Upstate New York, Finger Lakes region

My geographic knowledge of this country was tested recently when my husband and his friends suggested a trip to upstate New York for the long weekend. New York state? Isn't that a city with Times Square?  Is New York city the capital of New York state? Obviously, I failed.

New York state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania  in the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts to the east and Vermont to the northeast. This state hosts some of the most gorgeous water bodies found in the US. The majestic Niagara, waterfalls in the finger lakes region, Adirondacks, Lake Placid to name a few. Distance and time being the trade offs, we covered only a few of these above mentioned places.

The Journey to Corning: Friday Evening

Driving to Corning from Massachusetts was smooth. Moderate traffic and changing landscapes with moody weather, a perfect scenario to start our trip...almost. About 3hrs of the drive completed, to our surprise we noticed a LED board on the freeway which read, TORNADO WATCH till 10pm. That was a first for me, I frantically started scanning the Internet on our phones (with limited data bandwidth)  for more information. We began noticing the temperamental clouds rolling in and the dark moody clouds lying low. No wonder that we had up till then encountered no traffic. To make conditions more mysterious, two men near a parked motorcycle on top on a bridge over the freeway wildly twirled their tee shirts in a tornado like fashion and pointed to the left. With no idea what they could have meant by that, we continued ahead. After contemplating and discussing it over and over again, we stopped at a Dunkin Donuts at the nearest exit. It was about 8:45pm and we thought for a while on waiting out till 10pm. After a few inquiries at DD and fellow travellers who stopped there, we carried on. The TORNADO WATCH was a WATCH as the name mentions, a watch by the Met department as the weather conditions seem most ideal for one and not because of any suspicious weather movement noticed. What a relief! We reached the address Google routed us too, but it wasn't the place where we had booked our reservations, instead the board read Motel 6.

We based our trip from Corning, hence taking the budget option of staying at Budget Inn and Suites, Elmira at Horseheads. We searched for the exact name on boards for a wasteful 25 mins and called the reception up. Turns out that google routed correctly and Motel 6 was to change to Budget Inn and Suites.  The bookings were messed up and we had a tough time sorting it out at the office, all in all, not the best option to stay there.

For my reviews on this hotel, refer to (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g47924-d244135-Reviews-Budget_Inn_Horseheads-Horseheads_Finger_Lakes_New_York.html).

Letchworth State Park and Cherry Springs State Park: Saturday 

We reached Letchworth State Park by late morning. At the Castile entrance, there's a lovely overlook that opens up the view of the valley with the Genesee river flowing through it. Unfortunately the river looked dried up. With very little water in the river, we wondered if the waterfalls would be a pretty sight. We parked the car near the visitor centre and hiked our way to the middle falls and upper falls. The path wasn't much of a deviation from the tar road, although we found a beautiful viewpoint below a bridge. The hike to the middle falls was relatively simple with not many ascends or descends. The Middle falls view point was stunning with the milky white gush of water roaring as it hits the rocks below. A faint yet remarkably clear rainbow adorned the falls.

Rainbow over the Middle Falls.

This waterfall seemed to me the best amongst the three. (Upper, Middle and Lower)

We continued and hiked to the upper falls, a small ascend but an easy climb along the tar road. To watch a goods train chug along the 140-yr old rail road atop the upper falls was an incredible sight. Hiking up to get a closer view of the upper falls, we stopped by a bubbling brook and rejoiced in the cool waters. Much needed respite from the heat of that summer day.

Train chugging along over the Upper Falls.

Refreshing brook

Walking  back to the visitors centre cost us time  and we decided to drive down till the lower falls overlook. There are steps leading down to the lower falls, but the only way up was to climb those steps. Already exhausted and running short of time, we followed the signs on the board for quick look of the lower falls. The lower falls didn't charm us, although it was a pleasant sight.

Lower falls from an overlook.

A quick refill of lunch and we routed our GPS to Cherry Springs State Park to catch a glimpse of the milky way. A little detour as it falls in Pennsylvania, but the view of the night sky was well worth it. This particular state park is known for the clear views of the night sky and through summer, they organise night sky viewing. Google routed us through the countryside and what a silent eerie countryside that was! Surreal the experience of being one of the only two cars on those muddy roads(yes you read right, no tar roads here!), and vast expanse of fields on either side with few or no houses. Almost haunting the drive turned out to be. All through the journey we kept thinking of what would happen if the car broke down. When we finally reached the destination that google routed to - we ended up..nowhere. Did google just pull a fast one on us? Middle of nowhere and were we going to be the ones ones watching the sky that night? Couldn't be. We just continued ahead and looked for signs to the Cherry Springs State Park and there it was. A huge open ground converted into a parking lot with the park volunteers guiding us to park and towards the night sky viewing area. We were handed out red film to mask our torches and phones, as white light robs our night vision. The main volunteers used a powerful laser to point out the interesting stars and clusters. There were powerful telescopes set up for viewing of the planets. I was able to see Saturn with its magnificent rings and a double star with the contrast evident (one blue and the other red), through the telescopes. Unfortunately for us, the night sky was gradually getting disguised by the clouds. We patiently waited to be able to spot the milky way, and there it was. Just there for about 5 seconds, we could see the cluster that resembles the gigantic galaxy we live in, the Milky way. It was my first time viewing it with the naked eye, I was enamoured. Just a brief view of the milky way influenced me in the most poetic way. I was truly amazed.

Corning Museum of Glass and Watkins Glen: Sunday

The Corning Museum of Glass should definitely be on your list if you're planning a visit to Upstate New york. The museum is exclusively for glorifying glass in all its lovely forms, there are sections on the history of how humans have been utilizing it in various forms. Each exhibit was captivating with a lot to learn and a lot to awe at. I thoroughly enjoyed the contemporary glass art exhibit. A few pointers I would suggest to anyone planning a visit here, be sure to plan for half a day, it's vast with many live demonstrations and an opportunity to make your own glass as well.  The Make your own glass experience, is highly hyped. All that I or the 6-yr old along with me did was, pick the structure of the glass, the colours on them and get the opportunity to blow into the molten glass when required. It wasn't all exciting as I had pictured it to be, I suppose the museum has their own limitations while working with high temperatures of molten glass. The souvenir shops is an interesting array of glass artifacts, be sure to take your time here.

Making My own Glass.

Art installation at Corning Museum of Glass.

Once done with the museum visit, we head to Watkins Glen State Park near Ithaca. By far, one of the best places I've ever been to. The beauty of the hike in this park was the gorge path that spans about 2.5 miles with spectacular views of over 14 waterfalls with my favourites being the Cascade Falls where one can feel the cold spray of the waterfalls and the rainbow falls which opens up a mind blowing scenic view.

Gorge Trail

Cascade Falls

Rainbow Bridge

We were almost the last ones to leave the state park. The stay at Ithaca was at Embassy Inn Motel. A satisfyingly good place.

Taughannock Falls, Lake Cayuga and Howe's Cavern: Monday

I didn't feel like leaving Ithaca the next morning. The City is lively with a thriving student population and colourful with interesting art murals. After a sumptuous brunch at Indian restaurant "New Delhi's Diamond's, we drove to Taughannock Falls. Parking very close to the overlook, we peeked over in anticipation to be awed by the waterfalls. Instead we were greatly disappointed, the width of the water was reduced to that of a thread. What a shame! A google search gives me such glorious pictures of this place, it's unfortunate that we had to see it when it was dry. It might not have been the best time to witness the falls, I would suggest visiting here after summer, probably August and September.

We passed by the longest of the famous finger lakes, Lake Cayuga  on our way back, the blue waters beckoned to us, we had to make the stop. We took a quick swim in the chilly waters, refreshing and much needed after seeing so much water on our trip and unable to physically be in the water. Happy campers, barbecues and families relaxed by the lake. It was a blissful morning!

The last visit before heading back home, Howe's caverns. We were making a dash for it, because the last guided tour was at 6pm. We luckily got in at the nick of time. As the car pulled over to the destination, we see an enormous building. Quite confusing, I assumed these were natural caves in a more natural setting, a state park or so. We bought our tickets and waited in line. The tour guide, a very jovial and entertaining one, accompanied us in the elevator, down to the cave. The cave was an underground one and rather cold (Do bring along a jacket!). The caves must be explored with a guide only, and it's a path that involves a small boat ride. The experience was interesting and the cave in some parts was beautiful. I wasn't very impressed, probably because I've been biased with my experience of the vast cave "Gua Tempurung"  in central Malaysia (http://www.guatempurung.my/). The tour was definitely made more interesting by the tour guide and kids would enjoy it immensely. It wasn't my best cave experience for sure.

The drive back was smooth with no traffic. In fact, the drive for the entire journey was divided into equal distances for every attraction and hence manageable on time. I'm sure this isn't going to be last time visiting New York State.

Philly and Washington DC.

The United States of America is truly a vast country. It's only been two months living here, it doesn't seem like even two years is sufficient to fully explore the country. We are on a mission to travel the most we can then!
Using our long weekend and the advantage of the glorious summer, my husband and I planned to go to Washington DC with a pitstop at Philadelphia.

May 27th 2016, Friday:

The handsome shining black Audi A4 was charged up and awaiting us. It's far more than just show off statement, this amazing car. For a car ignorant person like me, I began to admire the stability at high speeds and the turning capabilities.
We started off at 3:30pm and joined the weekend traffic at its busiest. Google maps or any computer-based GPS would guide one to use the I-95S for more than three-fourths of the journey, but we found it too busy with frequent traffic crawls or accidents.
Instead(and I suggest) we started off on I-84 East, forked off at Danbury to join I-684 and continue on I-287. Later we joined onto I-95S to reach Philly after about 5.5 hours. Although this deviates a little to the west than a more direct I-95S, it helps avoid the heavily traffic congested junction of New York. We halted for the night at the Red Roof Inn at Trevose. Basic amenities and perfect for a quick stopover.

May 28th 2016, Saturday:

The morning was surprisingly hot. A sunny day with pristine blue skies with no trace of a cloud. I found it mandatory to have breakfast at an "American" style diner. With no dearth of this quintessential diners around, we found one right next door called Andy's diner.
Vegetarians, like most places in this world have limited options. Luckily, I consume egg in most forms. After a delightful breakfast buffet with freshly made double-layered cheese omelette, we drove to Philly Downtown.
 
Entering the the many one-ways in the city, one can't miss the colourful murals. The street art led us to the Magic Gardens. This place has been beautified by artist Isaiah Zagar and his wife Julia. The mosaic work and the creation of something highly appealing with eclectic pieces is amazing. We were hugely impressed. For art-lovers visiting Philly, this should surely be a stop.

Our next pit stop was the essential Philadelphia attractions such as Independence Hall(viewed from outside) and the Liberty Bell.  The Liberty Bell has historic significance but one must plan to spend at least 25 minutes or more in the queues for a closer look at it. Since we were in a hurry, we caught a lateral glimpse of the bell through a glass window. I'd recommend taking this view instead of waiting in line unless you're a complete history buff.

The last place to tick off on our list in Philly was the Rocky Balboa statue. The statue and the steps Rocky Balboa is seen training in the movies(Rocky series starring Sylvester stallone) is near the Philedelphia Musuem of Art. We reached here around 1pm and not many people were waiting in line for a picture, it was mostly empty. Although we were passively hoodwinked by "the homeless" to take a picture of us and the statue. A bad picture even ! Wriggle and find a way to escape this if you're in the situation when you visit here. (I'm sure there are a lot of other encouraging ways to help the homeless).

Mildly satiating our hunger from a food truck parked by the Museum, we started out 2 hr journey to Washington DC.

Relatively gentle traffic, we checked into the Sheraton Pentagon City around 5pm. (We got a neat deal on priceline to stay for a night here.) Resting the car at their parking lot for 24$ a day, we coordinated to take the bus and then the train from Pentagon station towards Downtown. The station had a vibe of secret excitement, felt like we were part of a secret service boarding our train for a secret mission!

For Dinner we went to Siroc at 15th street NW.  We thoroughly enjoyed the wine, food (all three courses) and the service. I highly recommend it!  We decided to walk to the rear end of  the White house after dinner. The view of the White House from the White House north lawn is about 10 minutes by walk. Not many people at this hour, we were able to comfortably admire the structure.

Choosing our options of travel back to the hotel, we opted for Uber pool, which worked to be equal to or rather cheaper than a metro and bus combination.

May 29th 2016, Sunday:

Sunday was the day to fully engage and immerse in what Washington D.C has to offer.
Nearby was an Ethiopian cafe (Dama Pastry and Cafe) which offered some delicious vegetarian options. My first with this cuisine, I was fascinated the most by the Kinche and mouth wateringly exquisite Baklava. I'm salivating just writing about it!

We decided to split up and I went to explore the Smithsonian Air and Space museum and my husband got off at the next station to explore the National Gallery of Art. In spirit of the memorial day weekend, the entry to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum was free and accordingly crowded. The museum is huge with a lot of information and interesting exhibits, I looked up the map and dived into the exhibits that interested me. My favourites in the museum was the walk inside the international Space station, the section on the history of navigation and the aircrafts on display. The crowd though was overwhelming (for USA standards), it's definitely a popular spot.

We met for a quick bite by the lawn after our museum visits. Lots of food trucks are parked in this stretch and a quick bite is necessarily not a quick bite. Huge queues were lined up to each truck, so the easiest seemed to be froyo. Unfortunately, that was the worst frozen yogurt I have tasted and a little over economical. The White lanky washington tower is visible from here. The clouds hung low and all our pictures captured have the white monument hidden in the white clouds.

We walked by to sight the US Capitol, and last one on our list was the Lincoln Memorial. The Lincoln Memorial is charming, and the view from it is amazing. This was undoubtedly my favorite visit in DC. Unable to ignore our hunger pangs, we went to an Indian restaurant "Flavors of India" at 2524 L St NW.  Service was terrible, the evident disinterest in fellow indian customers was offending and we were pretty frustrated. Clearly disappointed, we were in two minds whether to strike off the the 15% gratuity that was conveniently added in the cheque.  

The rains had subsided by now, we took an Uber back to the hotel and had just enough time to head to the DC cruises tour at 8pm. The washed up harbourside looked placid and inviting. Our cruise started at around 8:20 pm and we were toured around on the grand Potomac river for about an hour. The sights were pretty and their reflections on the water. There's a enchanting charm in seeing the city from a boat in the middle of the river. After the cruise, we leisurely indulged in Nick's Grillside and Bar, and I felt indulged the moment I had my first taste of the Cinnamon Fireball, one cracking drink!

May 30th 2016, Monday:
The last day in this entry.
The beauty of nature, as most of us agree is unmatched and hence a vacation isn't considered complete without visiting such a place. We started for the Great Falls Park around 9 am and after a small queue at the parking, we were there in less than an hour. There are three overlooks within short walking distance where one can get marvelous views of the Great Falls. Apart from these three smaller paths, there are a lot more hiking trails this park offers.

 


Planning our route back home, we decided to weigh our options. Most GPS show the fastest route to Boston which uses 95 for majority of the way. This interstate is often slower because of the density of traffic and more likely to have more accidents. We started on 95 till Wilmington where we then branched out west on 202 Interstate. Around the New Jersey area, we diverged to join 287 Interstate eastward -- 684 north and finally joining to 84 East. Although it delayed us by an hour, we comfortably covered the distance without the frustration of being stuck in heavy traffic.