Our journey this time started with a very leisurely morning. Since our destination was only about three hours away and we wanted to be there around three in the afternoon, there was none of the regular pre-start rush. We had our morning coffee and breakfast the same as always and by about nine in the morning we had the Doodle all packed and ready to go. With no stress this time. The traffic through Providence was easy and without any delays and soon we were stopping at the special Dunkin Donuts up on Route 146 that has easy access and parking for the Doodle - Carol and I both had a bagel to top off the morning. Soon we were actually heading west on Route 90, the Massachusetts Turnpike, known locally as the 'Mass Pike'. The Mass Pike is an easy and and well known route to us as so many adventures have begun along this route. We crossed the second highest pass on Route 90 in western Massachusetts and soon rolled into New York State and up past Albany, the NY State capitol. We stopped in a small town called Amsterdam along the Erie Canal.
Lock 11 in Amsterdam, NY
We stopped at Lock 11 in Amsterdam and had picnic lunch on the banks of the Erie Canal. This is the very spot that we stopped on the Great Loop and spent our first night on the Erie Canal, and discovered that our engine was making oil. This turned out to be a problem that took a few weeks to resolve and made me just a little bit smarter about Diesel engines.
Parker right where we tied our boat in June of 1999
Todays lunch was without incident though and we soon were traveling on back roads to our first destination, Hummingbird Hills Winery where we would be spending the night. Traveling the back roads is the best. Sure they are narrow and windy but it is here that you see the beauty of this country. When we arrived we were greeted by Kimm and Ken the owners of Hummingbird Hills winery and soon had the Doodle level and our campsite was all set for the evening.
Our spot for the night
To our surprise there was another Leisure Travel Van there. The couple, Doug and Ellie, were from Colorado, just north of Boulder. We had a great time swapping stories during our wine tasting and they were full of questions about RV travel as this was their maiden voyage. A very nice couple indeed and the wine was also very good. Was I was sketching and Carol was cleaning up, I heard a shout. Carol came to the door holding a mirror and I couldn't figure just where she got it from. Was the mirror from the inside of her vanity. When she opened the door it fell off into her arms...and did not break!! "Can you fix this/" she asked. Well we are in the country, miles from any hardware store. I took the mirror and determined that it had been adhered to the inside of the door with some kind of silicone adhesive. I started looking through all my tool boxes and storage compartments and my surprise, I had a tube of silicone adhesive. I couldn't believe it. I took the door off it's hinges laid it flat on a table removed as much of the old silicone as I could, dolloped out new silicone and taped the mirror securely in place.Three hours later, by bedtime , I had the door reinstalled and so far it is doing well. Time will tell.
My sketch of the barn at Hummingbird Hills
I was up early the next morning and watched a beautiful sunrise.
Sunrise with grape vines
Carol and Harper were both a couple a lazy heads. Soon enough though we were all up,Harper had her morning walk and Carol and I had good breakfast. Soon we were underway and in search a 'cheap' fuel before jumping back on to Route 90, now the NY Thruway. We found diesel for the bargain price of $5.39 a gallon and still spent $86. We had another several hours of driving before our next stop. We are listening to an audio book, a 'Reacher' novel. We are suckers for mysteries.
Carol and Harper at Dana’s Time Out in Geneva, NY
We found a great lunch in Geneva. A dog friendly restaurant called Dana's Time Out. I had an awesome burger and Carol had a spicy Buffalo Chicken wrap, she says 'very spicy'! Harper enjoyed a bit of my burger as well, she was so very happy to be in a restaurant with us.
Harper at the medieval winery
Back on the road we followed route 14 south from Geneva. We found a medieval winery who's name I have forgotten and did a tasting before heading to our destination in the town of Penn Yan.
My sketch from the Prejean Winery in Penn Yan
That's a strange name for a town. We were told that it was derived from the Pennsylvania Yankees that settled here. . . Penn Yan...who knew. We stayed at the Prejean Winery this sits high above Seneca Lake and had a spectacular view. We had great conversation and good wine and Harper was the hit of the evening. Again I did a sketch and this time nothing broke. We had an excellent spot to park the Doodle, with an uninterrupted view out across the lake.
Another great sunrise
We had a light supper as we had such a large lunch. We were up and underway in good time this morning and since we were only about 20 minutes or so from Watkins Glen we found a diner. We had an awesome, hearty breakfast at a neighborhood diner just south of Watkins Glen, the Blue Ribbon Diner right on Route 14, highly recommended. Really good sourdough toast.
Morning coffee at the Blue Ribbon Diner, ahhhhhh.
ince we had camped in Watkins Glenn last year we knew exactly where the Walmart is. We had several little things to pick up.. There is always a list that develops once you leave of things forgotten. Little things like the second set of keys for the Doodle and prescriptions! Fortunately our daughter Megan and the grandkids Ben and Grace are meeting us in Wisconsin in a couple of weeks so she is bringing those things out. So we just picked up necessities....yeah right.
Lonely Doodle at Glenora Winery
After Walmart we visited the Glenora Winery back up Route 14 a bit. This was spectacular winery with a magnificent vies of Seneca Lake, very reminiscent of the vineyards we have visited along the Rhine River in Germany years ago. Their wine was quit good as well.
High above the lake at Glenora Winery
Slowly we wandered toward out destination for tonight which was only about 35 miles away. This was another of those spectacular drive through the countryside without all the hustle of the interstate. We passed beautiful farms and fields and up and down the hilly twisting roads. We even had a deer peek out of the woods at us before jumping back to safety.
Love the back roads
We came upon the town of Hammondsport at the souther tip of Keuka Lake. What a charming little town. We park on a side street and hiked around town. Of course we found a great ice cream stand and had a cup of homemade strawberry ice cream to share with Harper. She loves ice cream.
Hammondsport, NY
Carol found a few more doors to pop into before we headed back to our little home away from home. Soon we were driving up a very long steep uphill until we found a spectacular winery called Heron Hills Winery.
Spectacular tasting rooms and verandas
This is yet another winery that will let us stay for 'free' -- if you don't count the tasting or the bottles of wine you bring along. We had a fantastic tasting out on the porch over looking Keuka Lake.
Happy wine day!
We also had cheese, and salami and a baguette, all locally made. And so this is home for the night. The winery is ours for the night, we are the only ones here. Harper Carol and I have been playing ball and hanging out. This is another great relaxing evening..tomorrow we head west in earnest. We have a long day with a destination near Toledo.