Enjoying Italian Cuisines in Hammondsport - America's Coolest Small Town

A park right in the Hammondsport business area

After hiking the 800 stone steps at Watkins Glen, we had lunch and a walking tour of Watkins Glen Village.


In the afternoon we drove to Hammondsport, a tiny picturesque town about a forty five minute west of Watkins Glen.

The business area

 Hammondsport, has been named as one of America's Coolest Small Towns  by a travel magazine.

I could see why as this is a very, peaceful and charming town.

A small town, Hammondsport  has a lot to offer to visitors and its residents alike.

Artwork of local artists could be found in many venues in the town

The main street has a lot of interesting shops, great restaurants, cafes, art shops, a beautiful park, a  picture perfect church and a scenic lake!

A related piece of artwork displayed in a store window

Strolling through these shops, we  discovered many artwork pieces done by local artists displayed at the various venues in front of or inside the shops, restaurants and on the street.

A free art show for all!

A Coffee Art Gallery

A Coffee Art Gallery
How cool is that?

I wished we had seen this coffee gallery place first! Unfortunately, we stuffed ourselves with some delectable drinks such as Root Beer float, ice cream soda and mocha ice cream coffee at an old fashioned ice cream parlour before we discovered this coffee gallery.

The Wine Barrel Shop

 It would have been very cool sipping on our cold drinks while surrounding us with art and admiring the artwork in the coffee shop.

By the waterfront at Hammondsport, NY

We walked by a house with a porch with an elderly couple sitting in the front. We stopped and chatted for a good fifteen minutes. Nice friendly folks!


Immersing ourselves in this tranquil little town and sitting on the waterfront boardwalk,  we took advantage of this relaxing environment, and shared our thoughts with others by the water.








We took turn, talked about our families, expressed our gratitude and counted God's blessings in our lives.

What a great opportunity to get to know some members in our cell group better!

Dinner at the Union Block Italian Bistro, Hammondsport, NY

Traveling in a large group, sometimes we had to wait a little while for tables at restaurants.

 After waiting for about thirty minutes, the staff at the Union Block Bistro did manage to seat us together and provided us with very friendly and courteous services.

Delicious food, great conversations and company!

We had some great Italian food at the Italian Bistro and everyone enjoyed some delicious food, good conservation and company with our friends.

One of our group members carried with her a step odometer and informed us that we had walked over 15,000 steps at the end of our visit to Watkins Glen!

An Italian combination appetizer plate we sampled

 We toasted to a fun day, great food and the exercises we did today!

Yum-m-m-m--m-y Food! What a great way to cap a fun day!

Lillian was so happy that she kept telling Stan what a good job he did.

My husband was delighted at how happy everyone was!


R.T.
Hammondsport
New York State
USA


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Manificient Falls in Watkins Glen State Park, NY, USA

Watkins Glen State Park -  New York State

For the second day of our Finger Lakes Tour, we visited the Watkins Glen State Park.

Park visitors could park their cars at either the  south parking lot (at the bottom of the park) or at the north entrance ( the park’s upper entrance) and  start walking the trails from either direction depending on where they have parked their vehicles.  

 We parked our cars at the south entrance.

Tunnel entry leading to the Gorge Trail at Watkins Glen, NY, USA

We climbed 800 stone steps to the top of the canyon

 There are a number of trails at Watkins Glen. 

Starting at the main entrance, we took the Gorge Trail and climbed up the 800  stone steps leading to the park’s upper entrance. 

This trail led us past, and at times  behind some waterfalls, cliffs, pools and some special rock formations.

Going behind the staircase waterfalls and water curtains at the park

The scenery  walking up was breathtaking!

 There were bridges, stone walls and pathways,  numerous waterfalls, abundant green native plants cascading over pools and cliffs.

Rainbow Falls at Watkins Glen State Park

Special rock formation

We observed the layers of rock formations and marveled at the force of nature which created this unique and awesome scenery.

Staircase falls - Breathtaking scenery at Watkins Glen State Park

Watkins Glen State Park provided us with many opportunities to hone our photography skills. 

   

With frequent stops for picture taking to capture the magnificent  views of the waterfalls and canyons, it took us about an hour and half before getting to the top. 

Abundant opportunities for picture taking

 The neatest thing about this visit was going behind some of the waterfalls and seeing the water from another angle.

We reached the upper entrance and saw a couple of dog owners hanging on to their pets wondering what they should do as they were greeted by a sign stating clearly that no dogs were allowed on the trail. (  it probably meant  no dogs allowed on the Gorge Trail - the main trail.)

 We were pretty sweaty, thirsty and tired by the time we reached the top of the canyon. 

Watkins Glen - A great place to observe interesting rock formations occurred over the years

Notice the differences in the plants between the north and south side of the cliffs

At the park’s upper entrance, there were  parking and washroom facilities, a restaurant and a playing ground for kids. Taking a rest from our trail hike, we replenished ourselves with some ice cream from the restaurant. I never had ice cream that tasted so delicious!

Time to rest and pause for a group picture!

For tired hikers, there was a shuttle bus available to take them back to their cars in either parking lots.

The shuttle bus charge was very reasonable: $3.00 per person. ( I wished there was shuttle bus service like that when we climbed Mount Fuji in Japan last year.)

Lots of fun with our group!

We did not take the bus but opted for hiking back down to the south parking lot instead. It only took us less than forty minutes getting to our vehicle. Not bad at all.

We had lunch at one of the fast food place outside the park and took a walking tour of the Watkins Glen Village and its waterfront.

The Watkins Glen State Park is a magnificent park and a great place to hike and enjoy nature’s spectacular scenery! It was the highlight of our Finger Lakes tour and we absolutely enjoyed every minute of it!

R.T.

Watkins Glen State Park

Watkins Glen

 NY, USA

George Eastman House, Rochester, NY

George Eastman was a very famous person from Rochester. He was the founder of Eastman Kodak Company.

George Eastman House, Rochester, NY

George Eastman House, his former residence is one of the top attractions in Rochester.

Gallery at the Eastman House

We went to visit this famous house and joined a guided tour which provided us with a few insights into the life of George Eastman.

There are two main sections at the Eastman house:

The Gallery - provides an over view of the history and development of cameras, films etc.

The part I was more interested in was 
George Eastman's residence and his gardens which allowed visitors to take a closer look at the of the man and his private life.

Eastman handed all the ladies flowers as each descended to the Main Foyer

 We learned a lot about this inventor - a generous, wealthy philanthropist who shared his fortune with the American people, especially the residents of the city and the University of Rochester.

Eastman's Living/ Family Room

George Eastman's father died when he was very young, therefor, he was practically raised by his mother.

Unable to afford proper dental services,  Eastman's mother suffered from the pain of rotten teeth.  Eastman observed her lost of fourteen teeth by pulling them at the family kitchen table.

Dining Room

After Eastman became wealthy, he donated  money to provide dental care to all the children in Rochester!

The Music Room

He also donated much of his fortune including his palatial mansion to the University of Rochester as a museum.

Beautiful and well manicure garden at the Eastman mansion

 

Unfortunately, both of his sisters died early in life, and Eastman never married himself, had few relatives towards the end of his life.

Beautiful arches, and covered walkway in the Eastman House garden

However,  touring through his mansion, one got the sense that George Eastman was a person who enjoyed the finer things in life.

He went to England and loved the architecture he saw, so he incorporated some of that design for his house and gardens.






It was evident that Eastman loved nature as it was reflected in his beautiful spacious garden.

 He also wanted his house filled with fresh flowers every day, therefore, he had a special potting shack built close by so that his servants could pot fresh flowers and plants bringing them into the house easily everyday!







However, I was saddened to learn that in his seventy's, he arranged his financial affairs well, leaving a note saying that his job was done.
He then went up to his bedroom and shot himself.

What an unhappy ending to a brilliant inventor and a generous person who was willing to share so much of his huge fortune with his countrymen so that the public can enjoy this lovely property.


R.T.
Eastman House
Rochester, NY

The Strong Museum of Play, Rochester, New York State

The Strong Museum of Play, Rochester, NY.

I have been an educator in Ontario, Canada for the past thirty some years.

I have always loved my work  and enjoyed the interaction with children and young people.

Outdoor playground across from The Strong Museum

I am a big kid at heart!  During our travels, I am drawn to anything that is related to kids or education.

Carousel inside the Strong Museum

Therefore, I was really excited when we saw the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester!

How cool is that? A museum for play!!! I love the sound of it totally! 









We went inside to the museum and wanted to learn about this museum of play!

Discovery Garden

Due to time constraint, we wnt inside the museum to take a look without spending much time there.

However, we did visit the Discovery Garden outside the front entrance and spent some time to explore this beautiful place..

This garden is colourful, inviting, fun and  educational.

Fairly Folk Village

 My most favourite part of the Discovery Garden was the Fairy Folk Village!













It  has certainly been designed to delight the kids and capture their imagination.

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I love wood!

 I have a passion to learn how to use recycled material  and  make them into something beautiful.

I was delighted when I saw the Fairly Folk Village and observed how some wood stumps, branches and stones were made into such cute decorative things for the Discovery Garden!

A whimsy little village

Grown ups like the games as well as kids!

Grown up folks were as much mesmerized by this cute little village, toys and games in the garden as the kids!

One of the Hands on activities for kids to explore

One of our team members could not resist the attractive games and tried her hands at one of these games and had fun with it.

I could see her having fun with her grandson in this garden!

















The Discovery Garden is a hands on place that encourages children to think, see and smell  the flowers plants,  and to observe insects and the  little living things that share our green space.

Visitors, both young and old can explore the garden actively and learn a lot about living things.










Or if one would prefer, one can simply sit, rest and reflect on the beauty of this garden!

R.T.
Discovery Garden
The Strong Museum of Play
Rochester
NY State, USA