Herkimer Diamond Mine Today we sought our fortunes with hammers and eyewear in hand at the Herkimer Diamond Mines. We stayed at the KOA which owns the mines which made our adventure very convenient. The Herkimer diamond is not actually a diamond but rather a really nice quartz crystal that is doubly terminated. Some of the A grade crystals were extremely beautiful. In our hacking, chipping, impaling, scattering rocks we only found a cou...

Oneida Community Mansion The Oneida name is something is well known but not so much for its origins but rather what it became - a company that produces flatware. I as much as anyone was surprised to get all of the details on what were the true beginnings of the Oneida name, beyond the Indian tribe. The Oneida Community (1848-1881) was begun by a man named John Humphrey Noyes who saught to have a community of men, women, and eventually children that would coexi...

New York State Capital and Empire Plaza

New York Day 2 Day 2 started early with our ferry trip to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I was so giddy when we first got to our Arab site because we could see the Statue of Liberty so you can imagine my thrill in actually getting to go to it! The girls were all excited too I believe but given that three of them are now teenagers getting smiles or levels of emotion that show true excitement is a bit rare!

New York Day 1 Many new experiences and sights of famous sites were had today! As we parked our trailer in the New Jersey Harbor our day began with a walk from what really was a glorified parking lot (our RV park) to the PATH station (New Jersey's subway station). We took it in and got off at Greely Square which is just a couple blocks from the Empire State Building. Katherine just about died from the get go with all of the people and the rudeness. I thought she...