Finger Lakes Reunion

I spent the Fourth of July Weekend in the Finger Lakes for the second year in a row. It was a kind of anniversary/reunion for Kyle and Getta's reception last year and a group of us rented the same house. We enjoyed some great sightseeing, swimming, hiking, beer & wine tastings, and some good chill time with a great group of people. This was my third time in the Finger Lakes and I feel like there is still plenty more to discover - I love this region of the country.  

This is the view looking south from the back deck of the house. A couple buildings down is the winery where the reception took place and, if you are viewing on a large screen, the grey building farther down is Two Goats Brewing - we walked there many times over the last two trips.

Patrick, Jonny, Sammy and the rest of the crew tasting wine.

"Faces"

I know it's ridiculous, but this was my first wine tasting(or even glass of wine) in the Finger Lakes ever! Although the region is famous for its wine there are tons of breweries around - new ones have popped up between every trip.

Michael

"The Crew" - it was five bucks for six tastes - a good way for a non-wine expert to discover what they like.

Patrick

Getta and Sammy

Now with Jonny!

"Group Shot"

After the winery Brad wanted to take a yoga class in Ithaca(one lake over) - I tagged along and went for a ride around the town.

I cruised around the town and then over to Ithaca Falls - if you look closely there is a rainbow in the bottom 1/4 of the image.

Brad making new friends in downtown Ithaca.

"Gay"

The first time I was in Ithaca they were building this pedestrian mall - it seem to be a huge success. The whole downtown area was jumping.

"Ithaca Redux" we took almost the same shot last year.

"Sunset Over Ithaca" - such a cool place.

"Did you use Photoshop?"

This is a winery/brewery where we had lunch - there was so much cottonwood in the air it looked like it was snowing.

Brad found a state park where we could go swimming in a waterfall - that will appear in my trip video - after the swim we went for this amazing hike.

"Bubble Blowers"

The beginning of the hike reminded me a lot of the famous hike at Watkins Glen near where we stay.


"Selfie!"

It seems around every corner in the Finger Lakes there is something amazing.

"Yoga on the Falls"

"Top of the Falls"

I was able to rest my camera on a wall to attempt a long exposure of this scene.

"Kyle at Lucifer Falls"

"Lucifer Crewcifer" sorry.

You need to look at the people on the path at the top of the photo to get an idea of the scale of this place.

After our hike and swim we stopped at Ithaca Brewing for some food and beer.

I had a killer rustic wheat and Brad had this cider.


"Half Full"

On the last day of our trip Brad and I stopped at Letchworth Falls State Park. I was confused by this dam because it had no pool behind it - until I read that it was for flood control and not hydro-electric power.

"Scenic Overlook"

I believe we read that this gorge is 600 feet deep here - look at those tiny rafters down in the river.

My brother told me this place is known as the "Grand Canyon of the East" - it's not hard to figure out why.

"Brad in Monochrome"

There is a Lower, Middle and Upper Falls - all spectacular - it's hard to understand the scale of these Lower Falls from this image.

"Tourists"

It definitely wasn't the best time of day for nature photography - but while not calendar-quality-photos - I was still happy with some of the pictures I took.

The Middle and Upper Falls from "Inspiration Point".

"Waterfall Rainbow"

It is the giant waterfall behind me(pictured before) that is forming the mist for this rainbow - but hey, it is the Finger Lakes - why not have another waterfall on the scene as well.

Waterfall, rainbow, green cliff, forest, blue sky.


"Happy Hiker"

Not far from the park, in Perry, was Silver Lake Brewing Project. This was another great stop.


The guy in the blue shorts heard we were from Ohio and said, "My favorite brewery is there - Hoppin Frog". Then I got to tell him with pride that I was from Akron.

We ended up stopping in Buffalo for our dinner - this place was fantastic - even if our waitress was extremely forgetful!



We took a short walk around Buffalo - this was one of the many neat buildings.

Brad chilling on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.
One of my famously popular road trip videos will be coming up in my next post!