Syracuse, NY. Where (part of) it all began.

A big reason that I wanted Grandma to join us in Oswego is that I wanted her to show me her childhood home in Syracuse, NY. Yesterday, Grandma joined us on a drive into Syracuse (after a ridiculously difficult morning wherein Beatrice shrieked near constantly and drove each of her parents to despair and rage). While Google Maps was kind enough to get us within striking distance of her home, Mom took over the navigation, pointing us to her maternal grandparents' house (take note of how many hills are between their house and my childhood home! And I rode my bike! in blizzards! and locust infestations!),



her own childhood home (take note of how steep this street is! I had to learn to drive stick here! I damn near dropped the transmission out the bottom of the car!),

her elementary school Elmwood Elementary (I walked here every day! uphill both ways! and then one fateful day I fell into a pile of dog poop!), her junior high school (which has since changed names and made it on the state Dept. of Education's list of "most dangerous schools"), and the gorgeous cemetery Oakwood Cemetery where her parents--and it turns out maternal grandparents--are buried.

The cemetery is huge, has several entrances, appallingly nonexistent signage, and is labyrinthine, so we drove around inside it for about 20 minutes wondering not only if we'd ever find the office (to get the location of the gravesite) but also if we'd ever get out. Alice was snoozing in the car by then, so it was only Beatrice who got to dance on top of her great-grandparents' graves. Grandma didn't know that her parents and grandparents were buried together, so she was happy to discover that.

Stopping at her childhood home (Annetta St.) was the best part of all. Everything looked more or less as it did during her childhood, parts just a tad run down. Which was a relief because other parts of the area were definitely ramshackle. And boy, the area was a whole lot more white when she was growing up! She explained that the "Los Amigos" grocery market was new since her youth... We wanted to take a picture of the home, so Grandma suggested we ask the (clearly at-home) resident if it was okay. He was a 60-ish-year-old friendly man who, upon hearing that mom had grown up there, asked, "Oh, are you related to Gary Penfield?" !!! This guy -- Tony (Anthony) Martin -- actually knew Uncle Gary, had attended Syracuse University at the same time, and had even come over to the house decades ago a few times to play cards with Gary.

So, he chatted with us for quite a while, let us tour the house, which he is renting along with a friend (they're both empty nesters), and bid us say hello to Gary for him, even gave us his business card (he's an accountant) to pass along to Gary. Mom said it looked just like it had in her youth but for a new counter in the kitchen. My, it looked like a perfectly adequately sized house, but TINY by modern suburban standards.

Alice started melting down as we stood around outside chatting with Tony, so he mentioned sotto voce that there was a great icecream place locally--Gannon's, which makes their own icecream--which we took him up on. It was delicious. We are definitely living the New England summer ideal: icecream every day! Turns out this place is on Aunt Eva's bucket list, so she was very excited that we'd gone. I, for one, now want to see Aunt Eva's bucket list because it sounds a lot more delicious than the average list.

We decamped back to Aunt Eva's house for dinner but returned to our cabin by 7 because Beatrice was Beyond Tired, having had 2 30-minute naps during the day. I collapsed into the bed next to her crib shortly after she fell asleep, and Daddy and Alice evidently stayed up until 9 having a lovely, relaxed evening together.

Grandma said she had a wonderful day (which I was relieved to hear, because going back to places you used to live can sometimes be unsettling), and I know I did. Thankfully Molitor also enjoyed himself, which was less than certain because this whole effort had nothing to do with him!