Sunday Service in Cortland & Ithaca Fall

Ithaca is about a five hour drive from New York City. We have driven by this small town numerous times, but never had the time to stop by and visit.

We did this time ! We left New York City yesterday afternoon at around 4:30pm. The city was unbearably hot at 92 degree F!!! We were glad to leave this extreme heat and headed up north to cooler weather! The drive this time was much easier and quicker than when we drove to the States last Sunday in the rain.

 We had time for a relaxing home cooked style dinner at the Dobbs Country Kitchen. Instead of   eating in national chain restaurants, we always look for local diners and try their specialties. That is a fun part of traveling. Stan`s prime rib steak and my shredded chicken on biscuits with gravy were delicious and satisfying. It was good that we ate early and continued driving towards Cortland.

We got to Cortland at 9 around p.m. and stayed at Econo Lodge where we spent the night last week. It was comforting to see Laurie again this morning at Econo Lodge, one of the friendliest receptionists we met on our travels. She told us about her pending trip to Italy and also gave us some good information about Ithaca. 

United Presbyterian Church - Cortland, NY

While on holiday, we try to attend the Sunday Service at one of the local churches if we happen to be in a city on a Sunday. We attended a lovely 10 a.m. service at the Cortland Presbyterian Church. It was a different kind of service from the ones we had previously attended. We found the atmosphere less formal and the people much warmer.  There was a lot more sharing by members of the congregation at the service. 

A church with a very welcoming congregation!

At the beginning of the service, the minister asked and encouraged members to share happenings and prayer requests.  A few people did. But I remembered one woman`s sharing really well. She shared news about her daughter going to Alaska for a mission trip and she was all choked up when she informed us of her daughter`s recent engagement.

We loved the sharing and the sincerity displayed by the congregation.

Why bother going to church if people cannot share about what happen in their lives with members of their church family whom they see week after week. We also found that the folks at the church were very friendly and welcoming! We must have almost half of a dozen folks stopped by and talked to us at the end of the service. This was amazing!  We need to learn from this church about welcoming visitors and strangers to our Toronto church!!!

Prize winning Chile at the State Diner

 After the service, we went to The State Diner again for lunch and tried their famous and prize winner chile which won first prize at the Regional Chile Contest.  With good food, friendly service and good prices, this restaurant was busy with diners. This was why we returned for the second time during our trip!

 Ithaca - We did not plan to visit this small town but on Laurie`s recommendation, we were glad that we did. After  lunch  we drove there for a quick tour.

Ithaca is a town with a population of around 30,000 people. It is also home to an Ivy league university -  Cornell University with around 20,000 students. So it is obvious that Ithaca is a university town. We drove around the campus on the way to NY and got a feel of this university town.  We could feel the youthful energy while walking around the downtown area. There is no lack of choices for eatery should one decide to stop and have a bit in town. Eateries such as bars and hamburger places as well as other ethnic food restaurants are abundant everywhere.

The  Ithaca Downtown Commons was under extensive renovation, therefore we did not get a chance to see many of the shops.

Ithaca Fall, New York State, USA

We visited the Ithaca Fall, and gorge, stopped and enjoyed the spectacular scenery! Wish we had more time to see the Buttermilk State Park.

The drive back to Canada was a nice drive with the sun shinning down on us.

 We even made it to Watertown before the stores closed. Shopping at the Dress Barn at the Salmon Run Mall is one of our ritual whenever we drive pass this town.

Got some great outfits for my teaching assignment next week. We had an early dinner at Cracker & Barrel and got some great games for this year;s VBS.
 I was happy !

R.T. ,Cortland & Ithaca New York
 Day 6 & 7