Littleviews' on the road

Example of an excellent travel journal site

Yes, I know I've been harping about the problems I had posting photos and how frustrating it has been trying to relate my pictures to what I was writing. Look, for example, at the long list of albums along the side of this Typepad blog. Only the truly interested would try to relate an album to a page on my journal. In order to keep the albums coherent, I actually had to write a summary of what I wrote in my journal in the album area . . . and that area didn't even have a spelling checker. Cross-referencing? Forget it. I even had to insert my own HTML for links, emphasis, and paragraph distinctions.

Tonight I found an excellent travel log layout; one that I'd love to use! Natural Born Hikers (www.naturalbornhikers.com) has an excellent interface.

Their page on Gros Piton (which refers to a mountain in the Island of St. Lucia) Illustrates my point. Thumbnails following the text provide a glimpse at the scenes being discussed. Click on any one and a new window opens that showcases big pictures in a slide-show / gallery format. WOW. How easy  to follow is that?

I've wrote to the site manager asking for more information about the application and will let you know what I find out. My fingers are crossed that it's a public application available by subscription.

For those of you looking for detailed information on various destinations, you'll find Natural Born Hikers a valuable resource!

Blog portion of Littleviews to end by October 31st

This blog was an experiment to see whether I had the stamina to write and post pictures daily while on the road. Started in mid-May, it records my 6,000 mile road trip, plus a trip to Atlantic City, several beach towns, and most recently, Finger Lakes.

The problem is that composition and posting in TypePad just takes too much time, especially picture preparation and posting. Actually, text posting in TypePad is easy - but picture album posting is an enormous pain if you need to control the flow and descriptive information of those pictures. From this time on, all my writing will be published on www.Littleviews.com.

That said, keeping a raw (unedited) trip diary is enormously useful and I recommend that everyone who travels do so. Online trip blogging is a wonderful way to share what you're doing with family and friends, but that type of publishing demands more care in producing comprehensive, easy-to-read material.

Is it worth blogging while tripping?

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I started this blog to document our 6,000 mile spring road trip with the idea that I'd save the pages and take it offline at a future date. This lead to that (including a broken wrist), resulting in the continuation of this blog through our Finger Lakes trip.

Blogging (at least the way I'm doing it) is extremely hard and very time consuming and I regularly review my commitment to it, as I am about to do now.

Here are some of the minuses:

• Photo Management: Selecting, organizing, preparing, uploading, captioning, and linking photos takes a horrendous amount of time. TypePad's photo album system is very kludgy. TypePad's staff has told me that updates are on the way AFTER they make other changes to the system. It appears that its staff is concentrating on "social networking" concepts, rather than providing good production tools.
  
  Among the photo album's many problems: 1) You can't sort photos in the editing area once uploaded (I use tricks to manage mine). 2) Once you prepare an album, everything becomes immediately public. 3) During the caption editing phase, all text can be viewed by outsiders during the editing process.
  
  
• Writing: I prefer to write directly into TypePad's editor (it "feels" more immediate), but realistically, this is too time consuming. I have written into Microsoft Word, but its text can't be easily copied directly into TypePad because it picks up unwanted HTML. There are ways of getting around this, but for now, I try to avoid them.
  
  
• Editing: The text you see on professional media sites is the result of teamwork. Editing takes time and editing while traveling is very difficult. On our last trip, for example, all my writing and editing took place in a coffee shop or at a New York Interstate rest stop at a table in a remodeling construction zone (the only area with a wall-plug). It's nice to have at least 24 hours of rest between creating an article and approving its final publication, but when on a trip, writing and editing take place simultaneously. Stuff (like good grammar, spelling, and punctuation) gets missed. Having a support staff to clean up after me would be great!
  
  
• Caring: I do care that my words read "good" and for me (a dyslexic), writing publicly on-the-fly is an enormous risk, especially when draft material appears immediately in the photo album section.
  
  
• No Indexing: I do not have a way to control what you see - or more probably, I have not taken the time to really explore TypePad. I'd like to have a way to provide a short index of what is here by geographic location as dates are unimportant to my readers. While I can handcraft an index, it should be an automated process that's provided by TypePad. Right now, I don't want to take the time to manually create one.
  
  
• Cross-references to Littleviews: There are constraints on the way information is presented that I cannot get around unless I buy a TypePad service allowing me to manipulate the underlining HTML. Depending on my objectives in the future, I may simply create my own blogspere on Littleviews and forget about using a 3rd party service.

• Difficult HTML/XML Stylesheet Handling: I often have to edit TypePad's HTML code offline in my own editor to remove garbage and fix coding difficulties.

Pluses:

• Rewards of Struggle: I do remember far more about our trips than if I hadn't made the effort to blog with intent to immediately share the information. There is something about writing publicly that makes me "stand to attention," whereas diary writing can be sloppy and, of course, skipped altogether.

• Details: When professionally canvassing a location, I do keep track of details (who, where, what, and when), but not in a way I can present to the public. The blog forces me to present details as I go along and consequently, it makes it easier for me to find those details when I need them in the future.

• Ease of Revisiting Experiences: My formal blog makes it much easier for me to revisit experiences as everything is listed by date and the listings are attractively presented.

• TypePad: This service is actually pretty good for people who simply want to blast out information and many TypePad sites are exceptionally well-organized and designed. As I said in the minuses, however, my efforts to compose and post pictures eat a lot of my time, so I'm keeping my coding and design interaction with TypePad simple.

All of the above being said, I am going to continue this blog through December, and then will re-evaluate if it is worth the effort.

Note that along with managing a website (www.littleviews.com) and this blog, many people pressure me to tweet and take out a FaceBook account. I'm wondering if any of those people know how much time it takes to produce original, researched, edited content. As for myself, I'm wondering if taking any of this time is really worth it. In its place, I could have a more walking-around, living, breathing, friendly life - which, you know, is priceless!

Two Weeks in Finger Lakes, NY - the best sights

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When I started planning this trip at the beginning of September, I had a hard time figuring out what to do when I arrived. My wrist was in a cast, so I couldn't take advantage of our boat which my husband towed to the region and all the "study" I did was through the Internet. I ended up grouping my thinking around several main cities. Here's a summary of what I found most interesting, including dining and places to stay. This is not, however, an exhaustive survey of the area.

Places to Stay

The city of Geneva is a good place to stay because it is somewhat in the middle of things. The city itself is next to the Seneca Lake State Park, which features a couple of miles of lakefront strolling, a nice beach, a children's play area, and a marina. In the evening, the area around the marina (a park complete with picnic table) is a good spot to watch sunsets.

If you stay in the area, make sure your room faces the lake. Although I did not specifically see the rooms, based on their locations, I recommend any of the following:

• Ramada Geneva Lakefront: This is a beautiful, sunny lake property next to the Seneca Lake State Park. It's a full-service hotel that includes dining. There's a treat shop nearby complete with bike rental. It is also easy to walk into town from this location to visit The Coffee Shop and the huge bike shop across the street from it.
• Geneva on the Lake: This stunning 1800s white mansion features 29 rooms (suites or studios), an outdoor pool, a boathouse, and dining (indoor and patio). Stunning!

• Belhurst: This stunning 1800s Germanic castle-like mansion as well as other nearby buildings features a wide array of beautifully decorated rooms, a beautiful yard with lake access, a winery, gift shop, and dining at Edgar's and the Stonecutters (both indoor or patio).  

Places to Eat

• The Coffee House - Geneva: Although not a restaurant, you cannot beat its coffee, casual setting (and high speed Internet connection). Note that the city of Geneva offers WiFi throughout, but The Coffee House has its own.
• Edgar's and The Stonecutters at the Belhurst.
• Restaurants in The Commons in Ithaca.
• Restaurants on the harbor overlooking Seneca Lake in Watkins Glen.

Best Attractions (outside of obvious water and recreational sports)

• *All* state parks that feature waterfalls and gorges. The gorges are the equal to seeing Niagara Falls and will absolutely amaze and fascinate you. Two we can particularly recommend are: Robert H Treman State Park features a gorge so deep, rich, and filled with waterfalls that just being there feels religious. It has three main areas, with one offering swimming under a gigantic falls. Watkins Glen State Park also features a deep gorge with cascading waterfalls. Although the park is not as large as Treman, it is equally beautiful.
• Naples for its grape pie, 100s of jellies, and local crafts. And while you are there, check out their grape-colored fire plugs!
• Canandaigua. We primarily spent time at the Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park, but there are other things to see and do here. We missed its NY Wine & Culinary Center.
• Niagara Falls - Canadian and American Sides. On the Canadian side, you see all the falls. On the American side, you can walk under/next to the American falls.
• Corning Museum of Glass. You can easily spend a day in this museum alone (check their special programs and events), plus the City of Corning is very interesting. Also check other area museums - you might want to stay in Corning for several days.

Thoughts About Wine Tasting

With several hundred wineries in the area, there were many opportunities for wine tasting. For me, however, "drinking" and "tasting" are the same thing and I sip wine or other alcoholic beverages to feel mellow, which I can achieve with a limited amount of beverage. Going "tasting," then, is like going drinking. If you love to drink and get drunk, this is the area for you, but hire a designated driver to make sure your experience is safe. Otherwise, imbibe a bit and order bottles to take home. I'm partial to Glenora Riesling.

Thoughts About Grape Products

With the exception of Naples, there were surprisingly few grape products available. I mean, I couldn't even purchase local grapes to taste (California grapes were featured in grocery stores). Given that grapes in many forms have exceptional health qualities, I was surprised that they weren't presented in these many forms.

At minimum, I think the area should develop grape jelly and jam tasting centers and sell these products by the mixed case. Grape pies are incredible and so is grape bread, chutney, etc. Currently, if you like to try any of these things, head to Naples to find them.

Robert H. Treman State Park - does it get better than this?

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Since we began searching for water falls in the Finger Lakes area (including Niagara Falls - Canadian side), we've seen ever-more stunning, stimulating areas. Today's trip to the Robert H. Treman State Park (our last stop during our current vacation) was perfectly spectacular and took us completely by surprise.

As you'll read next to the pictures I posted on this park, I believe that Upstate New York in the Finger Lakes region has not been properly promoted. It is a destination similar to none other that I've ever known, which might be the problem. Because it is so different, it is hard to explain. If you read my blog prior to our trip during the early days of September, you'll see that based on the information I found, I had a hard time understanding the Finger Lake area and creating an itinerary. Yes, a lot of information is available, but it is not particularly cohesive.

Ultimately, I approached the area by focusing on  villages (or cities) - Geneva,  Watkins Glen, Canandaigua, Naples, Corning, and finally, Ithaca (where we had several great dinners in The Commons, as well as examined American Crafts by Robbie Dein and other richly-stocked shops). I specifically did my research on the Internet rather than buying books. That said, although I did find a few picture books on the subject of parks at local bookstores, these did not satisfy my needs for information organization.

Now that I've been here and understand how way-different the Finger Lakes-area New York State Parks are from those I've seen elsewhere in the country, I recommend searching out specific books on the subject prior to visiting. www.amazon.com or www.BN.com both provide good lists when you search for "Finger Lakes."

Prior to visiting, for example, I did not know what a gorge was and how it would feel being in one. Yes, I knew the word's definition, but having no personal experience with it, its description held no impact. Once I experienced a gorge, it changed my perception of the wilderness and the value of the New York State Park system, from the ocean-front parks I've visited in Long Island to those in upstate New York.

And understanding what a gorge is changed my husband's perception, too. Prior to our trip (for all his life, in fact), he lusted after extensive boat travel. His drive was so high, in fact, that while we were here, we looked at boats for sale and came very close to buying beautiful 34 foot Sea Ray cabin cruiser. What changed his mind? The gorges! More to the point, after experiencing them, he realized how much variety there is to be seen in the United States (as well as the world) that far outweigh confining extensive travel to great lakes and streams.

Please look at the few pictures I posted here on the subject. I hope that seeing them nudge you toward vacationing in the area yourself. This coming Sunday (when I'm back home), I'll post a short summary of what I learned over the past few weeks, and then I'll begin planning our next trip.

Elegant buffet lunch at the Belhurst Resort

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Today we lunched at the Belhurst Resort. As I described on Saturday, September 12th, this is an elegant complex, first developed in the 1800s, that looks like a German manor house, all carved wood, complex architecture, and beautiful grounds.

The resort offers everything but swimming, including a working winery, tasting room, patios, lodging, and two stunning restaurants, with Edgar’s being the most formal.

Edgar's is the type of restaurant you'd like to visit when dressed in your best designer fashions and nothing less than 3" stilettos for women. In reality, unless the facility is hosting a wedding or other special event, most people wander in shorts, jeans, or other casual-ware. Sandals and flipflops rule.

Best, Edgar's opens at 11 AM daily for a $10 buffet lunch. Its staff is impeccable! They bend over backwards to make guests feel comfortable. When we were there, patio tables were not set up, yet they offered to do so just for us. We decided to dine in one of their beautiful dining rooms instead, because no matter where we sat, the experience would be splendid.

I'll upload three pictures of the rooms a bit later this week. Should you be in the area, you can stop in for breakfast, lunch, or dinner - time well spent!

Later in the day, we looked at boats for sale and found one we loved. It remains to be seen whether we buy it.

Watkins Glen State Park and Falls (wow wow!), plus rare, white dear

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And we thought that Niagara Falls was spectacular (and it was)! We never expected the drama provided by Watkins Glen State Park.

Niagara Falls offers a beautifully strollable park on the Canadian side that makes a sunny day's time a delight. Watkins Glen State Park, in contrast, offers steps (800 of them) up through a waterfall-filled ravine.

Words defy me. I've posted a few pictures, however, these best describe the experience if blown up on a 42" TV screen (or larger). The area was so beautiful that it would be easy to visit it daily and never get tired of it. My understanding is that as the seasons and weather changes, the nature of the falls, rapids, and whirlpools all change, too. Spring, with its melting snow, is the most dramatic season.

The 800 steps are not an outstanding challenge as there are plenty of landings along the way from which you'd want to spend time looking at the scenery. That said, the steps are slippery, so care is needed. I slipped a bit causing me to catch myself with my bad arm. Luckily, my wrist isn't as sensitive as the prior week, but it could have been serious.

There are many entrances to the park and path. The best is from the main entrance on Highway 14 because your walk heads into the scenery. The park offers camping, picnic areas, and an Olympic sized swimming pool, too, making it a fantastic area to visit during the summer.

On our way back, while driving on the east-side of Seneca Lake by Romulus, NY, we were amazed to see a small herd of white deer prancing around (see the picture I posted). They make their home in a former army depot and are usually hidden from view. Luckily, they were prancing around by the fence when we drove by.

There is quite a bit of information about them on the web (search for "seneca white deer"), including www.senecawhitedeer.org and a video on YouTube.

Niagra Falls - like "wow"

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If you've read about our Finger Lakes trip which began on September 4th, you'll know that our mobile Internet connection got fouled up when Phil fell into a canal, wrecking his phone and Verizon was unable to provide a connection on our "new" replacement phone (which they later said was "out of date") or our old 1.5 year old phone (which they also said was "out of date").

This means that writing and publishing this blog has been difficult - we have to find WiFi spots and work on pure battery life. Hopefully, I'll be able to publish our photo album soon to match these entries.

ANYWAY, let it be said that seeing Niagara Falls from the Canadian side (you can't easily see it from the American side) is staggering. So staggering, in fact, that we took over 300 pictures, including at least 75 of rainbows.

Word of advice: Everyone in your vehicle needs a passport to get into Canada. No one in ours had one. We paid for this by having to listen to a lecture by Canadian and U.S. authorities saying that the requirement is over two years old and we should have known. Like, we travel into Canada all that often (this is my first time). Anyway, we got in and returned to the States without further trouble.

The walkway along the falls is wide and beautifully landscaped. There are three attractive rest stops along the way - one at each main end and one in the middle - that serve food, treats,  tickets to special activities, and, of course, rest rooms.  The city itself sports several U.S. mega hotels and entertainment giants like Planet Hollywood and a Hershey chocolate emporium.

Pictures to come!

Lush resorts in Geneva

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Since Monday, we’ve been staying at a marina in The Seneca Lake State Park next to Geneva, which is the most beautiful, lake edged park I’ve ever seen. Today, we decided to just laze around the boat reading (luckily, all New York newspapers are available here), have a picnic, and explore two nearby vacation destination resorts – Belhurst Winery (www.belhurst.com) and Geneva on the Lake (www.GenevaOnTheLake.com) - both in Geneva.

Both resorts are lush, European-exotic and both provide exceptional lodging. Even if you don’t stay at them, visiting their properties is as interesting as visiting a historical site like the Sonnenberg Mansion. Best, they both feature stunning dining rooms and grounds overlooking Seneca Lake which you can use to your advantage.

Geneva on the Lake has only forty suites, making it the smaller of two resorts. Its inside dining room, for example, is intimate with only 20 tables! Its grounds, however, are formally landscaped, with a large, hedgerow garden, a croquet field, a swimming pool, and and expansive yard complete with comfy wooden chairs. Tired of grass? It also has a path leading to a small marina with a floating landing. Stunning!

In contrast, nearby Belhurst is huge. One of its two main buildings is a lovely, old mansion. While it lacks formal gardens, a pool, and a marina, it features an award-winning winery (complete with tours), a huge tasting and impressive gift shop, two ballrooms, and two stunning restaurants – a smaller, casual one that features a bar, and a larger, formal one (Edgar’s)  that features carved wood beams, mosaic-tiled fireplaces, and rich period décor. Despite its appearance, diners wearing jeans feel comfortable and look at home in both restaurants.

Watkins Glen and vintage sports cars

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God bless The Coffee House, its cappuccino, and its Internet access which we used once again this morning!

Anyway, we returned to Watkins Glen, a tidy rural community known for its Watkins Glen International auto race track. There we watched the U.S. Vintage Grand Prix Sports Car Racing Antique Auto Show's parade of antique sports cars, beginning with wooden Morgans, including a rare three-wheeler.

Pictures speak louder than words. I'll post a few of the autos we saw when I set up the photo album for Finger Lakes.