lover’s carousel and scoot closer together and blame it on centrifugal motion.

I forgot to take a selfie, but that’s okay, the carousel is the main attraction anyway.

This may have been the high point of the day, but Highway 20 carried us straight into Seneca Falls, where we began at the mural proclaiming, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men and women are created equal.” Inside the visitor center, I wandered through exhibits tracing the long fight for equality, unable to ignore how today’s debates may someday become tomorrow’s history. Standing behind the podium in the Wesleyan Chapel reading from the “Declaration of Sentiments” made the words feel less like history and more like a promise still being tested.

It should have been self-evident from the very beginning

I had only known New York from the city streets; seeing the farmland and quaint villages along Highway 20 made it feel like an entirely different state. 

Anyplace that still has a drive-in theater has to be good