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 third day at the cottage. You may read about our first and second day at the cottage here and here.
We left LaVida Cottage at 8:30 am en route Niagara Falls. We stopped at Whirlpool State Park, before arriving at Niagara Falls. At Whirlpool State Park we walked a short way to a scenic overlook.
The Whirlpool at Whirlpool State Park
This was our first visit to Whirlpool State Park. Someday we would like to ride the Spanish Aero Car, seen in the top left portion of this picture, and see the whirlpools from that vantage point.
In Niagara Falls we parked at Niagara Falls State Park. Our Empire Pass enabled us to park for free. It had been 3 years since we last visited Niagara Falls. This visit was a little confusing, as a new Welcome Center is under construction. In the past we have walked through the Welcome Center to go to Prospect Point for our first view of the waterfalls. The old Welcome Center still stands but is blocked off by construction fencing. Once we got our bearings, all was good. By the way, the new Welcome Center is expected to be completed in Spring 2023.
Prospect Point American and Horseshoe Falls
In past visits to Niagara Falls we walk from Prospect Point to Goat Island to see Bridal Falls and Horseshoe Falls. On this visit we drove to Goat Island, as my arthritic knee was hurting.
Luna Island – Bob at the top of Bridal Falls
Luna Island Bridal Falls and American Falls
Goat Island Bridal Falls and American Falls
Horseshow Falls at Terrapin Point
I think we spent only an hour enjoying the falls, undoubtedly the less amount of time that we have spent in Niagara Falls.
We drove from Niagara Falls to Cafora’s Pizza and Pasteria in Newfane, where we enjoyed lunch. Bob ordered baked ziti with meatball. I ordered lasagna. Salads and Italian bread accompanied our meals.
After lunch we returned to LaVida Cottage, where we stayed for rest of the afternoon and the evening. Dinner was leftovers.
We returned home the next day around 11:30 am.
It was a very relaxing and enjoyable 3-night getaway.
We got up around 7:00 am and ate breakfast in our room.
After breakfast I sat outside our room, enjoying the crisp air of the morning. I also watched fog rolling over the mountains.
At 8:42 am a heavy fog was still rolling over the mountains.
At 9:00 am a few of our friends left A Holiday Motel to ride up The Rattler (NC 209) to Hot Springs.
They are off, with “Skid” in the lead. Skid’s blog post will provide details and photographs of the ride.
At 9:30 am Bob and I left en route the Fred W Symmes Chapel. We traveled via Interstate or highway most of the way and arrived at 11:12 am.
The Fred W Symmes Chapel is located in Cleveland, South Carolina. The chapel is also known as “Pretty Place” because of its amazing view.
The Fred W Symmes Chapel
As I walked into the open-air sanctuary, I was filled with awe.
Such an incredible place to visit! What a breathtaking view!
We left the chapel around 11:30 am and began the second part of our sightseeing journey. We visited several waterfalls, as well as a visitor center for the Pisgah National Forest.
Connestee Falls Park is located about 6 miles from Brevard NC, along U.S. Route 276. We took a very short stroll from the right rear of the parking lot to the viewing area for two waterfalls: Connestee Falls and Baston Creek Falls. There is a Connestee Falls that is a gated community. You need to drive past the gated community to Connestee Falls Park. There is a realtor’s office next to the park. I tell you this because EVERY SINGLE TIME we have visited Connestee Falls and Baston Creek Falls, we have turned into the gated community and were turned away!
This wheelchair accessible trail leads to an overlook of the Connestee and Batson Falls.
The viewing platform sits on top of Connestee Falls.
Panoramic view of Connestee Falls and Batson Falls
I zoomed in to capture this picture of Batson Falls.
This video shows the Connestee Falls, as it drops to the bottom of its hill and joins Batson Falls, as it drops to the bottom of its hill.
From Connestee Falls Park we drove to another waterfall. Located a short distance from Brevard along Route 276 is Looking Glass Falls. It had started to rain, as we approached Looking Glass Falls. As a result, we didn’t hike down the trail to lower viewing platforms. We viewed the falls from the top viewing platform only.
Looking Glass Falls is 60 feet tall.
From Looking Glass Falls we backtracked a short distance and visited the National Forest Visitor Center Pisgah Ranger Division. It was pouring rain; glad we didn’t have to park far from the building! I obtained a National Park Service passport cancellation stamp for Pisgah National Forest and looked at the exhibits.
This is a replica of the entrance gate that once stood at the entrance to Pisgah National Forest.
This is the only bear that we saw, while on vacation.
The rain stopped, as we drove through Brevard.
Our next stop was at another waterfall.
Shortly before reaching Highlands is Lake Sequoyah Dam Falls.
Sequoyah Falls flow over a man made dam.
Our next stop was at Bridal Falls. At one time it was possible to drive under the falls. The road under the falls has been closed the past few times, when we visited.
There wasn’t much water falling at Bridal Falls.
By the way this was our first visit in the summer in this part of the United States. In the past we have visited in May. Waterfalls have significantly more water flow in May.
Our last sightseeing stop was at Dry Falls.
Bob took this picture of me, as we hiked down the stairs to the base of Dry Falls.
Dry Falls is 75 feet tall.
Dry Falls earned its name because you can take a trail to walk behind the falls and not get wet (well, not too wet).
Bob took this picture of me, when I was behind the falls. I kept as close to the rock wall, as possible, without hitting my head. I stayed mostly dry.
Well, I stayed mostly dry behind the falls. It started to rain again on our hike back up the stairs. We both got fairly wet!
At 3:16 pm we began our drive back to A Holiday Motel. Wouldn’t you know the sun came out a few minutes’ drive past Dry Falls?
We ate dinner at the Sagebrush Steakhouse in Waynesville and made it back to A Holiday Motel around 6:00 pm.
Tonight was the “hotel room crawl” at A Holiday Motel. It had been a long day. We called it a night at 9:00 pm, without participating in the crawl.
We got up around 6:00 am. A group of eight of us ate another good breakfast at Pop’s Place.
After breakfast Bob and I went for a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We stopped at several overlooks.
Our first stop was at was Waterrock Knob Overlook. The Parkway’s highest visitor center is located here. The visitor center was closed at the time that we were there. Waterrock Knob Overlook is known for its beautiful long-range views of several major mountain chains in the Appalachians. Waterrock Knob is uniquely suited for viewing sunrises and sunsets.
Waterrock Knob Overlook Looking East
Waterrock Knob Overlook Looking West Milepost 451.2 – Elevation 5820 ft
Our next two stops were at the View Wesner Bald Overlook and Woodfin Cascades.
View Wesner Bald Overlook Milepost 448.1 – Elevation 4914 ft.
The Woodfin Cascades can be seen at the Woodfin Cascades Overlook. Milepost 446.0 – Elevation 4345 ft.
To see Woodfin Cascades, park at the overlook and cross to the other side of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Our next four stops were at The Orchards Overlook, Rabb Knob Overlook, Richard Balsam Overlook and Casey Fork Overlook.
The Orchards Overlook Milepost 444.6 – Elevation 3810 ft.
Rabb Knob Overlook Milepost 441.9 – Elevation 3725 ft.
Richard Balsam Overlook The highest elevation along the Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 431.0 – Elevation 6053 ft.
Caney Fork Overlook Milepost 428.0 – Elevation 5650 ft.
A lone flower caught my eye.
A Wildflower at Caney Fork Overlook
We left the Blue Ridge Parkway at NC 215. We drove North on NC 215. We stopped at two waterfalls.
This Unnamed Waterfall was alongside the roadway, approximately 1.5 miles after turning onto NC 215. There is a small pull-off on the right side of the road.
Sunburst Falls is located about 3 miles from the first waterfall.
I captured video of all three waterfalls.
I used Apple’s iMovie to create a short movie of the three waterfalls.
We returned to A Holiday Motel around 12:30 pm.
Several VROC friends rolled in, while we were sightseeing.
Moonshine was being passed around.
I believe this is the most colorful label I have ever seen on a bottle of moonshine. Anyone who wanted to taste moonshine was welcome to a sip. I didn’t sip.
We ate dinner at Haywood Smokehouse in Waynesville. Bob ordered a brisket platter, and I ordered a pulled pork platter.
We ate at Haywood Smokehouse.
We filled the party tent. I think there were 35 of us. The food and service were excellent.
We got up around 5:00 am on the morning of Monday August 22. We showered and got dressed. We went down for breakfast shortly after 6:00 am. Breakfast was a little different in that, instead of scrambled eggs and bacon, a hot egg in a bagel was offered. I wish I had passed on the egg in a bagel and got a waffle instead. I especially had this thought, as I watched several people open the warming dish and close it, without taking out an egg in a bagel. I added orange juice and tropical fruit in a cup and tea to my breakfast choices.
We checked out of Best Western at 7:25 am, en route Maggie Valley NC. We followed Interstate until Buchanan VA, at which time we decided to “avoid highways”. Even though it is slower avoiding highways, the drive is more relaxing and scenic. As we drove through Buchanan, we recognized the swinging bridge over the James River. We walked across the swinging bridge in April 2014.
Our “avoid highways” travel took us through Independence VA, where we stopped briefly at Powerhouse Falls.
Powerhouse Falls (or Peach Bottom Falls) View from Powerhouse Road
Powerhouse Falls is the site of early power houses servicing the Town of Independence.
Powerhouse Falls is a picturesque site.
A mill used to operate on the site. The rock columns that held the water wheel are still there.
We stopped for lunch at Wendy’s Restaurant in West Jefferson NC.
We decided to return to interstate travel north of Asheville NC to save 30 minutes from our “avoid highways” route. We were getting tired of being in the car. We were ready to be in Maggie Valley!
We arrived at A Holiday Motel around 4:30 pm. Rob checked us in and gave us Room 11. “Skid” and Sandy are in the room next to us, Room 12. The room on our opposite side is a storage room. Arriving before us were “Skid” (Jim) and Sandy, “MT” (Tim), Brandon and Garrett. The Texas gals (Debbie, Vickie and Kay) arrived soon after our arrival.
We ate dinner at Cafe Italiano Restaurant and Pizzeria, which was a short walk from A Holiday Motel. We were a group of eight — “Skid” (Jim) and Sandy, “MT” (Tim), the Texas gals (Debbie, Vickie and Kay) and Bob and me. I ordered spaghetti and meatballs; Bob ordered cheese ravioli with a meatball. Bob finished his meal; I didn’t. I took back to A Holiday Motel what I didn’t eat. Both meals were delicious.
When we returned to the hotel, we kicked back and socialized.
Sandy, Bob, Kay, Brandon, Garret, Debbie, Vickie, “Skid” and “MT”
This is why we are in Maggie Valley. We have made lots of friends, who are like family, via the Vulcan Riders Owners Club (VROC). We enjoy seeing our friends whenever we can. We are gathering for the Southeast VROC motorcycle rally. More friends will arrive tomorrow and through the week.
We returned home from DeRuyter Lake on July 1. We made three stops on our way home.
Our first stop was at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, where we drove on Wildlife Drive. We saw several Great Blue Herons and a Great Egret.
Great Blue Heron and Great Egret at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
Crazy Hair Day
Great Blue Heron at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
Our second stop was for breakfast at Magee Country Diner in Waterloo NY. We ate here in May, on our way home from our week-long vacation in the Auburn NY area. It was on our route home again, so we stopped for breakfast.
Our third stop was at Letchworth State Park. Our Empire Pass provided free admission into the park. We entered via the Mt Morris entrance and exited via the Portageville entrance, stopping for photo opportunities.
Great Bend Overlook at Letchworth State Park
Inspiration Point
As we crossed the stone bridge, we saw a couple people bent down peering over the edge.
These two frogs caught their (and our) attention.
Inspiration Point
Upper Falls at Letchworth State Park
Middle Falls at Letchworth State Park
This concludes details of our DeRuyter Lake vacation.
Thursday, June 30, was our last full day at DeRuyter Lake.
We watched the sun rise from our water’s edge dock.
What a glorious sunrise!
We ate breakfast at Quincy Square Diner for the second day in a row. Bob ordered the Quincy omelet, same as the previous day. I ordered chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. Both meals were delicious.
Since our arrival at DeRuyter Lake, we have seen an elephant in a field on our daily drives into the village of DeRuyter. We stopped at the field this morning, and I took a picture of the elephant.
I Spy an Elephant
According to Syracuse.com “Concrete sculptor John P. Kennedy created the DeRuyter mastodon in 1992 when he was just starting to make life-like creatures out of foundation material. He’s since branched out into all sorts of critters, generally of the non-extinct variety…”
We visited two waterfalls in the morning. Delphi Falls is 4.2 miles from our Airbnb, and Chittenango Falls is located an additional 10 miles from Delphi Falls. This was our first visit to Delphi Falls and our second visit to Chittenango Falls.
We had a personal tour guide at Delphi Falls. A local woman stopped to talk with me, while I was waiting for Bob to complete his business in the port-a-john.
Delphi Falls County Park is located in Madison County, NY. The park used to be the home of a private person. The property was made into a park only recently. The house is still standing. The waterfall would have been visible from the backyard of the residence. Our “tour guide” walked with us the short distance to the waterfall.
Our first view of Delphi Falls The falls trail was easily navigable.
Our “tour guide” took a picture of Bob and me at Delphi Falls.
Chittenango Falls is located in Chittenango Falls State Park. The main attraction at Chittenango Falls State Park is its picturesque 167-foot waterfall.
We visited the top of the falls first. It is easy to see the top of the falls. Just walk from the parking area towards the Gorge Rd Bridge. Please note the footbridge at the end of the video. We hiked to that footbridge.
Chittenango Falls – Top of falls
It is a bit more difficult to see the bottom of the falls. We hiked down hundreds of steps, descending 170 ft into the gorge.
This video shows the falls trail to the first overlook and the trail leading away from that overlook.
First Overlook of Chittenango Falls
We hiked all the way down into the gorge.
The footbridge at the base of Chittenango Falls
Bob and I at Chittenango Falls
View of Chittenango Falls from footbridge
As I wrote earlier this was our second visit to Chittenango Falls. We visited Chittenango Falls 5 years earlier on July 2, 2017. As shown in my blog post written about that day, the water gushing over that waterfall was impressive. The trail to the base of the waterfall was only partially open in 2017. During our second visit, there was much less water falling over the waterfall. We were able to hike down to the footbridge to view the waterfall at its base. I am glad that we were able to see Chittenango Falls from that vantage point. What a beautiful view!
Before returning to our Airbnb we stopped in the village of DeRuyter for lunch at the Coal Yard, where we enjoyed deluxe cheeseburgers and onion rings.
We returned to our Airbnb, after lunch, and stayed there for the rest of the afternoon and evening.
Bob played his ukulele often, while we were on vacation.
This is the dam at the north end of DeRuyter Lake.
We enjoyed the view across DeRuyter Lake.
This is an island in DeRuyter Lake (looking south).
We enjoyed the view across DeRuyter Lake.
We enjoyed the view across DeRuyter Lake.
We enjoyed watching the activity on the lake.
This is just some of the activity on the lake. We saw several kayaks, as well as a few people swimming in the lake.
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.
Pratt’s 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.
Bob and I at Pratt’s Falls
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 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.
The Beauty Around Us 