Circling the Middle Finger!

Today we circled (almost) 2 of the Finger Lakes and enjoyed wineries, breweries, and distilleries (oh my!)

As we were driving out, we were talking about how this trip is different (and the same) as those we took earlier and that Mom and Dad did in their RV.  The big thing is the technology.  With our cell phones and blogging we can keep in touch with family and friends much more often and easier (is this a good thing?  LOL) and, with the GPS we can get directions and find places with fewer hassles.  Dave said, “Yep, Myrtle (our Nuvi for those uninitiated!) has probably saved our marriage!”   No more turn maps “right side up” and taking “the OTHER left!”  (And,  Kellys… Dave is getting “better” at putting in the address BEFORE he takes off driving.)

We started the day at the Ithaca Farmer’s Market.  WOW… now we know why they are pushing hard to get one in Charlotte with “character”… the mix of veggies, food carts, music, flowers, and crafts was intoxicating (and we were yet to hit the wineries breweries and distilleries, oh my!)  We thought about Tracy and Clay with all of the ethnic food booths…Cambodian, Cuban, Tibetan, Thai….and pastries and bread by the dozens!  You name it!  It was definitely NOT the place to go after starting a “no grains, no sugar, no white food” diet!! We did indulge in some Asian chicken sticks and Vietnamese lettuce rolls.  Deb also found some super light switch covers for the den and veggies for the diet!  Plus we did a wine tasting with Sheldrake Point Farms which was one of the wineries we had planned to visit.  We bought their Merlot.



Then we decided to do parts of the wine trails on the east side of Lake Seneca and the west side of Lake Cayuga.  We stopped at 2 wineries, a distillery and a brewery.  We got great whites (8!!) at La Chateau Lafayette Reneau.  Dave has now filled up the wine rack and is starting to store wine in odd cubbies!   LOL and we are less than a week out!!



The distillery was the most fun for it was so different than anything we had done before.  Their German copper pot still was amazing.  It had a row of plates that they use to concentrate the distillate depending on which liquor they are making.  Some of their liquors they “double distill” after adding fruit.  Their vodka is made from grapes and some is infused with berries.  Their whiskies are aged in 10 gallon new oak barrels with gives them a faster aging process.  They claim this allows them to get the equivalent of a 3 year age in 1 year. We bought some vodka, traditional and rye bourbon and a yet-to-be-revealed bottle for Clay… Clay SENIOR (sorry son!)

Right down the road was the Skyland Gallery.  This could rival New Morning.  They represent over 300 artists in 3000 square feet.  Deb was now in heaven!  The pottery, glass and leather were amazing.  While we were there Emily called and passed around the phone so that we could be a small part of Dot’s 90^th Birthday celebration back in Chapin!  Happy Birthday Mamie…. May we all reach 90 with the grace and faculties she has!!  We went out and sat in their garden on gorgeous dragonfly steel garden benches to take the call.  Deb bought some Christmas gifts and a pair of shoes she had passed up at Tamarac, American Craft Council, and a few other specialty shows.

Dave said if he had known Two Goats Brewery was just down the road, he would have dropped me off and prepared himself better for the craft bill!  This place was a lot of fun!  Unfortunately, it was strictly a brew pub and you could only buy their beer in growlers.  As with the wineries, and distillery, the views of the lake from their tasting room and decks were amazing.  It reminded us a little of an American (and much newer!) version of Lake Como.

On the way back to Ithaca, we ate at a lakeside restaurant.  Then made one more pilgrimage to Wegmans, mainly to “get cash back” since there are no Wells Fargos or Wachovias for about 100 miles and the next campground only accepts cash!!  (Again, with technology on our phones we were able to sort all of this out!)

During this really fun day, we were constantly checking our phones or the scroll in the TV’s tuned to the NY teams to get the Panther score.  Our Football Stars definitely were in perfect alignment without us… both the Panthers and Tigers won!  As I write this Dave has curled up with Sunday Night Football in the RV, freeing the big computer up for me.  We are a little conflicted about whether to stay another day and night in Ithaca or move on to 1000 islands.   Stay tuned….