Vacation- Week 2
Tuesday my mom and I drove down Seneca Lake to Watkins Glen. First we stopped at Farm Sanctuary, a humane farm animal rescue for food industry animals. It was a pretty posh place, someone has a lot of money. We didn't get to see any of the animals because it wasn't a tour day and we weren't members. I thought that was really dumb but it was not too far away from where we were going anyway. The Watkins Glen gorge trail starts right in the middle of town. It is a really popular destination for tourists. We hiked up the 800 stone steps and saw all the bridges, waterfalls, pools, and stone walls. Luckily most of the way is shaded and even wet because it got pretty hot. There are a ton of steps right at the end, they wore me out. At the top we sat for a while and walked around the gift shop before heading back down. We ate lunch at the bottom, late but it was fun. For dinner we had grilled chicken and I put barbecue sauce on it and corn of course. We had corn all the time when I was younger but now I never have it. We watched the Dark Knight later on, I had seen it before so I talked to Mike through part of it. Wednesday I had a doctor's appt and then I got to mow the lawn. It was fun since I haven't done it in a long time. I saw three baby toads but I also got a lot of bites. Abby was really happy that I was here. When it was time to go she sat in front of the car door so I couldn't close it. Wednesday was busy, I went running and made another pie when I got home, blueberry and cherry. It came out much better because the topping was not too clumpy. Thursday Mike had the morning off so we did some errands and had lunch. We went to the bank, shopping, and library. For lunch we had macaroni and cheese with veggies and mozzarella, plus pie. I walked to Blockbuster again in the afternoon and got New in Town and the Duchess. I watched the first one and walked around the reservoir. Originally we were going to go to the Rusted Root concert but we were both pretty tired so we skipped it and watched TV.
On Friday I ran and then my mom came for lunch with me. We walked to Aladdin's, this 'healthy, natural eatery' that has a Mediterranean style. The food was pretty cheap but I saw why, it was mostly lettuce! I got gazpacho which was a nice cold soup, but it was more like a wet salad. Diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, zucchini etc with some broth. I got a falafel pita which was a huge pita stuffed with lettuce and some tomato, cucumber, and sprouts with three falafels. My mom got the falafel salad which was the same thing with pita on the side and four falafels. I liked the dressing, it was the traditional yogurt sauce. After that we walked to the reservoir but I was pretty tired from running so we only walked around part of the reservoir. I had my mom try some of the second blueberry pie I made, it was really good. The crust is really good too, just graham crackers. After my mom left I took a nap until Alissa called me after work. She came over and we hung out until Mike came home. We talked for a while until we got hungry for sushi. Alissa doesn't like sushi so she went home. Piranha was so yummy! We decided to get two sushi, Sea Monster, one of our favs, and then Mistletoe which had salmon and berries. It was perfect because it was kind of sweet and Sea Monster was unusually spicy from the chili aioli. Then we shared a tapas of fish tacos with cabbage and guacamole and I got a vegan miso soup with tofu and mushrooms. It was all really good and not too overstuffed. We didn't get dessert, we had pie at home. These people our age next to us were looking at the menu so I asked if they had been here before. They hadn't so we gave them some advice, there is so much to choose from!
Saturday we drove to my parents' house and then all of us and Abby were in the car to go to Sharon Springs, on the other side of Syracuse in the middle of nowhere. Their house is on 140 acres of pasture and woods and they have eight horses. The couple (that I'm somehow related to) had tents and tables and chairs. There was a ton of food, corn, whole chickens, hot dogs and hamburgers, pulled pork, fruit and macaroni salad, plus tons of chips and trail mix, brownies, cupcakes, cookies, cannolis. I got to see my dad's side of the family, I only see them at Christmas. My cousins are so big now (they are actually my cousin's kids). The best part was when Abby played with the horses, she snuck under the fence and jumped around them and they chased her. One of the horses really wanted to play. Abby even did some play bows and they sniffed noses. But it was pretty scary because the horses are so much bigger. We took a few group pics and then people started leaving. I slept most of the way home!
We ate a very late dinner, I made cheeseburgers and we had corn because none of us had any at the reunion. Sunday was a big day, we went to Paradise on the Lake http://www.paradiseonthelake.us/ Mike's landlord's b&b. He just opened it this summer and it is right on the east side of the lake. Unfortunately it was raining, we went there for kayaking. But we got to see the place and it is really nice inside. Then we went kayaking in the rain which was really fun. We did get pretty wet so we had to go home and change before our wine tour with Paula and Frank.
Mike and I had never been on a wine tour so this was extra special. There are a ton of wineries around the lake and they are all close together. Frank was nice enough to drive us since he had done tours a lot (Paula and Frank went on tours during college because they lived close enough). First stop was the Three Brothers, three wineries and a brewery in the same place. First was Stony Lonesome, a typical classy winery. We tried some wines here and then went to Rogue's Hollow- pirate themed! The labels were along the lines of 69 ways to have fun, skirt lifter, and lonely sea man. Next stop, Passion Feet, a sexy girly theme with names like Backseat Bounce, Seduce Me, and 90 seconds of heaven. After that we went to Paula's place because she broke her flip flop. We made a stop for lunch at Stonecutter's, in the Belhurst. I got a caprese panini and then we went back to touring on the west side of the lake. We stopped at Torrey Ridge, a winery with a ton to choose from that included red neck themes, Four Chimneys, organic wines that focused on fruit flavors, Miles, in an old house where everyone tries the same wines and you can keep the glass, Pompous Ass, a new place where you try six of seven. With our wines we had wine crackers, pretzels, cheerios, and oyster crackers. Fulkerson was our next stop, a classy old winery that had an extensive gift shop too. The tasting room was gorgeous, and our bartender was an older guy that gave us a history lesson, he knew everything. Their selection was extensive so Mike could try his dry wines and Paula and Frank had the sweet ones while I picked ones in the middle. Glenora was our last stop, it's a restaurant and inn too. Frank's friend was our bartender, they had a big selection too and even some snack samples and cheese. I got some pasta for my uncle for Christmas.
For dinner we had steak! I have not had steak in a long time. We had to drive back to Rochester so we took some camping stuff I dug out of the closet and came home to kitty. Monday was a busy day. I ran and got really bad cramps in my calves. I made a smoothie and put the weekend pics on facebook, then walked the 1.3 miles to the post office and back with a seven pound textbook to mail for half.com. After that I took a shower and went for groceries. When Mike came back we went to the library and he got his hair cut. We had to wait so long we got a smoothie at Panera since we were both so hungry. We to dinner at Pare, www.parebarandgrill.com. We got steamed mussels in white wine and butter and garlic to start. I had not had mussels in a long time, they were good! Then I got sesame ahi tuna with dumplings and seaweed salad and Mike got chicken saltimbocca with proscuitto, potatoes, and cabbage. For dessert we had creme brulee over chocolate pudding.
On Friday I ran and then my mom came for lunch with me. We walked to Aladdin's, this 'healthy, natural eatery' that has a Mediterranean style. The food was pretty cheap but I saw why, it was mostly lettuce! I got gazpacho which was a nice cold soup, but it was more like a wet salad. Diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, zucchini etc with some broth. I got a falafel pita which was a huge pita stuffed with lettuce and some tomato, cucumber, and sprouts with three falafels. My mom got the falafel salad which was the same thing with pita on the side and four falafels. I liked the dressing, it was the traditional yogurt sauce. After that we walked to the reservoir but I was pretty tired from running so we only walked around part of the reservoir. I had my mom try some of the second blueberry pie I made, it was really good. The crust is really good too, just graham crackers. After my mom left I took a nap until Alissa called me after work. She came over and we hung out until Mike came home. We talked for a while until we got hungry for sushi. Alissa doesn't like sushi so she went home. Piranha was so yummy! We decided to get two sushi, Sea Monster, one of our favs, and then Mistletoe which had salmon and berries. It was perfect because it was kind of sweet and Sea Monster was unusually spicy from the chili aioli. Then we shared a tapas of fish tacos with cabbage and guacamole and I got a vegan miso soup with tofu and mushrooms. It was all really good and not too overstuffed. We didn't get dessert, we had pie at home. These people our age next to us were looking at the menu so I asked if they had been here before. They hadn't so we gave them some advice, there is so much to choose from!
Saturday we drove to my parents' house and then all of us and Abby were in the car to go to Sharon Springs, on the other side of Syracuse in the middle of nowhere. Their house is on 140 acres of pasture and woods and they have eight horses. The couple (that I'm somehow related to) had tents and tables and chairs. There was a ton of food, corn, whole chickens, hot dogs and hamburgers, pulled pork, fruit and macaroni salad, plus tons of chips and trail mix, brownies, cupcakes, cookies, cannolis. I got to see my dad's side of the family, I only see them at Christmas. My cousins are so big now (they are actually my cousin's kids). The best part was when Abby played with the horses, she snuck under the fence and jumped around them and they chased her. One of the horses really wanted to play. Abby even did some play bows and they sniffed noses. But it was pretty scary because the horses are so much bigger. We took a few group pics and then people started leaving. I slept most of the way home!
We ate a very late dinner, I made cheeseburgers and we had corn because none of us had any at the reunion. Sunday was a big day, we went to Paradise on the Lake http://www.paradiseonthelake.us/ Mike's landlord's b&b. He just opened it this summer and it is right on the east side of the lake. Unfortunately it was raining, we went there for kayaking. But we got to see the place and it is really nice inside. Then we went kayaking in the rain which was really fun. We did get pretty wet so we had to go home and change before our wine tour with Paula and Frank.
Mike and I had never been on a wine tour so this was extra special. There are a ton of wineries around the lake and they are all close together. Frank was nice enough to drive us since he had done tours a lot (Paula and Frank went on tours during college because they lived close enough). First stop was the Three Brothers, three wineries and a brewery in the same place. First was Stony Lonesome, a typical classy winery. We tried some wines here and then went to Rogue's Hollow- pirate themed! The labels were along the lines of 69 ways to have fun, skirt lifter, and lonely sea man. Next stop, Passion Feet, a sexy girly theme with names like Backseat Bounce, Seduce Me, and 90 seconds of heaven. After that we went to Paula's place because she broke her flip flop. We made a stop for lunch at Stonecutter's, in the Belhurst. I got a caprese panini and then we went back to touring on the west side of the lake. We stopped at Torrey Ridge, a winery with a ton to choose from that included red neck themes, Four Chimneys, organic wines that focused on fruit flavors, Miles, in an old house where everyone tries the same wines and you can keep the glass, Pompous Ass, a new place where you try six of seven. With our wines we had wine crackers, pretzels, cheerios, and oyster crackers. Fulkerson was our next stop, a classy old winery that had an extensive gift shop too. The tasting room was gorgeous, and our bartender was an older guy that gave us a history lesson, he knew everything. Their selection was extensive so Mike could try his dry wines and Paula and Frank had the sweet ones while I picked ones in the middle. Glenora was our last stop, it's a restaurant and inn too. Frank's friend was our bartender, they had a big selection too and even some snack samples and cheese. I got some pasta for my uncle for Christmas.
For dinner we had steak! I have not had steak in a long time. We had to drive back to Rochester so we took some camping stuff I dug out of the closet and came home to kitty. Monday was a busy day. I ran and got really bad cramps in my calves. I made a smoothie and put the weekend pics on facebook, then walked the 1.3 miles to the post office and back with a seven pound textbook to mail for half.com. After that I took a shower and went for groceries. When Mike came back we went to the library and he got his hair cut. We had to wait so long we got a smoothie at Panera since we were both so hungry. We to dinner at Pare, www.parebarandgrill.com. We got steamed mussels in white wine and butter and garlic to start. I had not had mussels in a long time, they were good! Then I got sesame ahi tuna with dumplings and seaweed salad and Mike got chicken saltimbocca with proscuitto, potatoes, and cabbage. For dessert we had creme brulee over chocolate pudding.