I left behind a museum devoted to one comedic icon to pursue a more subdued testament to another: From the zany and frenzied Lucille Ball and her museum in Chautauqua to the more philosophic and observational humor of Mark Twain.

Going back a bit further in time than I love Lucy, I know a lot of us shared the glories of romping around with Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn – literary classic vs. TV classic. En route to Watkins Glen at the bottom of one of the many Finger Lakes in the area, we stopped to revel in Mark Twain’s small study set on a tiny plot of land on the bucolic Elmira College campus. His authentic study, where he worked and wrote those classics, impacted me a lot more than the recreation of the Ricardo’s apartment, a mainstay of the Lucy and Desi Museum.

The study was originally situated on Quarry Farm, where Twain’s wife grew up and her family lived, and where he spent many summers. During his summer visits, Twain realized how conducive the farm was to his writing, and his sister-in-law gave him the free-standing study as a present in 1874, from which he gave the world The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. The farm itself, where Twain chose to write, is now restricted to Mark Twain scholars who come there to do the same but are themselves writing about Mark Twain. Samuel Clemons, no doubt, would have been pleased.

As the story was told to me by the director of Mark Twain Studies, Twain looked out at the river from his study and thought of his own life on a riverboat, and Huck Finn emerged. A powerful image. The study itself was moved to the campus in 1952 to be more accessible to the public.

Copies of his own hand-written notes on a short story he wrote in 1874 lie on the desk. Sitting in the desk chair, I could channel Twain conjuring up Tom Sawyer. Unfortunately, after several family tragedies, Twain stopped writing in his study around 1890, before passing away in 1910. But the study affords a connection to the great author and humorist that feels imminently impactful.

I waved good-bye to Mark and headed to the 1000 Islands. So with another snack box in tow, I moved from cultural icons to a culinary one. In all of my years of savoring the zesty flavor floating atop my salad greens, not once did I make the connection between the dressing and my upcoming destination.  But yes, the 1000 Islands is indeed where the dressing was first concocted and relished – so to speak… There are a number of tales of how that came about but the most celebrated is this.

In the early 1900s, a favorite activity of wealthy visitors to the islands was to hire a fishing guide. It was tradition, after a morning of fishing, for the guide to prepare a Shore Dinner – actually a mid-day feast — featuring the morning’s catch. A tradition that continues to this day.

One particular guide, George LaLonde, included a salad dressing created by his wife, Sophia, as part of his feast. One visitor, May Irwin, Vaudeville actress and cook-book author, so fancied the dressing that she asked for the recipe and shared it with the chef at the Herald Hotel where she and her husband stayed. There the newly named, by Ms. Irwin, Thousand Island Dressing was first served to the public. But it gained real prominence when she returned to New York City and gave the recipe to fellow Thousand Islands summer guest, George Boldt, an owner of the famed Waldorf Astoria who then introduced it to the world.

As an adjunct to the story, the Herald Hotel was ultimately purchased in 1972 by Allen and Susan Benas who renamed it the Thousand Island Inn with its namesake dressing becoming the “official” house specialty. Today, they own the rights to the original recipe and sell it exclusively at River Rats Cheese shop in Clayton, NY. Don’t even think about asking for the ingredients, though – that’s proprietary information – and it still remains the only dressing named for a region of the United States. And yes, there’ are so many things of interest to see on the Empire State Road Trip, but none so intimately connected to the 1000 Islands as their namesake dressing. For more information call (607) 535-3759 or visit the Harbor Hotel Collection; Mark Twain Studies; 1000 Islands River Rat Cheese.

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I felt cautiously optimistic until my friend pointed out – with some degree of pleasure, I thought – that no matter how scrubbed down the room was, how many masks were in evidence or social distance maintained, if such was even possible in a hotel setting, our safety was still not guaranteed. I couldn’t disagree.

Still, my husband and I planned to adhere to all precautions – and the Harbor Hotel Collection providing our accommodations promised to do the same – which they did admirably. After months of quarantine, we decided to face the virus with a defiant stance. We were going to go on living – and for us, that meant traveling. A road trip from Washington, DC seemed like a perfect compromise.

First stop – Chautauqua, New York, where comedy is king – and one special queen… (The two museums are actually in Jamestown, NY, a small town adjacent to Chautauqua).

How many places do you walk into laughing? Flashes of comedic movies, TV shows and stand-ups assault your inner comedian as you enter the National Comedy Center and you feel one with a larger-than-life Rodney Dangerfield. Then a sign comes on reminding you to wash your hands – and you stop laughing – but just for a moment. Instead of the pre-Covid wristband, you get a card that provides interactive capability during the virus and a stylus allowing you to touch screens.  And you allow yourself to start laughing again.

The National Comedy Center began as a long-ago vision of the legendary Lucille Ball, the afore-mentioned queen of comedy – a home-grown Jamestown girl, born, bred and buried – for her hometown to become a destination for the celebration of comedy. Still, it didn’t actually open until 2018. Her own much-older museum is just down the street – but more on that later.

First, I had to personalize my comedy experience by picking my favorite comedians, TV shows and films from Cary Grant to Stephen Colbert, All in the Family to Modern Family, The Marx Brothers to Bridesmaids. They lost me at podcasts but turns out my humor runs toward political satire, wry and sophisticated, and observational. My husband took issue with the sophisticated designation….

The museum emphasizes comedy as an art form and illustrates everything that goes into the craft of comedy from inception to production to execution. A sample of Dangerfield’s handwritten notes has him admonishing the audience: “What a crowd! What a crowd!” I didn’t want to know that. Joan Rivers had her own preparation notes: 17 Ways to Handle a Heckler. Okay, so no taking any chances there. Lots of iconic outfits dot the museum from Jerry Seinfeld’s Puffy Shirt to Phyllis Diller’s huge ball gown to Carol Burnett’s wacky characters’ fashion statements.

One exhibit is devoted to all things George Carlin; another to late night hosts from Steve Allen to Seth Myers; another to When Harry Met Sally with two of the most memorable movie scenes ever.

At the stand-up comedy lounge, I got to sit in to view some of my favorite comedians from my initial sense-of-humor profile. I actually looked around for a bartender to take my drink order. A different lounge presented clips from my favorite TV shows.

Passing from one exhibit to another takes you down a hallway of one-liners. At this point you just can’t stop laughing and you may never make it to the end. There’s an academic exhibit which chronicles the history of comedy from the Greeks to vaudeville to the internet. Lest you find that a tad too serious, when you sit on the adjoining bench, what do you think happens? Yes, of course. The bench farts!

There are scripts where inadvertent changes that were made during shooting remained on camera; there is the history of radio from Jack Benny to Howard Stern; and then there is the age-restricted raunchy “Blue Room” for the likes of Lenny Bruce to Wanda Sykes. Everything tells a story of how a joke goes from page to stage, the long grind from comedic inception to commercial success. And it’s all funny!

I, like millions of Americans throughout the 50s, laughed with and at Lucy and Desi Ricardo growing up. The I Love Lucy Show was must-see TV. I liked her – I didn’t love her – but her iconic show no doubt laid the foundation for situation comedies for decades to come. Having a museum of her own in her hometown seemed like a fitting testament.

The Lucy and Desi Museum down the street, while special in its own right, is static by comparison to the Comedy Center. Most of the visuals are behind glass enclosures and I kept looking for something to scan. The West Gallery is devoted to Lucy and Desi, their relationship, their family; the East Gallery, to their studio and show, with replicas of all the rooms of the Ricardo’s second apartment. Any fan would feel transported back in time and onto the TV set.

For a Lucille Ball fan, this would be a tiny bit of heaven. Since I was more socially distanced (in every sense of the word), I just was sorry to read that Lucy and Desi got divorced the day after the last show aired in 1961. After four hours steeped in laughter, I left feeling sad. That just seemed wrong, so I headed back to the Comedy Center. Problem solved.

Traveling on to Watkins Glen and the 1000 Islands as part of the Empire State Road Trip will be covered in future articles. For more information call (607) 535-3759 or check out the following sites:

Empire State Road Trip, Harbor Hotel Collection

National Comedy Center

Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum

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