Samantha Brown's Places to Love

Genesee River Valley, Ny

At the Abbey of the Genesee, Samantha talks with Father Isaac about the history of the Abbey and the popular Monks' Bread that the church's Trappist monks have been producing since the 1950's to help support the Abbey. In Mount Morris, Owner/Chef Melanie Alvarez Santiago welcomes Samantha to Boriken Restaurant, where they sample authentic Puerto Rican dishes and discuss Chef's move to the area from Puerto Rico in 2017 with nothing to her name. Exploring the "Grand Canyon of the East", Samantha takes in the sights of Letchworth State Park and its three major waterfalls along the Genesee River. Within the Park, Samantha discovers the Autism Nature Trail (ANT) and talks with Co-Founder Gail Serventi about this new recreational trail designed specifically to allow visitors with autism and other developmental disabilities to push boundaries, explore new activities and develop skills. Finishing her hike, Samantha then meets Jen Hackett and her service dog, Algonquin, who may be the first dog trained specifically for autistic children. Artist Shawn Dunwoody then welcomes Samantha to his Community Paint Day, where they join volunteers of all ages to paint a public mural that Shawn designed. At the 19th-century living Genesee Country Village & Museum, Samantha crafts a bucket with a local cooper and discusses the museum being the largest and most comprehensive collection of buildings in New York State and third largest in the US. Finishing off her trip, Samantha takes in the Peony Tree Festival at Linwood Gardens, where she talks about travel and living in the Genesee River Valley with her friend, Travel-Blogger, Carol Cain.