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Off to a bit of a rough start this morning - role confusion by me!!!! I tried to be the navigator AND driver instead of just the driver (with my mother as navigator extraordinaire!)! It seems like I have to relearn this same lesson each year's big road trip! When will I ever learn? My mother, the patient saint that she is, never seems to be frustrated with me. I am thankful for how patient she is with me, and how she models the patience God expects from each of us (myself definitely included). Well, after chasing the QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way) for an extended (not to be mentioned) time we were on our way south to the USA! Thankfully, both children were asleep during this driving directional fiasco!!! They are still talking about the last episodes they are aware of, so I was thankful to have them asleep!
I will say that the moon and the sunrise were so beautiful this morning! The moon seemed so big, we felt like we could reach out and touch it!
We hit the States and cruised through Customs! We had an easy drive through New York to Corning. The topography of this part of New York is rolling and lush! I guess since it has been raining every single day at some point during the day since we've been here, it should be lush!
We arrived at the unique and modern Corning Museum of Glass. We each selected a project to do in the Workshop. Eleanor picked a clock for her room (using glass fusing). Charlie decided to make a glass (using glass etching). Mom and I each made pendants (flameblowing). This was an exciting hour! We each had a staff member to work one on one with us! They said they have visitors from all over the world! The end of June through Labor Day is their busiest time - 200 to 400 visitors per day in the workshop. It was nice to be there at a less busy time and get the one on one instruction.
After our projects, we watched a flameworking demo - a man making a blown glass dragon. Then we went onto a glassbreaking demo. We learned a great deal about increasing and decreasing the strength of glass. Then we went to the Optical Fiber Demo. We all use Optical Fibers every day - in our HD TVs, our cell phones, our regular phones...All of those glass fibers and all products associated with the optical fibers are made by Corning. No wonder the 2 year, $60 million renovation to the Museum is no problem!!! The demo person explained that the bandwith of the optical fiber is yet to reach its potential (as opposed to the limits that were maxed out with copper cable)! I could hardly wrap my brain around the info delivered.
When we finished the demos, we met up with the docent Steve Levine for a guided tour through the Contemporary Glass Gallery as well as the Glass Collection Galleries. Corning has over 60,000 pieces of historical and art glass in its collection. Not all is displayed, but after the renovation there will be room to display more.
We loved looking around - the exhibits were all encompassing! Everything that has anything to do with glass is there!
We finally made our way to the Glass Market and found some great finds there! It has been a great day.
By the way, it is raining at 50 degrees. We loved getting a hot meal for dinner, and we are thankful to have the heat on in our hotel room!
- comments
SYLVIA UEHLEIN WOW-SOUNDS LIKE SUCH A WONDERFUL TIME AND LAURA YOU SHOULD BE VERY PROUD TO TAKE ON SUCH DIFFICULT DRIVING . I WOULD ESPECIALLY LIKE TO SEE THE MODERN GLASS GALLARY-SOUNDS FABULOUS. HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME AND ENJOY YOUR TOGETHERNESS !! HOW WONDERFUL. LOVE, SYLVIA