Oswego Week 3 / Rice Creek
Week 3 in Oswego, NY | Hiking in Rice Creek | Downtown Oswego | March 2023
During our third and final full week in Oswego, Curtis had to work all but one night. We spent most of the week with our simple routine of Curtis working and Charlotte and myself sleeping nights, then Curtis would return to the hotel between 6-7am and we’d have hotel food for breakfast, then he would sleep from 7ish until 2 or 3pm. Then we’d go out for a walk together during the late afternoon, then come “home”, have a meal together, and Curtis would return to work. Because of this, it really felt like our time in Oswego flew by. Overall we didn’t feel like there was as much hiking nearby as there was in Ottawa — but we weren’t concerned by that, because after this assignment Curtis would have a few weeks off before his next one, and we were planning on spending most of that time in the mountains!
On the one day that Curtis had the night off, we went for a walk near Rice Creek. SUNY Oswego has a field station here for natural and environmental science, but there’s also a series of trails that cover a good amount of the area. We parked at the trailhead right off Thompson Road just in case our walk took longer than expected, since they have gates that close at some point in the early evening. Then we set off on the Orange trail…only to find that the whole trail was basically a giant mud puddle. All the snow that was here when we first arrived less than 3 weeks ago had been slowly melting, and suddenly we found ourselves in the thick of mud season!
Instead of subjecting Charlotte (and ourselves) to all the mud, we walked down Brownell Road until we found another trail that was much drier. This trail was probably more interesting than the other anyway, since it went around and over the creek. Overall not a super exciting hike, but it helped us do something different for today. It would’ve been a great place to snowshoe just a few weeks prior! That evening, Curtis and I went out for dinner (for the only time when here, besides getting pizza and calzones on different occasions) to a restaurant called La Parilla. It was right off the river, and I really enjoyed the butternut squash tortellini there.
Besides walking the riverwalk, we also returned to Fort Ontario one afternoon, and on our last evening in the area we went to Breitbeck Park to watch our last sunset over Lake Ontario. In short, this was a pretty uneventful week, but still an enjoyable week. We definitely wouldn’t mind coming back to the area for more assignments in the future — there are multiple plants up here, so it’s a definite possibility!
One thing I’ve noticed shift in my mind as we’ve gotten used to this lifestyle is that I no longer think about the possibility of living or settling down in whatever town we find ourselves. That used to be something that was always on my mind when we traveled, especially to areas with military presence, but now I find that I’m not so much focused on the long term. Instead I make lists of things to do in each area, and make the most of the days we spend there. When it’s time to leave, I’m thankful for all the memories we now have in a new place, and I’m not sad to leave because there’s a good chance we’ll be back, and I know there are so many other cities or areas out there where we can continue making more memories. We’re thankful for another great assignment, and are still sort of in awe that we found a job that allows us to live like this!
