Labor Day was rainy so we hung out to visit with MaryEllen and do laundry. That evening the Mazzeo family had another dinner gathering to which we were warmly welcomed. We met a few more family members and ate more delicious food.
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| Me & MaryEllen at Dave’s Lake House |
Tuesday morning MaryEllen packed up to fly home to SoCal while we also prepared to hit the road again. After a quick visit to Wegman’s market to provision we were off in a westerly direction through beautiful farmland and vineyard country. We stopped to grab coffee at Blanche’s bakery and coffee shop in Lodi. Blanche herself prepared a new pot of decaf for us while we had a little chat about how slammed her little café had been over the Labor Day weekend. Blanche appeared to be in her 80’s, but she was still able to multi-task efficiently as she accepted a delivery, made our coffee, and cooked a BLT for a regular customer all at once. Her energy was amazing and inspiring.
We proceeded to enjoy more beautiful old barns, far reaching green fields, and rolling hills. We drove through Mennonite communities where colorful laundry hung on incredibly long, high lines while a few families braved the road in their black horse drawn buggies.
We arrived at Watkins Glen State Park just in time to pack a picnic lunch for a 3-hour hike up the gorge (glen). What an incredible place that is. Within two miles, the glen’s stream descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs, generating 19 waterfalls along its course. Engineers and masons have carved a slate walkway and stairs that wind over and under the cascades. It was an exhilarating experience.
Our final destination for the day was Letchworth State Park that features a much larger and deeper gorge which we will explore soon.
Today it is raining again so we had a lazy morning viewing our videos and photographs from Watkins Glen on our TV after a delicious pancake breakfast served with New York State maple syrup purchased a few days ago in the Catskills.
This afternoon we had a tour of the Mt. Morris dam and the visitor center there. Hoping for better weather tomorrow so we can do some hiking and see the sites here in this magnificent park.
We are not complaining about the weather here. The areas a bit further east, which we left behind yesterday, are experiencing much heavier rain and some severe flooding.
Travels with haRVy 
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By: The long haul to serenity…sort of « Travels with haRVy on July 23, 2012
at 4:16 pm