Our sixth leg placed us near Keuka Lake in Prattsburg. Our site was in the back with other short-term campers. Most of the (seasonal) sites were unoccupied, but there were several other short-term campers near us. We made friends with Don and Emily, sharing fireside chats and even a dinner at a local restaurant: JB’s Bar and Grill.
The campground is surrounded with paths for hikers and golf carts. So Lexi and Steve wandered around these paths as part of the morning workout.
We also experienced two nights of hard frosts (temperatures were in the low 20s.) So we had the space heater going as well as the RV’s propane furnace. The heated mattress pad remains the best warmer we have had.
WE finished watching ‘The Chosen’, so our late-night shows came from streaming services. Fortunately, the campground’s WiFi was robust enough for that.
We enjoyed exploring this part of the southern Finger Lakes. V – We visited Watkins Glen, a very old and charming town with very vertical (steep) streets like so many of the towns in this area. Many are founded and established along the shores of the lakes and rivers and have very steep ascending roads coming out of the valleys that go to the ridgeline along the hills and mountains. And that’s where we found the wineries. The prize was at the top of the hill!
We also enjoyed the food at the Blue Eagle Tavern, V– a homey bar with excellent food, friendly service, a gorgeous mural, and their own label of beer.
We had lunch at Bully Hill Vineyards (https://bullyhillvineyards.com/), one of the few wineries in the area that served food. We tasted their dry wines, and liked several of the whites enough to buy a few bottles (Elise Chardonnay and Cayuga White). Most of the red wines were too bitter for our tastes, but we did get their Fusion. V.-it probably didn’t help that we did the tasting after eating an Oktoberfest meal of pork loin, kielbasa, potatoes, sauerkraut and a big German pretzel. We also enjoyed the artwork in the store (as we bought things).
But we found red wines we liked at Stever Hills Winery (https://steverhillvineyards.com/). And we bought some of those: Leon Millot and St, Croix from their Clearview Reserve. WE also got some whites: Traminette and Itasca. V.- We loved almost every wine we tried at that winery! the terrific view of the countryside and many, many vineyards as well as the friendliness of the owners at this family run place made it special to us. The cheese board had suggested pairings of local cheeses with many of the wines we tried and that was also very good.
We explored more than wineries and restaurants. We visited the Corning Glass Museum (another NARM member, like the Rock Hall), spending most of our time between the contemporary art and the gift store. V.– don’t forget the glass blowing demonstration – very cool – and especially this Meteorite of glass pieces depicting the stages of civilizations and man. A few pieces really grabbed me. Really didn’t get to see the older glass exhibits and sadly for me – gladly for Steven, we didn’t even see the retail store with all the Corningware dish patterns and casserole dishes for sale.
We picked up some barbecue brisket for dinner in Corning, which we ate at the RV (so Lexie, who couldn’t go into the museum, wouldn’t be lonely.)
We also visited Watkins Glen State Park. Steve hiked alone along the gorge trail (because dogs weren’t allowed on the gorge trail!) The trail was non-stop waterfalls and cascades, and this was during a dry period for the area.
While in the town of Watkins Glen we stopped at a local grocery store: Tops. The logo brings back bittersweet memories of my favorite grocery store in Cleveland, still am not sure why they left us. V-this store wasn’t high quality, not a great selection of anything. But they had the Ithaca Ginger Beer and the Saranac Black Cherry Cream Soda we tried and loved in Seneca Falls, so Steven and I were both happy.
Since we were at this campground for four days, Steven had a chance to go to the local grocery story at the nearby town: Prattsburgh. The store had all the essentials plus a hot deli counter.
V.= Hammondsport was another charming, picturesque town along Lake Keuka. We made several trips through it. Whereas we generally have different route choices for destinations when traveling around our part of Ohio, when you are driving around a very large lake (with no bridges) and have to get up over the top of the ridgeline to reach a highway or major route, we don’t see many choices. There is one way to go up. Makes it very different for us flatlanders.