In early 2011 Ellen and I thought about going to the Finger lakes region of New York State, and also visit Letchworth State Park, where she last visited with her family in 1970. There are wineries all around the Finger Lakes, especially Seneca and Cayuga. There are also minor league baseball teams in Syracuse (the Chiefs) and Auburn (the Doubledays). Further to the west in Livingston and Wyoming Counties is Letchworth State Park. Ellen last visited there in 1970. Eileen and I were never there. A cousin of mine lives in Baldwinsville and we decided to take in the wineries, a ball game or two, the state park, and visit my cousin and her family.

We left Islip on August 23 at around 9:50 AM and then headed north over the Whitestone Bridge and 684 to 84 and NY Throughway. We lost some time there near exit 18 and finally arrived at our hotel in Seneca Falls at around 5:15 PM. Shortly after checking in we started to drive to Syracuse to meet my cousin and her family in the Syracuse Chiefs' ballpark's parking lot and go to a game. She called me just as we exited the Throughway to say that there was no game on Tuesday! We then agreed to meet in the parking lot of the Retreat Restaurant on Vine Street in Liverpool, and to have dinner there. After dinner we decided to go bowling at the Flamingo Lanes on the other side of Liverpool on Route 57. We broke up into teams: my cousin, Ellen and I on one; the cousins on the other. We only played one game and I ended up with the highest score at 114. Who cares, we all had fun.

On August 24 after breakfast we stopped in Wal-Mart to buy a disposable camera since I brought my digital camera but forgot the battery. We then headed west on Route 5 towards Geneva. Just before entering the city we passed the northern tip of Seneca Lake - it was quite choppy. We also passed through Geneva itself and thanks to first missing a turn onto Route 14, got to see its historic district (quite nice, reminds me of Greenwich Village). We also drove past a group of Hobart College buildings before reaching our first winery - Belhurst - located at the southern city limits on Route 14. This was an estate belonging to Miss Carrie Collins in the 19th century and besides being a winery, it's also a boutique hotel and spa. I had a chance to taste 5 great wines and bought two of a white (Golden Pheasant, one for us and one for our neighbors) and a sparkling (Isabella). I also got a chance to talk to the host about New York State and wines. We then drove down NY 14 to stop at the Anthony Road winery in Penn Yan. I got a chance to sample another set of 5 wines and we bought Tony's rose table wine. The cashier was a former teacher in Babylon and even though she was from Upstate, she knew all about the LI wineries (she was working there when Hargreave opened up in 1972). We then headed south to Watkins Glen to have lunch at Burger King. As Ellen and I are not racing fans, we left Watkins Glen to drive to Ithaca, located at the southern end of Cayuga Lake. Once we got there we marveled at the hills and how Cornell dominated the skyline. We reached the campus and tried to park but decided to just take pictures and then leave. I ended up taking shots of the War Memorial Building and the Uris Library at the end of the Central Avenue. We then headed downtown where I took pictures of a set of railroad passenger cars tied up at the former Lehigh Valley train station (now the Chemung Canal & Trust Company). Some of the cars are used as meeting rooms. I took several pictures and then we headed back to Seneca Falls. In the evening we headed back to Syracuse to go to a Chiefs game. This time there was a game, against the Pawtucket Red Sox. My cousin and her group met us in the stands (Ellen, Eileen and I got free tickets as a promotion). Our seats were in the second tier overlooking 3rd base. As I do at every game, I bought a program and meticulously kept score. The Chiefs ended up winning 3-1. After the game we said goodbye to my cousin and family and we drove back to the hotel

On Thursday the 25th we headed west on I-90 towards Letchworth State Park over in Livingston County. While en route my mom called me to ask if we were heading home early due to Hurricane Irene. I said that we were not sure at this time. I then e/mailed my brother in law and also called my neighbor to see what the conditions were on the South Shore of Long Island. They said that it was OK. So Ellen and I agreed to leave on Saturday as planned. Once we got off of I-90 we drove on back roads through several villages, one of which was Geneseo. My nephew was thinking of going to SUNY Geneseo but opted for Boston University instead. I can see why. The campus looks nice but it’s in the middle of nowhere. Eventually we got to the Park’s gate and drove over to the Archery Field Overlook. What a sight! It reminded me of the pictures of the Grand Canyon that I saw in books and elsewhere. Very impressive. We took some pictures and then headed over to the Glen Iris Inn for lunch. After lunch we went to the museum which showed us William Letchworth’s life and his interests in nature and technology, and how he bequeathed his estate to New York to become a state park. We then walked to the rim to admire and photograph the Middle Falls of the Genesee River. After that Ellen took us to where the Pine Cabins are and which was where she and her family stayed back in 1970. Then we left the Park and drove to the Village of Mount Morris to see how it’s bouncing back. There were several nice antiques stores and art stores. Hopefully it will help. Then we headed back to our hotel in Seneca Falls, along Route 5. After resting for a while we walked next door to Abigail’s Restaurant. As I had on my Yankees sweatshirt the waitress told me that the Yankees were winning that evening. Later I found out that the score was 22-9 when we left. The Bronx Bombers hit 3 grand slams in the game – an MLB first.

On Friday August 26 we checked out early since the night before Ellen and I decided to come home early. That meant missing an Auburn Doubledays game, but I guess getting home safely was paramount. We checked out and left the hotel around9 AM and arrived home just before 4 PM. We had a great time and were disappointed that we could not see the Doubledays play and also take in the Women's Rights Museum in Seneca Falls Village, but safety was paramount. There is always next year.