Organizing for Travel

Traveling is so much fun. I even love the idea of packing. I have something of an obsession with luggage type items from wallets and pocketbooks to briefcases and satchels, organizing totes and pouches. Some things start out with exciting potential, but the use of them is really, how should I say…useless. Others have worked so well that I’ve used them for years. I wrote a Travel Organizer a number of years ago that sold (and continues to sell) pretty well.

See the organization below the cut:

Travel – Following in Susan B. Anthony’s Footsteps

One year, on our way to Canada, we stopped in Rochester, New York. My boys wanted to visit a comic store (of course), and since we were in Rochester, I suggested we visit Susan B. Anthony’s gravesite (Section C, Plot 93). I wanted my daughter to see a symbol of one of the pioneers of suffrage and women’s right to vote. Especially because when I mentioned that she had been on the dollar coin, there was a little confusion and looking up the difference between the Anthony dollar and the Sacajawea one. Driving to Niagara Falls and the Canadian border, west on I-90, there are several signs for women’s history from Seneca Falls, NY (birthplace of women’s rights) to Auburn, NY (home of Harriet Tubman).

I’ve written before about Susan B. Anthony and suffrage. They can be found by searching my tags in the search bar to the left. Below find some places to visit related to Susan B. and women’s rights as well as the surrounding area.

There are no falls in Seneca Falls.

Susan B. Anthony’s gravesite can be found at the Mount Hope Cemetery. Frederick Douglass may also be found in his final resting place here.

National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House

Near her house is the Susan B. Anthony Park.

Women’s Rights National Historical Park

Things to do there

National Women’s Hall of Fame – reopening in the spring

Spend 48 Hours in Seneca Falls (from the I Love NY site)

Also visit this online, virtual, “museum without walls”: National Women’s History Museum

And this online feature at the New York State Museum: Votes for Women: Celebrating New York’s Suffrage Centennial

Rochester Region Suffrage Timeline

Play Women’s Hall of Fame Solitaire

Finally, use the Freethought Trail to plan your journeys for the following (more available on the website):

Women’s Rights Sites

Women’s Suffrage Conventions Trail

Susan B. Anthony Sites

Seneca Lake Sites

St. Francis Xavier Mission Church in Kahnawake, Quebec

When I was studying Catholicism and becoming Catholic, I wanted to know which saint shared my birthday. As it turned out, when I discovered that “my birthday saint” was St. Francis Xavier, I was a little underwhelmed. Every time I said his name I thought of Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla, and I thought couldn’t I have had a better saint.

I bemoaned and ignored him, later discovering him as a follower of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who’s Spiritual Exercises and Daily Examen I was also looking into. Still, I was unsatisfied. I think I wanted someone like Joan of Arc or Mary Magdalene.

When I became interested in and devotional to St. Kateri Tekakwitha, a very local saint and the first Native American canonized saint, I wanted to visit her homes and her shrines. I’ve often been to Fonda, where she lived for most of her life, and tried to visit her tomb in Quebec. However, it was during covid, and they weren’t allowing non-parishioners or pilgrims to visit the shrine.

Where exactly is her shrine in Canada?

Kahnawake, Mohawk Territory at the, wait for it, St. Francis Xavier Mission Church.

Really. Her earthly bones, her relics are laid to rest in the church dedicated to “my birthday saint”. A truly remarkable and at the same time ordinary coincidence.

I’ve been to Kahnawake three times. The first was during that covid time when we could only explore the outside. And then this past summer, I was able to visit Kahnawake twice. The first time we visited, we knew the church would be closed on the only day we had available, but we did attend a tour of the village through the Kahnawake Tourism Center. We received a very detailed and informational tour about the area, the Mohawks past and present, St. Kateri, and a bit about the mission church. On our next visit at the end of August, we were able to not only visit and see the inside of the church, we were also able to attend mass, see the original and earliest painting of Kateri by Father Claude Chauchetiere (one of the Jesuit missionaries at the time) as well as her relic that was removed from the vault for us to observe and venerate (if we chose to).

This mission church is a permanent building and was erected in 1716. Before that it was a moveable mission that traveled with the Mohawks beginning in La-Prairie-de-la-Madeleine. They moved a total of five times each time their mission church was constructed the same as the other Mohawk buildings until this last time in its permanent location. St. Kateri’s remains were entombed here in 1972.

Inside the church, in addition to St. Kateri’s tomb, are two memorials: the first is to the Mohawk men lost in the Quebec Bridge disaster in 1907, and the second is an ironwork replica of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in honor of 9/11. Both are on the main altar. It should be noted that the Mohawk are known for their ironworking skills, and were large parts of crews building not only the World Trade Center, but the Empire State Building as well in addition to many other high-rise buildings and skyscrapers across the area.

[Photos below cut]

Mark Twain’s Study

On Mark Twain’s birthday, I wanted to share some of the photos we took when we traveled to his study’s current location at Elmira College in Elmira, New York. The study was originally on the Langdon land where he did his writing in this small building. He wrote many of his classic stories here. I’ve included an information sign from the site.

The Royal Ontario Museum and Sitting Bull

When we visited the Royal Ontario Museum this past August, I knew that I could not visit every nook and cranny as much as I might have liked to. I also knew that with five of us having different interests that we were going to get very frustrated very quickly if we stuck together. Upon entering and deciding who wanted to pay extra for the special dinosaur exhibit, I announced the three places that I wanted to focus on and whoever came with would be welcome, but if they wanted to explore on their own and meet back through texts, that would be great.

As an aside, I do miss my little ones, but I really appreciate going on vacation with teenagers and older kids because of this freedom for all of us. I didn’t want to see the dinosaurs; more to the point, I didn’t want to PAY to see them, so I didn’t. My daughter was not a fan of medieval arms and armor and so she veered away from that. The technology of texting let us know where the others were when we were engrossed in our little worlds. It was fantastic! And I think we all benefited from the freedom to explore our interests and the freedom from each other for an hour or so.

My three focuses were in the areas of First Nations, Medieval History and Arms & Armor, and Judaica.

Kahnawake, Quebec

Indigenous Peoples’ Day was Monday, nearly a week ago, but that doesn’t mean that now we can forget about an entire culture, language, history, or a people. I usually will say that especially in the Northeast, where the Iroquois, more properly known as the Haudenosaunee lived, we should remember them. There are several things wrong with that sentiment though, and I am embarrassed to admit them. For one thing, the Haudenosaunee live, now, among us. They cover the six nations: Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora, across all of New York State and the international border with Canada. For another thing, Native tribes have lived on this continent from ocean to ocean, from the time when there were no borders at all. Just like our states, their nations had rivalries with others, they had distinctive cultures separate from one another. It’s important to remember that Native culture, whatever nations are represented, they are a living, breathing group of people, and it is well past time to recognize their contribution and their sacrifices. I’ve had several people (non-Native, I should note) that it was in the past, it’s history, there is nothing I can do, and that attitude disturbs me on many levels. I don’t know if it’s a connection I feel to the people whose land I live and work on. I don’t know if it’s from my childhood admiration and longing to be more involved in the limited Native culture around me as a child. I don’t know if it’s because of my Jewish background where people will say the same sentiment: it’s history, why are you still upset about…? I will call out some by saying that the same people who say that the Trail of Tears and stolen land in the 1880s and 1890s is “ancient history” and we “need to move on” are the same people who insist on the rest of the country worshipping a man who died over two thousand years ago. The continued hypocrisy is staggering in so many ways.

I have a few thoughts and photos that didn’t make it onto the website on Monday, and I hope to share them with you today and in the early part of next week.

I have been fortunate to have visited the village of Kahnawake in Quebec, Canada three times. Kahnawake piqued my interest through my studies and research of St. Kateri Tekakwitha who was born, lived, and was baptized very near to where I sit right now. Each visit was unique in that I saw new things and learned new things each time. The first time during covid was very limited to the outside world and was a superficial encounter. The second time had a decidedly Mohawk perspective, and the third time was more of a Catholic and Mohawk-Catholic perspective. Each visit gave me a new outlook, answering questions and thoughts, and offering insights that raised more questions and contemplations. I expect and look forward to returning next year to do some more research as well as visiting their language and cultural center that we were unable to see previously.

These photos are a little taste of the village. I will also share the one thing that really surprised me. The Mohawk in Kahnawake primarily speak English and Mohawk. Their street signs and stop signs are in those two languages. I thought the second language would be French. As I said, there is always something new to learn.

^{From the top, clockwise: Original wall of the Fort Saint Louis, Replica of the Quebec Bridge, Memorial to those who perished in the Quebec Bridge Disaster, part of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the back of the St. Francis Xavier Mission Church, what I presume are the Three Sisters, which are grown on Mohawk land.}
^{Kahnawake, Quebec.}
^(c)2023

I just wanted to add one or two notes about the above photos:

The St. Francis Xavier Mission Church moved with the Mohawk. It moved four times,
I believe, before it settled permanently here and was built as a permanent structure in 1716. St. Kateri’s relics were moved here in 1973.

The Quebec Bridge Disaster killed 32 Mohawk ironworkers from Kahnawake. This left 25 widows and over fifty children fatherless. The compensation from the Canadian government was negligible. The Clan Mothers decided from then that so many members from one family could not work on such a dangerous job.

The Canadian government changed how the St. Lawrence River flowed, so it moved it away from Kahnawake and left the still St. Lawrence Seaway. The River was more profitable and was able to accommodate boats and fishermen as the Seaway was not. This is still an issue today.

The Three Sisters are known to the Haudenosaunee as the most important crops, sacred, and include corn, beans, and squash. They grow together in the same area and help each other thrive.

^{Haudenosaunee Confederacy Flag, which is a depiction of the Hiawatha wampum belt.}
^(c)2023

^{Front of the St. Francis Xavier Mission Church.}
^{Kahnawake, Quebec.}
^(c)2023

^{Signs and flags of Every Child Matters on orange are seen in many places. Despite Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee, there is still much to be answered for.}
^(c)2023

The Travel Organizer – Limited Quantities

I published this chapbook, The Travel Organizer several years ago, and I was reminded recently that I still have some copies available for sale. I have a limited number that I’m offering on a first come, first serve basis. What that means is that I would need your name, postal address, email address, and payment, and I will send them out within a few days. Please note: DO NOT put this information in the comments box. Comments are public and will be seen by the wider audience. Please use the payment button below and follow the instructions. Your information will not be shared or sold to anyone.

The Travel Organizer

Sample photos below cut:

Cougar Shadow at Superstition Mountains

Twice a year this shadow of a cougar appears in Arizona as the sun sets. The next time it will appear is next week, so here is your heads-up to look out for it, or if you’re in the area of Apache Junction, Arizona, east of Mesa, visit and see it for youself.

It appears the third week in September, and the best time, according to those in the know is about thirty minutes before the official sunset.

This links to an older article, but the facts and timing directions are still accurate, so check it out here.

Some other attractions nearby include:

Superstition Mountain Museum

Circlestone

Apache Trail Arizona

Lost Dutchman State Park

Friday Food. Samosa.

We were staying in a small town outside of Belfast, in Northern Ireland. This was in 2017. It was our last night, and our cousins, who were hosting us had to tend to an emergency in Donegal, and so we were left to our own devices after their taking care of us so diligently, including feeding our brood of five. My husband had been adhering to a policy (and continues to do so) that he termed TSN – try something new – and with this in mind, we discovered a restaurant in town with Istanbul in the name, and chose a sampler of different fried foods that arrived in a pizza box. It was similar to a combo appetizer you would order at a restaurant.

This was my first time having a samosa. It is triangular, but not flat; three-dimensional, but not a pyramid. It is filled with, I didn’t know what then, but it was delicious. I have come to learn that they are usually filled with potatoes, peas, and spices.

My next taste of a samosa was at an interfaith Iftar I was invited to. Again, very delicious.

I’ve had various types of samosa, including a Thai version, which is yummy, although it has a softer outside.

While we were recently on vacation in Canada, we discovered and rediscovered a whole world of Indian, and southeast Asian foods, including butter chicken, naan, momo, as well as samosas. What I hadn’t expected was to see a sign in a mall food court (Pita Lite) in St. Catherine’s that offered samosas for $1.75 each. It came with a spicy tamarind sauce. (I did try it, but it was too spicy for me.)

I was so excited that I dug deep into my change purse for the exact amount, and sat at a table, waiting both for my family and to let this piping hot snack cool a bit. It didn’t matter – I still burned my tongue a little. And to be honest, it was well worth it.

When we returned to the States, and visited our local mall, I was not surprised but still disappointed to see that a simple samosa snack had not come here while we were away enjoying it. Perhaps, one day, but I can still savor the memory.

Friday Food. Vacation Edition

We love to try new food and eat differently when we’re on vacation. We also like to try our old stand-by fast food places and see what’s new and different on the menu. These are a few of our favorite things most recently:

[Picture heavy]

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Griffins and Ginger Snaps

-I write, and I have a blog because of course I do-

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