Monday, October 1, 2012

ROAD TRIPPIN' WITH RUTHY!!!!



Dave and I went toddling off on a research trip this weekend...

We cruised the Southern Tier...  Checked out the lakes of Western New York... Fell in love with several for different reasons!

First, Chautauqua Lake in the farthest corner of Western New York, practically shouting distance with Ohio and Pennsylvania....





Here's a map-view to give you an idea of location:



That's Chautauqua Lake in the center. Now it looks SMALL compared to Lake Erie above, right??? Which is why I had to go researching because I live near Lake Ontario and when you live on the Great Lakes, these other things are kind of like farm ponds, you know? But learning riparian culture.... Seeing what's needed and useful in a lakeside town during the summer season... and post-season... that's huge because it's truly different from my day-to-day existence.

We went to church in Bemus Point.... Stopped by Webbs (a must-do for awesome candies!!) We did not stop at the amazing quilt show being held at the Chautauqua Institution (a place to visit in its own right) because I would have been too tempted.  But I did not say "no" to spending some bucks on candy to share!

Webb's Candies

Rushford Lake in Allegany County:



Charming, right????  The "T" shape, the points, the coves.... little harbors. A lot can happen in a little harbor, let me tell you, LOL! Isn't this beautiful? And the colors were at peak in the Southern Tier of NYS this weekend. Just stinkin' gorgeous. The hills were flaming. Amazing.

Here's a shot from the Lakeview Bed and Breakfast:


How pretty is that????

And then we headed to Cuba Lake, on the border of Allegany and Cattaraugus Counties:




This is what it looked like yesterday, the colors, the hills.... it's a man-made lake nestled just above I-86 and tucked into its own corner of the world. How pretty is this????



So that was my weekend! Exploring... eating. Maybe a lot of eating.  We discovered how nice Jamestown is , and the set up provided me with GREAT IDEAS.... :)

And the people were so nice.  We ate at the Hometown Grill on Saturday night:



sel monico

Delicious.... great server, April!  And fun, even though the Yankees had just suffered defeat at the hands of those tenacious Blue Jays in Toronto!

Great weekend, now working on applying what I saw/learned to this new series. And loving it!

5 comments:

  1. As beautiful as it is here, I'd love a visit in your neck of the woods! The lakes, the trees...so lovely! You had a beautiful weekend :)

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  2. Hi Ruth:

    Seeing all that fall foliage makes me want to stop by an apple cider farm. Did you pick any up? Now you’ve made me want to visit some of our lakes this weekend. I’ve been thinking: do you have a recipe for an Allegany Maple Cake? I can visualize little chocolate maple leaves decorating the frosting. I also intuit the use of peanut butter swirls. I think I’ll check Mary’s Shoppe (or did she just make candy?)

    Vince

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  3. I love Chautauqua County. A friend of mine has a cottage in Finley Lake that I been going to for the last six years.

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  4. Jan, it's Brigadoon-like gorgeous here, all four seasons. Currier and Ives stuff. Thick, thick forests, critters, valleys, mountains and hills and lakes. It's truly beautiful and I love winter so that's no bother to me... You come visit anytime. The latchkey string is always open!!!

    Vince, my friend, yes! I have cider in the fridge right now and I'm doing a book signing this weekend at a cider mill... :) Doesn't that sound perfect for me? LOVE IT!!!!! Ooooo Allegany Maple Cake. Vince, you might be on to something, my friend.

    Oh, I can taste it now. Like a spice/carrot cake consistency.... or maybe the oatmeal cake consistency. Vince, that's something to play with!!! Great idea!

    BW, isn't it gorgeous? Where's Finley Lake? I didn't find that one on the maps, but the ones tucked into the Allegany State Park aren't on my map, either.

    What map misses a lake??????

    Maybe it's size related? I love that whole stretch of hills, mountains, valleys, streams. If my grandchildren weren't here, I'd re-settle in a heartbeat.

    But I gotta be near my little peeps, right?????

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  5. Looking at the map that you have. If you look at tha PA and NY border, just below 430, is Findley Lake, NY (I spelled it wrong earlier).

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