Adventures in Downtown Troy, NY

The last day of our trip was Wednesday. Danny needed to work part of the day and then we would catch our plane back home.

I checked us out of the hotel and headed to downtown Troy. Parking was almost entirely parallel parking. Fortunately I found a spot that I could park our rental car mini-van without too much hassle. I had never parallel parked a mini-van before. I think I did pretty well.

I enjoyed walking around downtown. Here is an idea of what the streets looked like:

The street I parked on. Looking towards a couple of churches.

I love these older church buildings! They are all over the place.

Troy was home to Sam Wilson, an early settler of Troy, who later became the inspiration for the personification of Uncle Sam. 

As I was taking this picture and waiting for some other people to move so the statue was clear, I could hear a conversation between two people about various prison sentences they have served and how their stay in prison went. They were all minor offences so I wasn't too concerned. It's nice those two people found something they could share with each other. 

Uncle Sam Wilson statue in Riverfront Park, Downtown Troy, NY

As far as I could gather, recently the city of Troy encouraged artists to create Uncle Sam statues. They are displayed in various spots around the city. This one of Captain America Uncle Sam happens to be the only one I came across. 

Captain American Uncle Sam Statue in Downtown Troy, NY

The Hudson River looking south. Seen from Riverfront Park in downtown Troy, NY

I found a bookstore! I might have specifically researched ahead of time about a bookstore location. I love bookstores! I especially love local bookstores. I enjoy the local sections that include books about local history or by local authors. I also have a great time reading the staff recommendations. I browsed around the bookstore for a while. I ended up buying a small book of Robert Frost poems as a souvenir of my nature walk the day before. When I was in Oxford, Mississippi earlier this year I went to Faulkner's home and then purchased one of his books from the local bookstore. I think I will make this a tradition. I also purchased The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy: A Novel by Jacopo della Quercia as an early birthday present for myself. I read about it in the staff recommendations and it sounds like it will be an entertaining read. I look forward to reading it.

Market Block Books 

Must. Obey. (Outside Market Block Books)

For lunch I stopped at a place called Illium Cafe. I had a delicious corned beef sandwich with some dill potato salad. The interior of the cafe was interesting. It was, of course, an old building. It had been a jewelry shop and the cafe kept the structure of the the display cases and the original murals on the walls that depicted life in early Troy. 

Illium Cafe where I had lunch

After lunch I wondered around and looked at a charming home furnishing store. I enjoyed window

shopping and taking in a different city. As I walked around I stumbled upon a war memorial from the Revolutionary War through World War II. It was difficult to get a good picture. 

the war monument/memorial

I still had some time before I needed to meet Danny so I ducked into a tea shop I had seen on my way to the book store. This tea shop was called the Whistling Kettle and it was lovely! They had all types of tea. I was only interested in the herbal selections. They also had lemonade and hot cocoa. I selected a yummy herbal tea and they brought me out a personal kettle. I drank my herbal tea and read read my new books. I felt pretty content. The Whistling Kettle also had crepes, sandwiches, soups, and salads. I ended up ordering a Nutella banana crepe, a favorite of mine, and it was delicious! 

The Whistling Kettle

Sadly, the time came for me to meet Danny and go home. We arranged to meet at a park just outside of RPI campus. The weather was fantastic so I sat on a bench under a tree and soaked up the last cool autumn breezes of my trip. 

When we were getting in our car to leave I looked at the tree I had been sitting under and noticed how it was colored. It looks like someone sprinkled the autumn color, doesn't it? 

A tree sprinkled with fall color in Prospect Park

I am so glad I was able to go with Danny. I do feel a little guilty that he had to work and I had all that fun without him. He assures me that he didn't mind.

Basically it was a perfect vacation for me. It contained some of my favorite things: history, autumn weather, autumn color, trees, nature, books, food, mini road trips, and Danny.

Coming home was a little difficult. We happened to be having some warmer than usual weather and I wished I could be back in Vermont and upstate New York exploring and watching the leaves change. Repeatedly, I reminded myself how intense the winters are to snap myself back to reality. Now the leaves are changing at home and I think it's great that I experienced autumn twice!

With New York and Vermont in the mix, I have visited 28/50 states. I am looking forward to visiting the other 22!