Leaving the shores of Lake Ontario, my route took me along I-90, close to the historic Erie Canal. A friend told me to watch for the Jell-o Museum near Batavia where she grew up. I saw the sign, but didn’t stop.
After fishing in my wallet for change every few miles, I decided to invest in an EZ-Pass at one of the roadside service plazas. This device attaches to your windshield and you can roll right through the toll plazas without stopping. It was $25 to activate, but that counted toward my tolls from then on. EZ-Pass is good in 16 eastern states, many of which I would be driving through.
Passing through Syracuse, I headed south toward Accord, NY. There were signs for tourist attractions in the Catskill mountains. Oh! I guess I’m in the Catskills. I saw “kill” in many area names: Sawkill, Saunderskill, Fantinekill and discovered it is a Dutch word for creek or river.
The next day I unhitched and drove a few miles to Kingston, NY to do some errands and get groceries. There were historical interest signs along the road and on many old homes. The narrow street where I parked was near the post office and the Old Dutch Reformed church, established 1659. There was still time on the parking meter and the church had an interesting looking cemetery, so I decided to wander over there.
For years, I had heard about an odd tombstone engraving, but I always thought it was a made up story… until I saw it on one of these 200-year old graves!
Reader behold as you pass by
As you are now so once was I
As I am now so you must be
Prepare for death and follow me
This was on the headstone of 24-year old Susan Heermans. Who would even put that in stone? Why not something like Beloved Wife or Rest in Peace? I guess it was a different time.
I much preferred this engraving for a 26 year old man:
My flesh shall slumber in the ground
Till the last trumpet’s joyful sound
Then burst the chains with sweet surprise
And in my Savior’s image rise
The streets of Kingston were narrow, so it was good I wasn’t towing the trailer. This was an interesting area I wouldn’t mind exploring further.
Lorraine's On the Road 