25 July 2010
College Road Trip Day 2: Amherst
This was a dedicated travel day. We took the southern New York route along I86/NY17. This is a very rural part of NY, very reminiscent of Tennessee or Kentucky. Along the way we passed the following:
I did want to stop at one town along the way, Endicott, NY. My wife's maiden name is Endicott, so I thought it would be interesting for Anna to see this town that has a family name connection. (No other genealogical interest that we are aware of...) One of the hallmarks of this town is that it is the "Birthplace of IBM" and was the center of R&D for the company for over 50 years. Well, turns out that IBM polluted the place like crazy in the first half of the 20th century, got called on it, sold the site and left town in 2002. Today, the town is a shell of its former self. We went to the Endicott Visitors Center, only to be greeted by a sign saying "Closed Due to An Emergency." We decided to support the town by eating lunch at the Wendy's and filling up the RAV4 with a full tank of gas. It was a relief to leave the town - the boarded up Main Street looked contagious.
We made it to Massachusetts with plenty of daylight. After we checked into the hotel, we headed up to Amherst to visit Amherst College. (Photos here) This was a drive-by visit - no admissions tour or information provided by the college. We drove around the entire campus, parked the SUV and walked about, talking pictures and being generally amazed by the campus. (Statues of alums Henry Ward Beecher and Robert Frost are pretty inspiring.) The town is a block away, and it is a pretty typical college town with bookstores and coffee shops, bars and restaurants. I was all-around impressed with the place.
Visit: Amherst College, Amherst, MA
No formal visit.
Trip Log
Location: Erie, PA
Departure Time: 10:0 AM
Destination: Amherst College
Mileage: 550
Breakfast: Quality Inn (Erie, PA)
Lunch: Wendy's (Endicott, NY)
Dinner: Amherst Creperie (Amherst, MA)
Lodging: Econo Lodge (Westfield, MA)
- Zippo Lighter/Case Knife Museum
- Soaring Museum
- Corning Glass Museum
- Soccer Hall of Fame
- Baseball Hall of Fame
- Iroquois Museum
I did want to stop at one town along the way, Endicott, NY. My wife's maiden name is Endicott, so I thought it would be interesting for Anna to see this town that has a family name connection. (No other genealogical interest that we are aware of...) One of the hallmarks of this town is that it is the "Birthplace of IBM" and was the center of R&D for the company for over 50 years. Well, turns out that IBM polluted the place like crazy in the first half of the 20th century, got called on it, sold the site and left town in 2002. Today, the town is a shell of its former self. We went to the Endicott Visitors Center, only to be greeted by a sign saying "Closed Due to An Emergency." We decided to support the town by eating lunch at the Wendy's and filling up the RAV4 with a full tank of gas. It was a relief to leave the town - the boarded up Main Street looked contagious.
We made it to Massachusetts with plenty of daylight. After we checked into the hotel, we headed up to Amherst to visit Amherst College. (Photos here) This was a drive-by visit - no admissions tour or information provided by the college. We drove around the entire campus, parked the SUV and walked about, talking pictures and being generally amazed by the campus. (Statues of alums Henry Ward Beecher and Robert Frost are pretty inspiring.) The town is a block away, and it is a pretty typical college town with bookstores and coffee shops, bars and restaurants. I was all-around impressed with the place.
Visit: Amherst College, Amherst, MA
No formal visit.
Trip Log
Location: Erie, PA
Departure Time: 10:0 AM
Destination: Amherst College
Mileage: 550
Breakfast: Quality Inn (Erie, PA)
Lunch: Wendy's (Endicott, NY)
Dinner: Amherst Creperie (Amherst, MA)
Lodging: Econo Lodge (Westfield, MA)
Labels: college
¶ 6:00 AM
