As soon as it got light outside, Dolly ran out for some fun in the snow. She built a snowman and named him Crabby (since he has Crabapple eyes and mouth).
Then she took a few turns sledding down suicide hill (the landscaping berm in our backyard) on a Frisbee, which made a terrific sled. WOO-HOO! She screamed in delight.
It's a good thing she got her snow fun in early, because it was gone by 10:00 am.
SHOPPING FOR OLD STUFF
After breakfast, we started off our tour of Rochester by visiting my favorite antique store, the Ontario Antiques Mall. 1,000 Dealers and tons of fun stuff. The first thing Dolly found was an antique rocking horse. She jumped in and played for a minute. Just long enough for me to get a good picture of her.
We wandered down the rows and rows of pottery, silver and jewels. She decided that she liked this case full of BLING the best. Watch out Pam...she's got expensive tastes!
At one point we went into a dealer's cubby only to find some lovely Victorian Dolls. Dolly thought they were beautiful in their silks and finery. She tried to strike up a conversation, but the doll was a bit snooty and wouldn't answer her.
Humph! We said goodbye to the antiques store and headed up to Rochester.
ON TO ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.
Where to go in Rochester. There are so many great sights to see. Since the day is a bit chilly, we decided to do some indoor sight-seeing. We started out at the George Eastman House. It is the jewel among many Victorian mansions that line East Avenue in Rochester. The home of George Eastman...founder of Eastman Kodak. The home is now a museum AND an archive. It houses movies, film and photographs from all over the world, from the beginning of photo imaging in the 1800's to the present. The movie industry relies on the archive for storage (in it's climate controlled environment), restoration and research.
One of the first things we looked at was their gallery of the history of film. There were all kinds of cool cameras.
Dolly's favorite were the spy camers, including this hidden camera in the handle of a cane. Cool!
They were having their annual Gingerbread House Gala. Dozens of gorgeous and fanciful gingerbread houses displayed all thoughout the house. They are built by amatures, Boy and Girl Scout Troups as well as professional bakers. They are auctioned off after being displayed for two weeks. We were lucky enough to be there for the first day of the Gala. I got some great shots of Dolly and the gingerbread houses.
We had lunch in the cafe and wandered through the mansion, marveling at it's beauty. I've never been there at Christmas. They have it decorated to the hilt with swags of pine, lights and Christmas trees. It was so pretty.
That's Dolly at the top of the grand staircase. She looks so small up there.
From the George Eastman House, we went on to my favorite place in all of Rochester...the Eastman School of Music. Founded by George Eastman in the 1920's to become an institution of excellence in music education and a gift to the community. Almost any day of the week...day and night, you can attend a concert here. MOST of them are FREE! Everything from a student or faculty recital, to full symphonies and opera. The Broadway shows they do here in the Fall have a top ticket price of $20! Eastman is reknowned worldwide as one of the finest music schools in the world. My husband and I often attend the Jazz concerts. They often host world class performers, like Renee Fleming (opera), James Taylor, and more.
We were there at the wrong time today, so their weren't any concerts to attend, but we came prepared anyway. Dolly wanted to dress up in the pretty dress I made her, and put her bling on, like an actress at the Oscars. She looked lovely in her finery.
We got some great shots of her inside the Eastman Theater...the schools main stage and a few other favorite spots.
Dolly was WOWed by the 30 FOOT chandelier. Talk about BLING...over 50,000 crystals on that thing.
And the cute little washtub chandeliers...YES, I said WASHTUBS! When the theater was built, the lights that had been ordered from Italy, didn't come on time for opening night. George Eastman instructed the workers to make lights out of two washtubs that were laying around. They were clipped along the top edge and bent to look like the petals of a flower...gilded, and hung up. They remain there today. Don't know what happened to the ones that were supposed to go there.
Dolly's FAVORITE thing at the theater, was the water fountain spouts. They are gilded sea serpents.
Our last stop on our Rochester tour was the High Falls gorge. The Gennesee river flows right through the center of Rochester and makes a spectacular 60 drop at High Falls. It's not Niagara, but it's still very impressive.
Well, that wraps up our exciting day in Rochester. Dolly will is packing and getting ready to travel tomorrow. I will be shipping her off to Tara in Pennsylvania for a taste of college life. To continue reading about and following Dolly's adventures on her grand tour of the United States, go to eHow Dolly's Grand Adventure
Thank you Pam for sharing Dolly with us. I had such a wonderful time with her.
