Foodie Dream Vacation
I kind of lost focus with the trip blogging because of sporadic internet, yet another glitch with the autopost to Facebook (why does that happen?), and mostly because I was, you know, too busy having a vacation and hanging with friends to write. Obviously, I'm not going to get hired as a travel blogger anytime soon.
I should be, though! Mainly because out time in the Finger Lake area was pretty much the best foodie vacation ever!
To place it in context, we stayed with my college room-mate and still one of my closest friends ever, Molly. She and her family (wonderful husband and two charming boys who Beatrix loves to pieces) have a cottage on Lake Cayuga. Even better, they have a completely separate guest cottage, so we had our own space when we wanted it, but could just hang out as well. They kids went wild playing while the adults got to hang around and eat, and talk, and drink, and read — perfection!
But the foodie part...
Our first day, we were excited to discover that there were several cheesemakers in the area as well as vineyards. We packed up the kids and headed to the Lively Run Goat Dairy, where we were able to sample all the cheeses, then tour the farm so the kids could pet the goat, see the piglets, etc. Their cheese was amazing — herbed chevre, a very smooth Cayuga blue, a soft cheese called Eidelweiss, and a perfectly salty feta. They actually buy much of the milk from local Amish farmers and keep a small herd to milk and use to to try new cheeses, to great effect.
We then visited Bellewether (hard) Cider, where the kids ran around outside and played with the cats while we did a cider tasting. Delicious, and so refreshing! We bought several bottles to bring home.
Somehow, the boys never made it to the vineyards, but Molly and I were able to make it to two. Wine tasting is the perfect way to try some new things while chatting and catching up, and we took full advantage of that. The first day we went to the Thirsty Owl, which was very good, and we were able to take a nice walk around the premises. My favorite, though, was Goose Watch Vineyard, which featured great views, an 8-pour tasting for $2, and some lovely reds. We even picked up some juice for the kids.
Lots of wineries (and dairies, and cider places, and distilleries) we did not hit, so I guess we need to go back...
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(Oh, and the best part? I don't have the picture, but the double full rainbow that arched across the lake just hours before the New York legislature approved the Marriage Equality Bill. So much hope for the future!)
I should be, though! Mainly because out time in the Finger Lake area was pretty much the best foodie vacation ever!
To place it in context, we stayed with my college room-mate and still one of my closest friends ever, Molly. She and her family (wonderful husband and two charming boys who Beatrix loves to pieces) have a cottage on Lake Cayuga. Even better, they have a completely separate guest cottage, so we had our own space when we wanted it, but could just hang out as well. They kids went wild playing while the adults got to hang around and eat, and talk, and drink, and read — perfection!
But the foodie part...
Our first day, we were excited to discover that there were several cheesemakers in the area as well as vineyards. We packed up the kids and headed to the Lively Run Goat Dairy, where we were able to sample all the cheeses, then tour the farm so the kids could pet the goat, see the piglets, etc. Their cheese was amazing — herbed chevre, a very smooth Cayuga blue, a soft cheese called Eidelweiss, and a perfectly salty feta. They actually buy much of the milk from local Amish farmers and keep a small herd to milk and use to to try new cheeses, to great effect.
We then visited Bellewether (hard) Cider, where the kids ran around outside and played with the cats while we did a cider tasting. Delicious, and so refreshing! We bought several bottles to bring home.
Somehow, the boys never made it to the vineyards, but Molly and I were able to make it to two. Wine tasting is the perfect way to try some new things while chatting and catching up, and we took full advantage of that. The first day we went to the Thirsty Owl, which was very good, and we were able to take a nice walk around the premises. My favorite, though, was Goose Watch Vineyard, which featured great views, an 8-pour tasting for $2, and some lovely reds. We even picked up some juice for the kids.
Lots of wineries (and dairies, and cider places, and distilleries) we did not hit, so I guess we need to go back...
---
(Oh, and the best part? I don't have the picture, but the double full rainbow that arched across the lake just hours before the New York legislature approved the Marriage Equality Bill. So much hope for the future!)
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