This year I’m lucky to be able to go to the New York Finger Lakes twice. Many people may think of the Finger Lakes as strictly a wine region, but there is so much to do in addition to wine tasting. This week, I’m writing about the trip my hubby and I took to the “FL” for an outdoorsy weekend of cycling and kayaking.
But don’t worry, in a few weeks, I’ll write about my wine tasting adventure with my dear friend, Vicki, who is the owner of Vinocity, a company that specializes in fantastic interactive wine education and tasting experiences. While I’ll be writing about our trip on Traveleidoscope, Vicki will handle the wine end of things on Vinocity, so make sure to click here to visit her site. I hope you enjoy reading about both trips!
Finger Lakes Trip #1: Paddle/Pedal:
My husband and I like to “run away from home” from time to time for a long weekend. When we planned our three-day “escape” to the Finger Lakes, we knew that we wanted to get in a good bike ride or two and maybe even a bit of kayaking. We chose to stay near Cayuga Lake since it was close to both the kayak rental place we found and to our anticipated bike rides. So here’s how we planned it:
Kayaking
We looked for discounts on kayak rentals and found a deal on Groupon with Fuzzy Guppies in Waterloo, NY. Normally, the cost for a half day kayak rental was $35/person, but the Groupon deal was for two people for a half-day kayak rental for $30 total. Coincidently, Groupon was running a 20% off sale. So, we paid $24 for a leisurely afternoon of kayaking on the picturesque Seneca River connecting Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake. We saw tons of turtles and water birds!
Cycling
I requested a bike/hike guide on the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance website. The guide is a collection of about 75 trail cards for cycling and hiking in the region. You can also print the trail maps online on the website's Hike and Bike page. Click here to check it out. Although we debated whether to take our road bikes or our mountain bikes, in the end, we chose our road bikes and selected rides that were mostly on paved roads. One day, we did the Geneva Skyline Tour which was a 35-mile ride starting and ending in Geneva, NY, meandering through the scenic countryside and farmlands. The weather was perfect! We had planned to ride again that weekend, but unfortunately, the next day was pouring rain. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all!
Eating
As I mentioned, since it was raining cats and dogs one of the days we expected to ride, we decided to do what? Eat, that’s what! We had breakfast at Café XIX in Seneca Falls and it was delish! Some of the other yummy restaurants we tried during our trip were: Moro’s Table in Auburn; Parker’s Grille in Seneca Falls, and Ciccino’s Pizzeria in Waterloo (where we watched the U.S. women’s volleyball team defeat the Dutch to take the bronze medal at the Rio Olympics!). And since we were burning off calories cycling and kayaking, a little ice cream couldn’t hurt. We made a stop at Love’s Italian Ice & Custard in Seneca Falls!
Sleeping
While it may not be the most romantic place in the world, we decided to stay at the Hampton Inn in Seneca Falls. We chose it not only because it was conveniently located, but also because we always know what to expect… and ok, and I’m trying to accumulate points for an upcoming trip….
So, that’s the first fun weekend in the Finger Lakes! Stay tuned for tales of a completely different weekend adventure!
