THERE IS BIG ADVENTURE IN FINGER LAKES WINE COUNTRY... PART II!!

From PART 1 of our Nomarama Family Finger Lakes Wine Country Adventure, we were wrapping up our visit to the Glenn Curtis Museum and heading to Keuka Lake to meet with one of our contacts for a boat tour. But not just any boat tour, a private boat tour by way of a fully rebuilt wooden mail boat named the Pat II from 1924, thanks to the Finger Lakes Boating Museum!

Getting to the dock we were met by the whole bunch… Kevin Costello, who at the time of our trip was our point of contact for Steuben, Nigar Hale from Watkins Glen as well as the incredibly personable President of the Finger Lakes Wine Country, Laurie Ward!  Not only were they all welcoming with gifts and smiles that stretched ear to ear, but Laurie greeted both the boys by name, which definitely made them feel special and seen. Such a thoughtful and appreciated moment of our trip!

The Pat II is one of the most unique vessels we have collectively ever been on. With Captain Maury at the helm, we enjoyed an incredibly scenic ride on the beautifully sparkling Lake as we shared stories about how our travels, learned where everyone was from, and how they each found themselves in the Finger Lakes.

The ride was amazing but from the boys’ faces, you’d think we had dragged them through a full day of school full of lectures and PowerPoint instead of on a private one-of-a-kind boating experience. Turns out they were just hangry which we can definitely understand after packed days of vacation adventure. Luckily for us, Kevin had made dinner reservations for us at a nearby popular restaurant named Snug Harbor. Snug Harbor dates back to the 1890s when it has been a hotel by the name of Ruby Cottage, a dance hall, and a lounge. 

With an encroaching storm, we opted to eat dinner on the covered patio which gave us a front-row seat to a gorgeous summer rainstorm on the lake. Heidi Joy enjoyed a sizeable pork cutlet, Lennon a cheeseburger and fries, Leo his usual french fry plate, while I devoured their special of the day: an Ahi Tuna Burger- medium well. We enjoyed our very first glass of wine from the Finger Lakes Wine Country, and bought a bottle to enjoy later at our lake house. 

As dinner wrapped up, so did the rain thankfully. We headed to our accommodations for the night and also where we would spend the remaining nights in the Finger Lakes- and boy, did they save the best for last! Tranquility on Keuka Lake is a 3-story lake house with more than enough room for the 4 of us! Complete with DOUBLE bunk beds for the boys, a large porch looking over the water, waterside access complete with kayaks and paddleboat, and even a game room basement!

The boys quickly made themselves at home, turning on Despicable Me and claimed the game room as their little oasis, while Heidi Joy and I unpacked the truck and soaked in the glorious lakeside views. Before we knew it, it was bathtime and then off to bed. 

Our family of 4 really enjoyed having this lakehouse during our stay. Spacious, comfortable, elevated spot that gave us all room to relax, recharge, and enjoy the beautiful Kekua Lake!

The rooms were all super cozy and we appreciated the hospitality of things included in the home, especially in the kitchen. We were comfortably able to make everything we wanted including coffee, even though we did forget to bring coffee filters, our neighbor was so kind and gave us some! After days of traveling, access to do laundry was an immensely appreciated commodity for the fam.

The following morning we had originally planned to take a drive and explore the area but the lakehouse was so comfortable, we ended up treating ourselves to a day to hang out on the lake. Our boys had been such great sports, waking up early, and being in the car together for hours, and experiencing fun, but packed itineraries. We travel a lot but these slower moments together remind us of how lovely it is to just enjoy each others’ company and get refreshed for our next adventure. Upon exploring the property, we wandered down to a shed that was part of the property to find two kayaks, a paddleboat, life vests, emergency whistles, and oars available for us to have some fun on the water!

We highly recommend Tranquility on Keuka Lake and already looking at planning future trips for our us to come back with extended family to enjoy this gem of a property! Scenic view to get to, and within easy distance to the town of Hammondsport.

After a delightful morning on the water, we piled in the truck and went into the quaint & cute downtown area to find Crooked Lake Ice Cream Parlor, an ice cream parlor that dates as far back as the 1930s. Cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, tater tots, and of course MORE ice cream…this was the perfect place to catch a meal. With our cold creamy treats in hand, we hit the streets on foot to explore downtown. Finding what looked like a wine barrel maker’s studio to a coffee shop and to the boy’s excitement, a public library to enjoy! We love libraries (especially Pretlow Norfolk Public Library!), especially with how different their offerings can be per city and how helpful of a resource they are to their communities. We spent our time reading, enjoying their massive octopus sculpture hanging from above, the boys played with their extensive lego set, puppet theater, and got to speak to a few locals.

We still had a great amount of sunshine left, so we headed out for more adventures by truck. Considering we still hadn’t had any true Finger Lakes wine (hilariously, the only wine we drank so far at Snug Harbor was one we erroneously ordered and was from NYC), we opted to take a tasting tour of Lakewood Vineyards. We chose Lakewood Vineyards because while Heidi Joy and I were able to sample some of their wine offerings, they had their own specialty concord grape juice to offer the boys! The boys loved it (and all the packets of oyster crackers they were able to schmooze from our friendly wine steward)! We frolicked around outside and happened to meet one of the owners with her puppy, yet another beautiful moment of being in the right place at the right time.

Before heading home, we picked up dinner from the nearby Timberstone Grill. After cooking the boys dinner and setting them up with a movie, we poured ourselves a glass each of the highly recommended Dr. Konstantine Frank picked up earlier that day, and enjoyed a quiet sunset on the deck. We had an early start the next day so it was an early night to get ourselves the rest we needed.

The next morning, we all rose (almost with the sun) to make our way to Penn Yan, NY where we dropped in on Amity Coffee Co., for coffee, avocado toast, bagels & muffins. While the boys and I stepped outside for Heidi Joy to bring the goods, we wandered down the street and to our surprise, found what ended up being the World’s LARGEST Pancake Griddle attached to Bircket Mills. The griddle is from their then-annual Buckwheat Festival and is 28 feet, 1 inch in diameter, and weighs over ten tons.

An excerpt from roadsideamerica.com best describes its massive existence: “Its moment of glory came on September 27, 1987, when it cooked a two-ton pancake poured onto it by a sterilized cement mixer, flipped with a construction crane, and then topped with 15 gallons of syrup and a 68-pound vat of butter. It could feed an estimated 7,000 of the 30,000 people in attendance” (https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/15713).

One thing the Williams boys love is a good pancake, so this was an incredibly cute roadside attraction to stumble upon!

After loading up on breakfast, we made our way to find our next adventure…The Not Your Typical Upstate NY Mennonite & Amish Tour which starts with The Finger Lakes Rail Riders! We had the pleasure of meeting the owner of The Finger Lakes Rail Riders, Kathy, her partner, Wayne, and their adorable bloodhound, Kirby! The Rail Riders is an outdoor rail bike excursion that offers the ability to ride by working Mennonite farms and soak in picturesque scenery and relics from the railroad communications. It really was a one-of-a-kind experience. Kathy even let Lennon ride up front with him and help with the walkie-talkie tour! But we didn’t end the day there, our other guide Susan Right of Finger Lakes Food Tours had another one-of-a-kind experience up her sleeves to continue this tour: to visit a real Mennonite family that has been living in the same area for decades & get to share a delicious meal and stories about their way of life. The Martin family was so hospitable, welcomed us into their home, and even let the boys play with their children’s toys! His daughter hosted us with a homecooked meal of hamballs (Lennon, who can be picky, really loved these and went for seconds, thirds, and attempted fourth), broccoli slaw, fresh rolls, homemade jam, and homemade cherry pie with their own creamy vanilla ice cream! It was all so delicious, comforting, and expanding experience getting to chat with the Martin family to learn more and better understand their lifestyle.

I think my favorite part about this experience, other than it being one of the best meals we had in Finger Lakes, was even with all the clear and obvious differences between our families’ lifestyles, we were still able to find common ground around being a decent person just for the sake a being a good human being.

Before departing from their home, Mr. Martin showed us his gift shop full Cuckoo clocks that he restores, a collection of books, and also mugs. We purchased one that dawned a poem he wrote about the Finger Lakes, said our goodbyes and were on our way, but not before getting some insider tips from Susan on a great wine-tasting space by the name of Once down the road. 

We are glad we took the detour because the view of Seneca Lake at Once Finger Lakes was spectacular! We parked and let the boys run around their green space to stretch their legs, and draw in their sketchbooks, while Heidi Joy and I each had a glass. Once isn’t a winery but better explained as a true tasting facility as they carry wines from multiple wineries in and around the Finger Lakes Wine Country. 

Savoring each sip to the last drop, we paid our bill, and headed back towards our beloved lake house. But what did we find on our way? MORE ICE CREAM! This time via Spotted Duck Creamery, a little side-of-the-road farm with everything made from scratch including their cones, fruit compote, cookies (for ice cream cookie sandwiches!), and over 20 flavors of ice cream, including some dairy free for me! As soon as I saw they had options for sensitive stomachs like mine, I mushed my kids and lover out of the way to order myself two scoops first!

With ice cream cones in hand, we wandered around back to find a big fenced-in yard full of you guessed it… spotted ducks! White ducks, grey ducks, chickens, and even a peacock. One of the chickens had fancy feathers on its head that looked like an afro, if you check the highlights or recently posted “FLWC” reel from the trip, you can’t miss it!

On the way back home we decided to check out downtown Penn Yan where we found the Keuka Candy Emporium, an eclectic giftshop by the name of “Nest Egg,” and the really cool music store, Dave Boyd’s Music Shop. Heidi Joy is a classically trained musician, and the boys already have an ear for music, so we enjoyed meeting Dave and getting to explore a whole handful of instruments including a ukulele, different kinds of keyboards and a Lap Steel… a string instrument you can hear being used in Spongebob Squarepants! Had we had room in our truck, we probably would have come home with an instrument, but Heidi Joy at least got a new guitar tuner and fresh strings for her acoustic as a memorable souvenir. As the day winded down we could tell the boys were still hopped up on the ice cream from earlier, so we stopped at a small city park to burn off a little more energy and enjoy the sunset. After some spinning and hide & seek, it was time to get ready for bed because the biggest adventure yet was waiting for us the next day… Watkins Glen State Park!

Since it was the last morning at the lakehouse rental, Heidi Joy and Leo woke up early to play with bubble guns by the lake, while Lennon and I caught up on some extra sleep. Not too much extra, as we had to pack up the truck to check out.

Once again, Heidi Joy, with her Tetris packing skills, loaded the truck and we headed to breakfast at one of our favorite spots from earlier: Crooked Lake Creamery. Though last time we came for lunch, Crooked Lake actually had a full menu to include breakfast offerings like pancakes, & per Lennon’s request: french toast! Lunch was so on point the other day why not go back for round two? And it was a great choice.

Breakfast? Check. Coffee? Check. Both boys in the car? Check! Let’s get this show on the road, we were READY for Watkins Glen. 

During our entire trip, almost everywhere we went everyone said “You HAVE to hit Watkins Glen State Park” so naturally, I was excited for what we were about to experience.

National Park Passport in hand, we made it to Watkins Glen State Park. Paid for parking, lathered up on sunscreen and bug repellent, and made our way to the visitor center for our park passport stamp. They actually have their own custom made stamp by a local art teacher- you can always just get a post-it note stamped as a souvenir if you don’t have a passport! Before heading out on our hike, the ranger behind the desk provided us with trail options: the one we chose has around 12-13 waterfalls in a 1-mile stretch! What?! 

Pro-tips: Definitely bring water, some snacks especially if you have little ones, and shoes comfortable for hiking, prepared to possibly meet water and mud (not slippery but definitely wet since there are waterfalls to experience). For those like us looking for nature scape, natural falls, and hiking- this is your place! Gorge Trail was one with the most payoff for the hike.

Some of the hiking involves steps, so it is not handicap accessible, unfortunately. We definitely appreciated that there are little stone ledges to sit, rest, and enjoy the scenery scattered about. This place is INCREDIBLE, storybook even. There are beautiful stone scapes, tons of moss, foliage, rushing waterfalls, and so many dragonflies! One even landed on Lennon and I told him that was good luck. Multiple times Lennon said the park reminded him of Jurassic Park and we totally agreed. Funny enough, as he was saying this, we heard a sound that sounds oddly like a pterodactyl but instead it was a close cousin- a crow! I have seen blackbirds all my life but never such large crows, and neither did I know that their call sounds so much like their dinosaur relatives! It is definitely a hike that challenged us but we were extremely proud of our 10 and 4 year old’s level of bravery and tenacity to keep hiking while thoroughly enjoying everything! This is no doubt something you want to plan a whole day around- there are various options for continuing your hike like going through the woods, and over another bridge, so definitely take a map from the main office, fill your water bottles, and enjoy seeing so many waterfalls on one hike!

When you loop back around to the start, there is a gift shop, nice restrooms, and a small cafe that features a local creamery/cafe. 

Naturally, all that hiking built an appetite. Lennon had mentioned a number of times during the entire trip how he was craving sushi, so we drove around and found House Of Hong, a Chinese/Japanese sushi restaurant, for a well-deserved surprise lunch. It seemed locally owned and definitely family-run. Good to cool off inside post-hike, share some apps, sushi, and meals family-style, and read each other our messages in our fortune cookies before leaving. 

Afterward, we took a walk downtown Watkins Glenn, checking out some of the street art and shops only to come across yet another ice cream shop: the Colonial Inn Creamery. Upon entering we were met with the sweet smell of waffle cones freshly pressed, and there was a piano that Lennon was able to play. He even had a little audience that applauded him when done. We enjoyed our ice cream on rocking chairs outside of their shop, Leo particularly enjoying himself so much he was covered, yet again, in chocolate ice cream. 

For our final experience in Finger Lakes Wine Country, we chose one that we knew the boys would simply enjoy: Clute Park on Seneca Lake. Places like this remind us how some of the most enjoyable places to go with kids are often free- it had multiple playgrounds, an incredible water splash pad to run around in, and free access to Seneca Lake, with an area of sand to make sandcastles on. The boys love being outdoors and given the freedom to run through water giggling, meet other families with their kids, splash through the lake, and bask in the sun was the perfect way to end the day (and rinse ourselves off) after a hike to never forget. 

Finger Lakes Wine Country. Wow. A place our family will forever cherish and look forward to returning to. I am still blown away by how many creameries there are there. Sure wine is a big deal in this area but Finger Lakes Ice Cream Country seems more fitting! Even though we aren’t big drinkers, despite its name, Finger Lakes Wine Country offers such an incredible range of nature, shopping, history, museums, eateries, scenes from in the air (soaring with Harris Hill) and by water (so many lakes!), unconventional means of touring (Rail Riders!), and the cozy hospitality of smaller cities that welcomed us with such kindness and enthusiasm. We have visited/lived in larger cities like LA/NY/Miami; however, it is places like the Finger Lakes that really steal places in our hearts, embracing their beautiful landscape, showcasing what they love, while still embracing change. There is so much more that we weren’t able to make it this trip, like cow cuddling (seriously, Heidi Joy attempted multiple times to fit this in our schedule), visiting the Hidden Alpaca Farm, eating an award-winning burger from Butcher’s Son, or hiking one of the other amazing accessible waterfalls in the area- seriously, the list goes on! 

Please, please, PLEASE- if you are planning a trip to upstate NY- go to the Finger Lakes Wine Country. If you’ve never been to upstate NY and want an escape from city life- go to Finger Lakes Wine Country. Please look through this blog and feel free to ask us further questions for planning your trip. There is something for everyone and there is so much more we learn about ourselves when we get to tap into one-of-a-kind places like Finger Lakes Wine Country.