Wednesday, August 14, 2013

The Finger Lakes

Bryan and I spent the weekend at the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. We had such a fun time camping, hiking, and wine tasting! I feel like we learned so much about Reisling, Cab Franc, and Pinot Noir. It was so neat to see this different wine growing region and to learn about how grapes grow in a cold climate as opposed to everything we saw and learned in Napa last year.


We went to a Finger Lakes Riesling & Beer Festival the first night.
The water was so clear. All of the lakes are glacial lakes so they are gorgeous and clear and cold!

The grape vines here were all so lush looking and so unlike California wineries. 



We ate lunch at one of the winery's cafes and it was so yummy! They paired reds and whites with everything we ate and it was all delicious!


One of the tasting rooms we visited.

Camping was fun! We ate really well, but our site needs a little work. We could take some tips from old pros and get some lights and table cloths etc. We only had one sad point when we got caught in a thunder storm at 4am our second night. It stormed and stormed and eventually our tent flooded. It just isn't a great tent for all weather and now we know that.
It was so nice on our first night, too. It was perfectly clear out and Bryan ordered up a meteor shower just for us!

Bryan and his hatchet. So manly!

Best Brimfield Flea Market find to date! I love this dutch oven! Here it is roasting wild rice, chicken, mushrooms and collard greens for dinner our first night.


And here's our pot cooking up beignets for breakfast! What can't this pot do?


Cinnamon-sugar beignets! Not a bad way to start a day!
Our sad, water logged tent. We had to pick it up from the back side and pour it out. You read right, I said POUR IT OUT. 
There are lots of really beautiful parks around Ithaca and Watkins Glen that we visited to do some hiking! The waterfalls were amazing! Two of them even feed into swimming holes. It was pretty cold the day we wanted to swim so we didn't do it, but I would love to go back next summer!






I love this guy so much!







I have to give a huge shout out to Bryan for planning our whole trip. We decided pretty last minute to go and then I got super sick so I wasn't any help. I had a wonderful time and am so thankful to have him as a husband! We celebrated our 8th anniversary last week and I couldn't be happier with where we are and who we are and the fun things we get to do together! Love you, Babe!

If you're in upstate New York anytime, definitely make a point to stop through the Finger Lakes region!

2 comments:

  1. I just loved your blog today. You brought back such wonderful memories to me. I am so happy for your experiences of camping. You really deal with the elements, don't you? I have a favorite picture framed of Truman and I on top of Pikes Peak.I have not been where you were this time but it is so beautiful. Happy Birthday Bryan. You are one lucky guy. MaMaw

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  2. Ashley, I am happy for you and Bryan Not everyone finds such happiness. I am glad you have and I am glad we did too. P. S. I called Truman "Babe" too. Why? I do not know MaMaw

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