Many people like to take souvenirs when they visit a place—a little memento of where they have been to help preserve the memory. On occasion, we want to take an interesting rock to bring home.
However, a movie made this trend popular, and I have tried to observe it as often as possible. It is where a couple goes to a location. Instead of taking a souvenir, they bring a lock and place it on a bridge, write or etch their names onto the lock, and fix it on the bridge. The key is thrown away at this point, making it impossible to undo the lock and bind the lovers forever. A few times, I forgot to bring a lock and paid a hefty price.
Looking at All The Places We Have Been Map shows that we are avid travellers. We have seen lots of locks in various places, but we have never seen anything like what we saw at Ithaca Falls Nature Preserve.
Our attraction to this setting was the falls that gave its name to Ithaca, NY. It is an impressive waterfall and flows all year round. Ithaca has a motto:
Ithaca is Gorges.
It is an excellent play on words. The gorges in and near Ithaca have several waterfalls. This is a place for waterfall lovers and hikers. It is a great natural setting.
The first time we travelled to this natural area, we saw something we had never seen before—instead of locks with the names of lovers on them, flat stone were placed along the cliff wall.
I loved this idea! Using the rock that is easily found here, write the names down and display them for all to see.
But these were all removed between our first visit and our most recent exploration of Ithaca and the surrounding area.
I was not impressed.
This unique homage to couples in love had meaning for many, but it was removed. What could be the reason for this?
There is a great division between what is welcomed in one place and frowned upon in another. Some places encourage love locks, while others warn that it is considered vandalism. This is also true for fairy homes. We have been to places where people set up fairy homes along hiking paths for them to be removed the next time we are there. Some trails proudly proclaim they are places to see fairy homes and encourage others to place their own. Also, painting small stones with an inspirational message and placing them along trails is encouraged and others where the practice is opposed.
Someone thought it inappropriate and removed all the signs here in Ithaca. I could not find anything explaining why it happened, but there are warning signs in the Ithaca Falls Natural Area that state this area can be contaminated with lead from past manufacturing.
Could that be the reason?
Whatever the reason, it is sad that this display of affection is no longer practised.
Sad.
- If you want to leave your mark at a place, make sure it is appreciated and not considered vandalism.
