Happy (Wine) Trails

Day 8: Tuesday, August 26

We ate a hearty breakfast with Sistah Kate this morning at the local diner in Hall, NY and set out for Route 14 and Seneca Lake. We were a little early for the wineries but did stop at Heron Hill and bought a great dessert wine and some wine glasses. GT will be the taster today - Susannah is driving. On down the lake shore until we get to Watkins Glen. What a gorgeous day it is! We see several wading birds including a solitary sandpiper (below) and two pectoral sandpipers - lifers for both of us. From Watkins Glen we head up Route 414 along the east side of the lake, stopping at Hector Falls to enjoy the view.

Did you know there's a National Forest in New York? Indeed there is - Finger Lakes National Forest, near Hector. We stopped at the Ranger Station for maps of the hiking trails and drove the back roads to the trail head. Although we saw nothing new in the way of birds it was a nice hike and we're pretty sure we heard a bald eagle but couldn't see it. (BTW - the bug is a female American Pelicinid wasp (thanks, Dave)

From FLNF we grabbed a cheeseburger at McDonald's and stopped in at Goose Watch Winery for some of my favorite wines: Snow Goose and Red Fox. Then a quick stop at Montezuma where I got a not-so-great photo of a green heron. By the time we got home we were ready for a light supper and a glass of wine. Another great day!