Dirt roads, wine and gorges

  Ithaca, New York, United States
Thursday, July 2, 2009

Day 2 began with a fabulous breakfast at the inn with a choice between an egg souffle or lemon waffles, a walk and then off to the wineries. Google maps only led us astray slightly from Downers Grove to Ithaca but the route it took us to the wineries was certainly unusual.

We started out on a normal state road that led us past the Tauqhannock State Park with its 250 foot falls.

Tauqhannock Falls

We made a quick detour because I had seen a picture of them and wanted to take my own photos and then we were back on the state road again for just a few minutes. We than made a turn at Kelly's Corner Road which took us through cornfields and on dirt roads. We had to keep a close eye on the turns because one wrong turn and we would be back in the movie Deliverance. A downpour caught us and turned the car into a little mudball from the dirt roads. However, google maps delivered again because we ended up exactly where we wanted to be.

Lamoureaux Landing

We started at Lamoreaux Landing winery and ended at the Red Newt with 5 wineries in total.

View across the vineyrds

another vineyard view

In the middle we stopped for lunch at the Stone Cat which had been recommended to us by a couple at the B&B.

The Stone Cat Cafe

The scenery around these wineries is amazing with Seneca Lake in the background. The vines stretch miles going down slopes toward the lake and running alongside the road. As one person told us, it's either corn or grapes that is grown here and there's plenty of both

Leindenfrost Winery

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We got 5 tastings at each winery and it's a good thing that they give such small amounts because that would be a lot of wine by the end of 5 wineries. Jay had told us 5 would be a good amount to do in one day and he was absolutely right! We think that as the day goes on, they give smaller amounts in the glasses to make sure everyone goes home in good shape. The wineries close at 5 which is also a good thing so that people are not driving in the dark.

We took a different road home which kept us from the dirt roads and the cornfields and made a stop at Maxie's for dinner in downtown Ithaca. They serve some great cajun and fish there and we got back to the inn tired and full but the day was not over.

In need of a walk, we headed to Ithaca Falls which we heard was only about a mile from the inn. It was fabulous!

Ithaca Falls

One of the bumper stickers in Ithaca says that "Ithaca is gorges" and they are everywhere.

Ithaca is a college town with both Ithaca College and Cornell University finding their homes there. It is a town of hills in much the same way that San Francisco and Seattle have hills only they have snow and ice in the winter. We were told the story of a woman who dropped her laundry basket and it slid two blocks down the hill on the ice. In between those hills are the gorges with waterfalls tumbling down the rocks. The one pictured supposedly has Carl Sagan's astronomy lab at the top which he bought from Cornell.

People also plant gardens everywhere they can: both flower and vegetable. As we walked to the falls they sidewalks on either side were filled with flowers and vegetables.