I featured our local Love Canal as an example for a high school presentation on the importance of…read moretaking care of our ecosystem (I also used the Chernobyl disaster, ha). Love Canal's history is thick and ugly. You can do a quick google search if you want to read all about it, but I'll give a summary: Originally intended to be the "perfect urban area," William T. Love purchased the land and quickly abandoned his project in the span of ten years. After that the area became a landfill. Hooker Chemical eventually comes along and purchases the land in 1947, and proceeds to dump all sorts of chemical waste into the canal. Something like 21,800 tons of chemicals would sit in the canal as Niagara Falls entered a population boom. So, the Niagara Falls School Board approached Hooker Chemical, acquired the land they were dumping wastes into, and had two schools (93rd Street & 99th Street) built, along with low-income family residences. Construction would drill into the chemical drums buried here, and toxic wastes would escape when rainwater washed through them. Twenty or so years later, Lois Gibbs is a local mother who is concerned for her son's poor health, learns that her and her neighbors' homes are built atop chemical waste. She faced many barriers in attempts to expose the awful conditions in which they were living (ignored by city officials, even the mayor stated there was nothing wrong). Eventually Jimmy Carter declared a federal health emergency and sent officials to remedy the site. At that point the 99th street school had been demolished. Hooker Chemical & the school board refused to accept liability. The federal government eventually had residents relocated, and demolished most of the homes on the land. Today, Love Canal is a grim reminder of what costs we pay when dealing with chemical companies, and that it's important to know your history. The area is essentially a ghost town, with a small handful of homes still standing (some families refused to move during the evacuation). This place is creepy. Recently I decided to take a little drive through the area, and a couple of the streets have road blocks that prevent you from driving down them. You can drive down 100th St. (a completely barren road), turn down Wheatfield Ave and check out the couple of houses that still stand on 101st St. (that's what I did). The space that I assume was the dump site seems to be completely fenced off. Frankly, I think I prefer to stay outside of that fence. Day 15

I often drive through Warsaw NY. Its the County Seat of Wyoming County. Recently I spent a few…read morehours here learning a little more about the town. It dates back to 1803, when Elizur Webster bought the land from the Holland Land Company (which owned all the land around WNY, including Buffalo). Wyoming County, where Warsaw sits, depended on farming and manifesting both. As a result, it became the center of salt manufacturing for most of the 1800's. You can still see salt manufacturing in the area from Mt Morris to Warsaw. One of them became what is today the Morton Salt Company. You can take tours of Warsaw by taking a look around the website below. There is a rich heritage of antislavery in the area, a leader of the womens suffragette movement came from here, along with a few notable political charters throughout the years and an astronaut. http://warsawhistory.org/ If you have a little while to kill and are interested in local histories, this is a nice town to park the car and take a walk in. There are places to grab a coffee or meal. 1625

An update on how the Village of Warsaw is trying to harass me. Today 8/12/20 the Village of Warsaw…read moretook down 2 signs (only in front of my house) and replaced them with "NO PARKING ANY TIME" . One of the signs says "CAUTION CHILDREN AT PLAY", both signs have been up since I can remember. The fact that the #villageofwarsaw is risking the welfare of children for revenge against me is an outrage.

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).

Really beautiful waterfall by the road, you have to park off to the side and walk to it to see. Not…read morealways worth stopping because of its location by the road

Wonderful waterfalls in Ithaca NY. We put our kayaks in at the southern end of the lake near the…read moremarina and paddled two miles to the falls. If you hug the eastern shoreline there is less boat traffic. You will come to a small point that juts out with some cottages/houses on it. Go around that and the falls will be in your left. It is very shallow. You can also see the falls from the road.

This isn't a life changing attraction and I wouldn't put it on my top 10 list for Toronto visitors,…read morethis is a zen moment for those who wander by or who seek it. A beautiful quiet path on the ground, a puzzle to solve on your lunch break tucked in between the tall towers, stone and steel, of downtown Toronto. That's what I love about it the most, the decision to put it here in the first place, the choice to nestle public art here to disrupt our pathways and challenge us to think about spirals and about what's hidden in the middle.

The only thing that could make this Labyrinth any cooler is if David Bowie were there waiting for…read moreyou at the end of your walking journey. Now remember never trust a thought that you didn't get by walking.

Alchemy Works is pretty cool. I'm not a practicing Wiccan, but I do love their selection of herbs,…read moreseeds, and plants. I love the idea that plants have different properties or powers (for example, I use white sage for smudging rituals in my home after illness, big arguments, or in other places that I feel need to be rid of negativity). I've ordered black flower seeds (I have yet to plant them, but how cool would it be to accent your garden with black flowers?) and white sage seeds from Alchemy Works. I think that the black flower seeds must have gotten lost in the mail, because it took more than 2 months to receive them! The white sage came within about 2 weeks. The prices for seeds are very reasonable, and Alchemy Works offers seeds that aren't easily found (white sage is often harvested irresponsibly from the wild, with entire hillsides being ripped out, plus, its growing area of the Southwestern United States is often threatened by wildfires, so seeds aren't easy to find). I'll continue to order from the Alchemy Works web site and grow my own white sage responsibly. It's nice to be able to find cool seeds, plus incense, oils, and "supplies for magick," if that floats your boat, all in the same place.

While I haven't visited the store personally I have ordered seeds from Alchemy Works online, in…read morefact, I just got my seeds today. I ordered Belladonna, Henbane, and Mandrake seeds. Each seed packet has a custom-printed label with the botanical and common name of the plant, as well as growing instructions for that plant. Included also was a two-page document on how to germinate, grow, and cultivate Mandrake. If you're ordering online like I did, a word of caution. It took a full month from the date I placed my order until I received a confirmation e-mail stating my seeds had been shipped. An e-mail I sent to admin@alchemy-works.com went unanswered. I'd have rated Alchemy Works 5 stars if not for these two inconveniences.

Tourist trap but we are tourists and took the bait It could…read morehave been so much more but lack of upkeep made it just a little off. Interesting concept. The kitchen worked but most of the rest did not. Not worth the money either but we did it. Very difficult to get any decent pictures especially with the crowds there

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!

The GAR Circle is just a little plot of burial land and green space located within Oakland…read moreCemetery. The initials, GAR, stand for Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization of Union veterans of the Union Army, Navy, Marines and certain members of the Revenue Cutter Service formed after the American "War of Rebellion," as it is now referred to in certain texts, but more commonly known as the "Civil War," yet in certain Southern States as the "War of Northern Aggression." Hard to believe, but one needn't look far to find that arguments, bitterness and deep feelings about it persist even to this day. Be that as it may, the GAR Circle stands a burial and memorial plot maintained in good and inspiring order by the Oakland Cemetery Association, the American Legion, Order of Odd Fellows and numerous devoted volunteers. It's often overlooked and forgotten by local residence, and indeed the GAR itself was disbanded in 1949, but GAR Circle still stands as reminder of hardships, losses of life and general tragedies that for many years tore this country apart. In all honesty, it isn't much to see. The value is in what it stands for and what it means as is best stated in the motto of the GAR, "Lest We Forget!" and the purpose being "If a Nation forgets its heritage it forgets everything."

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!