Day 1: Harwich, MA - Chautauqua, NY. 619 miles

and so it begins...
we don't think we're going to hit the 300,000 mark on this trip. it'll probably be on a Costco run or something equally quotidian just a couple miles from the house.
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first stop, Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY. One of three old-growth arboreta in eastern North America.

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It was icy, so our walk was very short. Snowshoes would have been ideal. I can't imagine adding them to our fully packed car!

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It seems dinosaurs are a requisite on any x-c drive. I just didn't expect one in the first four hours.

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Brothers Mark & Dave. Dave lives in Duanesberg, next town over. Mark just moved from Colorado. Dave's teaching Mark about tree identification.

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I asked Dave if Duanesberg was known for antiques. No, he said, it's more known for survivalists, with stores on either end of town. He adds sometimes it's tough for him as a progressive.

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Signs of the times. At least in Duanesberg.

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On the road to the arboretum. I don't know which looked more bleak to me: the weather or the flag.

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While Papi & I visited with Dave & Mark, Joe was hard at work on a zoom call.

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not pictured: the Meep.

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Di Rienzi in Binghamton. How can you not love an exterior like this?

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Third-generation owner Carmen DiRienzi is so proud of his Scali bread, that when Joe asked about it, he brought out two loaves from the back, and proclaimed, "Tomorrow's bread, today!" as he handed them to Joe.

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This is not Carmen. (Look closely and see the 'masks required' sign over his shoulder.)

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This label is branding genius.

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late day contrails over route 88. it runs from Albany to Binghamton (the highway one NY legislator managed to get built so he'd have a nice commute from his district to the state capital).

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We did not expect on arrival (after 619 miles) to have to walk across a sheet of ice to get in! We scrambled to get some rock salt and some tools, with help from the officer on duty, Angelo Giuffre over. He even insisted on helping Joe unload the car. We gave him one of our loaves of bread. Turns out he is from Italy, and we had a really nice visit. A potentially stressful arrival turned into a sweet moment.

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Little Papi settled in, even before we brought in our luggage!