Friday, April 30th
Today is the day that we begin our third or fourth wine weekend at Buttonwood. This year everyone was able to leave on Friday morning so we decided (or I decided and they humored me) to start by hiking Taughannock Falls.
Google had suggested that the quickest way to get to Taughannock Falls State Park was via 81 to Cortland then through Ithaca and finally up to Trumansberg. The GPS however wanted us to take the t hruway to Montezuma and travel south to Trumansberg. We did neither.
Steven and I were following the directions down to almost Ithaca. Then we decided to follow the GPS the remainder of the way. Next thing you know, we’re in Auburn. Don’t ask me how it happened but an 80 minute drive turned into 3 hours. Imagine our disappointment when we found out it was Owasco Lake we were driving up and not Cayuga Lake.
The game plan was to meet Mary and Shannon but due to the delay they had to do a little waiting. After a quick bite to eat, Steve and Mary went back to the cabins while Shannon and I hiked the North Rim, South Rim and Gorge trails.
Taughannock Falls State Park Marina
You couldn’t have asked for better weather and it was a nice hike. Shannon especially liked the first four or five sets of stairs ascending to the rim. I have hike details on Trails, Tails and Tents.
After regrouping and settling into the cabins, we headed out to O’Malleys for dinner. It wasn’t bad by my standards but it really wasn’t anything special. I guess I would call it diner food at restaurant prices. I’m pretty sure no one will be up to heading back here again any time soon. The burger was an especially big hit.
Taughannock Falls - Gorge Trail
We end the day with a glass of wine and a campfire. In fact, I’m typing this entry on my cell phone in, well to be honest, the most uncomfortable Adirondack chair I’ve been in my life, sitting in front of the fire. Not too shabby in my book.
Saturday holds a lot of promise. We may have some friends join us. The weather should be warmer … and hopefully as dry as today was. The wine trail awaits.
Taughannock Lower Falls
Saturday, May 1st
We knew today was going to be a hot one the minute we stepped out of the cabin. I haven’t heard anything about the final temperature, but everyone was hot and red by time we reached the cabins. Of course, I tried explaining to my companions that using the air conditioning in the car while you’re getting in and out makes the transition to heat worse. They weren’t really interested in what I had to say.
Off to Ithaca for breakfast at Kelly’s, the self proclaimed world’s best omlette. It was a good breakfast. However, they might have wanted to re-think the whole air gun / compressor repairs until after coffee anyway. We were off to the wineries. Our idea being to work our way back up to the cabins.
Hosmer Winery - Gary & Steve
The wine tasting was alright, but I think everyone found it to be a little “old hat”. We pretty much know what we like and what wineries we enjoy. The plants and the tasting were good (although why was everyone going crazy with the feta cheese — uuuugggh).
Things livened up a little bit when the remaining parts of the SNL+1 gang arrived. We met up at Lucas and worked through the rest of the stops together back to Buttonwood. We were grateful that they stopped by the cabins for a while to help us get rid of our leftovers — 
Too bad Lori didn’t stay a little while longer because we had some of her favorite teriyaki boneless chicken wings, among other things, delivered to the camp. I’m not quite sure there is much “chicken” is in the “boneless wings”.
A few sprinkles got us motivated to clean up the area. A little more eating. A little more campfire. Of course the biggest disappointment for me was my failure to get the full (or almost full) moon off the lake photo for this, my third straight year. It was one thing or another … clouds, equipment, timing. I waited patiently. When everyone else said no way, I said maybe. Well, fuck the moon on the lake shot. Final score Moon 6 – Visitors 0. Off to watch Saturday Night Live.
Taughannock Falls - Gorge Trail
Sunday, May 2nd
We decide as a group not to take the return drive to Romlius to pickup on wine trail after we had breakfast in Seneca Falls. After breakfast we all were very excited to take the short and highly enjoyable walk along sculpture trail since we now had a little extra time. Everyone was laughing and smiling and all agreed it was the best time spent this weekend —- After breakfast we headed home. The end.
Special thanks goes out to my mom and dad for watching Chinook for us this weekend. We really appreciate it.
Tags: Camping, Waterfalls
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Laughed through the whole post. Had a great time with you, love
You really should be writing for a living!