ithaca trip pt 2

22 April 2025

Saturday's forecast looked like all-day rain, so my brother and I decided that would be our shopping day. Our game plan was to hit as many thrift/vintage/secondhand stores in the area as possible, then to head into the city and check out the mall and the bookstore, which I had never been to. Despite the shitty weather, I was excited.

First we grabbed breakfast, then we set out. I didn't keep track of the name of every thrift store; we went to several. I was especially fond of the Reuse store in town. I didn't buy anything there, but it was extremely cool to see a secondhand store focus on appliances, fixtures, and building materials. My brother had fun looking for his usual collectables--depression glass, VHS tapes and DVDs, and books. I decided to stay away from clothes (I have too many right now) and instead peruse the media. In the end, I only walked away with a VHS copy of Sister Act in great condition, and a DVD of American Psycho (I still haven't seen it). I was feeling...I dunno, restrained, maybe? I didn't feel the urge to load up a cart with a bunch of stuff; I was perfectly content to just browse and if something caught my eye, I'd look at it. I'm honestly proud of myself for not going completely crazy and buying everything in sight, like I have in the past. Let's call it growth.

Ithaca city proper was our next stop. My brother was surprised I had never been to the Dewitt Mall before, and, now that I've been there, I can see why. To start, the building itself is amazing: a city high school built in 1914, converted into stores, apartments, and studios in the 70s. The entire ground floor is the "mall," containing some boutiques, a top-tier antique store, bookstore, food coop, ice cream parlor, cafe, and Moosewood Restaurant. Shockingly, I didn't buy anything!! Not even at the antique store! I kind of can't believe it myself, but nothing really demanded I take it home with me. I know; who am I? But lack of puchases aside, I had a ball just looking around. Offhand, I mentioned to my brother that I still hadn't been to Moosewood despite having a cookbook of theirs and wanting to go for years. He and his wife decided that we would have to go that weekend. Being in the Dewitt that Saturday felt a little dreamlike--the rain had stopped and it got hot and humid really fast, and the Dewitt's AC was caught as off guard as we were. As we were standing in the corridor peeling off our layers and deciding what to do next, a crowd of elderly protesters, who had earlier been in the park, silently marched by holding anti-Trump signs aloft. If I had to pick a moment as "the most Ithaca" of my trip, it would have to be that.

My brother then led us to the Commons, which was extremely lively despite the shit weather--I couldn't 100% determine if this was somehow related to the protests, or was something separate (I think maybe Earth Day was involved; I don't know, crowds of people and loud music has the effect of driving me away so I didn't ask). My brother told me weeks earlier that there was a book/record store I needed to go to (he insisted it was "very me," apparently), so that was our sole destination. Once again, he was correct--I immediately fell in love with Autumn Leaves. Apparenly it wasn't always a leftist/anarchist bookstore, but in recent years PM Press bought it and expanded its focus on history/theory/politics. I probably spent a good 15-20 minutes wandering around, just sort of overwhelmed by it all, then found my brother's wife who immediately handed me The Secret Life of Bats by Merlin Tuttle, which I instantly knew was going to be a purchase. I spent a lot of time combing through the anarchism/Marxism sections and grabbed The National Question: Selected Writings by Rosa Luxemburg, both because she's been on my to-read list for years, and because that copy was both gloriously 70s and in pristine condition. We looked through the basement, then the record shop upstairs (Angry Mom Records is an incredible name). I didn't pick anything else up, but I did buy those two books (and the clerk said I had great taste, so there's that). The rain picked up again; we scampered to a nearby pizza spot for a quick lunch, then to the car to continue our journey.

On our way out of the city, my brother got a report of a rare* bird in Stewart Park, a prothonotary warbler. My brother has been a hardcore birdwatcher since he was a teenager, so I wasn't bothered or surprised by the detour. It took some time to get a clear enough view of the little guy, (and it was extremely humid the entire time we were looking), but eventually he popped out of the brush and started sitting on a fallen tree branch, posing opposite his relfection in the pond. It was surreal to see half a dozen other bird watchers taking pictures of him like they were paparazzi, but it was nice to see a rare species with my own eyes for once.

Next stop was where my brother and his wife work, which I won't disclose for their privacy. All I'll say is I'm always down to check out vintage audio equipment.

Our final destination was another Reuse store, a huge one divided into three different storefronts. The first section we went to was the homewares/technology/small appliances/media/misc. crafting and sports supplies zone. A bin full of old road maps for 50 cents apiece caught my eye. I cover map skills in my social studies classes, and like to have my students use different maps to practice with. I grabbed a handful that were still in good condition to use next year. In the massive book section, where we easily spent the most time, I found an excellent old (1997!) copy of Yoga the Iyengar Way, a book I had just been looking at on archive.org a few days before. I was amused by the coincidence so I had to have it. We checked out the clothing and the furniture/appliances sections, breezing through pretty fast since we weren't actively looking for anything. Thoroughly exhausted and ravenous, we slipped into a Mexican restaurant for dinner just as it began to pour one final time.

Continued in part 3...

*rare for the area