...it was quite awhile ago.
Someone has not been very good about writing updates so a quick (?) montage is necessary to catch you up with where we are.
We finished our time in Ohio by visiting several of the many, many local wineries and covered bridges. Our favorite winery, which sadly did not have very good wine, was a converted church with a stunning patio and views of the vineyard.
If you think only one style of covered bridges exist, think again. From the small to the large, to the one that is ends over a meadow, a variety of this time honored classic can be seen if you make the effort to find them.
We bid farewell to the beautiful, green lands of northern Ohio and said hello to the beautiful, green lands of New York state, which we would roam for the next several weeks. Upstate New York is a gorgeous place to visit.
During our time here we found the Eternal Flame, enjoyed a river hike, saw the American side of Niagara Falls, visited the historic homes of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt along with the Vanderbilt estate and attended the New York Renaissance Faire among other outings.
Whew.
The Eternal Flame
Was so named because a gas pocket feeds a small fire, is short hike through a wooded area. If the flame does happen to go out, hikers passing through re-light it, hence eternal.
Off to Niagara Falls
An American treasure! I was very excited about this excursion but if I'm to be honest, viewing it from the America side was not as spectacular as I expected it to be. Unless you pay to go on one of the tours below, you can only really see the top and middle portions. I would have liked to travel to the Canadian side but that was not to happen on this trip.
Still, it's an impressive waterfall and I'm really happy we went.
Playing in the water
I think my favorite day though was spent hiking through a river bed. We managed to stay basically dry by clinging to the side walls of a small cliff, climbing over fallen logs and wading through shallow water instead of attempting a crossing which would have involved deeper water, slippery rocks and enough of a current to know a good soaking would happen.
Historic homes
The Vanderbilt estate is jaw dropping for its views, its garden and its manor house. While we avoided the tour of the inside (Damn Covid) you can easily imagine the parties that occurred here and what the garden area would have looked like in its former glory. It's truly a magnificent relic of a past era.
The houses of Franklin Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor (there was a house for each), while less opulent, were no less of a joy to walk around the outside of (maybe next time). Eleanor's place was a charming "smaller" cottage which invites one to stay, relax and enjoy the comfortable home of a friend.
Franklin's house....hmmm...apparently I was most impressed by the stables (the last two images above) as that is what I took pictures of.
The Ren Faire
Finally! We were able to use the SCA garb that has been gathering dust in our closet for the past couple of years. The New York Renaissance Faire was a blast. With permanent buildings replicating a medieval town, a jousting arena, entertainers, shops (so much shopping) and sunshine it was a most fantastic, joy filled day.
Turns out, everyone wanted to go that weekend as the Faire had a record number of attendees. So much so, they had to limit the sale of tickets for the following weekend. Vendors were happily running out of stock every week the faire ran and had to work like crazy to prep for next influx of visitors.
Bushkill Falls
The self proclaimed Niagara of Pennsylvania. With eight different waterfalls, wooded trails, and if you're crazy enough, take the red trail with its more than 1200 steps on wooden walkways ranging from a few steps leading the way up or down paths to steeply inclined staircases. Either way it's an amazing fall hike.
So there you have it, eight weeks wrapped up in a single post. So, where did we wind up after all of this?
That's a tale for next week.
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