This past Wednesday, June 23, I celebrated my....(if you think I'm going to tell you which one you're crazy!) birthday. DH wanted to throw me another surprise party, as he has in the past for the big landmark days, but I said ENOUGH! My friends know how to count. We don't have to remind them. LOL! All I wanted to do was go away for an overnight vacation. We decided to go to the Finger Lakes wine country. We stopped to sightsee along the way.
The area is riddled with gorges and waterfalls. This was our first stop.
It was a hot day so we decided against the long walk down to the bottom of the gorge. Who am I kidding!? We wouldn't have made it down there and back in hot weather or otherwise! LOL!
We arrived midafternoon in Hector, NY to our B&B at the Chateau Lafayette Reneau. It sat right on the shores of Seneca Lake and looking out over the vineyard made me feel like I was in France, even though I've never been there.
The countryside was beautiful. We sampled some delicious wines and brought home a few of our favorites.
I had to take this photo in the gardens at the vineyard because it's the grandaddy version of the little rosebush I have from my Grandpa.
The next morning we had our coffee on the deck overlooking the lake and planned our day.
First stop was just down the road from where we stayed, Hector Falls, just a few miles away from Watkins Glen.
A bit past Watkins Glen was Montour and another set of waterfalls.
I just kept thinking where does all this water come from? Why doesn't it run out? Thank God it doesn't! We wouldn't be able to appreciate this beauty if it did!
On our ride back to Ithaca we passed this home by the side of the road and I just had to take a photo of it. It reminded me of a gingerbread house.
Once back in Ithaca we stopped to see the falls there and were not disappointed. A little worried yes, but not disappointed.
The power of these falls is amazing. You can't hear yourself think as you approach them. The people at the bottom of the photo are dwarfed by the enormity of the falls.
On our way home we stopped near Cazenovia to see the Chittenango Falls. These falls held a different perspective for us since we viewed them from the top. Can you see the rainbow?
We took the scenic route home, driving all the way back toward Albany along Route 20, stopping occasionally to photograph the Adirondacks way out in the distance.
It was a lovely vacation and I felt like I was away from home for a month.
Sometimes those are the best vacations of all. Thank you Sweetie for a great birthday trip!
4 comments:
Love the photos. I used to hang out at the Ithaca falls...we could walk down to parts of them from the Cornell campus. They are truly amazing and it made me long a bit for my old college days. I am glad you had such a fabulous 39th birthday.
Wow. Wow. And wow. Gorgeous!!!
Sounds like a great trip. Your photos are lovely!
Well, I certainly enjoyed the pictures of your weekend getaway! Seems like you hit every waterfall in the state of NY! They're absolutely breathtaking....and probably very cool with the spray keeping the heat down. We could probably use some of that refreshing mist today! I loved the "gingerbread" house and would love to see what the inside looked like. It reminds me of a dollhouse.
Keep up the blog - I love it!
Mania
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