Once we started heading north I began looking at places to stay (hotels, Airbnb, Vrbo, monthly rentals). I was having issues either finding places available or at a reasonable cost (we are on a fixed income). It was taking hours to find places, read reviews, determine things to see and do. It was way easier to plan where the next stop would be by boat.
We left Mechanicsburg and headed north, our first stop was Watkins Glen, NY. We traveled 195 miles in 4 hours, just like boating Rob's threshold for driving is around 4 hours.
I booked us a room at the Watkins Glen Villager Motel & Glen Manor, we were only staying one night. The motel was in a great location and the receptionist was very polite and professional.
Our first stop (wineries closed at 5) was the Lakewood Vineyards on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail. This vineyard was one of at least 29 to choose from. We were shown to The Cellar for our tasting. We had Vicki as our wine steward.
For our tasting, we had to choose between Flight A (Dry Style) or Flight B (Sweet Style). We both chose Flight A which consisted of a 2020 Riesling, 2019 Chardonnay, 2019 Long Stem White (a blend of two of their estate grown varietals), 2018 Lemberger (a dry, oak aged red), and 2020 Long Stem Red (blend of 6 French American varieties). We both enjoyed the Riesling the best. It was described as bracingly dry, yet dancing with sweet aromas of peach 🍑, pear 🍐, and lime peel.
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| Enjoying a glass of Riesling overlooking the vineyard |
Our second stop was the Magnus Ridge Winery 🍷. We should haven known to leave when we walked in and no one acknowledged us, along with four other people that entered before us. I had to ask an associate if they were still doing wine tastings, for the cost you think they would be running to wait on people. She informed us our tasting came with food, so the cost didn't seem too bad.
We chose a seat out in the garden, Lucy was setting us up for our tasting she delivered our wine in test tubes inside a mason jar along with our cheese 🧀 and pasta platter. We were given a sheet that explained the wine 🍷 and food and left on our own. We did get a souvenir wine glass, just what we needed. Most bizarre wine tasting we have ever done. Would not recommend this winery to anyone.
We walked around Seneca Lake before having dinner at Nickel's Pit BBQ. We shared the pulled pork, southern greens, jalapeño peppadew mac and cheese, and corn bread. Delicious!
The next morning, we walked to the Watkins Glen State Park to get a good hike in before moving on. We chose to walk the Gorge Trail at 1.5 miles one way. The falls were absolutely gorgeous. The last part of the trail was Jacob's Ladder a 180 stairs to the upper entrance, no wonder my legs hurt so bad the next day. On the return trip we found the suspension bridge 🌉, it was built in 1870 and the bridge is 85 feet above the creek (someone was terrified 😨).
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| Can you figure out what he is hiding? |
I really enjoyed Watkins Glen and would have liked to have done more of the wine trail. I would definitely visit again.
After our hike we headed to Niagara Falls. We had booked our first Airbnb, Blue Creek Apartment hosted by Halina and Merle. In the past, when we owned a home, we used VRBO to rent our house, but we have never used Airbnb or VRBO to book a place to stay.
We were pleasantly surprised, Halina reached out to us before arriving and gave us a list of things to see and do along with restaurant recommendations. The apartment entrance was in the rear and upstairs. A nice small 2 bedroom apartment, with a sitting area and a kitchen. Friendly neighbors and 5 minute drive to the falls, it was perfect for our four nights.
Our first full day we spent at Niagara Falls State Park. Halina told us where we could park for free, which was right near the Schoellkopf Power Plant Ruins and the Niagara Scenic Parkway Trail.
We began our exploration by taking the elevator down into the gorge where the turbine generators were located. The power station was the largest hydroelectric power station in the world back in 1924. At the top of the gorge were offices, gatehouse, and other buildings.
On June 7, 1956 workers noticed water seeping into the plant from the back wall. By 5 pm 2/3 of the power plant collapsed with the loss of 400,000 kilowatts of power. Finally the southern portion of the plant collapsed into the river below. The damage was estimated at $100 million dollars and only one person lost their life. In 2013, the elevator shaft was restored by the Maid of the Mist.
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| 143 Feet x 427 Feet (The height and length of the stone wall) |
We walked the pathway towards the falls. Once we came closer to the falls area there were people everywhere, more crowded than we are used to. We passed Rainbow 🌈 International Bridge 🌉which, unfortunately was closed because Canada is still closed. The middle of the bridge had an American Flag and a Canadian flag.
The falls were spectacular! Our pictures do not portray the beauty. We did not do the Maid of the Mist as the lines were so long. Even if I wanted to do Maid of the Mist I was not getting Rob out on the Observation Tower deck, which was full of people.
We made our way to Goat Island, I almost forget to mention how much my legs were hurting from the hike at Watkins Glen (I'm a couch potato). We did Cave of the Winds, we started with a short video of the power of the falls and I can say the power 🔋 is unbelievable. Flip flops (we had Keens) and a poncho were provided. Even though we had rain gear we took advantage of the ponchos. Good thing because we would have been drenched, we were only slightly wet with the ponchos.
We were able to see more of the falls from Terrapin Point.
I am so glad I was able to see the falls, I would have liked to have seen from the Canadian side also (maybe next time).
Time to see more of New York, since we were not going to be able to do the Erie Canal (part of the Great Loop) on our own boat, we decided to take a tour boat. The Lockview V 🚢 departed from Lockport, NY, which was about 30 minutes from our room.
qThe cruise took us through locks 34 and 35, the only double set on the Erie Canal. The locks raised us up 50 feet to an elevation of 564 feet. I was so glad we were not on our own boat, my nerves 🙄 would not have survived having to pass the tour boat.
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| Water filling up in canal |
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| Sailboat going in the wrong direction for the Loop |
We passed under Lockport's "Upside Down Bridge" and "Big Bridge". The Big Bridge" is the widest bridge in the U.S. 🇺🇸 at 399 feet wide.
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| Upside Down Bridge |
On Sunday, July 11th, it was a dreary day and rain in the forecast. We decided to ride the Niagara Falls Discovery Shuttle. It was great, we had the shuttle to ourselves and the driver was very informative. The shuttle took us from the Discovery Center all the way to Fort Niagara State Park.
We then explored the Niagara Power Plant, very few people as Google stated they were closed on Sundays, which they were until the week before. We checked in and received our play badges. We even got to attach a picture. Great thing to do on a rainy day.
On to Whirlpool State Park, it was amazing how many people were out in the rain. This was our last stop as one of us caught a cold 🥶 and was ready to call it a day.
Our dining selections on this trip were not anything to really write about except 🙃 the service we received was exceptional. We had pizza at The Craft Kitchen & Bar, Italian at Michael's, and Polish at the Polish Nook.
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| Golumbki (cabbage roll), sauerkraut, and boiled parsley potatoes |
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| Polish Sausage, Golumbki, 2 Pierogis (Cheese and Potato) and Sauerkraut |
One thing we noticed in the Niagara Falls area, the street signs were huge, no way you could miss them.
Our last night in New York was in Saratoga Springs, we stayed at the Turf and Spa (never again), but they did have a comfortable bed. We had a delicious dinner at El Mexicano. Rob really liked this place, they gave you chips and salsa, an appetizer, dessert 🍨, and a shot of tequila on the house.
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| Enchilada, chili releno, taco, rice and beans |
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| Enchiladas with mole sauce |
