chapter 543

12/14/2019

Sharon Springs

going back in time

Our time travel began in 1920 when my mother-in-law Lillian was born. Now 99 and although frail and weak she's remarkably still living by herself in a big colonial house in Fort Johnson. Bubba the dog is a great companion for her although a bit yappy and I think could trip her up during his frantic moments. I'm not much for visiting relatives often but do occasionally. Colleen used to do home health care nursing visits for the elderly so she gets along great with Lillian. They did some elder care exercises together after this shot.

Noticed afterward that she still has the model of a 1900's Baker Electric car decanter on the top shelf that I gave her probably the first Christmas. She always liked it. Later on I did a video of this car during my time at Saratoga Auto Museum.

On a whim we decided to visit Beekmans 1802 as Colleen was in a shopping mood and the trip was only another 30 miles west to Sharon Springs. 

As we entered town the huge buildings were impressive. A lady dressed in Victorian garb was walking into one of them. Looked like a photo op and I was wanting to field test my new tracfone smartphone (iPhone 6S Plus- and still 12 years behind the times but still awesome). These photos are with the cell, about half as good as my pocket cam.

We parked and I stepped into the American Hotel thinking the lady had walked in there. Entering the lobby there was an immediate feeling of spirits of the past. But it was a good vibe. The maitre d' said no lady had entered but their lunch was ending soon if we wanted to eat. Decided, yes let's eat.

What a great decision. It was a feeling like dropping back in time hundreds of  years. The building was built in 1847. We had a wide bare wood plank pine table and another Victorian couple from Oneonta sat down behind us. I figured they like the attention so asked permission to photograph. The crab cakes sounded like a good choice but thought a burger would suffice just as well. It was perhaps one of the best burgers I ever had. Colleen got beef tips salad. The beef was so tender and delicious that was a big hit as well.

Doug Plummer had moved into this village on a whim a couple decades ago ended up buying this extinct hotel, resurrected and became the Village Mayor. Inspirationally described in TED Talk video 1 and by his partner Garth Roberts  in TED Talk video 2 . 

We walked on down the main street to the Roseboro where the other Victorian lady had gone. Colleen wanted to check out the ball room renovation as she had considered this for a daughter's wedding reception in years past. There happened to be a holiday crafts fair going on in there so we did a quick walk thorough. Sharon Springs used to be a spa mecca for mineral baths hundreds of years ago. That era has passed by but something of a successful resurrection has taken place.

We stopped into the successful and renowned Black Cat Cafe  that has been operating for a decade or so. It's open daily year around.

Black Cat owner Tony Daou glowingly recalled Colleens daughter Karissa working there a decade ago and wrote a little note to her. It's ironic that Karissa worked at this little cafe in the middle of nowhere upstate New York then moved 2000 miles south then a decade later the cafe owner's partners decide to open a restaurant right near her in Tampa. More Black Cat Cafe clips.

Beekmans 1802 . I'd heard briefly about the story but never saw the episodes They actually are a world wide phenomenon. This is their store front and the farm is a few miles away.

The Fabulous Beekman Boys was a popular reality TV show for a few years. Main character Josh Kilmer Purcell here restocks shelves. Spoke to him briefly about their success. Believe his partner Brent Ridge was at the cash register, but I knew none of this until after researching it.  The story was about these two gay city dudes who go to the country upstate NY to become farmers, lose their jobs, face losing the farm, end up winning a million dollars in the Amazing Race and have established an empire . Or is it? No, not really. The real story very is one of inspiration, perseverance, compassion and having a passion in life to overcome obstacles and achieve success. It is so well described in this hour long video about the 10 life lessons they learned from their goats.

Moral of the story - Be Inspired. 

Whatever Colleen and I do, wherever we travel, it turns out to be an amazing adventure. It's just good karma, very spiritual and mystical.

More Sharon Springs tour videos The village is a great story.

.