New York: Finger Lakes Region, St Lawrence Seaway

In early May we headed to the Finger Lakes Region of NY. SNED Acres Campground in Ovid would be our "home" for a month. The owners were a nice couple and we enjoyed our stay here. Especially the fishing and the wine.

View to Cayuga Lake from our spot on the hill.

A look back down to the office, pond, and seasonal campers from our spot on the hill

The Park had a nice fishing pond that held a number of nice largemouth bass. I know because I caught a bunch, including a 3lb +.

Mr & Mrs Canadian Geese with their 2 little ones

We got to watch the 2 little ones from the day they hatched until they were this size

On a couple of occasions I ventured over to Cayuga Lake to try some fishing - Specifically at Deans Cove and then up to Cayuga Lake SP where I fished off the shore....

Deans Cove Boat  launch area

Mary took advantage of the pool......

We needed to come up with a solution for transporting her trike and while there ordered a new rack which I put together and installed on our trailer.....

And then we did some traveling - to Bass Pro Shops, Montezuma Wildlife Area, Sampson State Park:

Montezuma Wildlife Area and a view of I 90 going right through the middle of it.

Our friends Don & Debbie stayed at Sampson State Park where they participated in the annual Lake Trout Derby. Unfortunately for them, their good friend who supplied the boat for them to use with him, took a pass on the tournament this year for personal reasons, so they had to make other arrangements.......

And a good time was still had by all.

The boat launch at Sampson State Park

We couldn't end the SNED Acres section here without mention of the Camp watchdog, Icarus. Icky was a presence......

Icarus

One other bright spot to our stay here was discovering a new favorite beer: Southern Tier

In early June, we departed SNED Acres and headed about 8 miles west to Sampson State Park. Sampson is situated on Seneca Lake and is a really nice park. 5 separate loops each containing about 48 camping spots makes for a pretty big park, and this park is so popular that every thursday afternoon it started filling up. By Friday night it was pretty much full. We enjoyed our stay here.

Our spot at Sampson State Park

Seneca Lake, looking south to Watkins Glen

One of the things that we did on a pretty regular basis while here was to do the Seneca and Keuka Lake Wine Trails. More than once, we drove north on rt 96A to Geneva and then took RT 14 south towards Watkins Glen(Seneca Lake Tour), or Penn Yan (Keuka Lake Tour).

Some of the Wineries that we visited on the Seneca Lake Tour included: Torrey Ridge Winery, Hazlitt Vineyards,  and Bellangelo Vineyards.

While in this area, we did the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail, the Seneca Lake Wine Trail, and the Keuka Lake Wine Trail. Of the three, we liked the Keuka Lake Wine Trail the best. The Wineries that we visited: Vineyard View; Heron Hill, Point of the Bluff, McGregor Vineyard, Hunt Country Vineyards, Keuka Springs Vineyards, Great Western Wines, and Konstantin D Frank & Son Vineyard.

Keuka Lake - what a view

Heron Hill Winery

The Tasting Room at Heron Hill

One of our favorites

Another one of our favorites

Hammonsport, NY at Southern Tip of Keuka Lake

When our 10 day stay at Sampson State Park ended, we packed up and drove 25 miles east to Cayuga Lake State Park for another 10 day stay. Purpose of this trip was to meet up with friends Don & Debbie, Chuck & Anita, and Jim and Debbie - enjoy time with them and take in the Elite Series Bass Tournament being held on Cayuga Lake. Oh, and I can't forget the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail......

When we first got there, we had some neighbors that were there to compete in Pennsylvania FLW fishing event. I got to take this in too....

One of our neighbors, getting ready for the tournament. His boat looks remarkably like the one that I used to have.

The morning launch

The afternoon weighin

Our neighbor bringing in his fish

Couple of nice fish

Our neighbor Rick C

I mentioned the Elite Series tournament being held on the lake, well, a number of the competitors that were staying in the Weedsport area, launched from our park for practice as well as the tournament. I got to meet and talk to a number of the tournament competitors, just by being there in the morning.

Mark Davis was especially nice to talk to. A real gentleman.

Sunrise on Cayuga

Competitors heading out to a day of practice

Paul Mueller from CT

Our stay at Cayuga Lake SP was not entirely about the fishing- we did do the Cayuga Lake Wine Tour, visiting Swedish Hill Winery, Montezuma Winery, Hosmer Winery, Americana Vineyards, Cayuga Lake Estate Winery, Thirsty Owl Winery,  Toro Run Winery, Buttonwood Grove Winery, Goosewatch Winery, Varick Winery, and Knapp Winery.

The tasting room at Varick Winery

We liked Toro Run

The view to Cayuga Lake from Toro Run Winery

The Elite Series Bass tournament was fun to watch. We would travel over to Union Springs at around 5 am to watch the competitors launch and just plain see the sites. Pretty amazing seeing these guys up close and personal. A sampling of some of what we saw follows.....

The launch of 107 boats on day 1

Lined up and ready to go

Our neighbor, Mr Rick Clunn

Me standing next to Skeet Reeses' F 650 Ford

My good friend Jim

Me and Don watching KVD launch. This pic from Bassmaster.com  

Rick Clunn at weighin

GMan launching

Brett Hite talking tackle

KVD getting ready for the start 

Brandon didn't make the 12 cut, so he is loaded up and headed to Oneida for Bass Pro Shops Open

AMart working the Nationwide tent

KVD with victory beverage

We really enjoyed our stay in the Finger Lakes Region of NY. It has some of the prettiest scenery to go along with some pretty serious farming. It was not unusual to see a huge dual front tire and dual rear tire humungus farm tractor working a field alongside an Amish farmer with just a horse and a plow. We enjoyed going to Sauders Amish/Mennonite Market in Seneca Falls. We enjoyed eating out at the Golden Buck Restaurant in Ovid with friends Don & Debbie, and Jim & Debbie. But most of all it was nice to re-visit an area that I used to travel for work some 40 years ago. I remembered it then as a pretty amazing and beautiful area and our visit confirmed that it still is. The visit to Great Western Wines has some special meaning. Years ago, when Mary and I lived in Geneva, I played golf at the Geneva Country Club and one of the gentlemen that I played with frequently was the General Mgr of Great Western Wines. When he heard that my parents were coming to the area, he insisted that we come down for a special tour of his winery. And what a tour it was. So, yes, it was a great stay. And one that I wouldn't mind doing again.

And then it was off to the St Lawrence River area, where we continued our Winery Tours as well as seeing the sites in the Alexandria Bay, Clayton, and Cape Vincent areas.

Cape Vincent area

One of the freighters traveling the St Lawrence

Chaumont Bay Boat launch

We left this area and headed to Massena, NY for a 5 day stay prior to heading to Vermont and the Escapees National Escapade Rally. The RV Park that we stayed at was Massena International Kampgrounds. The international I suppose comes from the large amount of Canadians that stay there. In fact, they make it very easy for them to stay, with rates charged at par and 7 day stays for the price of 6. It was a NICE park, and one we hope to return to one day.

Our spot # 111

The 2 coaches on the right were also headed to Escapade in Vt

One of the more enjoyable things that we did while there was to go to the Eisenhower Lock on the St Lawrence and view the freighters entering and leaving the lock. The lock wasn't 3-4 miles away and the experience was free. Well, almost free, as we did visit the souvenir shop where I picked up yet another neat t shirt. Some pics of our experience follow:

Freighter has entered the Lock, been secured, and now the lock is being flooded with water, which will raise it up 40'

Inside the Visitors Center

This puts the depth thing in perspective

Freighter maneuvering in to position

Visiting the Lock was a great experience. When we weren't looking at the freighters, we were looking at and taking pics of the people looking at the freighters.....

As well as some interesting parking arrangements in the lot.....

The Lock experience was kind of neat. There is a phone number that you can dial and get updates on the vessels scheduled to go through the locks and approximate times. When you arrive at the site, there is a section of the visitors center that contains information on the next ship, including estimated arrival time, Name, country of origin, cargo and ship specifics, ie length, etc.

And then it was time to pack up and leave Massena and head to Vermont for a week with our Escapee friends at the 56th Escapade being held at the Champlain Valley Fairgrounds, where we were told they were expecting in excess of 700 units from all over the country. Looking forward to it.