Watkins Glen NY | The Beauty Around Us

Posts tagged ‘Watkins Glen NY’

Corning NY Mid-Week Getaway: Day 1

We spent three nights the week of October 17th in Corning, NY.

We left for Corning on October 19th at 9:20 am.

We stopped in Cuba NY at the Cuba Cheese Shoppe and at The Perfect Blend Coffeehouse & Eatery. We bought habanero cheese and butterscotch cookies at Cuba Cheese. At the coffeehouse we had a mid-morning snack–coffee and tea and two chocolate with peanut butter frosting muffins. The muffins were delicious!

We would have arrived in Corning too early to check in at our accommodation, so we drove to Watkins Glen first.

We enjoyed a stroll at Seneca Lake Harbor, before leaving for Corning.

We stopped at Wegmans in Corning to pick up a few grocery items that we felt were needed for our 3-night getaway.

From Wegmans we drove to our Airbnb “Home Away From Home”. It was a short drive, as Wegmans is only a mile away. Check-in was 2:00 pm, and our arrival time was around 2:30 pm. We carried in our stuff from the car and got settled in for our 3-night stay.

This was our third stay at “Home Away From Home”. Our first stay was for one night in January 2019. That was our very first stay, as well, at an Airbnb. Our second stay was for three nights in April 2019.

Since our stay 2 1/2 years ago we noted some changes throughout the house. In the living room the couch was different. The new couch doesn’t recline like the old one. The old one didn’t work properly, so the new couch is an improvement. The coffee table is different too, as is the tv and the stand it sits on.

The TV stand has an electric fireplace.
The TV stand was a very nice aesthetic improvement!

The fireplace has several temperature settings and does generate sufficient heat to take the chill out of the living room. I LOVE the new TV stand. Maybe one day we can replace our TV stand with one similar to this one.

In the bathroom the window on the bathtub wall is now frosted. I don’t believe anyone could have seen in that window, but it is another improvement that we especially liked. In the kitchen there is a new table and chairs. One of the bedrooms now has a TV. All of the changes were nice improvements.

I noticed as we entered the living room, a gift bag on the coffee table. Lucas gave us two Corning “Crystal City” wine glasses. He is a thoughtful host. Lucas gifted us a Corning coffee cup, when we stayed there in April 2019.

Another thoughtful touch was this flower arrangement in the kitchen.

We brought the makings for chili with us. We had chili for dinner, accompanied with tortilla chips and salsa.

I was in bed by 9:00 pm. Bob followed me about an hour later.

Watkins Glen Day Trip

We spent yesterday (Saturday, September 9) driving to, driving home from and in Watkins Glen, NY. We were on our way out of our hometown of Warren, PA at 6:45 am. We drove through Scandia to Onoville to Interstate 86. We saw ten deer along the way. All but one deer was along the side of the road or crossed the road in front of us.

It was a chilly and foggy start to our day.

The sun is shining; the fog is beginning to lift.
It is going to be a beautiful day!

We arrived at Watkins Glen State Park (Upper Entrance) shortly before 10:00 am. Our Empire Pass Card provided free admission to the park. We hiked the Gorge Trail to the Main Entrance, stopping often to take pictures. I put together a slideshow to share with you the pictures taken during our hike. I used Photoshop Premiere Elements to create the slideshow. It was the first time that I used that program to create a slideshow. I found the slideshow creation to be simple and easy. I need to download royalty free music, though. If the music loop in the video becomes annoying to you, please click on the audio icon and turn it off!

If you are not able to view the embedded video, you may view it by clicking on this YouTube link.

What a great day for hiking the Gorge Trail! It was a cool morning, with a touch of Autumn in the air. It was a much more enjoyable hike, when the air was cool instead of on a hot summer day. Additionally it was off season, and the trail was not crowded. It took us 1 1/2 hours to hike down the gorge.

We arrived at the Main Entrance, as the shuttle bus that would have taken us back up to the Upper Entrance was pulling out. It was a 30-minute wait for the next shuttle bus. The shuttle bus costs $5.00 each. As a side note, we could have saved the cost of the shuttle bus by taking either the Gorge Trail or Indian Trail back to the upper entrance. Bob would have been able to make the hike back to the upper entrance. I, on the other hand, would not have been able to make the hike back, given my current condition (overweight and arthritic knee).

We ate lunch at the Village Marina Bar & Grill, our go-to restaurant when in Watkins Glen. We started our lunch with a basket of onion rings. Bob’s entree was a Southwest Chicken Salad. I ordered a Honey Glazed BBQ chicken sandwich with house-made Kettle chips. Both the service and food was excellent.

We finished lunch around 1:15 pm and began our drive home. We made a few stops on the way home — the Cuba Cheese Shoppe in Cuba NY, the Sheetz in Bradford PA for a caffeine fix, and a fuel stop at Exxon also in Bradford. We returned home around 5:30 pm. Bob and I both agree that our day trip made for a fun day.

Birthday Celebration Day 1

We celebrated my 61st birthday during a 3-night vacation in New York’s Finger Lakes region. Our home base was at the Best Western Plus The Hammondsport Hotel in Hammondsport, NY.

We departed our home in Warren PA shortly after 6:00 am on Wednesday, February 22. We followed routes PA-59 and US-6 to Coudersport PA, where we enjoyed a delicious and filling breakfast at Kaytee’s Family Restaurant.

After breakfast, we veered off US-6 and followed routes PA-44 to PA-49 to I-99. Shortly before entering I-99 we stopped at Cowanesque Lake near Lawrenceville, PA. While Bob took a nap, I went for a short walk from the parking lot to the beach.

Cowanesque Lake South Overlook

A short distance from the South Overlook was an overlook of the Cowanesque Dam.

Cowanesque Dam on Cowanesque Lake

Soon after leaving Cowanesque Lake, we turned onto I-99 north towards Corning NY, where we hopped onto I-86 east. It wasn’t long until we were on NY-414, heading towards Watkins Glen. We turned off NY-414 onto NY-16 and drove to Montour Falls, where we saw our first waterfall of the day.

Shequaga Falls in Montour Falls

Shequaga Falls did not disappoint. There was abundant water tumbling down the waterfall! After taking a few pictures of the waterfall, we headed towards Watkins Glen.

We saw another waterfall along NY-414 en route Watkins Glen.

a Montour Falls waterfall

We have driven by this waterfall during past visits to this area; however, we never stopped. The water flow had not been much more than a trickle of water. Well, as you can see, there was a lot of water falling this time!

We drove into Watkins Glen passing by the lower entrance to Watkins Glen State Park. A quick glance, as we were driving by, showed that the state park’s lower entrance parking lot is under construction.

We drove out of Watkins Glen on NY-414. We stopped at Hector Falls, our third and final waterfall of the day.

Hector Falls in Hector, NY

We decided to drive around Seneca Lake, so we continued on to Geneva via NY-414 to NY-96A.

In Geneva we stopped briefly at Pulteney Park before continuing around Seneca Lake on NY-14 to Watkins Glen.

Pulteney Park
Our Lady of Peace Fountain

Pulteney Park
Our Lady of Peace Fountain, with First Presbyterian Church in the background

In Watkins Glen we took a short walk at the marina.

Seneca Lake Marina in Watkins Glen

The Seneca Lake marina in Watkins Glen looks so different out of season, with no boats docked at the slips! Our plan to eat lunch at the Village Marina Bar & Grill was squashed, as the restaurant is closed for Winter.

Leaving Watkins Glen we took back roads to our hotel in Hammondsport.

We checked in to Best Western Plus The Hammondsport Hotel a little after 2:00 pm. After settling into our room, we drove the short distance to Hammondsport Village Square. At the suggestion of our hotel clerk, we ate lunch at Burgers & Beer.

Bob ordered a Taco Salad.

I ordered a Cowboy Burger, with an order of fresh cut fries.

The hotel clerk’s suggestion for lunch was excellent. Both of our meals were delicious.

We returned to our hotel at 4:30 pm, where we spent rest of day. I would like to say a word about today’s weather. Today’s temperature was in the low 60s. It was more cloudy than expected, and we did walk through a little bit of rain late this afternoon. What wonderful weather for the end of February!

Five NY State Parks in One Weekend: Watkins Glen State Park

We spent two nights at the Best Western Grand Victorian Inn in Sayre, PA during the weekend of June 26th. We decided to go on our planned weekend getaway to the Finger Lakes region, regardless of the weather. The weather forecast called for a very soggy weekend. Rain amounts of 1-2 inches (or more) was expected to fall.

We departed home at 12:45 pm on Friday, June 26th, en route Watkins Glen, NY. We arrived in Watkins Glen around 4:00 pm and entered Watkins Glen State Park, using the New York State Empire Passport that we purchased earlier in the year. Within the park, Glen Creek descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs, generating 19 waterfalls along its course. The gorge path winds over and under waterfalls and through the spray of Cavern Cascade. Rim trails overlook the gorge. We caught a shuttle bus ($5.00 each) to the upper entrance to the gorge and hiked the 1 1/2 miles down to the main entrance. Our hike took us about 1 ½ hours, with lots of photo stops.

Jacob’s Ladder has 180 steps!

Mile Point Bridge

The gorge

Rainbow Falls

Rainbow Falls

Central Cascade

Cavern Cascade

Bob and I at the bottom of the gorge

Sentry Bridge

It was a perfect afternoon for a hike. It was a warm, not a hot and humid day.

After hiking the gorge, we drove to Sayre and ate dinner at the Original Italian Grille. This restaurant was recommended to us by one of Bob’s coworkers. I ordered lasagna and a side salad. The lasagna was generous enough that two people could have eaten it easily. Bob ordered the Seared Ahi Tuna Salad (Chilled Sashimi-style tuna, rubbed and seared, served rare, with tomatoes, red onion, wonton crisps and sesame seeds paired with our Wasabi vinaigrette). In addition to the tuna salad, Bob helped me eat the lasagna. Our meals also were served with homemade bread. Dinner was delicious, and the service was okay. The waitress made a couple mistakes with our order. She brought me water instead of unsweetened tea, and she forgot to bring me a salad. The mistakes were quickly corrected.

After dinner, we drove the short distance to our hotel. Our accommodation at Best Western Grand Victorian Inn was a generously-sized room with king bed, two night stands, dresser and flat screen TV, desk with chair, arm chair with ottoman and small refrigerator and microwave. The closet was large enough to walk inside. The bathroom was large as well. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the Best Western Grand Victorian Inn was home for us for 2 nights.

Finger Lakes Weekend

Bob and I spent the weekend of June 20th in Horseheads, NY and visited Watkins Glen, Watkins Glen State Park, and drove around Seneca Lake.

On June 20th we made a spur-of-the-moment decision to take advantage of the great weather and embark on a weekend getaway. Early in the morning I sent Bob a text message that he would receive at his 9:30 am work break. I asked Bob if he wanted to go to either Wellsboro or Watkins Glen for the weekend, if I could reserve a hotel room. Bob said Watkins Glen would be nice. I made arrangements for our neighbor to take care of our cat. Then, I searched for a hotel. I found a room available and made a reservation for two nights at the Rodeway Inn Marshall Manor in Horseheads, NY.

Bob came home from work at noon. We ate a quick lunch; Bob packed for the trip (I had packed earlier); and he mowed the yard. We were ready to roll at 2:00 pm. This was our first weekend trip on the Kawasaki Voyager.

We had a pleasant and uneventful ride from home to the hotel in Horseheads. We made a few stops on our way. Before leaving Warren, we fueled up at the Kwik Fill. We rode through Scandia to Interstate 86, which we followed most of the way to Horseheads. We stopped at M&M Junction, outside of Limestone NY, to get water and to stretch. Another stop was at a scenic overlook along Route 86. We could see what looked like a dam in the distance. This stop was to stretch. We stopped for dinner at Ponderosa in Bath NY. We arrived at our hotel around 6:45 pm. We checked into our room and settled in for the night.

The next morning we took a quick look at the breakfast selections and decided we wanted a full, hot breakfast, not the continental breakfast provided by the hotel. I searched the Internet and found a restaurant in Montour Falls that served breakfast, the Harvest Cafe. We rode into Montour Falls, intending to eat breakfast at the Harvest Cafe. The cafe was closed and would not open until 8:00 am, which was about an hour’s wait for us. We took pictures of Montour Falls and headed for Watkins Glen, where we would no doubt find a restaurant that served breakfast. We found a place to eat breakfast before we arrived in Watkins Glen. In fact, we were still in Montour Falls when we came upon Classic Chef’s Restaurant. The restaurant isn’t a fancy place. Breakfast, though, was great and reasonably priced. Service was quick too.

After breakfast, we rode into Watkins Glen. We arrived too early for admission to the gorge at Watkins Glen State Park (the park opens at 8:30 am), so we decided to ride around Seneca Lake and walk the gorge trail afterward. We took Route 14 to Geneva and parked along the lake shore. We took a short walk on the Hobart and William Smith Colleges Campus grounds. We had ridden by this college several times in the past but never took the time to stroll through the grounds. The college campus is lovely. We took several pictures of the buildings and grounds. From Geneva we followed Route 20 to Route 96A to East Lake Road to Kennedy Road to Route 96A again to route 414 into Watkins Glen. Along the way we stopped at Hector Falls and took pictures.

Upon arriving back in Watkins Glen, we entered Watkins Glen State Park. Admission was $8.00. We rode a shuttle bus to the upper gorge. The bus ride cost an additional $3.00 each. We ate lunch (chicken salad sandwiches) at the Upper Gorge Snack Bar and then followed the gorge trail to the bottom. The Gorge Trail is 1 ½ miles long. It is the trail closest to Glen Creek and runs over, under and along the park’s 19 waterfalls by way of stone bridges and more than 800 stone steps. We stopped often, while on our descent, for photo opportunities.

I am sure you have noticed the lack of photographs accompanying the preceding paragraphs. After we completed our climb down the gorge, I sat down to review pictures I had taken that day. There were only 18 pictures on the memory card. I have no idea what happened. I was heartbroken and felt like crying. Bob saved the day. He suggested that we ride around Seneca Lake again so that I could retake the pictures I had taken in the morning. We rode around the lake in the opposite direction than the direction that we had ridden in the morning. I removed the memory card with lost pictures and inserted a new one. I had hoped to be able to recover the photographs on the other memory card once we returned home, with a photo recovery program. Unfortunately, I was not able to restore the pictures, but all was not lost thanks to my wonderful husband!

Here are three photographs from our hike down the Watkins Glen gorge trail.

Cavern Cascade

Looking down on the Gorge

Waterfall at entrance to Gorge

The next few photographs were taken during our second ride around Seneca Lake.

Hector Falls

This vineyard is located along the SE shore of Seneca Lake, 1 mile from Leidenfrost Vineyards.

Historic District of Geneva, NY – Rowhouses

Historic District of Geneva, NY – Peace Fountain in Pulteney Park.

This fountain was “erected to the memory of Geneva patriots who served our nation in her wars that freedom might remain our most cherished heritage”. The fountain was dedicated on May 30, 1939.

Geneva, NY – Seneca Lake

Geneva, NY
Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Geneva, NY
Hobart and William Smith Colleges

The statue is of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female physician in the United States. St. Johns Chapel is in background in the photograph displayed above.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges – Elizabeth Blackwell

After returning to Watkins Glen from our second ride around Seneca Lake, we stopped at the Village Marina.

Watkins Glen, NY
Seneca Lake

Watkins Glen, NY
Bob and I at Seneca Lake

We ate dinner at the Village Marina Bar & Grill.

Village Marina Bar & Grill

Bob ordered a Reuben burger with onion rings. I ordered battered fish, fries and cole slaw. Dinner was excellent.

After dinner we returned to our hotel, where we spent rest of the evening.

A Weekend’s Ride – Day 2: Keuka and Seneca Lakes

This past weekend (August 14-16) we rode more than 600 miles on our motorcycle. During the weekend we visited a museum, we rode around two lakes, and we attended a family reunion. I blogged about the first day of our ride a couple days ago. I will write about the second day of our ride — Saturday, August 15th — in this blog post.

Our hotel, Americas Best Value Inn, in Painted Post was just a short drive from New York’s Finger Lakes region. The purpose of this weekend trip was to ride around Keuka Lake and Seneca Lake, two of the eleven Finger Lakes. After eating a continental breakfast, we departed the hotel en route Hammondsport at the southern end of Keuka Lake. Our first stop was at the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, located on Route 54 one half mile south of Hammondsport. We arrived at the museum at 9:30AM. You can’t miss the museum. There is a large airplane sitting at the main gate.

Bob took this picture with his camera phone. I am standing beside the C-46, a WWII transport aircraft, which guards the main gate to the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum.

The Curtiss Museum is dedicated to the memory of pioneer aviator, Glenn Curtiss. Neither of us knew much about Glenn Curtiss, so we began our tour by watching a 14-minute video about Curtiss and his achievements. After watching the video, we spent the next 1 1/2 hours fascinated by the various exhibits housed in the museum. The exhibits provide a great deal of detail about Curtiss’ life and his bicycle and motorcycle businesses and his achievements. Curtiss’ achievements include attaining a speed of 136.4 MPH on a V8 powered motorcycle in 1907 and flying an airplane a distance of over 5000 feet that earned him America’s first pilot’s license.

Glenn H. Curtiss was dubbed “the fastest man on Earth” when he attained a speed of 136.4 MPH on this V8 powered motorcycle in 1907.

In 1908 Glenn H. Curtiss flew the “June Bug” a distance of over 5000 feet that earned him America’s first pilot’s license.

In addition to bicycle and motorcycle exhibits, there are exhibits of airplanes and aircraft engines that Curtiss produced over the years. The museum also documents Curtiss’ move to Florida, where he helped establish several well-known communities such as Hialeah, and developed the Aerocar, a forerunner to today’s motor homes and travel trailers.

A 1940 Buick serves as a tow car for the Curtiss 1938 Aerocar travel trailer.

The museum contains a collection of items relating to Finger Lakes history as well. Some of these items are: tools, toys, wine-making equipment, clothing and home furnishings. If you are ever near Hammondsport, make it a point to stop at the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum; you will not be disappointed!

When we left the museum we continued on Route 54 to Hammondsport and then followed Route 54A up the west side of Keuka Lake to Branchport. Route 54A follows the contours of lake, providing us with lots of turns and up and down curves. We kept a slow pace, as we admired the many cottages along the way and savored the scenic views of the lake.

Craft show at Hammondsport, NY

If the day’s goal was not to ride around both Keuka and Seneca Lakes, we would have stopped at the craft show.

I snapped this picture of Maloney’s Pub in Hammondsport, NY, as we veered left onto Route 54A that would take us along the shores of Keuka Lake.

Keuka Lake, NY
(somewhere between Hammondsport and Branchport)

Sunbathers on Keuka Lake, NY
(somewhere between Hammondsport and Branchport)

Branchport, NY

From Branchport we continued on Route 54A to Penn Yan, where we picked up Route 54. We followed Route 54 until we reached Route 14, along Seneca Lake. We followed Route 14 North to Geneva. We made two photo stops in Geneva. Our first stop offered splendid views of Seneca Lake.

Bob, enjoying view of Seneca Lake at Geneva, NY

Seneca Lake at Geneva, NY

Our second photo stop was at Geneva’s Pulteney Park in the Historic District.

Pulteney Park in Geneva, NY

Row Houses at Pulteney Park in Geneva, NY

Pulteney Park in Geneva, NY

Collins Music Hall

From Geneva we rode inland a bit to Ovid; we returned to the lake shore a few miles north of Watkins Glen. Just prior to reaching Watkins Glen we stopped to admire Hector Falls, which is alongside Route 414.

Hector Falls, NY

We drove through Watkins Glen to Montour Falls, where the main attraction is the 150-foot waterfall located on the west side of the village.

Montour Falls, NY

After admiring Che-qua-ga Falls (or She-qua-ga Falls as it is sometimes spelled), we returned to Watkins Glen, which is located at the southern end of Seneca Lake. The Watkins Glen Harbor is a most picturesque site. The harbor consists of a marina full of bobbing sailboats and fishing boats, a New England-style red schoolhouse at the end of the public fishing pier, and hillsides rising from the lake.

Bob and I at Watkins Glen Harbor

Watkins Glen Harbor
The “schoolhouse” at end of fishing pier

Watkins Glen Harbor

From Watkins Glen we rode Route 14 along the west side of Seneca Lake as far as Glenora, where we made another photo stop.

Glenora Wine Cask; Seneca Lake and vineyard-laced hillsides in background

We backtracked to Route 14A, which took us back to Penn Yan via Dundee. From Penn Yan we traveled the east side of Keuka Lake back to Hammondsport. We made one final photo stop at a park at the southern end of Keuka Lake.

Keuka Lake at Hammondsport, NY

This weekend in the Finger Lakes was one of many weekend trips that we have made to the region. We have been visiting the Finger Lakes region since 2001. It is one of our favorite destinations.

Our ride around Keuka Lake and Seneca Lake was approximately 200 miles. It was around 11:00AM when we finished touring the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport. We returned to Hammondsport at approximately 6:00PM. It was a long, but very enjoyable day. Click here for a map of our route.