When I strained my back at my day job last week I was told I would be unable to work for a while.  Since medication, doctor's visits and physical therapy didn't seem to be helping, I did what any sensible person would do... take a three day road trip to Canada!

Sure enough, at the end, my back was feeling just fine.  There must be something therapeutic about sleeping in a car for three days...

Besides, before I leave this part of the world for good, I HAVE to do at least a couple of parkbenching sessions in Canada...

So, I'm off, heading straight north out of Harrisburg, along the beautiful Susquehanna river, past Selinsgrove and Lewisburg where this whole parkbenching adventure started last year...

...I felt Williamsport, Pennsylvania beckoning me--but I new I needed to cover some more miles before making my first stop...

That stop would be Corning, New York.

After miles of quiet, forested hills (you almost forget you're in crowded Northeast USA is the bustling little city of Corning.  Immediately I knew there was something unusual about this place.  A tall white tower welcomes you to this glassmaking capital... Main Street is buzzing with white collar and blue collar folks out on their lunch breaks.  Shop windows proudly display Corning's trademark glass art... Museums welcome visitors to come see more...

And I wondered... how is this small, industrial city still alive and successful while so many others in the region have fallen into decay?  Surely, the glass industry could have packed up and moved to China like all the other industries have...

But it hasn't.  And it's really a nice feeling to see that there's at least one "success story" town here in the Northeast USA...