I wish I could’ve seen more of Rochester, NY this week. I was locked in a conference room most of my time there and after work officially ended I was going out to eat with my sales guy and the consultants we were working with. Still, I caught a few glimpses here and there.

Rochester has about half the population of Raleigh, so the scale is smaller. It has seen days as a boomtown, though, through the power of the Erie Canal, the Kodak film empire built by George Eastman, and the success of the Xerox corporation. Those boomtown days are still evident in the public places named for the giants of that time, and the stately brick buildings that have stood for a century.

And yet, Rochester seemed to me to be down on its luck. Though my hotel was in the heart of downtown there didn’t seem to be many restaurants or bars nearby. People wearing hoodies seemed to be hanging around, waiting to hassle some unsuspecting tourist walking by. My coworker got hassled the same way on a walk over to visit a client. During my last night in town, I heard multiple sirens go by the hotel, yet during the day I saw few police patrolling the sidewalks. I’ve been through some rough cities and towns before from my Navy days and from business travels, but even I did not feel comfortable walking around outside my hotel.

It’s a shame, too, because there are so many interesting things to see in Rochester. I have yet to see the High Falls, or visit the George Eastman house: a mecca for photographers. Or look around Lake Ontario, or the finger lakes. Or the rolling countryside, for that matter. All that will have to wait until next time. And I hope there is a next time, because Rochester offers so much to see. Maybe next time.