July Vacation in the Finger Lakes

When summer starts I really look forward to a few things. First is the time to sail whenever and where ever possible (I will talk about that in future postings). Next is visiting the Finger Lakes (what I mostly want to talk about now). And since giving up Television over a year ago now ( I am proud to say that I have only watched television about 5 or 6 hours all year and that was either in hotels or checking out coverage on things like the Live Earth Concert!) is the opportunity to read.

I have a great affection for the Finger Lakes as I have spent most of my life around them and a whole lot of time on them. Every year since Marika and I moved to the Nutmeg State we have had made sure to get back to Seneca Falls and spend sometime in the Huntington Family (Marika's mother's family) Cottage on Cayuga Lake.
We drove out on Friday Night and were in the cottage that night for 8 days of enjoying the Marika's Family and Enjoying what the Finger Lakes have to offer.

The First Morning on the Lake...














I love to wake up to the gentle sound of water washing over the rocks and the sun coming up over the water.

We of course get plenty of relaxing in...
This is Marika and a not so tired Coralee enjoying the serenity of the cottage and Cayuga Lake.

We did work to wear out our pup though visiting Taughannouck Falls State Park. We hiked up the trail in and out of the water bringing our puppy back to this park for the second time.

This is a filthy puppy at the end of the trail.

I try to bring the pup with us anywhere I can we also brought her to play with my in-laws dog and spent time bringing her in and out of the lake trying to make her believe that swimming really is fun. We also brought her along with us on our visits to the Seneca Lake Wineries.

We visited 4 wineries and brought home 3 cases of wine.

This is a picture looking out at Seneca lake from Fox Run Winery

Here are the winery we visited and if you want to see more check out their sites.

White Springs is a New Winery Near Geneva I liked their Chardonnay not a normal selection for me.
Fox Run has a wonderful red wine called Sable.

Four Chimneys is an organic winery what makes a really interesting Blueberry wine.
Fulkersons is one of our favorites for wines like Diamond and Red Zepplin.




At the end of the week I heard of a interesting exhibition traveling the canals of NY involving a

recreated canal schooner. I took a tour and learned some interesting things about the commerce of the time and got to see this 88 foot schooner. Unfortunately, I did not see it under sail but here is a picture from the web. Click on it learn more about the Lois McClure.

After a sometimes busy and sometimes relaxing week; where I got some time to read, a couple naps and a whole lot a family visiting; we hit the road for our trip back to CT all the while trying to tune into the Live Earth Concert that Marika's Sister was at in Giant Stadium. We got home from our vacation like every vacation exhausted.

This Coralee ready for bed. She is still sleeping most of Monday!