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To March Break and Beyond! I’ll be honest, despite living in Southern Ontario my whole life, I had never heard about the Finger Lakes region of Upstate NY.  If it wasn’t for the wonderful people at Holiday Valley in Ellicottville, NY, where we had our amazing ski adventure last year, I would probably have not been introduced to this gem of a destination, only a three to four hour drive from the GTA. The locals raved about all the things for us to see and do there, especially for fa...

I woke up at 4:45a this morning, dressed in the warmest clothes I own and headed for Dundee, NY-1.5 hours from my home.  I volunteered to help Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard disgorge their sparkling wine.

Here are the necessary components:

1.) Freezing cold weather, i.e. today in Dundee, NY 19 degrees

2.) Sparkling wine that has been riddled so yeast sediment is ready for expulsion

3.) Willing, able, strong minded volunteers, approximately 12

I showed up to 11 smiling faces, so happy to have a 12th ...

The Fourth of July is almost here, so how are you planning to celebrate America’s independence in the Finger Lakes? My family and I usually choose to have a cookout and enjoy the local fireworks.

 As a kid, I remember my favorite part of the holiday was packing up the car, heading out to the lake, and claiming our spot on the hill to watch the fireworks display over Canandaigua Lake. I never wanted them to come to an end, yet I remember the feeling of anticipation as I waited for the grand finale- no matte...

While we all enjoy a beautiful summer day, the nice weather can be a problem in the Finger Lakes- it’s hard to decide what to do first! If you are having trouble deciding how to spend your day, consider going for a hike. The Finger Lakes Region has a variety of scenic trails to choose from, but one of my favorites is The Keuka Outlet Trail.

This 7-mile trail runs along the Keuka Outlet stream which connects Keuka Lake to Seneca Lake. Along the way, the trail passes by all kinds of great scenery including ...

As a lifelong resident of the Finger Lakes region, I sometimes find that I take for granted the beautiful area that I am so fortunate to live in. As an intern here at the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance, I am rediscovering why so many people flock to this area as a vacation destination, and I am even learning about new places to visit and sights to see that I never knew existed!

Now that summer vacation from college is here, I am able to get outside and enjoy the beautiful summer weather, and although yo...

Article courtesy of Tara Powers of 'Chip Chip Hooray'

For more information on Tara Powers and her blog, please visit her site at: http://chipchiphooray.wordpress.com/

A Weekend In Wine Country -- Finger Lakes, NY

“It’s five o’ clock somewhere.”

A phrase you’ve often heard to describe consumption of alcohol at an hour that might otherwise be considered uncouth, no? Well. Let me tell you, friends, there is something weirdly freeing about uttering those words at the blissful hour of 10 a.m.

The wee...

This past Sunday morning, one of my roommates and I decided to take the most recent addition to our family, a sweet tempered mutt named Bru, for a run around the neighborhood.  We bundled up because we expected the temperature to match the gloomy sky and cold weather from the past week. To our surprise, however, the weather was far from chilly. Despite the gloom from up above, the contrast of the psychedelic leaves picked up our spirits.

We ran to a small park and attempted to play catch with Bru, but the ...

As a photographer wannabe I love to discover new things to photograph and new ways to photograph them. Recently I have discovered that there is a world of beauty inside the petals of a flower or hidden in the tiny imperfections of a rock. That Macro setting some of you are discovering on your new digital cameras enable you to get right in close to the tiny bouquet of miniature yellow flowers lined up on the stem of a simple golden rod that grows in every field of the Northeast. It’s kind of like a hid...

My husband Tim and I (along with our long-time friends Bruce and Betsy) decided to go boating on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal this Memorial Day weekend, and had such a nice time, I decided to blog about it.  Here is a “Captain’s Log” of the experience in case you’re interested in taking a similar trip in the future:

Day 1 (Saturday 5/23/09)
After our holiday hotdog luncheon at Peppy’s in Geneva we head to Fayette to board our boat.  We fill the gas tank at Stiver’s Seneca Marine & depart at 12:40pm heading...