Jen and I took a mini vacation this past week. The first part of the week was devoted to errands and chores. That part wasn’t fun, but it was necessary.
Thursday and Friday were dedicated to relaxing. We took a drive to New York’s Finger Lakes region, which is home to a number of wineries, cideries, meaderies, and dairies.
We stayed in a lovely B&B called Halsey House, where David Wren and David Blake roll out the welcome mat. If you ever visit the area, please consider staying with these gentlemen. The room we stayed in was luxurious, and their breakfast was delicious.
We visited three wineries, a cidery, and a dairy. Two of the wineries offered mead as well as wine, and we both like mead. We bought something at each place we stopped because they all offered wonderful selections.
I highly recommend the wines and tapas at Toro Run Winery. (The photo above is a view from the winery, which Jen took.) And if you’re interested in sampling a number of hard ciders made in the Champagne style, then you must visit Finger Lakes Cider House, which offers tastings for five different cideries. And cheese lovers will be happy with a visit to Lively Run Goat Dairy, where five goat’s milk and five cow’s milk cheeses can be sampled.
We also visited Seneca Falls and toured the Women’s Rights National Historical Park. It’s well worth a visit if you’re in the area. It’s a good place to get an overview of how issues like abolition, women’s rights, and other reform movements influenced one another. And it’s a timely reminder that the midterm elections are coming up.
Women were beaten, arrested, and sexually assaulted with the goal of stopping their organizing efforts. We shouldn’t forget what they went through so that women in the U.S. could vote. And we should honor their fight by exercising our rights in November.
Ruth F. Simon 