Sorry for the radio silence. It has been a whirlwind 10 days. First, we spent the 4th of July evening watching the fireworks in Baltimore with the family. Next we drove to the Finger Lakes region for a bit of a family reunion and some camping.

Baltimore, MD 4th of July Celebration

4th of July Fireworks from the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore, MD.

We enjoyed a nice meal at the Four Seasons Hotel, wrapping things up with a spectacular fireworks display. As expected at this big venue, the beer selection was all macro beers – Corona, Heineken and Bud products. My beer salvation was snagging a RAR Groove City Hefe at the bar, waiting for the traffic to clear. It’s a well-made Hefeweizen with plenty of banana aroma and taste.

The Finger Lakes

The next day, Mrs. Adventures and I headed towards Ithaca, NY for a family celebration. It was a fun-filled weekend. I sampled some Ithaca traditions: Purity Ice Cream, creamy & delicious; Moosewood Restaurant, a cherished vegetarian restaurant with a terrific local craft beer selection like Tropical Daze – Blood Orange IPA from Horseheads Brewing; the Ornithological Lab at Cornell, a peaceful, impressive sanctuary; and the Cornell Botanic Gardens where family members gathered and broke bread together. While at the Botanic Gardens, I discovered 2 nice local beers from Ithaca Beer Company’s – Apricot Wheat (I like almost anything with apricots) and Green Trail, a piney hopped IPA with a hint of fruity malt sweetness.

Watkins Glen lies on the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It is about 30 minutes from Cayuga Lake and Ithaca. Watkins Glen is known for its car racing, the spectacular Watkins Glen Gorge, the lake and the many wineries surrounding it. Apparently, the deep Seneca Lake offers mild, grape-friendly temperatures. We camped at Watkins Glen, a NY State Park providing easy access to the stunning gorge trail.

We ate dinner at the Rooster Fish Brewing Pub right on Watkins Glen’s main drag. They offered decent pub food and their own beer. I repeated a beer I had sampled from 2 years ago – Summer Sky Hefeweizen. It had a nice banana nose and flavor, very refreshing after a long bike ride.

On our last full day at the Finger Lakes, Mrs. Adventures and I decided to experience Seneca Lake’s famous rieslings with an impromptu car tour along the Seneca Wine Trail. The wines were as good as advertised. We learned that the cooler temperatures produce less full-bodied wines than say California’s, particularly the reds. We shared tastings at 4 wineries: Herman G. Weimer, Anthony Road, Fox Run, and Ravines Cellar. We brought home wine bottles from all but Anthony Road.

A sign from Ravines Wine Cellar

We wrapped up the day with a long bike ride along a trail from Geneva to Seneca Falls. Seneca Falls is the home of the Women’s Rights National Historical Park. After 12 miles riding in 90+ degree temperatures, we were much more interested in eating than hitting the museum but we made a valiant effort, spending about 15-minutes revisiting the Women’s Rights museum.

The Gould Hotel was recommended to us for lunch. We showed up hungry and late for lunch – let’s call it linner (or is it lunner?). It is a grand hotel made even more interesting with a horde of Erie Canal bicyclist tourists stopping at the hotel. I counted 4 buses stopping during linner. The dessert of this charming place was a Good Nature Farm Brewery Non-stop Hop Onslaught. This session IPA was fruity hopped, smooth and very delicious. I would have to say it was the beer of the trip.

Good Nature Farm Non-stop Hop Onslaught

We rode down to the canal and stopped at a grassy park full of people. We met Seattle, Washington residents Katie and Jim Looper (not their real names) who were traveling by boat along the canal. We learned that loopers travel by boat around the Eastern US and a little piece of Canada. Jim and Katie spent an entire year on America’s Great Loop a few years back.

Corning, NY

I had fond childhood memories of watching the glass blowers of Corning create glass masterpieces before our eyes. So, I dragged Mrs. Adventures to the Corning Glass Museum. Unlike many recreations of childhood experiences, it actually was a nice, entertaining stop. We learned that Corning invented Pyrex, correlware, and fiber optics, as well as making light bulbs for Thomas Edison. Pretty cool! I even came home with some crystal Pilsner glasses (hidden from me until Christmas).

Cheers!

Warren