AirBnB | The Beauty Around Us

A Week-Long Vacation

We returned home Thursday, April 27th, from a 7-night vacation in Ohio. The Airbnb “Wildlife and Serenity in Hudson, Ohio” was our home base. This was our second stay at this Airbnb. We spent a week there in June of 2021.

We checked in Airbnb “Wildlife and Serenity in Hudson, Ohio” by 2:30 pm on Thursday, April 20th. Our hosts allowed for an earlier than 4:00 pm check in. We unpacked the car, settled into the Airbnb and relaxed.

Airbnb “Wildlife and Serenity in Hudson, Ohio” is an ideal location for what we enjoy doing, while on vacation. The Airbnb is a few minutes drive from the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The park is home to several waterfalls, a covered bridge, many miles of hiking trails, the Ohio & Erie Towpath, and a variety of wildlife that can be found in their natural habitats. You can also ride a train through the park via the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. The Airbnb is also near a hike and bike trail, a grocery store and several restaurants. In addition the Airbnb is “situated on a protected lake that is home to a bonded pair of bald eagles as well as many other types of waterfowl … There are aviaries in the backyard that house large parrots …”.

When we vacation we try to spend about equal time enjoying our accommodation and exploring the area around us. With the exception of two or three days, the weather during our vacation was rainy and/or quite chilly. We ended up spending much of our vacation time at our Airbnb. As you will see, we enjoyed watching the wildlife at Airbnb “Wildlife and Serenity in Hudson, Ohio”.

The following paragraphs are journal entries.

Friday, April 21st – Bob went for a walk this morning in the neighborhood across the street from our Airbnb. He walked about 2 miles. While Bob was walking, I watched the sun rise. I didn’t really see the sun, only pretty colors across the sky. After sun rise I straightened up our bedroom and took a shower. When Bob came back from his walk, he made breakfast (eggs and bacon). Orange juice accompanied our breakfast, along with a bowl of oatmeal for me. I saw a pair of eagles this morning. The eagles were perched in a tree a short distance from their nest. We hope to see baby eagles in the nest sometime during our stay here.

This afternoon I walked down to the lake and spent about 10 minutes talking with four parrots that were perched in the aviary. One parrot in particular seemed to like me. Webster would say hello, bob its head up and down, and make what sounded like a laugh, when I imitated him.

Saturday, April 22nd – It started raining last night around 7:00 pm. At 6:45 am this morning it is still raining. There is quite a difference in temperature, too, from earlier in the week…85 degrees on Thursday to 46 degrees now. In between raindrops I managed to take a few photographs of wildlife at the lake.

Monday, April 24th – At 8:53 am this morning the temperature was 38 degrees. According to Wunderground, “Snow possible around 9:45 am. Rain may mix in.” A FREEZE WATCH was issued at 6:54 am this morning. The freeze watch is in effect from late tonight through Tuesday morning.

We decided to stay in today, owing to the inclement weather. We had much to occupy us. There were many birds (e.g. blue birds, a robin, sparrows, nuthatches, a cardinal, a chickadee), a Pied-billed Grebe way out on the pond, several Canada Geese, a squirrel, and a mink to watch. The sky and pond provided interest as well. At times the sky was nondescript but would then darken and look threatening. The pond would go from light colored to inky black. For a short time it brightened and looked almost sunny outside. I dressed in four layers and carried my tripod and camera with a focal equivalent lens of 1200mm toward the edge of the pond, where I intended to try to take a picture of baby eagles. There are two babies in the nest! Well, there were Canada Geese, who looked menacing, right in the path that I would take to the pond. Plus the sky was getting darker by the minute. I decided to try again later. Soon after I had returned into our Airbnb, it began to sleet outside!

Tuesday, April 25th – At 6:30 am this morning the temperature was 30 degrees. I walked down to the pond this morning. I have seen two baby eagles in the nest. Only one baby decided to show itself this morning and only for a short time. I think it laid down for a nap.

The photographs displayed in the following slideshow highlight the above journal entries.

Over the next few days I will share details and photographs of places we visited while in Hudson, Ohio.

South Carolina Vacation: Goodbye “Nanny & Pops”

On Thursday, March 2, We ate breakfast at Golden Egg Pancake House, located about a mile from our Airbnb rental. Breakfast was good. I ordered a Belgian waffle with strawberries and whipped topping. Bob ordered scrambled eggs, home fries, bacon and French Toast. After breakfast, we returned to our rental.

We ate lunch at our rental, making use of any leftovers.

We ate dinner at River City Cafe in Surfside Beach. We walked there from our rental. Bob ordered a burger, onion rings and coleslaw. I ordered a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, French fries and coleslaw. Dinner was delicious.

After dinner, we started packing in preparation for checking out of our rental the next morning.

We finished packing the morning of Friday, March 3.

Our Airbnb rental “Nanny & Pops”
Front View

Our Airbnb rental “Nanny & Pops”
Back View

We sure enjoyed our stay at “Nanny & Pops”. The beach cottage was cozy and felt like home from the moment we walked inside.

Goodbye “Nanny & Pops”.
We will see you again next year.

Our time at “Nanny & Pops” had come to an end; however, our stay at the beach is not over. We are moving to our friends’ condo at One Ocean Place for 2 nights. Marge and Neil asked us to stay with them so that we could attend “Taste of the MarshWalk” at Murrells Inlet on Saturday.

Three Night Getaway – Day 2: A Day of Relaxation

We are back home, after a three-night getaway. We spent October 23 through October 26 at Airbnb “LaVida Cottage” in the town of Newfane. This blog post is about our second day at the cottage. You may read about our first day at the cottage here.

On the morning of our second day in Newfane we went for a walk through Krull Park to Lake Ontario. Airbnb “LaVida Cottage” provides easy access to the park. Directly across the street from the Airbnb is Park Lane. A short walk on Park Lane takes you to the park. I walked about 1 1/2 miles, before asking Bob to go get our car at the Airbnb. My arthritic knee was hurting badly. I sat outside Olcott Beach Carousel Park, while I awaited Bob’s return. When Bob picked me up, he said it was another 1/2 mile walk to the Airbnb.

We decided to spend time at “LaVida Cottage” today.

Early morning light shining on the back yard
of LaVida Cottage.
The back yard ends at a cliff that drops to 18 Mile Creek.

Soon after our walk I took my kindle out to the fire pit and read.

Bob joined me and played his ukulele for a short while.

Bob took this picture of me reading at the fire pit.

We met Michael, our Airbnb host. He stopped by late morning to repair a pipe in the basement that was leaking. He was a friendly and engaging person.

We ate leftovers for lunch.

We ate dinner at Gordie Harper’s Bazaar in Newfane. Gordie’s is a family restaurant but also features individually owned shops featuring unique themes, antiques and collectibles. We visited only the restaurant.

It was a wonderful day, relaxing at the cottage.

Deruyter Lake Getaway: Day 2

We spent much of Wednesday, June 29, at Airbnb ”DeRuyter Lake NY House for 2 on Water’s Edge”.

I watched the sun rise from the comfort of our dock, taking a few pictures and videos as I did so.

Sunrise at Airbnb “DeRuyter Lake NY House for 2 on Water’s Edge”

The steam rising from the water made sunrise that much more special.

We showered and got dressed. The Airbnb has a small septic, so small that our hosts request passionately that we conserve water. The following notice was posted on the refrigerator:

“Every drop of water used to cook, clean, shower goes into a tiny septic system that has no leach field. We beg you to conserve! To help we have provided disposable eating utensils, face and body wipes and Castle Soap that can be safely used in be the lake! Yes, jump in the lake, lather up and rinse rather than fill the septic with shower run off.”

We didn’t bathe in the lake, but we were conscious of how much water we used during our 3-night stay.

We ate breakfast at Quincy Square Diner in the village of DeRuyter. Quincy Square Diner was across the street from where we ate dinner the precious day.

Breakfast Specials at Quincy Square Diner

We both ordered a Quincy Omelet with toast. Inside the omelets were cheese, sausage, ham, green peppers and onions. I didn’t want sausage in my omelet, so my portion of sausage was added to Bob’s omelet. I ordered a glass of orange juice, and Bob ordered coffee. Both meals were delicious; service was good. We overheard a conversation shortly after being seated. A man said it is coming up on a long weekend. Another man said “everyday is a weekend”. That remark made Bob and me chuckle. Retirement is wonderful; life is good!

We spent the day at the Airbnb generally doing nothing. It was a great day of relaxation. In no particular order, this is how we spent our day.

We did our Bing searches and solved the Wordle game of the day.

Bob played his ukulele.

We ate a picnic lunch at the table on our dock.
I took a nap for an hour.

I started reading a new Fern Michael’s novel “No Way Out”.

Relaxing at Airbnb “DeRuyter Lake NY House for 2 on Water’s Edge”

I shared this photograph on Facebook and had a couple people ask how I took this picture. I placed my Kindle Paperwhite E-Reader on the dock, snug against a railing. I opened my camera phone and, then, I propped my iPhone on my Kindle and flush against a railing. I sat down. Using the camera remote on my Apple watch, I took our picture.

We did leave the Airbnb a few times, after breakfast. We made two trips to the DeRuyter Lake General Store, located at the south end of the lake. The General Store is stocked with bait and tackle, camp firewood, ice, beverages, beer and wine coolers, ice cream, CBD oil and more. The General Store is where one goes to launch a boat and fill up with marine fuel. I believe kayaks can be rented there as well. I purchased a DeRuyter Lake long sleeve T-shirt on our first stop and two King Cones on our second stop. We drove to Heritage Hill Brewhouse for dinner.

We both ordered BBQ platters. The meals and service were good. The view from the Brewhouse was fantastic, too. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures of the view. If you scroll through the Facebook page, though, you will see pictures of the view.

DeRuyter Lake Getaway: Day 1

We left home on Tuesday, June 28, around 6:30 am, en route DeRuyter Lake NY. DeRuyter Lake is located approximely 30 miles southeast of Syracuse.

We made two sightseeing stops on our way to DeRuyter Lake.

Our first stop was at Pratts Falls County Park in Pompey. There was a collection box for a $2.00 entrance fee at the entrance to the park.

Pratt’s Falls County Park was originally the site of Onondaga County’s first sawmill and flour mill.

The highlight of the park is Pratt’s Falls.

Located near the signage displayed in the picture shown above is the crest of Pratt’s Falls.

The best vantage point to view Pratt’s Falls is from the end of the Falls Trail.

We crossed under Falls Trail sign and followed the trail for a few steps. We came to a split in the trail. We took the trail to the left and hiked down some steps. If we had taken the trail to the right, we would have walked the entire 0.6 miles. We shaved off a few steps taking the trail to the left. I like to save hiking steps, whenever I can!

We hiked down and back up these steps,
while on the Pratt’s Falls Trail.

Here is a short video that I took, while at Pratt’s Falls.

Our second stop was at Tinker Falls in the Labrador Hollow Unique Area, located in Cortland County, NY.

There was merely a trickle of water
falling off the ledge at Tinkers Falls.

Here is a very short video clip that I took, while at Tinkers Falls. You can hear the water falling (what little there is!).

We arrived at Airbnb “DeRuyter Lake NY House for 2 on Water’s Edge” at 2:00 pm.

We let ourselves into the Airbnb with a key, the whereabouts of which our hosts had told us. Bob carried in everything from the car. There are steps down to the house, so I carried very little inside. I did make the beds, a full size bed and a queen size bed. We were told to bring pillows, sheets and blankets. Each bed was covered by a blanket and a bedspread. Each bed had four pillows. I took the blankets and bedspread off each bed and made them with the sheets we brought. I put pillowcases on two pillows for each bed. I folded the blankets and bedspreads and placed them, along with the extra pillows on the couch in the tiny loft at the top of the stairs. We left the pillows we brought from home in the car. I believe the request to bring our own bedding is a leftover from pandemic days. After settling in, we relaxed on the dock at water’s edge, enjoying the sunshine, cool breeze and the sound of lapping water.

At 5:00 pm we drove the short distance (~3 miles) to the village of DeRuyter. We went shopping for bath towels, which we had been instructed to bring with us. Unfortunately, we left our bath towels on a chair in the kitchen at home, necessitating the purchase of new towels. We stopped for snacks too. We stopped at Dollar Tree and Big M in the village of DeRuyter NY. The stores were right next to each other.

After shopping, we ate dinner at Shelly’s Restaurant. It was Taco Tuesday, and Shelly’s had Mexican and taco specials. We decided we didn’t want Mexican. Bob ordered a Grilled Buffalo Chicken sandwich with potato wedges. I ordered a turkey tomato melt with macaroni salad. Both meals were good; service was good too.

We spent rest of the evening at the Airbnb enjoying the lake views from our dock, but also from inside the house while watching TV.

Finger Lakes Vacation: Day 6

We planned to drive into Auburn on Monday (May 30) to watch the Memorial Day parade. We reviewed the parade route. The parade route was short, and we opted not to go. Instead we relaxed at the Airbnb. I took a few pictures, while we relaxed.

“Casa Esperanza on Wyckoff Road“
our Airbnb rental for the week

Bob and I went for a walk down and back up Wyckoff Road. This road goes by the Airbnb.

The walk down was easy.
The walk up was not easy!

I soaked up this view each day, while on vacation.
Isn’t the view of the barn and Owasco Lake beautiful!

Late morning or very early in the afternoon we drove into Auburn to see some of the city’s attractions. The city of Auburn is an approximate 8-mile drive from our Airbnb.

The first two places that we visited relate to Harriet Tubman, an African-American abolitionist who was born into slavery in Maryland in 1820. After emancipating herself and members of her family, she moved them from Ontario, Canada to Fleming and Auburn, New York in 1859. Central New York was a center for progressive thought, abolition, and women’s suffrage where Tubman continued to fight for human rights and dignity until she died in 1913.

Harriet Tubman is buried at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, NY.

Harriet Tubman Gravesite at Fort Hill Cemetery

We also saw the the NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center, the William H Seward House, and the Memorial to Cayuga County Soldiers and Sailors of the Civil War.

The New York State Equal Rights Heritage Center is Auburn’s Welcome Center. According to an online information source this center features a state-of-the-art exhibition titled “Seeing Equal Rights in NYS”, where New York State’s progressive history supporting equality comes to life through interactive displays. Unfortunately, the center was closed. We could only walk through its grounds.

A statue of Harriet Tubman was on the grounds of the New York State Equal Rights Heritage Center.

Across from the NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center is the David Munson Osborne Memorial City Hall.

Next door to the NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center is the Seward House Museum.

Seward House Museum
the historic home of William Henry Seward and his family

William H Seward was a politician of the 19th century. He served as NYS Senator from 1830 to 1834, as NYS Governor from 1838 to 1842 and as Secretary of the State from 1860 to 1868.

The Seward House Museum was not open at the time.

Across the street from the Seward House Museum and next door to City Hall is a Memorial to Cayuga County Soldiers and Sailors of the Civil War.

We left downtown Auburn and drove to Tom Thumb Drive In and had ice cream for lunch. The view from Tom Thumb is gorgeous.

There are outdoor tables and benches available at Tom Thumb Drive In.

There is a miniature golf course at Tom Thumb Drive In.

We didn’t play golf…maybe next time.

We left Tom Thumb Drive In and drove around Owasco Lake. We drove south down the eastern side of the lake and up the western side. On Thursday we had driven around the lake in the opposite direction.

There is an area to the right of this sign, where it is possible to pull off the road and park for a short time. We did this, as I wanted to photograph Owasco Lake a short walk from here.

Back at home, at 4:30 pm, we prepared our Memorial Day dinner.

We ate marinated steak with onion and mushrooms, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables for our Memorial Day dinner.

Finger Lakes Vacation: Day 5

We left our Airbnb around 9:00 am on Sunday, May 29, en route Jordan NY. In Jordan we went for a bicycle ride on the Erie Canalway Trail.

After our bicycle ride we returned to our Airbnb via Skaneateles, where we ate dinner at Bluewater Grill. Bob ordered a steak sandwich with French fries. I ordered a shrimp po’boy with sweet potato fries. Both entrees were delicious.

Bob made a campfire in the evening.