Visiting the Vasile's in Upstate New York - Owasco, NY
Owasco, NY
Jerry and Mary Ellen were up early as it was Sunday and they were off to church. Jerry's brother is the priest so his absence would never go un-noticed. We took this opportunity to catch up on sleep and have a proper sleep in...the type you have on a weekend at home. We rose out of bed at around 9.30am, hit the showers and then headed for the kitchen for a hot morning drink. As we turned the corner from our lovely rustic guest room into the kitchen we were blown away from perfect panoramic views of the Lake. When we arrived the night before we noticed the large windows along the Lakeside front of the house but we couldn't admire the view because of the lack of light. Now as we stood there the sun shone brightly in the sky and glistened over the smooth water surface. The sky was a vibrant blue and the manicured lawn was a luscious green. We could see Jerry's pier and his boat suspended under a shelter over the lake. We knew it was going to be an amazing couple of days. Not long after we had made our cups of tea, put some clothes on to soak and settled into the view, Jerry and Mary Ellen arrived home. Mary Ellen strategically let slip that Jerry was an amazing pancake chef and was set to work making us a gorgeous Sunday Brunch. Whilst tucking in to our fluffy pancakes and crispy bacon we continued our catch up from the night before. We learnt about the various places Jerry and Mary Ellen had lived and worked, as well as about their children and their families. We compared services and procedures between our countries especially with respect to health as Jerry is a (suppose to be retired) consultant in health administration, and politics as it was the day after our Federal election. We could have talked all day but we needed to head out and explore the region before the beautiful sun disappeared and the day slipped away. The wind had picked up as was evident from the white caps on the Lake's surface. It wasnt a great time to be on the Lake so we went to explore the local parks and towns instead. On our way out of town we passed the local sports ground which was holding a 'Tomato fest' carnival. There were tents with various stalls and carnival rides within the grounds. Jerry insisted on a slight detour to get us some fried dough as this a favourite of his and a bit of a Vasile family tradition. Well Jerry didnt disappoint, it was heart stoppingly delicious even though Jerry commented that it was not as tasty as per usual. We munched away on fried dough as we headed towards the town of Ithaca. On the way we passed various corn fields, orchards and farms. Mary Ellen informed us that she grew up on a dairy farm in Upstate New York (near the Canadian border) and reported that dairy farming is still pretty popular in the Finger Lake region. Agriculture continues to be one of the biggest industries in the region especially since the downsizing of such companies as Kodak in Rochester. Ro and I couldnt believe how many things happened or were from/invented in this region and yet we knew very little about this area until I met Jerry. The other primary industry in the region is Education. Ithaca is home to Ithaca College (reference to this college in one of the American Pie movies) and the more famous ivy league college, Cornell University. Cornell University is famous for its business school and liberal arts courses. It was established in1865 and has educated a number of well known and successful people throughout its time including John Cleese, Christopher Reeve, E.B. White (author of Charlotte's web and Stuart Little), the man who developed the pap smear and a former Cuban President. We didnt have time to explore both colleges so we decided to explore only Cornell University as it is well known for its beautiful campus...and well, its overall more well known. But before we stopped to explore the University campus we went to visit Buttermilk Falls State Park. Mary Ellen had visited these falls in early June after lots of rain and said that the falls were simply gorgeous. She had all her fingers crossed in hope that the falls were still running full and free despite no signficant rain for a few weeks. We eventually arrived at the falls after a slight detour via the wrong entrance (thanks to the GPS) and found that the water had subsided considerably in comparison to Mary Ellen's photos of the falls from June. Nevermind, the waterfall still had some water flowing, gliding effortless over the smoothed,slippery rocks, and they were still very tranquil and beautiful in their surroundings. The Buttermilk falls are at the Southern end of the city of Ithaca and are derived from Buttermilk creek which plunges through a gorge on the eastern slope of the Cayuga Valley. Glacial activity has shaped the natural landscape of this park and its resultant water continues to do so today. It all began a million years ago when New York state was covered with huge ice sheets. As the glaciers slowly but constantly moved over the years through shallow river valleys of the region they carved deep, steep sided troughs. When these glaciers retreated approximately 10 000 years ago from today these deep troughs filled with water and the Finger Lakes were formed. Water, such as in the form of Buttermilk creek, has poured down the glacially steepened landscape further eroding the soft sedimentary rock. In the process magnificent gorges and waterfalls have developed such as the Buttermilk waterfalls which we saw today. We didnt climb to the very top of the falls despite alot of encouragement from our hosts. It seems that despite our love for hiking we were temporarily walked out after our week in New York City. We savoured our view from below and the absence of lactic acid in our muscles. Following our short walk at the falls we hopped back into the car and headed back to Cornell University to explore its campus. Whilst Jerry researched a tasty restaurant option for dinner Mary Ellen, Ro and I headed through the University on foot. Firstly we passed a new building being developed by Bill and Melinda Gates, cleverly named Gates Hall which will become the new home of the Faculty of Computing and Information Sciences. The exterior of the building was almost complete and you could see some internal structure as well, but there was still a few months work left before its completion. The building possesses a modern space age like architectural style (very technical) with lots of angles, glass and metallic feature panels which im sure have some eco friendly purpose. Despite its extremely modern appearance the building did not appear to be an eye sore in its surroundings. We continued walking and admired many lovely buildings and manicured lawns. We commented on the cleanliness of the campus and how well maintained all the buildings and gardens were. Cornell was full of various architectural styles such as collegiate gothic, Victorian and Neoclassical. I read that there were a boom in students following WW2 thus causing the campus to rapidly expand to accomodate the hoardes of incoming students. Consequently, any buildings after this point in time were built rapidly (and cheaply) and thus were devoid of ornate features unlike their earlier counterparts. It was interesting to observe that any new buildings were well blended into the existing landscape and did not appear to contradict the existing buildings despite their significantly different styles. After half an hour we had worked up an appetite and thirst and were keen to find a nice place for dinner. Jerry had found a restaurant not far from the University called Agava, which served organic and local seasonal produce with a southern flair. On approaching the building you would never had known the exciting and creative cuisine that awaited inside. We stepped through the fromt door and the building had come alive with character. The walls were adored with quirky painting of vibrant colours. In the corner was a rustic pizza oven and on the top level was a intriguing bar decorated with beer crates and other mexican, country, rustic themed items. The menu was eclectic but not bizarre that it was frightening. Mary Ellen settled on mussels in a white wine sauce, Jerry and I opted for the pork chop of the day on a bed of creamed corn topped with a rocket and tomato salad, and Ro had calamari and a rustic flatbread with proscuitto. Our taste buds had gone to heaven. Our meals were amazing and definately substantial in size. The meals were fresh and tasty and so varied in flavours and creativity which was a wonderful change. Despite being satisfied by dinner Ro and I couldnt resist the temptations of dessert, lime creme brulee and peach and raspberry cobler. Well to say we rolled out of there would be an understatement. Jerry and Mary Ellen had spoilt us with a beautiful scenic tour of Ithaca and the surroundings including its culinary delights. We headed home with our belt buckles losened and spent the remainder of the day drinking tea or coffee and catching up on the weekend football. What a day!!! What great company!!!! What a beautiful part of the world!!!