348 Miles today
Pulled out of Victor this morning by 7:45 and after only about 25 miles of slab I turned south on Hwy 14 paralleling Senaca Lake, one of the famous finger lakes of New York. This is certainly no little lake, it's something like 35 miles long, formed by glaciers cutting through the earth as they retreated. (Answer to question: When is retreat a good thing.) This is really a beautiful area. Miles and miles of rolling hills, hundreds of vineyards, and little villages every few miles. Makes for slow, but beautiful traveling.
Shortly after turning south on Hwy14, I went through Geneva, NY. It's a postcard town with great old architecture. I pulled over to view the lake then, climbing off the bike I looked across the street between two old buildings and saw this.
This is the campus of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva. I suspect one can get a good liberal (probably somewhat with a capital "L") education here.
The main building deserved its own shot.
Betsy at the Finger Lakes.
Lake Seneca
In Watkins Glen, I noticed the sign adjacent.
Naa..don't think so. I think I'll go down the street and buy some of the bad groceries. Better prices.
Turned back east at Watkins Glen taking Hwy 79 through Ithaca then Hwy 38 NE to Dryden. The thought that crossed my mind was how much fun it would have been to take Betsy for a lap around the Watkins Glen track. Not speeding, just riding to get the feel of it. But, given insurance rules and costs I knew better than to pull in and ask. So I had to settle for another indulgence. Figured since I was on vacation dietary restrictions don't apply so I stopped at the Dunkin' Donuts in Dryden for coffee and fried grease with sprinkles on 'em. That hit the spot after three hours of riding. Couldn't resist answering a couple of work-related e-mails on my Blackberry from that lovely little town, on that lovely little road, through the lovely little hills. You get the picture.
Took Hwy 11 out of Dryden to Courtland then, somehow, wended my around the area taking, at various times, Hwy 23, and 26, and 92, and 80, somehow ending up in Utica. I got back on the slab for a short time exiting at Fultonville on Hwy 5 to Saratoga Springs. It was creeping on toward 4:00 pm by that time and I'd made up my mind to spend the night in Ticonderoga, otherwise, I'd have stopped. Saratoga Springs is a great little town. Lots of little stores (and places to eat!), lots of relaxed, don't-care-about-the-recession tourists walking around (and places to eat!), and quaint little brick buildings, (and places to eat!), and great old stone homes. Yeah, and places to eat! But I was committed (or should have been). Got on I-87 for a few miles taking Hwy 149 to Hwy 4 then north to Ticonderoga. Yep, the famous Ticonderoga as in Ft. Ticonderoga. where I took care of business. Taking care of business on a motorcycle jaunt entails doing laundry every four days.
The Hudson River is just outside of Ticonderoga. Pretty country. The sign said "Parking Area." My assumption was that it'd have a good view. I suspect cutting down the heavy brush went the way of budget revenues.
I am seeing the effects of this recession everywhere on this trip. In all my travels I've never seen so many signs of shear financial distress. Motels and hotels are empty; For Lease and For Sale signs are everywhere; people are just damn near gloomy. It is not a good thing at all, and, unfortunately, I'm one of those who believe it's going to go on for a long, long time.
When it rains, it pours. Well, not yet...but it's on its way. To continue my good luck, I'm in a motel that said it has wireless but doesn't. When I asked why the lady on the desk said they get it through Verizon and they've called it in and they may or may not get it fixed. When I pointed out that at check-in I inquired about wireless and said I wanted it and that I'd had experiences where it was promised and not delivered, she'd said it was "spotty" on one side of the hotel, but the other worked and she would put me there. Well, you can guess where they can "put" it. But it doesn't do any good. I'm here without wireless in my room waiting on the rain which is promised for tonight and most of tomorrow. But, they made up for that bad news by promising temperatures between 44 and 55 degrees tomorrow. When it rains, it...well, I've said that, haven't I.
348 Miles today
Pulled out of Victor this morning by 7:45 and after only about 25 miles of slab I turned south on Hwy 14 paralleling Senaca Lake, one of the famous finger lakes of New York. This is certainly no little lake, it's something like 35 miles long, formed by glaciers cutting through the earth as they retreated. (Answer to question: When is retreat a good thing.) This is really a beautiful area. Miles and miles of rolling hills, hundreds of vineyards, and little villages every few miles. Makes for slow, but beautiful traveling.
Shortly after turning south on Hwy14, I went through Geneva, NY. It's a postcard town with great old architecture. I pulled over to view the lake then, climbing off the bike I looked across the street between two old buildings and saw this.
This is the campus of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva. I suspect one can get a good liberal (probably somewhat with a capital "L") education here.
The main building deserved its own shot.
Betsy at the Finger Lakes.
Lake Seneca
In Watkins Glen, I noticed the sign adjacent.
Naa..don't think so. I think I'll go down the street and buy some of the bad groceries. Better prices.
Turned back east at Watkins Glen taking Hwy 79 through Ithaca then Hwy 38 NE to Dryden. The thought that crossed my mind was how much fun it would have been to take Betsy for a lap around the Watkins Glen track. Not speeding, just riding to get the feel of it. But, given insurance rules and costs I knew better than to pull in and ask. So I had to settle for another indulgence. Figured since I was on vacation dietary restrictions don't apply so I stopped at the Dunkin' Donuts in Dryden for coffee and fried grease with sprinkles on 'em. That hit the spot after three hours of riding. Couldn't resist answering a couple of work-related e-mails on my Blackberry from that lovely little town, on that lovely little road, through the lovely little hills. You get the picture.
Took Hwy 11 out of Dryden to Courtland then, somehow, wended my around the area taking, at various times, Hwy 23, and 26, and 92, and 80, somehow ending up in Utica. I got back on the slab for a short time exiting at Fultonville on Hwy 5 to Saratoga Springs. It was creeping on toward 4:00 pm by that time and I'd made up my mind to spend the night in Ticonderoga, otherwise, I'd have stopped. Saratoga Springs is a great little town. Lots of little stores (and places to eat!), lots of relaxed, don't-care-about-the-recession tourists walking around (and places to eat!), and quaint little brick buildings, (and places to eat!), and great old stone homes. Yeah, and places to eat! But I was committed (or should have been). Got on I-87 for a few miles taking Hwy 149 to Hwy 4 then north to Ticonderoga. Yep, the famous Ticonderoga as in Ft. Ticonderoga. where I took care of business. Taking care of business on a motorcycle jaunt entails doing laundry every four days.
The Hudson River is just outside of Ticonderoga. Pretty country. The sign said "Parking Area." My assumption was that it'd have a good view. I suspect cutting down the heavy brush went the way of budget revenues.
I am seeing the effects of this recession everywhere on this trip. In all my travels I've never seen so many signs of shear financial distress. Motels and hotels are empty; For Lease and For Sale signs are everywhere; people are just damn near gloomy. It is not a good thing at all, and, unfortunately, I'm one of those who believe it's going to go on for a long, long time.
When it rains, it pours. Well, not yet...but it's on its way. To continue my good luck, I'm in a motel that said it has wireless but doesn't. When I asked why the lady on the desk said they get it through Verizon and they've called it in and they may or may not get it fixed. When I pointed out that at check-in I inquired about wireless and said I wanted it and that I'd had experiences where it was promised and not delivered, she'd said it was "spotty" on one side of the hotel, but the other worked and she would put me there. Well, you can guess where they can "put" it. But it doesn't do any good. I'm here without wireless in my room waiting on the rain which is promised for tonight and most of tomorrow. But, they made up for that bad news by promising temperatures between 44 and 55 degrees tomorrow. When it rains, it...well, I've said that, haven't I.
Oooooh, that is an incredibly beautiful part of our U.S. One of those places you can describe and exclaim about to others, but they just don't get it until they see it.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was first married and we moved to Orchard Park, Bully Hill Winery was on my list. You probably know the story of Bully Hill. Had to go. One thing about the Vineyards in NY, they aren't stingy with their wine tastings. Within an hour, you're buying at least one bottle of everything you taste. Damn if they didn't save the champagne (sparkling wine) until last. Had to have three of those. I think we stayed in a little cabin at Lake Honeoye. A little northwest of Lake Seneca. Probably the beginning of the end of the marriage, since after slathering on hand and face lotion, I caught the bass. Hint: Oil of Olay. It was also the site of what might have been one of my dumbest moments. Looking for a place to eat and have a drink or so, and you have to drive some winding little roads through the thick woods, there was a sign indicating an establishment offering just that. I wish I could recall the name. It looked a little like a two story version of the cabin. Small and rustic. But I had to stop at the door and really contemplate the little handpainted sign nailed right in the center. Huh? I don't get it? Have you seen a McDonalds anywhere near here? I asked. What colors are their uniforms, the people who work at McDonalds? What's wrong with the colors?
The sign read... No MC colors Allowed Inside.
Finally, regarding the signs of the recession, that part of the country has been struggling, if not in dire straits, since the engineers screwed up the canal system and later, the steel mills shut down and didn;t Corning Glass shut down, too? Our current state only adds more, shall I say, hopelessness and no sign of change. Such a rich and fertile region, settled and worked by immigrants from both Western and Eastern Europe.
It's been years since I've been up that way.
And, hey, you were near Waterloo just a couple of days past Memorial Day! Awwwesome.
I agree with Jamey. This is a great area in EEUU
ReplyDeleteI spent many Octobers riding around Seneca lake tasting wines from many of the local wineries, one of them being Bully Hill. But the main attraction always was the colourful foliage during the indian summer.
Of course, there are many sky resorts in those hills that were alway close by but icy... No comparison to out west, but they make you a better skyer.
Mount Manfield? area in Vermont is really pretty, from there you can easily cross into southern Montreal, which is also pretty, and get an opportunity to practice your french before Nantes.
If you have a chance, try some pancakes with real maple syrup.
well it seems that you ate a lot on this trip.....we miss you here at the office.....please say that you are coming back soon.
ReplyDelete