Watkins Glen, New York with my Curvette Ladies!

Friday morning Ken was up at 4 and did some reading.  I woke to the 4:30 alarm so I would be ready when Polly arrived at 5:30 to pick me up for our adventure!  I thought Ken was up because he wanted to see and talk to me before I left for several days and he would really miss me!  Actually he thought he should carry my dufflebag and bags with food to the car!

The 7 of us ladies met in Akron at Linda's house and were on our way in 2 cars for the 4 1/2 hour drive.   After 2 hours of driving we stopped at Kitchen Cupboard near Bucknell College for breakfast and then enjoyed checking out their huge gift shop and bakery!

We arrived at the small house where we would be staying around noon, unloaded, chose our bedrooms, unpacked, and then had snack type food for lunch.  We were within 2 blocks of downtown Watkins Glen so we walked there and had our 1st view of Lake Seneca.  Back to the house to chat and then we drove downtown for dinner at Nickel's Barbeque because it was really raining! We had a delicious dinner, returning to the house to change to our PJ's and play games.  Most of us were up until 10:30.

We have a bunch of "early risers" in our group, so sleeping in was not an option. Also, there was only 1 small bathroom, so we needed to get up early for everyone to have their "turn".  I am not used to getting up at 5:15 (I am retired), but I was a "sport" and was the 2nd one in the bathroom!

After a delicious breakfast of lots of fresh fruit and homemade baked blueberry oatmeal (thanks, Nancy) we all got into Marcia's van and drove to Skaneateles, New York, which is a quaint town with many unique shops and nice eateries. We enjoyed going through the shops and then having a delicious lunch at the Blue Water Grill where we had a nice lake view.  The favorite meal was the shrimp and scallop enchiladas.  This none fish eater loved the flatbread margarita pizza.

Then it was time to check out some wineries.  We stopped at 3 Brothers to see how each of them marketed their specific wines (their dad had given each of them money to start up their own "operation" and their styles are so different). Then on to 1 of Nancy's favorites, Knap Winery, where Matt, a gentleman probably in his early 80's with an adorable smile and grin, and a rhyme for each wine, was our "leader" for the wine tasting.  What fun!  From there we went to Goosewatch Winery just to enjoy the spectacular view.  We arrived at Hazelit winery at 4:45 (they were about ready to close and very full), so only Marcia and Shirley did the tasting.

Our 1st view of Cayuga Lake!

The tower at Goosewatch Winery!

Back to the house by 6 after buying ice cream to have with the apple crisp I had brought.  We had a late lunch, so none of us were extremely hungry.  We spent the evening playing games and 5 Crowns seemed to be the favorite.  Since I tend to be extremely competitive, some of them were happy that I came in last! Really????  It was a fun day and by 11 we headed to bed.  It was a rather chilly day with temperatures only in the upper 50's and rather windy!

Everyone was up early again on Sunday - I was dressed and ready by 5:45. What is that about???  We had an egg and bacon breakfast and were on our way to Taughannock Falls State Park by 9:30.  Marcia was a great tour guide, driving us to the overlook at the top of the falls 1st, and then hiking the 3/4 mile path that lead back to the falls from a different area in the Park.  It was a beautiful walk but again rather chilly!  Yes, Polly, it was cool!

From there we drove through Ithaca to Robert Treman State Park.  We did get to see a small falls there, but unfortunately the trail to the gorge was closed.  It is one of my favorite hikes in that area.  By then it was 1:30 and these gals were hungry.  We headed to a winery near Watkins Glen known for good food, but the cafe only opened on May 1st.  So we drove to downtown Watkins Glen and enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Marina Bar and Grille.  4 of us got quesadillas and they were delicious.

Back to the house by 3:30 and Nancy, Linda, Deb and I packed the car to head home, the other 3 were staying until tomorrow morning.  We were on our way by 4, but made a quick stop at Montour to check out the town waterfalls.  There was a "hippie" type wedding ceremony at the base of the falls.  We only stopped 1 time for gas and arrived back home by 8:30.  ( I will have some additional photos from Nancy to post in the near future!)

This is the beautiful falls at Montour
and if you look closely you can see the
bride and groom who got married while
we were there!  Pizza was delivered
as soon as the ceremony ended and it
was the minister's 1st wedding!