In front of Glimmerglass Festival's Alice Busch Opera Theater.
Friday 7/18. So here we are, staying at the TownePlace in New Hartford, NY. If there is no traffic, it is a 265 mile drive that takes 4:10 hours. We left our house a little after 12 pm, and checked in at around 6:45 pm. There were no bad traffic jams, but enough slow-downs that it took us more than an extra hour (we did stop a couple of times).
Even though we lived in Ithaca for nine years, we never visited this area which is a mere two hours away. Some town names are quite familiar: Utica and Oneida, for instance. Many of these towns have interesting stories to them. Herkimer, for example, was settled by Germans as far back as 1722. Utica used to be a major industrial center (helped by Erie Canal and the railroad) until the 20th century, its decline accelerated when the NY Thruway, completed in the 1950s, bypassed the city. The population declined from over 100,000 at that time to a low of 60,000 in 2000. With the influx of immigrants the last 20 plus years, the population has stabilized. It is now a very diverse city (percentage of whites dropped from 94% in 1970 (when I arrived in Ithaca) to 55% in 2020. Asians, on the other hand, went from 0.1% to about 13% during the same period. The poverty rate is high at over 27%, compared to the national rate of about 12%. Today's Utica is easily accessed via the NY Thruway, so perhaps an exit was added at some point? (Most of the information from web searches.)
We drove along the Mohawk River for quite a stretch, and noticed these buoys that clearly marked a channel. This is part of the Erie Canal where a series of locks provide access to the great lakes. Another interesting aspect to explore, if one is so inclined.
About two days ago I was notified that our reservation at TownePlace was upgraded to a 2-bedroom suite. We don't need so much room, but why not.
There seemed to be quite a few restaurants near the hotel, and all appeared quite busy (per Google Maps) this evening. We ended up eating at Texas Roadhouse; busy, but no wait.
Accommodation: TownePlace New Hartford. (2 nights)
Saturday 7/19. After breakfast we headed out to Lock E18 on the Erie Canal. The water level changes by 20' at that point. A tour boat was in the lock while it was being lowered, it went out on the low water (east) side, and then came right back to the lock for its return to Herkimer.
Lock E18 specifications.
This is what a 20-foot difference in water level looks like.
Gate opening at the low-water end for the tour boat to depart.
It should be quite straightforward to cross a river over the closed gate. For a first timer it still a bit nerve-wracking.
It was 12 pm when we got to Glimmerglass Festival, in time to attend a 30-minute talk on today's opera: Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress. After sharing a sandwich, it was time for the opera, which ended a little before 4 pm. As first time visitors, we were given a pass to the intermission reception, which is appreciated.
The Glimmerglass Festival building as seen from across the highway (NY-80).
A preconcert talk was given by Chris Devlin, Principal Coach/Orchestra Keyboard.
Curtain call, The Rake's Progress by Stravinsky.
The drive to Cooperstown proper was about 15 minutes, so we were early for the 5 pm boat tour on The Glimmerglass Queen. We waited by the boat, enjoying the scenery. The boat tour lasted exactly one hour, 30 minutes north along the eastern shore, and 30 minutes return, along the western shore. About 4 miles each way - Lake Otsego is 8 miles long, and 1 1/2 miles wide at its widest. There was commentary for the first 10 or so minutes, and the rest of the time we just admired the scenery, and waved to people in other boats. Per the narration, the lake is 160 feet at its deepest, and some family owns 90% (or 80%) of the lake front, and they have kept development to a minimum. One could rent an 18-foot pontoon boat for $225 ($75 per hour, 3 hour minimum), which provides the same views as the boat tour (minus the 10 minute narration).
View as Glimmerglass Queen pulled away from the dock.
Some buildings along the lakeshore.
At about the halfway point, looking north.
Last night we read a bit about the Myanmar Karen people in Utica. They came as refugees around year 2000, and now number about 8,000. One of the first churches to welcome them is the Tabernacle Baptist Church, which transformed itself as the demographics change over the last several decades. We drove by that church after leaving Cooperstown. We ate dinner at Nanabi, run by (what we think are) Karen people.
Sunday 7/20. While reading up on the demographics of Utica, we also found out 90% of the Myanmar Karen people are Christians, and that a local church started sponsoring Karen refugees in 1999. We decided to worship at the 10 am English service at Tabernacle Baptist Church. There is also an 11 am service in Karen (supposedly there are multiple distinct dialects, so not sure how that works). I estimated about 150 people at the service, the majority were Asians, and the sermon - delivered in English - had what I believe to be translation projected onto large screens. Most people came in some sort of ethnic dress (marked by tassels hanging off their shirts and sarong-like dresses), and there were many children, and a few older folks.
There were quite a few children at the service. They left for Sunday School after the Children's Message.
We made it to Glimmerglass in time for the talk on Tosca, this time given by Music Director Joseph Colaneri who conducts both Tosca and The Rake's Progress. I get the impression that Glimmerglass tries to de-mysticize the opera experience, and does a good job of it. We bought sandwiches from Hannaford for lunch; that worked quite well. It poured during intermission, so we got a bit wet walking to the bathroom. Otherwise it was another nice day. The auditorium did feel a bit warmer as the performance wore on. I wonder how the performers keep cool; they sometimes have extra layers on.
The pre-concert talked was given by Music Director Joseph Colaneri, who would rush off for the start of Tosca.
After Act I.
It rained quite heavily during intermission. They should consider putting in a covered walkway between the main building and the washrooms.
End of Tosca.
It was then time to drive back to NJ. Traffic was generally okay, except for a bad stretch here and there. We bought food from Oriental House for dinner. It was about 8 pm that we got home. The trip odometer said we drove about 650 miles.
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