It's the end of a long but good day, and I'm tired. We're back to our home base, and it's only 8 pm - too early to go to bed, so I'll see what I can remember about our day today.
Several years ago, we came to Ithaca to tour Cornell University with Wally, and as part of that trip, we visited Cornell's Botanical Gardens. I remembered them as the best botanical gardens I had ever visited, so I wanted to see them again. That was our destination for the morning. This time, as well as exploring the botanical gardens, we visited the adjacent arboretum. We had a pleasant few hours wandering around both of them.
Soon enough, lunch was calling, and after a few misses with recommended places, we ended up at Purity Ice Cream for burgers and fries, which were pretty good. Purity had been recommended for the ice cream, so we planned to come back for it after another hike.
Next, we visited Taughannock State Park (Thanks, Janet Wood, for the recommendation.) to see the 215' Taughannock Falls. The hike through the gorge was on a wide trail with a steep hill on one side and a wide flat stream bed on the other. Quite a pleasant 1.5-mile walk, especially since the weather continued to cooperate with temperatures around 60 F.
The other side of the park ran along Lake Cayuga, and we took a walk along the shore after we saw the falls. It was not quite as windy and cold as our walk along Seneca Lake yesterday, but windy all the same. Just windy enough to work up an appetite for ice cream, so back we went to Purity Ice Cream.
Purity Ice Cream has been in business since 1936 and was on almost everyone's list of places to go to in the area. During our visit this time, Wally had a huge milkshake, and the rest of us had hot fudge brownie sundaes of various kinds. Purity did an excellent job in living up to its reputation.
Then it was back to our cabin in the woods for a catch as catch can supper with the various things we had in the fridge. No one went hungry, and some were still not hungry after their ice cream treat.
And here we are once again back at the beginning of the post. As it turns out, the TV where we're staying has several streaming services we don't get, so we're enjoying some shows as we relax from our busy days. So I think that's where I'm headed now.
Below are some pictures from the day.
The Botanical Gardens
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| Not surprisingly, these are called waterlily crocus. |
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| I'm always inspired by the layering and variety of textures I see in gardens. But, of course, It never looks quite the same when I try it. |
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| A possible idea for another way to do our split rail fence. |
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| These naranjilla leaves had spikes on both the top and bottom of the leaves. |
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| Ward and Theo examining the allium sculpture. |
The Arboretum:
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| Maple trees |
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| We could hear frogs in this pond. |
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| Theo at Newman's Overlook |
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| Birch trees |
Taughannock State Park:
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| There were other falls along the way to the tall ones. |
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| Where the stream was shallow, there were expanses of rock exposed. |
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| Taughannock Falls |
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| Lake Cayuga |
Purity Ice Cream:
Thanks for sharing all your pictures. Looks like another beautiful day trip. The falls do look pretty and the view of Lake Cayuga looks great. I'm just imagining it when then leaves change. I'm definitely going to make a trip out there next fall.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think a trip here next fall should definitely be on your to do list. In just the few days we've been here, more leaves are changing. Such a pretty time of year.
DeleteWhat a lovely trip. We were in the Corning area a couple of years ago. The Glass Museum is a must see as is Watkins Glen.
ReplyDeleteWe visited Watkins Glen on our first day and Corning this morning. They are definitely must-see destinations.
DeleteYou're not that far from an online rescue friend of mine, who is near Spencer somewhere. I've always wanted to visit upstate area of New York and also the great lakes. Have a great time.
ReplyDeleteWe passed a sign for Spencer somewhere on our travels today, so we aren't that far from your friend. I have visited a couple of the Great Lakes and they are impressive--much bigger than the Finger Lakes.
DeleteSounds like you had another fun day, even if tiring (I'd be exhausted from all that hiking, myself!) Thank you for sharing the photos. I especially liked that waterlily crocus!
ReplyDeleteI have seen other autumn crocuses, but none like the water lily crocus. It definitely caught my attention for a picture.
DeleteLooks like another fun day. I like the allium sculpture!
ReplyDeleteI think that trying the local ice cream places is a good way to experience local culture. That's what I told my family when we got huckleberry shakes in Idaho on our most recent vacation. It's important to immerse yourself in the culture of the area. ;)
We usually look for local ice cream places when we're traveling. Maryland has an ice cream trail that visits local dairies and ice cream places around the state. We've done a couple of them, but maybe that trail will be our next outing. :)
DeleteThe falls look so majestic! And those maple trees, gorgeous! It is always enjoyable to walk through botanical gardens. Yum on the ice cream! Thanks for sharing your mini getaway with us! I don't think I'll ever get to your part of the country so it is nice to see it even if just in pictures :)
ReplyDeletebetty
The botanical gardens I liked next best, right behind Cornell's, were the botanical gardens we visited in your neck of the woods in Phoenix. All of the cacti were new and exotic to me.
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