Open Mike: A Short Break (Blog Notes)

Keuka in the rain

It's visiting season here in the Finger Lakes again! Hallelujah. After a long, cold, lonely, long Winter. Did I mention long?

TOP will be off for a week starting this coming Wednesday and resuming again the following Wednesday. That's May 10th (first day off) and May 17th (first day publishing again).

I'll write a "what I did on my vacation" when I pull the starter cord on the ol' blog again.

I'm going to try to take three week-long breaks this year, for purposes of battery rechargement (rechargeation?). I'll leave you with some links to oldies but goodies on Tuesday. (Never make promises Mike, never make promises Mike, never make....) I will though.

Just a reminder: if you are planning on passing through the Finger Lakes, my friends Llewellyn Lafford and Laurel O'Donnell will be happy to give you a discount at their La Belle Vie Bed & Breakfast on Main Street in Penn Yan. (The town is named for its Pennsylvanian and Yankee early settlers. If you've read the outstanding book American Nations, one of the best books I've ever read about the U.S.A., we are in the old Burned-Over District, on the border between Yankeedom and the Midlands region.)

See the Amish horses and buggies passing by the front door, walk to Penn Yan's 19th-century downtown, and strike out into the countryside to photograph bucolic farmland scenes and local waterfalls. All the local restaurants are now open and Laurel and Llew can help you find them. Their gorgeously decorated 19th-century Italianate house (shown) features magnificent interiors and makes a nice base of operations. Plus, they'll invite me to join you for breakfast on the last day of your stay. We have had some epic, lively, and very convivial conversations on those occasions. Here's the website. I don't do formal portfolio reviews any more, but you're welcome to come by for lunch, meet Butters and Lulu, and bring some work.

The Finger Lakes of Upstate New York. That's Lake Ontario at the top. You can see the cities of Rochester at the upper left and Syracuse at the upper right, and the course of the Chemung River, a tributary of the Susquehanna, is at the bottom. My lake, Keuka, is the one that looks like a slingshot.

There is loads to do in the area. There's the Corning Museum of Glass and the Rockwell Museum of American Art in Corning, Mark Twain's house in Elmira, and the George Eastman Museum in nearby Rochester. Just down the road from me is the recently renovated Curtiss Museum, dedicated to the aviation pioneer and chock full of antique motorcycles, planes, cars, and boats (among many other things, including a horse-drawn sleigh and a Civil War field cannon and, curiously, a collection of artifacts from 1960s-'80s outer-space television shows, including the robot from "Lost In Space."). Whether you like spectacular scenery or cars, Watkins Glen is a must-visit. Although not in the Finger Lakes, Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame are halfway between the Finger Lakes and Albany. And of course the region is known for the more than 100 wineries, breweries and distilleries centered around Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga Lakes, many of which have fine restaurants and offer free or inexpensive tastings.  Vineyard bus tours offering local knowledge (and a designated driver!) draw thousands of tourists every year from all over the world.

Mike

"Open Mike" is the editorial, off-topic, and administrative grab-bag of TOP. It is supposed to appear on Fridays and sometimes actually does.

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Rick Popham: "Back in 2013 my nephew graduated from RIT and I went up for the ceremony. I intended to visit the Eastman Museum, but I ended up going with my brother, my nephew and his friends to The Strong Museum of Play. What a great place—and a real step back to childhood for me. A lot of the toys I remember as a kid are represented there, although the collection does date back to even earlier days."

Bill Mitchell: "It's Spring, and you live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. The best possible vacation would be to just stay home and enjoy it—forget schedules."

Mike replies: You are correct sir.

Comments

[Tom Burke]

Have a good vacation, Mike.

11 Nations? What happened to the 9 Nations? That was the book that impressed me, and which made sense. Where did the extra two come from?

Nine Nations link: (https://www.amazon.com/Nine-Nations-North-America/dp/0380578859/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494090280&sr=8-1&keywords=joel+garreau)

[Bob Rosinsky]

It's been a long time since you've posted a picture of Lulu. How is she?

[Peter]

Yay Mike, for taking some well deserved vacation! I'll await your your return for my daily shot(s) of photography. In the meantime, I'll click through to buy myself some things from Amazon and B and H, just to contribute to your vacation of course !!

[Jim]

If you are in the area and like aviation history, there is the Glenn Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport-http://www.glennhcurtissmuseum.org/
It is worth the side trip. We used to go there almost every race weekend in Watkins Glen.
Another one for car people is the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen. They are part of the WG Public Library and the depository of more racing materials than you can imagine. You can even visit my collections - hundreds of books, thousands of photos of racing from 50+ years ago, plus a beautiful Dallaire tether car I donated last year. They usually have one historic race car on exhibit too.

[Joe B]

Hava great vacation. You ought to be working for the chamber of commerce or such organization which encourages tourists. Your enticing description of the area is making me think of a vacation up there.
Jb

[Mark Sampson]

Mike, it seems that you are suggesting that your readers should visit your neighborhood... while you yourself will be away. Love it!
Of course the Finger Lakes are my old stomping grounds, and you're right, a great place to visit from now until about the first week of November. Enjoy your well-deserved vacation!

[Not THAT Ross Cameron]

Dear TOP, Enjoy a well-earned break. I find the modern equivalent is 'tune out & turn off to defrag'. Tune out of the flipping news (radio, TV, internet, paper etc), turn off all screens/devices; only then can one defrag one's own mind/brain :) Exceptions allowed for music playing. The camera almost goes without saying, but only for image capture. No reviewing, downloading or editing etc.
Cheers Ross

[Rodolfo Canet]

Just when my wife and I have started discussions on where to go for holidays you've excited my travel desires with your description of all the wonders at our hands in your area. Pity there's several thousand miles from here! Have a very nice break and bring some photos back, please. It's always a pleasure to see tasteful imagery in this computing world of dizzying colours and eye-cutting oversharpening.

[Stanleyk]

Have a great break!!! If you get an chance do you know any dog friendly hotels in your area?

[Kenneth Tanaka]

That's a lovely landscape you show there, Mike.

[Alan Carmody]

Sssh. You're giving away the secret, Mike.

Do you really want your corner of paradise overrun by 18 million people from the greater New York City region?

[expiring_frog]

What a beautiful picture, Mike. Offer it as a print! I miss living in the Finger Lakes :(.

[Robert Fogt]

Certainly hope that you have a great week off, Mike. It looks to be greatly deserved, from where I stand.

But I seem to recall reading in a post from last December that you have a staff there of something like TWELVE Mike Johnstons? Why could not one of them take over your duties during your absence? Or are they all going on vacation with you?

Just askin'.

Bob

[Hi Bob. They are all lazy slugs who lie around like drunk pirates when I am not around to lash them into activity. Alas. --Mike]

[Bob Gary]

Mike, could you tell me where I can get this year's edition of The Empirical Photographer? I thought it would be available on your site.
Thanks,
-Bob G.

[Mark Sampson]

Mike- since I wrote my comment you have added the wonderful photograph at the top of your post. A remarkable vision of one of my favorite places- thank you!

[Steve G, Mendocino]

Mike:

Have a great vacation! And for once, your vacation/hiatus will actually correspond with one of my periods of being in no or chancy internet zones - a trip to the desert to photograph petroglyphs. I've looked at visiting Pen Yan in the camper. 2928 miles according to Maps from my place. Hmmm... at 9 MPG. (The camper has a 454) Maybe someday.

Is there an RV facility near OP World HQ?

[Lee Rust]

After living around here as a middle schooler, college student and adult resident for more than forty years altogether, I'm just starting to realize that this is where I've spent most of my life. Not a bad area to live in, actually...

[Scott]

Letchworth and the Genesee Country Village and Museum are also well worth your visit, if you are photographically inclined.