Day Four of the Labor Day Vacay

I better finish up this Labor Day Vacay series before a) I forget what happened and b) my readers completely cease to care (assuming they already DID care).

So on Day Four (Sunday, September 4) we collectively agree to check out Watkins Glen State Park, which is on the south end of Seneca Lake, about a half-hour(ish) drive from Ithaca.

We didn't anticipate the huge crowd at Watkins Glen, but we should have. It was the Labor Day weekend, after all. Even though there were a lot of people, and they made climbing the hundreds of narrow steps of the Watkins Glen gorge falls a bit tight and mildly treacherous, they didn't detract from the amazing beauty. Watkins Glen has to be seen to be appreciated.

We returned to our hotel in the early afternoon sweaty and dirty. We cleaned ourselves up, and walked up route 13 to the Barnes & Noble about a mile from our hotel. (It's been a pleasure to discover how much Nora likes books and bookstores). We, of course, got iced coffees from the Starbuck's cafe in the store and spent close to two hours browsing. All four of us bought books. I bought Donna Tartt's The Secret History, a book I have intended on reading ever since listening to the podcast Once Upon a Time at Bennington College.

After the B&N adventure, we embarked on a new adventure: trying to find a restaurant in downtown Ithaca. The city was hopping and every eatery was packed. We were finally able to get into Monks on the Commons (in the Marriott Hotel--a place we'd considered staying in but was booked). It took the wait staff about a half-hour to decide who was serving us, but eventually (9:00 pm or so) we were able to eat. Avery and I had the house gnocchi which was excellent--and probably even better considering how hungry we were.

We returned back to the hotel and prepared for the long journey home.

Next: Day Five.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ron Swanson's hilarious "Visions of Nature" speech

Image
The funniest speech I’ve heard in quite awhile. Ron Swanson’s "Visions of Nature" art show grand opening speech from Parks and Recreation. Worth quoting in its entirety: "Ok, everyone, shut up and look at me. Welcome to Visions of Nature. This room has several paintings in it. Some are big and some are small. People did them and they are here now. I believe that after this is over they will be hung in government buildings. Why the government is involved in an art show is beyond me. I also think it's pointless for a human to paint scenes of nature when they could just go outside and stand in it. Anyway, please do not misinterpret the fact that I am talking right now as genuine interest in art and attempt to discuss it with me further. End of speech."
Read more

Billy Joel vs. R.E.M.

Awhile ago, a friend of mind sent me, via a Facebook message, the "assignment" of comparing and contrasting Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" and R.E.M.'s "It's the End of World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)." This friend is someone I've known since about sixth grade, and we often go back and forth about music and pop culture. Anyway, this is my extemely off-the-cuff reply to his challenge. Thought you might find it fun: Billy Joel's “We Didn’t Start the Fire” is a litany of baby boomer-era cultural touchstones, and in the chorus Billy basically, in typical curmudgeonly Billy Joel style, says, "look, if you're pissed off about how f***ed up things are now, don't look at us (i.e. the boomers), it was already f***ed up when we got here, but we've been trying to make it better, so there!--and you know what, it'll probably continue to be f***ed up after we're dead." Billy Joel is the official apo...
Read more
 All we did tonight was watch the new episodes of Slow Horses and Fargo , and I could barely keep my eyes open during Fargo. Next reading, must finally finish Absolute Beginners .
Read more