Today marks a month since we left home on vacation. It was another hot and humid day. We decided to take a drive on Highway 89, the Cayuga Scenic Trail, which runs along the west side of Lake Cayuga, to Seneca Falls. The lake was a little rougher, so there wasn’t much boat traffic on the lake today.
We reached the town of Seneca Falls–an old manufacturing town developed near the falls years ago. The falls were dammed up to run the mills, so the falls became non-existent.
There were many really cool, old buildings in town. Seneca Falls is the birthplace of the Women’s Right Movement and the inspiration for the setting of the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
We drove to where the falls once stood in town at the Canal Harbor.
We walked along the boardwalk that paralleled the Cayuga-Seneca Canal. The Cayuga-Seneca Canal connects Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake and is part of the New York State Canal System. The canal was connected to the Erie Canal in 1828. There were two canal barges tied up to the wall there. This was one called the Okeechobee. These barges are available for rent to use on the canal.
Other visiting pleasure boats were tied up here at the wall. We talked to a few of the boaters who had been tied up there overnight.
As we sat on a shady bench along the canal, we watched a canal barge approach us and move down the canal towards the locks.
This canal leads to Lock #2 and #3.
 Lock #2 and #3 |
There is a boater’s lounge with showers, a laundromat, and restrooms in the building at the harbor. Upstairs, there was the Seneca Museum of Waterways and Industry to explore. We spent some time there learning about life in Seneca Falls in the early 1800’s and the establishment of industry there. The museum housed some wonderful antique machines like this pedal-operated table saw originally manufactured in Seneca Falls.
Sylvania was located here as well. This is a 1947 television picture tube and the TV that used it.
This is a Rumsey Electric Lawnmower built in Seneca Falls.
School Simplex rulers and yardsticks were made in Seneca Falls. We have a vintage ruler like this at home.
After wandering around the museum for awhile, we decided it was time to visit a winery. After all, we couldn’t leave the Finger Lakes area without checking out at least one winery and vineyard. I had done a search for the best wineries to visit in the area and Sheldrake Point Winery came up. With so many wineries around, it is hard to choose, but we wanted one where we could sip a glass of wine, eat some cheese, and sit outside by the lake. This one fit the bill.
We had the tasting room to ourselves after the previous people left, so we had a great experience. The girl behind the bar answered all our questions and gave us quite an education in wines and grape-growing.
 Red Wine Grapes |
 White Wine Grapes |
We each got to choose 4 wines to taste and we liked them all. Bob chose 4 reds and I chose 4 whites.
We chose a cheese platter that contained all sorts of goodies to compliment our glass of wine and took them outside to enjoy.
We sat outside on the bluff overlooking the lake, savoring our wine and cheese. It was so peaceful and everything was tasty. What a great way to spend an afternoon.
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We each bought a bottle of our favorite wine, the wine tasting, glasses of wine, and cheese platter and $85 later, we left to head back to the campground.
We had a detour on the way home because of the flooding that took place about 2 weeks ago. The 9 inches of rain they got in a very short time took out this bridge and part of the road. We saw other damage from the torrential rain in the gulleys along the highway where the water drains into the lake. There were downed trees and washed out areas where the water swept things away. It must have really been something to see.
Back at the campground, we took Auggie for a walk. I took a nap (wine induced) and Bob relaxed in the AC. It had gotten quite steamy outside. We had a short rain shower late in the afternoon and then again after dark. Auggie got his evening walk in before the rains began. Tomorrow when the temps are supposed to be cooler, we’ll do some hiking and waterfall hunting in the parks near Ithaca.
