Peace Garden in Lewiston, NY

Traveling off the highway and on the back roads not only offers better scenery, but the chance to stop along the way and do the other best thing: walk around. Walking around Lewiston, NY I found the Peace Garden. Initially I bypassed the sign and explanation and just walked in and around the garden.

As usual, I immediately sat on one of the benches to admire the view I assume the designer intended me to view. In this case, a fountain with a large blue statue of two figures in a happy movement pose, one male and one female, against the old stone of the neighboring building. At first I thought the building marred the view, and then realized it provided the perfect backdrop. Up and walking around again, I gazed at the chess or checkers board, in wait for players appear to play a leisurely morning game surrounded by trees and flowers with the old fashioned street light adding the right touch.

The bright blue bench with the flowers behind it caught my attention. The green and blue played off each other as those colors do. I worked the composition capturing just part of the bench with the flowers behind and brick foreground. My travel companions came back and found me, and off I went to browse the street and a few more shops, and then to lunch.

I did stop to read the plaque. Peace Garden commemorates the 200+ year peace between the United States and Canada which started after the war of 1812.