Our Adventure: Rochester, NY edition

You may be assuming {as did I when we started planning this cluster trip of 3 north east destinations} that we had a quick 2 hour jaunt in between each state. I never did learn much geography in high school, any sense of direction got left off the list when I was assembled, and this has been my first visit to the New England states. So you can understand my surprise at the length of time it took to meander from one destination to the next. No matter. The terrain was captivating. No, there was nothing spectacular about it all that often. It was a steady, continuous beauty that we drove through though. The fields, rolls of hay, snow fall, sleepy little towns, and simply majestic colonial architecture along the route from Portland, ME to Rochester, NY kept me from wanting the drive to be over too soon. That could also be because I wasn’t driving much {I’m not the biggest fan of being behind the wheel}. The CD I made Daniel listen to over and over helped too. I’ve become a bit obsessed with Audrey Assad. Have you heard of her? I happened upon her music when borrowing my bro-in-law’s car one day. Even The Winter and Blessed are the Ones are lovely, truth-filled melodies that have taken permanent residence in my heart.

On this particular drive I made a very important, very difficult, long-in-coming decision. I think I had known what to do for some time, but the idea of speaking my thoughts aloud, of making them really, truly official was heart wrenching for me. Until any little ones God blesses us are well into schooling of their own, I decided to let go the pursuit of PA school that I had been dreaming of since before college. I wept a good deal after I gave my thoughts spoken life, but took comfort in knowing that all was not lost. Very little was lost, in fact. If anything I believe I have gained something rather special. I have gained the freedom of heart to pursue loving the little neighbor, known as my daughter, as myself. I get to pour into her life in a way that I would have been prevented from doing had I given my life to the education I long for. Some moms are able to do both, and very well. But I’ve finally come to admit that I’m not physically able to be one of those moms. Jesus has a different part for me to play in His story. Perhaps He’ll write this PA part in later.

The hotel provided for us in Rochester had recently been renovated {and was still in the process of its facelift when we arrived}. I was very impressed with the cool grays, sleek lines, and uniquely beautiful artwork they chose. I love it when hotels don’t look like . . . well, hotels. I’ve been fantasizing about running a bed and breakfast of my own one day, so I quirkily take notice of things like that. We passed by several houses in the area that I immediately began drawing up B&B plans for in my head. I think I should like a spiral staircase and tower to be part of the structure very much!

The pre-interview dinner was held in-home again. They served delicious Indian cuisine for the enormous crowd, consisting of a larger number of children than I had ever seen at these gatherings. That put me at ease, the kids I mean. Not many resident families choose to have kids during this stage. It’s a tough addition to the demands of residency, but it was encouraging to see other families thriving, despite the rigorous schedules they endure.

After kissing Dr. Hubs goodbye the next morning I slowly got ready. At breakfast the hotel bus driver took a keen interest in finding something exciting to occupy me with for the day. His suggestion? Tour the George Eastman house just down the street. I love that bus driver now. That tour lifted my spirits as it gave me a chance to not only enjoy gorgeous architecture, but to dream again. Photography is another heart throb of mine {along with 75% of the rest of the world’s population, I suppose}. But it’s not just the pretty pictures that move me, it’s the whole process, the entire history of it. So this particular museum was a thrill for me.

In addition to discovering my more specific love of photography history was realizing my love for the raw, behind-the-scenes, revealer-of-human-condition photos that I studied in the “60 from the 60’s” exhibit. I love photography that is transparent, like the photo that captured the sad eyes of a female prostitute who didn’t care to put on a brave face for the camera. Photos that teach, rouse emotion, and move to action are my favorite.

I didn’t want to pull myself away as soon as I had to, but it was time to meet up with interviewees for a tour of Rochester. I left a wee bit of time for some on foot exploring of my own though, and so enjoyed the majestic neighborhood surrounding the George Eastman estate.

It was nice how they included the spouses for this tour. We covered far more ground and were answered far more questions than I could have accomplished by myself.

It’s no secret that Rochester gets bitterly cold in the winter. In preparation for this, there is an awesome children’s museum-of-play that provides a lot of resources for the local winter crazy kiddos.

After the tour ended, we packed up the car and started for our next destination: home.