Day 1: Saturday July 28.
Josh and Jeanette made the reservations for our four night stay at site 235 in the Seneca Village loop. Since Keuka Lake is less than an hour away, Sharon got a nice bike ride in before we broke camp (roll up the welcome mat and stow it and the footstool, and close the windows). We stopped at Tops again for ice and ale and a couple other things, though on a Saturday morning parking Ernie in their lot was a little trickier but doable. I'm getting more comfortable dealing with a 24' behemoth.
We then drove the 5 miles over to the next lake, Seneca, working our way South to Watkins Glen. Our first stop was a Meadery, where we sampled a couple of their meads and hard ciders. They are rightfully proud of some of their products, while others cater to sweeter tastes or were commissioned to support diabetes. The good stuff was really good, so we ignored the rest. Both Mead and hard cider are excellent beverages when done well, and their main products were so palatable.
From there we hit another winery that reminded us of what we don't like about the Finger Lakes. Its wine tasting was horrid little sips for more money, and worse, the wine didn't taste good, being just too sweet for our taste. So we kept driving to another winery several miles down the lake. The wine was better, but still not worth buying, though their port was surprisingly tasty. We stopped at another winery, but rejected it without leaving Ernie (we can be snobby), but walked into our last winery choice because it offered grappa. They made a very nice grappa, and a very very nice brandy, and two white ports (!). Their wines were at least as good as anything we tasted.
Enough with the little sips, we drove into Watkins Glen and its abundance of tourists and daytrippers to the park. I confirmed an appointment for two new front tires for Ernie Monday morning before meeting Josh and Jeanette and their Samoyed Marshy at the Marina restaurant for a late lunch. Then it was up to the campground and settling in for our four night stay.
Watkins Glen SP Campground is high above the town. It has over 300 campsites in 4 loops. The drive up from town is silly steep, and Ernie doesn't like working so hard, and having to use so much brake to keep him in control dropping down. The first road of the climb is part of the original Watkins Glen road race course. (The current track is a closed track a couple miles from town.) The campground bathrooms have flush toilets (Yeah!) and hot showers (Double Yeah!). There's a lot of tent camping, and I suspect that part of the reason there are fewer RVs than other campgrounds is the steepness of the road to get here.
Day 2, Sunday July 29.
We all drove in Ernie to Finger Lakes Region SP and Taughannock Falls State Park. We hiked the rim trails in Taughannock Falls, which offered wonderful views of the river gorge below. The rock looks like massive slabs of slate, and I keep imagining making billiards tables from it. I need to see if that was ever an industry here.
After the hike we drove down to the lake to Finger Lakes and paddled the SUPs for a few hours, taking turns on the water and playing with Marshy. Marshy did get her turn on a SUP but it was short-lived.
After drying off and rolling the SUPs back up, we hiked up the gorge we walked around earlier. The river is wide and shallow after the 215' waterfall, giving the option to walk on the trail or in and along the water.
Day 3, Monday July 30.
After a quick breakfast, I drove Ernie to Parmenter Tire for new front tires. After a bit, they asked I come back Tuesday afternoon, so we went for hikes in our park. The campground was packed Saturday/Sunday, but mostly empty on Monday. The trails were much less crowded on a Monday than the weekend.
The Gorge Trail is one of the most beautiful walks we've ever done. The rock carved by the river is on display from a path that straddles the sinuous cascading water, bridges over the water, and tunnels under the river, providing a gamut of extraordinary angles to appreciate. Dogs aren't allowed on the narrow and crowded path, so we hiked up and met Josh and Jeanette at one end and then walked back on the far less interesting rim trail. Then we all hiked the longer South Rim trail, made more interesting because it continues under a railroad trestle to the pond behind the dam above the gorge.
We all were exercised out, retired to the campsite, and then to Ernie when the rain finally dribbled in. Radar threatened Red, but it split in two leaving us in the soft Green. It was still enough to create mud and puddles, but it stopped soon enough for an evening campfire.
Day 4, Tuesday July 31.
First off, we dropped Ernie off at Parmenter Tire. Then the five of us headed to Cayuga Lake to visit the wineries. The Finger Lakes are marketed as a great wine area, particularly for whites. Cornell University worked with the winemakers to come up with new grape varieties that thrive in this environment. The Cayuga grape is one that is quite tasty. We stopped at several wineries (Swedish Hill, Varick, Knapp, Lucas, and Americana), and then had lunch at the Thirsty Owl. The best two were Lucas and Varick, though Swedish Hill and Americana we're also quite good. Our lunch wines at Thirsty Owl were all quite acceptable.
Waiting for our meal I got a call from Parmenter Tire, that my tires didn't arrive. Sigh. So we're staying around for one more day, not in the same site but close. We planned to drive to Shenandoah NP for a 2 night stay before continuing on to Oriental NC, but now it'll be just an overnight stop.
Josh and Jeanette have done an extraordinary job with our dinners. Tonight we had tuna steaks with a sauce to die for, and tomato and fresh mozzarella cheese and basil. It should have a warning label about drooling.
Day 5, Wednesday August 1.
After breakfast we all packed up and said goodbye, Josh and Jeanette and Marshy to Brooklyn, Sharon and I to Walmart. We have a light in Ernie that we really like, and we want another. Every Walmart we go to has an empty hook for them, including this one. Sigh. We had better luck at the hardware store, getting a bolt that hopefully will replace the broken one on our screenroom.
We then stopped at Parmenter Tire to check on our new tires. They arrived! And the new camber bolts, and the mobile alignment rack. So we took the bikes off Ernie and went for a ride.
The Catherine Valley Trail is a Rails to Trails gravel/dirt path South out of Watkins Glen for 12 miles or so. It follows a lake inlet for a while before slowly climbing through the woods up the valley. It goes through one town with sidewalks and stores for a couple blocks, and another with a few homes and no sidewalks, and a short bit where you can hear the two lane highway but thick dense foliage hides any visual clues. Easy on a mountain bike, and a cross bike wouldn't have a problem, but a road bike might not like some of the mud.
On the way back Terry called that Ernie had new sneakers and properly aligned, so we picked up the pace. Since it was all downhill, it was easy and fun. And Ernie feels so much better to drive, confident I don't have to worry about a front tire blowout. If I knew how good Terry and Parmenter Tire were, I would have loved to get a second battery and alternator.
Which would be a nice solution to a problem we're having. The ARB is not cooling enough because the battery isn't getting/staying fully charged. Granted, it's been overcast, but the battery seems to losing its charge way too fast. We're having to buy ice every day to keep it under 45. We'll have to have the battery tested when we get home, and perhaps replaced.
Back issues are making me jonesing to be home. Our plan was Shenandoah NP, Oriental NC, Barb & Tom, Shea Family, maybe Columbia SC for more Shea, but now it's an overnight in Shenandoah on the way to Oriental, and then Neptune Beach. And doctor appointments and medicine refills.
Dinner was leftovers from Josh and Jeanette, and so good. The campground is mostly full of NASCAR fans, it would be cool to see the weekend's races, maybe another year.
New York pictures are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/LwFYLi2DjvGCygS29
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