The Beauty Around Us

Lunch and Leaf Peeping at Letchworth State Park

By Linda G. on October 8, 2022

We enjoyed a daycation on Friday, October 7th.  We drove to Wellsville NY (an approximate 2-hour drive) to go to lunch with Cynthia and Larry, Bob’s sister and our brother-in-law.  Wellsville is the approximate halfway point from our house and where they are vacationing at Cayuga Lake NY.  We arrived at our agreed-upon meeting place — the Beef Haus — about 30 minutes before Cynthia and Larry did, which allowed us time to drive by one point of interest — the Pink House.  The Pink House is a pink Victorian mansion nestled on the corner of West State Street and Brooklyn Avenue in Wellsville.

According to a Wellsville Sun article, “Edwin Bradford Hall had this home built in 1866–it was finished in 1868 and has remained in his family ever since. E.B. Hall was a well known, highly successful pharmacist in Wellsville, had eclectic tastes and it is believed this grand residence was modeled after one that Hall took a liking to in Lake Como, Italy. He liked the color pink, had the paint mixed in his pharmacy and it has remained that way for generations.” 

From the Pink House we returned to the Beef Haus and found metered parking in front of the restaurant.  We inserted four quarters in the meter for 2 hours of parking.  We would need to insert a couple more quarters in the meter before our time in Wellsville was over. 

Bob and I went inside the Beef Haus and obtained seating for the four of us.  Cynthia and Larry arrived a few minutes later.  Everyone except me ordered a beef dish.  I ordered a Beef Haus Club with Ham, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, American Cheese on Wheat Bread.  Bob ordered a Bleu Bayou Burger (Cajun Spiced, topped with Crumbled Bleu Cheese, Side of Buffalo Ranch dressing).  Both of our meals included chips and a pickle.  Larry ordered French Onion Soup, a salad and Beef on Weck sandwich.  Cynthia ordered Bay and Beef (Hand Carved Beef with Lemon Butter Broiled Scallops) accompanied by a salad and red skin mashed potatoes.  Cynthia and I ordered dessert, Peanut Butter Pie, which we shared with our husbands.  By the way I ate only one quarter of my Beef Haus Club and chips and three bites of the Peanut butter pie.  Since I started taking Trulicity for diabetes, I don’t have the appetite I used to have (which is a good thing). I boxed the leftover club sandwich; Bob finished the pie.  Our lunches were delicious,  and the service was very good.

After an enjoyable lunch, we walked a couple blocks down North Main Street.  We went window shopping, going inside the Wellsville Creative Arts Center.  We admired some of the pottery items, two unique ukuleles and a beautiful but very expensive tile inlaid coffee table ($4,800.00).  

At the end of North Main Street, we crossed over West Fassett Street and checked out the Fassett GreenSpace.   According to an article in the Olean Times Herald, the “Fassett GreenSpace consists of a 74-foot diameter meditation labyrinth, more than 1,500 square feet of raised flower and vegetable gardens. A bronze fountain is in the middle while metal musical instruments are on the side. The public is invited to harvest the garden and play the instruments.”

We walked back the way we came, on the opposite side of North Main Street.  We parted ways in Wellsville.  Cynthia and Larry headed east to their vacation home at Cayuga Lake.  Bob and I headed north to Mount Morris NY (another 1 hour drive).  

En route Mount Morris we drove through Belmont.  Bob saw a waterfall, as we crossed over the Belmont Bridge.  He pulled off on the other side of the bridge, and we walked to the bridge to check out the waterfall.  We saw the waterfall from the bridge, as well as from underneath the bridge.

The reason that we drove to Mount Morris was to enter Letchworth State Park from the north and to drive south through the park. 

We sat at a picnic table at Wolf Creek and finished my leftover club sandwich from our earlier lunch.

Although it was overcast, we enjoyed looking at the beauty of the fall colors throughout the park.  

It took another 2-hour drive to go home, after leaving the park.   We were gone from home at least 10 hours. It was a very enjoyable day.