This trip started much better than when we left in may with all the problems we had then. Our morning started leisurely with no particular rush. Carol put the coffee on and we both had our last minute chores to do. I loaded camera gear and tech while Carol tended to more organic things like food and clothing.As it happened we were on the road at exactly 8:00, not an early start but not a late start either, and since we only had a four hour or so drive ahead of us, it seemed just right. We ambled through the Providence area and up route 146 toward Worcester and the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Once on the Mass Pike the scenery began it slow change for flatter to hillier and soon we were in western Mass and it was time for a side trip. I remembered that Alices Restaurant was in Stockbridge Massachusetts and we thought that would be a great stop for breakfast/brunch. Alices Restaurant is the restaurant of the song made famous by Arlo Guthrie back in 1967. But as it turns out it is no longer there so we decided on a side trip to Lee Massachusetts to see what we could find. Lee turned out to be one of those charming little New England towns that belong on a Christmas Card, or at least a post card. We found a great little sidewalk cafe 'The Starving Artist' which served up great food from locally sourced vendors. We had the most fantastic breakfast sandwiches made on a whole grain bread and filled with eggs and bacon and ham and such...although it seems that little Harper had most of my bacon for breakfast.

I look like an old curmudgeon!. I swear I am happy here!

We chatted with host folks that passed on the sidewalk, Harper is always good for a quick introduction to passers by. We also found a great pet shop and just a comfortable little town to walk around. Once back in the van Carol discovered that a Yankee Candle outlet was just up the road in Lee, so instead of continuing west we headed north to Lee and soon Carol had returned to the van with a good smelling bag of goodies. Our navigation (Siri) took us through a lot of back roads and we entered New York State on some unknown route. This route dumped us into the parking lot of the Canaan General Store.

Well this was an amazing store and we all went in. Harper wanted to sniff every thing, the smells were so exciting. The first shelves were filled with every candy from our childhood and from there we were into spices and flours, jams and honey - right into plumbing supplies, fresh cookies and a full deli. We had a ball here. Harper and I had to exit as Carol's basket grew. Back in the Doodle we examined all the treasures. I had picked out some French Roasted Peanuts (the red bumpy ones) and carol bought a tub of black string licorice. I even got some very hard to find Pumpernickel flour to make some bread in the future.

You see the darnedest things along the road - trimming wires from a helicopter!

Back on the road we eventually found the highway again and we were heading more or less in a direct line to our destination. By late afternoon we were parked in a field behind a BBQ house called 'The O at 112' in Otego, NY. After playing more cribbage (I won 2 out of three games) we walked over to the BBQ house and got some supper. We had Speidies. Speidies (pronounced 'Speedies) are a sandwich common in Central NY apparently. The are chopped meat or veggies in a hot dog bun. I had the bbq pork and Carol had a veggie. The both came with homemade potato chips. Supper was delicious and we shared with Harper who always likes to get a treat. We watched a couple of shows before turning in for the evening.

We awoke to a beautiful sunrise in our little field, with some mist rising up on the hillside behind us. Harper had her morning walk in the wet grass..it had rained a bit during the night. We had a lazy breakfast and headed out around nine. We were heading for Watkins Glen, New York, the Castile Grisch Winery, another Harvest Host, this one with wine instead of BBQ. However, as these things go, we got distracted. As we rolled through the New York hills we saw signs for Corning NY and Carol wondered if that was where her Corning Ware comes from. She quickly was on her phone looking it up. In her search she found a Corning Factory Outlet.

We diverted our course. Soon we were looking for parking in Corning as there were streets blocked off and traffic redirected. There was a Harvest Festival going on in the downtown area. We found a great spot on a side street and walked down the hill to the outlet. Carol found several things that we 'needed' as Harper and I sat outside listening to a local blues band playing at the festival. There was a row of ports-potties near where we were sitting and I couldn't help noticing that the brand was "Ed's Heads" - ha must be a relative. After the outlet we walked the length of the festival and checked out all the vendors. What a great little town Corning turned out to be. Corning has a rich history which I wish we had more time to explore. There are several museums that we wish we had time to explore, but maybe next time.

From Corning we took the back roads to Watkins Glen, lots of hills and valleys dotted with some spectacular farms. We arrived at the winery mid afternoon and did a wine tasting. This was by far the best wine tasting we have ever had in New York. New York is typically the home of sweet wines, but this flight of wines all seemed to be pretty nice. Carol bought a couple of bottles for the Doodle. Our parking spot had a spectacular views of Seneca Lake and the surrounding hillsides.We had a lazy afternoon after the tasting.

Our view while tasting the wine! Seneca Lake!

I started this entry in the blog while Carol and Harper napped. We walked the grounds and surprisingly I won the next couple of cribbage games. We watched a couple of videos before bedtime but ended up turning in early anyway.

The morning view was an ever changing canvas of clouds and sun over the lake. We had our coffee and watched the sunrise up over the far hills. After breakfast we folded up camp and headed for the Watkins Glen International Raceway. Since it was early we were able to get into a parking area and see some of the warmup races that were being held. It was pretty spectacular. And this whole area is really surprising in it's beauty.

From the raceway we headed back into town and found parking at the Walmart which if just a mile from downtown. Finding parking for the Doodle in a small town like this can be problematic but a Walmart always has plenty of parking. We walked back into downtown and to the Watkins Glen State Park, where the gorge is. Pets are not allowed on the gorge trail - we guessed it was wet enough without dog poop. We broke the rules and carried little Harper up and back the 835 steps.

What a special place, feeling lucky to have been here.

The gorge is really spectacular and is not to be missed is you are ever anywhere near here. As we walked back through the downtown area, surprisingly we found home made ice cream, and shared a small bit with Harper of course. She's not too spoiled. We walked back to the Doodle after Carol did a bit of shopping, and found our way to the Clute Memorial Park Campground where we will be for two nights.

We got set up in time to watch the last half of the Patriots game..thankfully this park has cable tv hookups. The Pats beat the Jets 25 to 6, go Pats! This campground in an easy walk to downtown and right on the edge of Seneca Lake, there is even a marina right at the campground. Lots to take in. We napped a bit then took a hike to see what we could find. We looked at boats and walked the beach area. When we returned I started a campfire, and of course the smoke followed me where ever I sat. We had a much needed quiet evening, no cribbage this evening. I made some veggie burritos for supper and we watched the latest episode of Ted Lasso, our new favorite series.

I hate having my editor look over my shoulder. . . .

Below is a gallery of images from our first few days.

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