Finger Lakes Region of New York

The finger lakes are several long finger-like lakes in central New York and 

it is a beautiful area with lots to do.

 We stayed in the area around Seneca & Cayuga Lakes.

There are many wineries in the area, but we opted to visit a goat dairy and have a cheese tasting!

The goats are much more personable than grapes!

Another destination was Taughanock Falls which are just a short walk from the road.

These dramatic 215 foot falls, the highest in New York, are worth a stop.

The area is known for its gorges and Robert Treman State Park also had a lovely gorge walk.

Culminating in the dramatic Lucifer Falls.

There was also an old restored mill there with lots of history and exhibits.

 Since it was Saturday, we went to the acclaimed Ithaca farmers market.

We got there early and found lots of wonderful garden goods, handcrafted items and yummy food.

 Breakfast was a luscious banana cream crepe freshly prepared at the market.

Our final stop was the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a bird lover's delight.

I follow the lab on Facebook and use their app, Merlin to identify birds, so I wanted to see this educational library and lab.

 Right outside the entrance was a goose family, setting the mood for our visit.

 There are many pleasant hikes around the Sapsucker Woods, the affectionate name for the area around the lab.

And inside is a wall illustrated with the silhouettes and paintings of birds found all over the world.

It was interesting, educational and fun.

Next we move on to upstate New York and the Adirondacks.

Watkins Glen State Park

Watkins Glen has been on my bucket list after seeing it online.

What a beautiful region!
It was magnificent and didn't disappoint.

Although you might have heard of Watkins Glen for racing,
 the park features a well known dramatic gorge walk.

 The hike is 1.5 miles long and has 19 waterfalls.

Its stunning!

Expect to get your feet wet since many places you walk behind the waterfalls!

I have many more photos of the gorge, but you really need to hike it and experience the beautiful sights and sounds and feel the mist in the air!

Exploring Southern Indiana

We are visiting a landmark in southern Indiana,

West Baden Springs Hotel.

 This beautiful hotel was built in 1902 and was known as the eighth wonder of the world,

due to its awe inspiring atrium that spans 200 feet.

Its hard to capture the true beauty of the atrium due to its immense size.

The chandelier is from Tiffany and changes colors at night when lit up.

Our room was charming & comfortable.

We enjoyed this beautiful hotel.

While we were in the south of our state, we visited the charming town of New Harmony

on the Wabash River.  There is lots to see and do.

Our first stop was the Athenaeum Visitor Center, a surprisingly modern building in a historic town.

The town was an attempt at utopia in 1814 by a religious group called the Harmonites.

This is the Workingmen's Institute which now houses the town library and a museum.

 The Harmonist Society built labyrinths to provide a place of reflection as they made their way to the center. The Harmonist Labyrinth replicates is made of concentric circles of privet hedges and replicates one planted in the early 1800's.

 This is a the Roofless church. 

And there is a second labyrinth of granite not walk and reflect on.

This was a delightful place to visit.

Golf carts can be rented to explore the town and there is lots of historic buildings and shops to explore.

Eight spotted Forester Moth

Wet Spring

Its been a wet spring this year.

Not so much lots of rain, but frequent rain showers,

so the ground can't dry out.

The farm fields look like a swamp with egrets walking in the "lakes"

Or they are vast fields of butterweed which have taken over since the farmers can't plow the fields.

And the trails are underwater.

Guess we won't be riding anytime soon.

Trip of Lifetime Part 2

More photos and information from my trip to the Galapagos Islands.

One of the islands we visited was North Seymour Island.

This island has large colonies of Blue-footed Boobies and frigatebirds.

The boobies are endearing with their vacant stares and unafraid demeanor.

Boobies doing their dance.

 A blue-footed booby on its nest, right in the middle of the trail.

A frigate bird family

A yellow land iguana

That afternoon, we trekked the small Mosquera Islet, where young sea lions cavorted in a shallow kindergarten pool.  This fellow was tossing and playing with a stick he'd found.

Here a mother watches over her pup as he plays with a friend.

And the circle of life is evident here too.

We found this whale skeleton on the beach.

 Our final island was Genovesa, known as bird island, for all the birds species there.

The red-footed booby is found here, nesting in trees.

Frigatebids are everywhere.

And the Nazca or masked boobies are also nesting here.

And we also spotted a short-eared owl.

This is also where you can swim with the fur seals.

Most of them were dozing on the rocks that afternoon.

And the sets on a wonderful vacation!

A Trip of a Lifetime

At the top of my bucket list is a unique place called the Galapagos Islands.

You may remember the islands are where Charles Darwin deduced the theory of evolution.

Many animals are found only on certain islands and have adapted to its particular environment.

I finally realized my dream of visiting there.

One of the first places we visited was Santa Cruz Island 

where the giant tortoises are being bred for conservation at the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Next, we visited Floreana where we saw flamingoes and a green sand beach,

Visited Post Office Bay, where sailors left mail in a barrel for passing ships to collect and deliver if they were headed to that destination.

And everywhere we saw crabs.

Next up, my favorite island, Espanola, where the huge waved albatross was nesting.

The albatross are so big that they launch themselves off the cliff to take flight.

A hike to cliff revealed a spectacular blowhole

And we saw the red form of the marine iguana.

 To finish off our visit to Espanola, we stopped at Gardner Bay where sea lions basked in the sun, totally ignoring the human visitors.

Day four, we stopped at San Cristobal island, one of the few islands that is inhabited by people.

We shopped and found some souvenirs and visited the national park Interpretation Center.

After lunch, we snorkeled around Kicker Rock

 Day five takes us to Santa Fe Island and a beach covered with sea lions.

We also saw land iguanas who eat the cacti found on their island.

That afternoon, we visited South Plaza Island where the many seabirds can be seen,

 such as frigate birds, pelicans and swallowtail gulls.

Frigatebirds flying overhead.

A swallow tailed gull on its nest.

Because this is getting long, I'll continue with part 2.