Our first stop was in Holley where we stayed at Hickory Ridge Golf and RV Resort. We were about 45 miles from Niagara Falls so we booked a tour of the falls. Our tour included a ride on the Maid of the Mist, which takes you by boat to see the falls. It’s a good thing they included some rain ponchos, because you get pretty wet from all the mist coming off the falls. Then we visited DiCamillo bakery and had a pot roast sandwich for lunch. The next stop on the tour was to see a whirlpool that is created down river from the falls. It flows counterclockwise as long as the US and Canada are not diverting more than 50% of the water from the falls for hydroelectric (in the summer) and it flows clockwise in the winter when they are allowed to divert more than half. The final destination on the tour was the Cave of the Winds. They give you another rain poncho and you really need it here. The walkway takes you right next to the falls, it was pretty amazing to get that close. Fun fact about the stairs/walkway is that they take it down every fall and build it all again in the spring. Niagara Falls was a great experience, and we were so glad we took the time to see it. Although, our 45-mile drive back from the falls in the Smart car was not fun. It was dark and pouring rain and we could barely see the road in front of us, but he got us home safely. David was able to get in a round of golf the next morning. It was a decent course although a little wet, but he really enjoyed himself. We also did some exploring around Holley and found the Holley Canal Falls, which was a very cool park that is part of the Erie Canal.

Next, we headed to Hector, NY where we stayed at Finger Lakes RV Resort near Lake Seneca. Wow! That area was truly breathtaking. It had all the important things; waterfalls, a beautiful lake, a racetrack, breweries, and lots of good wineries. We went to the vintage car races at Watkins Glen Raceway. It wasn’t very crowded, so we were able to explore everywhere including the pits where we got to see the cars and drivers up close and personal. It was a great day! We took a hike through Watkins Glen State Park, which was absolutely beautiful and well worth the 3 mile hike that included 832 stone steps. This park is a must see if you are ever in the area. Then we went to Lodi Point State Park on Lake Seneca. It really made us realize how much we miss being on the water. We did look at a few real estate listings in the area, haha. We also stumbled upon the yearly bluegrass music festival in Lodi, called Pickin’ in the Pasture. It literally was in a pasture at a local farm. We listened to some great music and had a good time. Last but not least, we went to several wineries (2 were within walking distance of the RV park) and restocked the “wine cellar”. It actually might be a little overstocked now. We also fit in a few breweries.

Our last stop in upstate/central New York was in Fort Ann, which is near Lake George. We stayed at Moose Hillock Camping Resort. This resort had a huge pool and water slides for the kids along with large secluded campsites which filled up with tons of campers over Labor Day weekend. We did some exploring around the lake, which is another really pretty area. The highlight of our time here was hanging out with Paul and Sue. They were Kim’s neighbors in Washington from 25 years ago. They now live in Connecticut, but have a seasonal camp site in the Lake George area. They had us over for a BBQ and had a great time catching up and visiting with their family. Then we spent a day with them on their boat out on Lake George. It was so great to be out on the water and we had a blast exploring the beautiful lake with them. We sure enjoyed our time with Paul and Sue and really appreciated them taking us out on their boat and telling us all about the Lake George area of New York.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in New York and it has made the short list of places we need to revisit. We are now in Vermont and have started our foliage tour of New England. The leaves are just starting to turn.

And of course, weird things in our travels….All along Interstate 90 in New York they have “text stops”, to help curb the texting while driving. We also saw a fence made out of old snow skis, a very interesting superhero picture in the men’s bathroom…What are they all looking at? and we had to stop in the middle of the road for a large bird chasing a frog. The frog got away.