The Empire State

13 June 19

We crossed into New York State heading to my sister’s home for a family visit.  I spent the first 22 years of my life here.  After I finished college, I have only returned for family visits.  The area south of Rochester is beautiful country but the winter can be brutal. 

We camped at Watkins Glen SP.  This park is well known for beautiful hiking trails and scenic falls that keeps the park full during good weather. We arrived in rainy conditions and could not enjoy any of these.

The next morning, we decided to travel north on the west side of Seneca Lake and visit some of the many wineries that line the hills above the lake.   Lakewood Vineyard, our first stop, proved to be a winner.  They produce a German style red wine called Lemberger. We really enjoyed these wines and bought several bottles.  The other wineries had mostly sweet wines which we do not care for.

My sister and husband live on a 10-acre property and we park near a large barn where we have electric hookups.  We do not get to visit that often, so there are always things to catch up on.

 

We spent more than the usual amount of time talking about family history.  This was due to the recent passing of my aunt on my mother’s side.  We went to visit the home where she lived. When I was 2, my parents and my mother’s parents purchased a dairy and crop farm. We lived and worked on that farm for ten years.  In the end, the farm could not generate enough money to support everyone.  The farmland was sold, and we moved closer to Kodak, where my father was also working.  My grandparents and my aunt continued to live in the farmhouse until they passed away. My aunt lived in that house for 70 years.   This house has some interesting local history.  It was built in the early 1800’s from stones that were removed during the digging of the Erie Canal. There are a number of Erie Canal houses still in use in the area.

My sister arranged for tickets to a Rochester Red Wings baseball game.  She belongs to a group that provided a buffet dinner and drinks before the game.  Luckily, it also turned out that we had seats under a large stadium overhang as it started to rain.  In the end, the game was called for rain, which was too bad because the home team was doing really well.  It was a good evening out.