On a Carousel

Music playing in my head: The Hollies

I'm sure you ALL know that Binghamton, NY, my hometown, is "America's Carousel Capital". In the Binghamton area, there are six, count 'em, six, olde-fashioned merry-go-rounds. And the admission is FREE (or perhaps one piece of litter to place in a nearby trash can.) Travelers make a point to go to all half dozen. Bicyclers have been known to ride from park to park in order to ride all of them in one day; there's about 20 miles of bike riding involved in that endeavor.

The New York State Museum in Albany also has a carousel. It's a historic merry-go-round purchased over a quarter century ago, refurbished, and now made available to the general public. A $1 donation is requested.

Lydia has been on her first two merry-go-round rides in the past couple weeks in a period of three days. On a Saturday evening, we went to one of the Binghamton-area rides (actually in west Endicott). Unfortunately, it closed early, so it was the last ride of the evening. Actually, it was the last TWO rides, for the operator failed to turn on the music for what she announced was the last ride, so we got to go again.

Then on a Monday afternoon, we went to the fourth floor of the museum, and caught the last ride on THAT carousel.

We didn't ride the horses (Lydia's a bit young for that, we decided), but she loved the motion of the horses, and the colorful designs. She ESPECIALLY loved the music. That's my girl.

"Round and round and round and round and round
And round and round and round with you.
Up, down, up, down, up, down too."