Autum is in the Air
The signs that summer is coming to an end are starting to happen in the NY Finger Lakes Region. The temperature has started to drop to the crisp cool feeling of fall. Mike and I took a day off and had a lovely day in around the lakes with friends last week. We started our journey tasting wine at some of the local vineyards and I must say, there are some real treats this year. We began our journey down the east side of Cayuga Lake. Our friend Barb and Greg packed a lovely picnic basket and off we went. Our first stop was in the quaint village of Aurora. Aurora is located on the lake and a great place to take in many wonderful views of the lake. Our first stop was at Mackenzie Child www.mackenzie-childs.com. The Mackenzie Childs property is beautiful. You first enter the property on a brick drive surrounded with rolling pasture, pond and a historic house. The factory is built of rustic wood and is adorned with colorful gardens. Upon entering the door of the retail shop you know you have entered a whimsical world of brightly colored handmade ceramics, furniture and crafts with unique designs. Mike summed it up by saying he felt like he was in Alice in Wonderland. The retail shop is delightful and in the next room you can watch a video of how each of there special items are made. After we watched the video, we took a free tour of the farm house. Each room of the house is adorned with Mackenzie Childs. From furniture, ceramics, lamps, even the walls and floors boost their designs. You can't help walking out with ideas for your own home. After the tour it was time to open that picnic basket and we sat at tables feasting on fresh fruits, cheese and crusty bread. It is a lovely place and we had a wonderful time. Then we were off to taste some local wines. There are several wineries along the trail and I can say having live in California and spent time tasting wine in the Napa, Lodi and Sierra Foothill areas the Finger Lakes rank right up there with California wines. www.fingerlakeswinecountry.com one never knows what will happen at the vineyards this time of year. There are also breweries and Distilleries along the lake to stop and taste. Many of them offer food. During our tastings we stumbled upon one winery where the BBQ was flameing and a band was playing. We purchaced a bottle of wine, bought a BBQ dinner and took in the sounds of one of the areas local bands. After a couple of hours we continued on our journey. We traveled around the tip of the lake in Ithaca and up the west side to Trumansburg. We made a stop at Taughannock Falls State Park. www.taughannock.com This areas is a must not miss at any time of year. If you like waterfalls and hiking you will love this park. We plan to go back this October to view it in full fall color. On the way home we made one last stop which was on the top of Michael's list. We stopped at Cayuga Creamery www.cayugalakecreamery.com This is a WOW on the ice cream scale. All homemade and some everyone including great creamy flavors, or ices made from local wine, sugar free ice cream, fat free and they even offer some soy choices. The day had come to an end and I must say it was a perfect one. I must add that this was an inexpensive trip. Local wineries have a very modest charge to taste wines and you can purchase wines at a reasonable rate. The Mackenzie Childs tour was free. Dinner cost us $8 each and that included the great music. The park experience was also free and the ice cream for 4 was under $20.
A great day!
A great day!
Comments