Leaving the St Lawrence River and 1000 Islands, we headed to the Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York. We stayed in a state park on Seneca Lake with plans to drive the shoreline of it and Cayuga Lake. Ithaca at the tippy end of Cayuga Lake is home to numerous waterfalls. Of course, we tried to see all. At the tippy end of Seneca Lake is Watkins Glen, a gorge flume with waterfalls running the course of the gorge.
While I trekked through the gorges, Dad and Nikki hung out patiently awaiting my return.
Watkins Glen is a 2-mile walk through the gorge with numerous waterfalls within. Over 800 steps along the way; the last 150 reminded me of the climbs to the top of Michigan lighthouses! Definitely burned some carbs that day!
We had great weather most days. The one day that was cloudy and cold was the perfect time to visit the Corning Museum of Glass. A very interesting place providing a history of glass making from the beginning of time through all the innovations of Pyrex and Gorilla Glass, first developed for smartphones. There are so many collections of glass from around the world and otherwise, there is no way to cover it all. I highly recommend to anyone that travels to Upstate New York to go to Corning and visit this museum. Remember Corning makes pyrex dishes, Corelle ware, and many other glass products we use everyday. In addition, Corning is instrumental in research and development of new types and uses of glass in opticals, vessels, space exploration, windows and much more. We were there no less than 6 hours. Got my steps in that day!!
Corning Concept Automobile — Very interesting to consider glass auto components!!
The scenery in and around the lakes was awesome. Lots of wineries and craft breweries. We did a brew tasting – little weird for Dad; he just wanted his Miller Lite! He enjoyed the winery better and we tasted a variety of wines. I chose the winery just based on its signature wine – The Red Cat! Not exactly a wine connossier . . . but I did like to wine!
The Foliage in the area was outstanding. Not as many Red Maples, yet lots of reds, oranges and yellows to enjoy.
Journey to New England 