Heading to New York

Heading to New York to meet up with our good friends Keith and Kristine Holland from Australia.  We hadn't seen each other in three years so we had a lot of catching up to do. Along the way we ran into rain and the day we met in Ovid it was cool and rainy. The town of Ovid is between two lakes, Cayuga and Seneca, which are part of the Finger Lakes of New York.  What a beautiful area. The park we stayed in is called Sned Acres and is a fantastic place for dogs.  Our space was roomy on a hill and the dogs were allowed to run free which our two love to do.  The weather also cleared and we had beautiful sunny days in the upper 70's with very little humidity.

How to save your tree and keep the electrical wires protected.

Of course the Finger Lakes is also known for its wineries and we made sure we would see a few while there.  Our first stop was Lacey MacGruder which is one of our favorites. The tasting room is in a 300 year old barn that was tastefully remodeled by the owners.  Even the bathrooms caught your eye. 

After that one we stopped at a few more over the next three days and a few restaurants and a creamery for cheese.  

Canned wine!

In the distance you could see the beautiful lakes. 

Many of the flowering plants were just opening up.  In South Carolina they had already bloomed so it was nice to see all the flowers again.  Everything was green and lush.

This was the creamery where we tasted the cheese.  Since there was 14 types of cheese to try they  suggested we purchase something to drink along with the tasting so we all had a glass of Riesling.

That led to lunch afterwards at one of the many fine restaurants in the area with our Kiwi friends.  Although they live in Australia now they are from New Zealand originally.

After days of indulgence it was time to move on.  Keith and Kristine headed up to Canada and we decided to explore more of the Finger Lakes.  Our next stop was in a small town outside of Canandaigua Lake. The area already had a good deal of rain so the fields and ditches were flooded. 

We saw these young boys having a ball playing in the ditch near their home.

The turn to our RV park led us from a paved highway up a dirt road.

As we climbed in the rig towards the campground it got foggier with less visibility.

The camp guide leading us to our parking place wherever that might be.  

The next day the weather cleared and we had awesome views.

We spent several sunny days in Canandaigua and enjoyed the town which is filled with lovely older homes.

We think this is a lilac tree.  They smelled like lilac although neither of us had seen one this large.

A long section of Main Street was filled with stately older homes that were beautifully maintained.

This painting was on two sides of a building which represented the old railroad station.  The way it was painted made it look three dimensional.  Today the railroad tracks have been converted into a miles long hiking and biking trail.   

We heard about a music festival in a town nearby called Naples so we took a drive over there.  

Gotta be friendly with a grapevine on your emblem!

This winery was sponsoring the festival in Naples.  There were two good bands that evening, dogs were welcome, wine and food was plentiful, and we had a great time.  Unfortunately, the Captain can't find the rest of the pictures so you'll have to take our word for it that it was a fun night!


We moved to another campground on Otisco Lake so we could visit the town of Skaneateles (skinny atlas) which is on another Fingers Lake called (tada) Skaneateles Lake.  

I am surprised they had a spot to park our rig on Otisco Lake. We had a decent view of the lake but the parking area was teeny-tiny.  Right behind us were cabins that are owned by the regulars on the lake and the tail end of our rig was almost on one of the porches.   Maybe they rented it to us because it was midweek and no one was using the cabins but the size of our rig had people stopping to watch to see if we could get it into the spot. 

Our view of the lake from the rig.


Our little parking space.

The weather was gorgeous so we drove to Skaneateles to see the sights. 

Outside one of the 'upscale' dog stores in town.

A section of the Skaneateles River flowing into (or out of) the lake.  

Several of the prestigious homes on the lake across from the town.

There were several parks along the lake so we packed a lunch and took the pups to enjoy the scenery and the day. 

As we sat enjoying our lunch we saw four teenage girls get off the school bus carrying their backpacks and head to the water's edge. They hemmed and hawed for awhile and then two of them linked arms and jumped into the water while their friends took cellphone pictures. Turns out it was the last day of school and this is how they decided to celebrate.  The screams as they hit the cold water got a little attention!

While in town the pups also enjoyed our hike along the Charlie Major Nature Trail.  It is a pretty area with a 0.8 mile walking trail along the Skaneateles River and a good place to cool off on a hot day.  

Love the chair.

We finished our stay by hiking the Hinchcliff Family Preserve south of Skaneateles.  This property is still owned by the family but they turned an area of it into a trail so hikers could see the remains of an old homestead and other interesting items.

A 1937 Chevrolet GE 1-ton Army Truck

Remains of the Wickwire Cottage. 

Lake Skaneateles in the distance.

Our final stop was at a winery called Anyela's above the lake. We had a tasting and then sat out on the veranda to enjoy the views. 

And then it was time to leave New York and head down to Richmond, Virginia, to see our son-in-law retire from the USMC and spend a day in Washington, DC, to see our niece be promoted to Lt. Colonel in the US Army.  But that's in the next blog.  Peace!