Fun in the Finger Lakes

Auburn, NY

Camillus, NY and the Erie Canal

Steam Engine Museum in Camillus

Sophie and her new friend Midnight, the mascot of one of the Erie Canal boats.

Chittenango and Cazenovia

Chittenango FallsBreakfast in Cazenovia

Chittenango is the birthplace of L.Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. They've painted the sidewalks on the main street so that they are yellow brick roads.

Canaan, New York





Visiting with family

and playing on porches.



 





Shanty- Canaan

July 4, 2013

We started the morning with a quick visit to Monitour Falls, near Watkins Glen.  The waterfall was at a little park at the end of the main street and a nice way to spend a few minutes while Grandy packed up the RV.

Ty and Sophie were excited to put on their patriot clothes today for the 4th of July.  They were also excited to see all the flags out in parks and in front of houses. 

 

The highlight of yesterday’s longish haul from the Finger Lakes to the Berkshires happened when I got tired of the same pretty scenery and decided to “red road” it on Route 22. Almost immediately there was a classic New York Central Locomotive sitting next to a general store with a couple of other rusted out classic cars. Ty was riding with Alex and was overjoyed when he saw the RV pull over.  He loved exploring the big diesel engine and wanted to know why Mommy's car and Grandy's bus have tow hitches that look different from the trains couplers.

 

 

 

Very quiet 4^th in Canaan with a nice cocktail hour and nibbles up on High Thyme with most of the usual folks. And of course Ty & Sophie were indoctrinated in the ritual of climbing the lean-to roof.



Ty and Sophie spent the rest of the evening after coming down from the hill running around the yard, having a blast.  They finally went to bed around 9:30, completely exhausted, after announcing that this house is lots of fun!

last day Watkins Glen KOA

July 3, 2013

To repeat, the list of stuff to do here includes Pool, Mini-Golf, Playground, Pirate Ship, Jump Pillow and Waterslide. We managed to do every one yesterday with 2^nd visits to both the pool and jump pillow. And still managed to get a couple of loads of laundry done.

But in the end the Water Slide was number 1. Ty did a great job of leading the way up the stairs with a slightly nervous Sophie right behind .. and Grandy bringing up the rear to keep an eye on things. The first couple of runs Sophie and Gandy did a tandem run but for run number 3 Sophie got a bit of a surprise when Grandy set it up as before and then gave her a solo run...which Alex had okayed. The report from Mom was that the first realization came quick and showed some concern but that instantly turned into pure joy… and no desire to go with Grandy again.

At the pool Sophie is very comfortable going under water and Ty is working hard on his swimming but above all just plain loves being in the water… especially with the new Grandy tosses Ty game. Sure am glad there’s the Hot Tub to relax and big sign saying “Over 16 Only”.

One more full day here and then off to the Shanty for the 4^th and a weekend meet up with Jeremy and family. For non-family folk, the Shanty is a mid-1800’s village one-room meeting house that in the late 19^th century was pulled up 2 hills using logs and mules and placed on a small log provided by the cousins who have rather larger houses at the top of the first hill. Along the way there have been several additions to the house and a ‘sleeping barn” and it even got indoor plumbing in the 60’s.

One additional note from today.  While making a run for dinner supplies we decided to stop by one of the many wineries around Seneca Lake.  We found a fun little winery, Catherine Valley Winery, on the southeast side of the lake and stopped to find a bottle of wine to go with dinner.  We tasted two reds and both liked the Noirette much better.  They also had a batch of hard apple cider so of course that was a must try.  The cider is fantastic!  Nice and light and crisp with old English varieties of apples.  Of course we had to get a bottle of that too.