Central New York Adventures

Last week we packed up the old Subaru and headed north to visit my folks in scenic Homer, NY.

Hyde loves riding in the car:

After a very beautiful drive, we arrived! Molly the dog was at the front door, suspiciously guarding the house:

But soon she realized it was just us, and her and Hyde reunited in doggie bliss.

Dog fever is catching! Our buddy Christine was home visiting her folks as well, and brought her adorable new puppy Mo up to the hill to meet Hyde:

We spent a lovely day with Matt and Weas, starting with a trip to the amazing Ithaca's Farmer's Market. We then were inspired to pick some of our own Central New York produce:

There weren't a ton of berries, but I did get enough to make an awesome blueberry crumble that I took to Aunt Eunice's for a summer picnic. Thankfully I had lots of help-- Deb is an excellent blueberry picker:

The next day Matt and Weas took us on an awesome boat tour around beautiful Skaneateles Lake and we even managed to squeeze in a picnic before the rain came.
The next day, Mom and Dad treated us to the Cayuga Wine Trail, a large collection of wineries around scenic Cayuga Lake. My hilarious brother Joseph joined us, and provided some entertainment:

Deb and Joe take a break from sampling wine to play some checkers:
The next day Mom and Dad took us to beautiful Bowman Lake State Park. We took full advantage of the setting and tried all kinds of activities, including hiking:

And kayaking! (That's Mom and Dad on the lake-- they're a little hard to spot!)

And, of course, swimming:


That evening, we cleaned up and hit all of the crazy college bars in Cortland with my oldest friend Caitlin:
I have to give a huge shout-out to my little bro for being our designated driver that evening. And profess my awe of Caitlin's tolerance for alcohol.

And the next morning, quite hungover, we stopped at Coffee Mania to fuel up and made the long haul home to Philly.
We had a lovely time and came back totally rested! A huge thank you to Mom & Dad, Joseph, Matt & Weas for taking such good care of these city girls.