Sunday- July 21, 2019

We stayed on the west side of Seneca Lake and visited the Fox Run Winery, the Torrey Ridge Winery(one of our favorites), and the Billsboro Winery.  We have been buying a bottle of the wines we liked and hoped to find a few more before we left the area. At the first winery, Fox Ridge, we sampled 6-7 wines but didn’t like any of them enough to buy. We did buy some good cheese curd and some homemade tomato/garlic olive oil. Next we went to Torrey Ridge where we went 4 for 6 (bought 4). In terms of the number of wines tried and liked, this was our favorite winery. The last winery was Billsboro where we only went 1 for 6….but that one bottle was really good!

Being here has helped us to better recognize and appreciate the taste differences between different types of wine (Pinot Noir Chardonnay, Riesling, etc.), and the subtle differences between the same kind of wine from different vineyards.  Each winery has a winemaker that has his or her own unique process. You can take the same grapes and give them to two different winemakers and when ready to drink, they can taste very different.  A lot of the fun here has been learning more about wine.

A cool sculpture at the entrance into the Fox Run Winery

Our site at the Waterloo Harbor Campground near Seneca Lake

Monday- July 22, 2019

Today was a dreary, rainy day. It was a steady, all-day rain…..the kind that can also be very relaxing. When it’s raining, it just seems easier to stay put and read, play a game, do some household chores, etc.  We had planned to go hike a trail in the Watkins Glen State Park on the south end of the lake. The Gorge Trail stream is two miles long and, per a brochure, “descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs, generating 19 waterfalls along its course. The gorge path winds over and under waterfalls and through the spray of Cavern Cascade. Rim trails overlook the gorge.”  Sorry to miss it.

The good news is the incoming weather system also lowered the temperature by 25 degrees, and lowered the humidity by about 20%.  We move to Lake Placid tomorrow and the weather for the next 5 days is supposed to be partly sunny and in the 70’s to low 80’s during the day, and 40’s and 50’s at night…perfect!  Based on everything we have heard, Lake Placid should be a blast!