Day 45 Last Day On The Canal

Travel from Oneida to Amsterdam, NY.  Guys had a long, wet ride.  They were slowed when they looked for a bike shop to straighten Pat's gearing/brake on the right side; it was twisted when he took a spill after dodging a pothole.  Fortunately, Pat only sustained bruises.  They were slowed again when Harv had a flat.  This was the first time the guys came to the hotel in the dark.

Last night we stayed at the Oneida Community Mansion House.  This morning we got a 2.5 hour tour of the mansion and learned about the Oneida Community that built it.  It was started by John Noyes as an Utopian community in 1848 and thrived for 37 years.  Prior to that, a small community led by Noyes existed in Putnam, VT.  Noyes believed that the second coming of Christ has already occurred and that now humankind's job was to achieve heaven on earth or utopia.  This included the belief that people were absolved of original sin, open marriage, responsibility for contraception was on the male, open criticism (to receive a criticism availed you of the opportunity to improve), minimizing the role of women as mothers and housekeepers, community-shared work and money.  Somewhere along the line the community also engaged in eugenics, trying to selectively breed for spirituality and morality.  The community had several successful businesses:  producing iron animal traps, silk sewing thread and ultimately Oneida silverware.

These are tapestries made of braided fabric created by an Oneida Community member.

We've seen a few Amish communities on our trip. 

Tonight we are staying in an armory that was converted into a hotel.  It's called the Amsterdam Castle.