A different country?

My cousin, who lives in Manhattan and went to school in the state, warned me that this part of NY was more like the Midwest than the East Coast, and I can see what he meant, but to me, it feels like a different country altogether. I mean, the town has a Main Street, with little shops, and people walking around. There must be towns in Texas that feel this way, but apart from Fredricksburg, which has a distinctive western vibe to it, I never found any. Adding to the strangeness is the fact that most of the shops are completely different. The grocery store, the phone company, the small restaurants, the gas stations - they are all different. Yes, there are a lot of the same chain stores, but not in the immediate area. We have to drive to Greece (suburb of Rochester, and home to the largest mall this side of the Mississippi) to see those. Not that I mind - it is just different.


Here are a couple of pictures - sunset on the Erie Canal, out back of our house, and our woodchuck: