Near the city of Medina in Western New York is an interesting piece of Erie Canal history, a road…read morethat goes UNDER the canal. While there are numerous bridges OVER the canal, Culvert Road, to this day, is the only one that goes UNDER the canal! The Erie Canal was called the Eighth Wonder of the World in 1825, when it was completed. Construction began on July 4, 1817 and remember, it was dug by hand! It was originally 7 feet deep and 40 feet wide, 363 miles long between Albany and Buffalo. There were 83 locks (57 on today's canal) because the canal rises 568 feet between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. The tunnel was built in 1823 and was even moved when the course of the canal was changed! It was also lengthened (twice!) when the canal was widened. It's a real experience to drive through it, when you remember there are tons of water above you and you see the seepage through the stones in the curved ceiling. Gulp. Just remember, that tunnel has been there since before your great-great-grandfather drove horses through there - it ain't goin' anyplace! Stop on the north end of the tunnel, there's a small parking area there. With any luck at all, a vehicle will come along and go through the tunnel. That way, you'll be able to experience the weird acoustics the tunnel provides. Sound carries through the tunnel as if there were a microphone setup in there. The day I visited, I laughed when I saw a guy kneeling to take a picture with his cell phone. I said, "I'd better get out of the way," and as I stepped to the side of the portal, he waved to me! A few seconds later, I heard footsteps on gravel. I didn't hear a car pull up, so I turned to look only there was no one there! I walked back to the portal of the tunnel, only to see the guy on the other end walking to his car. That was the source of the mystery footsteps and I was mostly relieved to learn I wasn't in a Steven King novel. A car going through from your end of the tunnel sounds like a train coming at you from the other end of the tunnel! Oh, one more thing. The tunnel was featured in Ripley's Believe It Or Not for being the only bridge UNDER the Erie Canal. If you're ever in Western New York, take a drive on Culvert Road between NY 31 and Ridge Road. The Medina Tunnel must be experienced, Believe It Or Not!

I was in Medina on a very very cold day in January. I think you're around a little I saw a number…read moreof mural. This is one and it covers two sides of the building. It's impressive and colorful and interesting. I'm not sure if the figures represent dinosaurs or wet but they represent something. I didn't notice a signature anywhere. It's on the side of the hometown wellness center building.

Nothing beats the warm welcome of HWC! Great smaller gym with a large variety of classes and great…read moreinstructors!

Super interesting mural in the back of a building. You have to go into the parking lot to get the…read morefull view. It's painting evidently caused a little controversy when they put it up because they didn't have the required permit, but the town let it stay. Well worth going to see.

Another Chuck Tingley mural in Medina New York. You can see his style. Very interesting "fake it…read moretil you make it" message. It was put up in 2020. It's in the parking lot of the buildings fronting Main Street, so you'll need to go to the alley behind to see it.

Total tourist trap! It's cool to see tho and since we were tourists, we had to get trapped hahaha!…read moreIt's a bit pricey to go in but it's something to do, even tho it's a quick walk thru! Cute!

When I went on there it made me sick I mean it was cool but expensive per person DO NOT GO HERE…read moreunless you want to be sick

Road trip side step…read more On my way to my final destination I made a stop in the Buffalo area to see some things before I could check into my hotel. I have been in search of some Presidential sites recently and came across this while browsing for things to do before I left for my vacation. If you happen to stop by the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site they kind of point you in this direction. If not done on purpose, it's in a passing manner. There you will understand my Teddy had his swearing in ceremony because of what happened near this site. In this beautiful, planned out community you will stumble upon a median in the road that holds mostly trees and a variety of plants. Every so often it is dotted with rocks. This rock was purposefully put here. This community once held the Pan-American Expo, an expansive exposition of the countries from the Americas. With the expo there were many makeshift buildings built that could easily be torn down once the expo reached completion. The building that this stones represents, in a manner, was the Temple of Music. Just outside the temple, President McKinley would be shot by a man and ultimately pass away due to the gunshot. This stone is meant to be a monument or maybe a placard to remind you of what once happened in this area. It is well maintained and as other reviews have stated, usually flanked by small American flags. Some housekeeping here. Be mindful of the area, this is a neighborhood and you are visiting. Do not block a driveway. It is a road, be aware of your surroundings and traffic. Do not trample the area. Lastly, make it quick, there isn't much else to see here.

It may seem morbid, but it is history. The Pan American Exposition was build to be leveled…read moreafterwards, so nothing (save one building, I believe) remains. So, this rock is the only thing to remind the USA of McKinley's assassination and the only president to be inaugurated outside of DC. If you're looking for the full tour, add a stop to Delaware and W. Ferry, which is where McKinley died (there's just a sign there). And then go to the Roosevelt Museum/National Park. It's work the small price of admission and is a small, yet well done museum (perhaps a bit too patriotic, but that's to be expected I suppose).

This is a pretty wild house. The whole thing is painted in beautiful bright colors and symbols. I…read morebelieve it's religious there is a religious posting next to it but I'm not sure. It must've taken a very long time for the owner of this house to do this.

Festival annually is great if you want to burn up a few hours in the weekend. It's nice that…read morethey had more craft vendors this year. The peach cobblers were too small for what you pay $8 for. The peach baskets were also overpriced. Basically I give it a "meh" rating.

I stopped by the Lewiston peach Festival for the first time this year and found it really charming…read more The actual carnival rides and carnival vendors were somehow brand new looking and the nicest I've ever seen at a carnival/ Festival. We didn't actually try any peach desserts, but maybe next year. This is a pretty small Festival but conveniently located right in the center of town with lots of street parking available.

I've always believed that there are many artists whether Actors, Artists,Singers, etc., that are…read morenever discovered but continue to do their work with great pride. And right here in Rochester are many. Graffiti and Murals have always been one of my favorite joys in photography. I've done 2 videos on Graffiti and Murals in the city. One was by Black artists in the city, the other was by Spanish artists. Rochester has many great "unknown" artists!

Rochester has a ton of cool wall art/graffiti/street art. The one I specifically saw was in the…read morealley way left of Roll'n'Yen Thai Rolled Ice Cream on South Avenue (no idea if this is part of the Wall Therapy project but it was great to look at and looked to be in this realm of art). I love cities that proudly display art with very powerful and bold statements. They are beautiful and fun to look at and make a destination a little more memorable. Graffiti can sometimes be seen as vandalism or a nuisance but it's hard to deny how wonderful it is when it is objectively obvious that the artist who created it has unique talent (vs. a random scribble on the wall that look like it took 2-seconds to do).