Everything is unique but (apparently) some things are more unique than others

by chuckofish

The DH and I hit the road yesterday to fulfill long-made plans  for spring break. Many people think we’re foolish, crazy and even irresponsible for traveling during the Coronavirus crisis, and yet here we are in State College, PA about four hours from our destination in Buckhannon, WV. I must say that the world seems to be functioning perfectly well; trucks fill the highway as usual and there are plenty of cars, too.  We stopped only twice: once to use the facilities and once to get gas. We touched almost nothing and used a lot of hand sanitizer. We ate food we brought with us. On the whole, it was a normal travel day. Although we didn’t stop to see any attractions, we did pass by a sign for “Labrador Hollow Unique Area” that piqued my interest. What, I wondered, made Labrador Hollow unique and how did it get an official sign?

It turns out that New York State actually has a bunch of designated unique areas, each unique in its own unique way, no doubt. Seriously, only NY administrators would think up something like this! Labrador Hollow offers a pretty waterfall

and boardwalk,

which, although attractive, are hardly unusual. No, what won Labrador Hollow its status was the fact that it’s a glacial bowl of a valley and that “the valley’s orientation and topography cause it to be shaded for most of the day, leading to cooler conditions and plant life more typical of mountain bogs such as those found in the Adirondacks” (Wikipedia).  Anyway, I’m intrigued and may have to visit on the way  home.

The GPS took us through areas of NY that we’ve never visited, including Cortland, home of SUNY Cortland, and the crummy outskirts of Ithaca, home of Cornell and Ithaca College. I liked Cortland, which has a bustling old downtown and a surfeit of  Queen Anne houses

and massive, ugly stone edifices like the Wickwire mansion, which is now a museum called the 1890 House.

While such houses do not reflect my architectural preferences, it’s nice to see old buildings kept-up and used.

Of Ithaca I can only say that the outskirts are run-down and depressing. Clearly the in-crowd hangs out elsewhere. I will not hurry back.

By contrast and despite its unimaginative name, State College seems like a happening place, although we have  yet to explore.

If we manage to get our act together in time, we will do so. Otherwise, it will have to wait for another trip. As for whether we’ve made a tactical error in coming on this trip, only time will tell.

Stay tuned next week for updates! In the meantime, stay healthy, don’t panic and be sensible.

*none of these photos is mine. I found them all online.