The Beauty Around Us

Finger Lakes Vacation: Day 7

By Linda G. on June 13, 2022

We ate breakfast out on Tuesday (May 31), our last full day in New York’s Finger Lakes region. 

We drove to New Hope Mills Store & Cafe for breakfast. 

We knew of this cafe only from our stop at the old mill at Routes 66a and 41a, as we drove around Skaneateles Lake, on the fourth day of our vacation.  I search online for any information on the mill. You may recall this photograph of the old mill that I shared on the blog post for the fourth day of our vacation.

The mill is being preserved, with the goal of an operational museum.

The New Hope Mills Cafe was cozy, surrounded by store merchandise.  I ordered the Country Breakfast which consisted of two buttermilk pancakes, 2 eggs, choice of bacon or sausage, and tea.  Bob ordered Farm-Fresh Omelet (Three eggs, choice of cheese, and side of home fries and homemade toast).  He added a side of bacon.  Breakfast was delicious; our waitress was attentive.  We ended up leaving with full bellies and items that we purchased from the country store (waffle mix and mugs).

After breakfast we drove to Seneca Falls.  We visited the Women’s Rights National Historical Park. In particular we visited the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Visitor Center and the Elizabeth Lady Stanton House.

The Wesleyan Chapel is the location of the First Women’s Rights Convention held on July 19 and 20, 1848, in which approximately 300 people gathered to attend. It is considered by many historians to be the formal beginning of the Women’s Rights Movement in the United States.

This illustration portrays the morning session of the second day of the convention.

The Visitor Center, located next door to the chapel, features two floors of museum exhibits on the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, including the “First Wave” statue installation on the ground floor.

The home of Elizabeth Cady Stanton is located across Van Cleef Lake. Stanton called her home the “Center of the Rebellion” during her family’s 15 years in Seneca Falls. 

From the Elizabeth Cady Stanton House we drove to the Ludovico Sculpture Trail.  The trail is 1.8 mi round trip. We walked the trail for about 1/4 mi and turned around.  The trail was muddy in spots; it was hot and my knee hurt. We did see a few sculptures.

Amelia Bloomer was an early suffragist, editor, and social activist. She was also a fashion advocate who worked to change women’s clothing styles.

Leaving Seneca Falls we drove to and through Montezuma Wildlife Refuge.  We didn’t see anything worth photographing.  

From Montezuma we returned to our Airbnb, but not before stopping at our hosts’ house.  Our hosts live one house up from the Airbnb.  We were invited to stop by and take a picture of the lake from their vantage point.

We ate dinner at Drifters on Owasco.  Drifters is located in Moravia at the southern end of Owasco Lake.  We sat on the deck alongside Owasco Lake.

Bob ordered a Buffalo Chicken Wrap with chips.  I ordered boneless chicken wings with sweet potato fries.  Our waitress was personable and efficient.  The food was good.  The view was outstanding.  We sat on an outside deck alongside the lake. 

We enjoyed conversation with a couple visiting from NYC, who drove from Ithaca NY to eat at Drifters.

After dinner, we returned to our Airbnb.  We enjoyed our last camp fire of vacation.   We started packing.