07-09 Keuka Lake

From 07-09 Keuka Lake Drive

Saturday July 4th, we took an afternoon drive along the western hills overlooking Lake Keuka.  This is wine country.  There are over 100 wineries in the Finger Lakes Region with 15 or more around Lake Keuka.  In fact the first winery licensed in America in 1860 is in Hammondsport, NY  which is just a few miles from our campground.  We had seen some open spaces from the opposite hills on our way to the Windmill Farm, and I wanted to find them so I could stop and take photos.  We used some of the wine tour maps as a guide to some likely spots.  We found some great spots to stop and enjoy the views. 

From 07-09 Keuka Lake Drive

At these we saw similar open spaces on the side we had been on a few days previous.  In the shot below, the open space to the left on the distant hills is another vineyard. 

From 07-09 Keuka Lake Drive

Here is a shot looking across a field of grape vines toward the lake. 

From 07-09 Keuka Lake Drive

Grapes for wine making appear to be the prime crop for this area. I read that they expect to have a bumper crop this year and produce more grapes than the local wineries can use.  Good news for these folks during tough economic times.

Here are some photos from Depot Park in Hammondsport

From 07-09 Keuka Lake Drive

looking up the lake.  

From 07-09 Keuka Lake Drive

We had hoped to find a local festival to celebrate the 4th, but we did not learn about any in the immediate area.  However we came across a parade about to form in Hammondsport on our way back.  We had seen some firemen dressed up riding in a vintage fire truck in one of the small towns we passed through.  He was followed by two more firemen in what looked like a golf cart with large fire extinguishers rather than golf bags in the back.  We eventually realized they were on their way to Hammondsport for the parade.  We must have passed a dozen or so community fire trucks including several more vintage ones.  Here are the only two pictures I could catch. 

From 07-09 Keuka Lake Drive

From 07-09 Keuka Lake Drive

We also came across a small  antique car club having a show and forming up for the parade.  Here are a few of the neat vehicles we saw.

From 07-09 Keuka Lake Drive

From 07-09 Keuka Lake Drive

From 07-09 Keuka Lake Drive

Unfortunately we had to get back to the campground to check on our dog Clay so we missed the parade.  We got our fireworks “fix” watching the annual PBS special from the Capitol.  It is always outstanding.  It was followed on PBS by an interesting show about the company from Tennessee that puts on the fireworks display.  We learned a lot about how all that works.

07-09 Bath, NY

From 07-09 Hickory Hill Campground - Bath, NY

Wednesday July 1st we moved to Bath, NY in the Finger Lakes Region. This is an area surrounding 11 lakes created by glacier activity in the last ice age. We are in Hickory Hill Campground, which we are enjoying so far except for the many campfires each evening all around us.

The surrounding area is lovely. There are high hills/mountains. These are more rounded than the Smokey Mountains. They are heavily wooded, but broken by open spaces of pastures and farmland.

The barn above is just down the road from the campground. Here are a few more photos from the same area.

From 07-09 Hickory Hill Campground - Bath, NY

From 07-09 Hickory Hill Campground - Bath, NY

From 07-09 Hickory Hill Campground - Bath, NY

Friday we drove up Keuka (Q kah) Lake, the nearest lake. The views were very pretty as we climbed the bluff beside the lake but I could not stop for a photo. We plan to ride around some more Saturday looking for good photo opportunities.

We drove by the lake as we headed to Windmill Farm and Craft Market. We had a great time wondering through several buildings and streets with different craft and farm produce vendors. I especially enjoyed the stops at the Amish baked goods booths. I also bought one more hanging basket. Now I know I have reached the capacity of what we can put in the Honda when we move. The Honda is like a trailer when we move with the flowers, lawn chairs, etc inside and our bikes attached outside on the bike rack.

From 07-09 Hickory Hill Campground - Bath, NY

One of the vendors sold clothing made from Alpaca wool, and they brought along two of their alpacas which were a big hit with all the kids.

From 07-09 Hickory Hill Campground - Bath, NY

We came to NY seeking cooler weather for the summer and so far we have been rewarded. Today’s high is expected to be 77 and the low 47. We can live with that!

06-09 Longwood Gardens

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

Monday we drove about 45 minutes from the campground to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. This is one of the premier botanical gardens in the US. It has over 1,000 acres of woods, meadows, and gardens. The gardens stretch over about 80 acres and include one of the largest conservatories in the world with almost 4 acres under glass in the series of connected green houses. The land was originally purchased from William Penn by fellow Quakers in 1700. In 1798 one of the descendants started planting unique trees and by 1850 had one of the best collection of trees in the US. In 1906 Pierre S. DuPont bought the property to prevent the trees from being harvested (I assume because the family had to pay its debts.) The DuPont’s built the initial Conservatory and Gardens as well as a large home to use as a summer retreat. They owned the property until 1954 when it opened as public gardens. The gardens and conservatory have since been greatly expanded.

Here are a few pictures from the grounds.

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

There are fabulous water fountains in the park. Two have special 5 minute shows every few hours. We saw one of them.

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

There is also a beautiful Italian Water Garden. It too has fountains that go through a sequence of different beautiful sprays.

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

The Conservatory and its flowers are breathtaking. Here are a few shots inside.

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

Here are a few close-ups of some of the flowers.

Canna:

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

Bromeliad

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

Orchids

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

Hibiscus

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

Just outside the Conservatory was a water garden with many different water lilies.

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

From 06-09 Longwood Garden

If you love gardens, this is a place you must visit if you are in the Lancaster or Philadelphia areas. Allow at least 1/2 a day. All day would be better. One suggestion, take a lunch break and leave the gardens for lunch. You can get a stamp to return. They have lovely restaurants on the property, but we were very disappointed in the food, especially for the price.