Lake Life: A Weekend in the Finger Lakes

I call Buffalo home, but my parents, who both grew up in the beautiful town of Penn Yan,  love the Finger Lakes region of New York. My sister and I were raised taking weekend trips to Central New York, and we both have an affinity for the endless lakes and rolling hills there that not everyone in Western New York really understands.

Last weekend was a collection of beautiful August days and I got to spend it on not 1, but 2 of the Finger Lakes.

Day 1: Canandaigua Lake

My college roommate totally gets the draw of lake life, because she grew up spending summers on the boat in Canandaigua. She (and her mom) are nice enough to let all of us experience the thrill of tubing and soak in some sunshine at least once a summer there.

We spent Saturday together on the boat with weather so much nicer than predicted. I’m more of a lay-in-the-tube-person than a let’s-go-tubing-person, but everyone else enjoyed themselves!

Day 2: Keuka Lake

My parents rented a cottage on Keuka Lake for the week at the last minute, completing my Finger Lakes weekend. I spent the morning on the dock after convincing Murphy he wasn’t going to fall through the wooden slats.

Cody met me at Climbing Bines Hop Farm in the afternoon. We’ve been dying to check out the brewery since it was named #1 in New York by a BuzzFeed article (and, apparently, Yelp). The location is amazing and so is the beer. Cody tried both the House and Pandemonium IPAs, while I liked the Tart Cherry and Honey Apricot brews, both from the Pandemonium line.

We had lunch in Penn Yan and I took advantage of being in town to stop by my grandma’s house, before heading back to the lake for dinner with my parents, sister, my grandpa and his girlfriend. We watched the sun set over the Bluff after homemade peach pie and ice cream for dessert. This was definitely a Sunday funday.

Day 3: A Solar Eclipse

Sunday fundays are even better when you take Monday off! And when that Monday happens to be the day of the first solar eclipse visible in the US since 1979 and there’s not a cloud in a sky – that’s a good day.

We were not prepared enough to have solar glasses, although our neighbor let us look through his for a few minutes. Instead, we watched with a cereal box/tin foil contraption and a Ritz cracker. No matter how you saw it, this was a super cool event.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. I headed home Monday night, tired and happy in a way that only spending a weekend on the lake can do.