And so we arrived, after a fairly short drive, at Keuka Lake State Park on Keuka Lake (really), one of the 11 glacial lakes in the Finger Lakes area of New York.
They are a group of 11 long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes that reminded early map-makers of human fingers, and the name stuck.

At arrival we found our reserved spot half under water and very muddy, but fortunately we were able to swap it right away for a (slightly) better one.



Other than that these sites are really nice, they're all separated from each other by some shrubby hedges, it makes it quiet and private.

Keuka Lake State Park

James immediately went golfing that afternoon at the fancy Bristol Harbour Lodge & Golf Club on the shores of Canandaigua Lake, another one of those glacial lakes, for which he had found a good deal through 'Golf-Now'.
It was, indeed, a beautiful course.

BTW, I've actually decided to quit golfing for a while since my rotator-cuff (this time it's my left one) seems to have developed a tear, and instead of slowly improving after some rest, it just seems to be getting worse... 
Let's hope it's not taking that long to heal this time ..

The main reason we headed for this area is the fact that the sloping hillsides of the deep Finger Lakes create the ideal climate for grapes to thrive which makes the region home to many wineries, distilleries, several breweries, hard cider producers and a meadery.
In fact, the Finger Lakes region was recently voted top wine region in the United States. 

A few of the larger lakes feature wine-trails you can follow, visit the wineries and do some tasting. 
Which is why we headed out early the next day to drive the Keuka Lake Wine Trail, one of NY's most historic, with grape and wine cultivation dating to 1860.




The area's wine specialties include sparkling wines, Riesling and Pinto Noir.
We drove around for a while, just enjoying the beauty of the vines against the backdrop of the lakes. Some of the vines were actually showing some fall colors.

We finally visited the Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery. 
Besides being a beautiful property with a great view of the lake, their wine tasting is complementary whereas most others ask around $10!

The wines were delicious and our server very entertaining with great knowledge of the wines and the history of the area.

We also stopped at a brewery along the way. We didn't have a view of the lake, but the beer was good.

The next day we drove to Seneca Falls. This town was on our NY bucket-list because of a quirky little museum we were interested in seeing, the 'It's a wonderful life museum'!

Yup, Seneca Falls is believed by some to have been the inspiration for the fictional town of “Bedford Falls”, portrayed in filmmaker Frank Capra’s classic 1946 film It’s a Wonderful life.

It wasn't filmed here, but the town certainly has that 'small town feel' of the movie. Reason enough to use it as a 'claim to faim' and open a museum. Why not ..

Admittedly it is small and does not take a lot of time to go through the whole place,but it's fun to visit and view the many displays and memorabilia relating to the movie, including background stories of some of the actors .

Now the town's bridge certainly looks a lot like the one Clarence jumped from, and the story that comes with it is quite similar.
Apparently someone called Antonio Varacalli did jump in, and save someone who was in the water, one night in the early 1900s. Unfortunately though, Antonio did not survive his heroic feat.

But it's still a cool bridge. And it's still fun to see it even though it may not be 'the one'. 

When we walked through town afterward we came across the Women’s Rights National Historical Park which sounded interesting enough to ward a visit also.

Apparently Seneca Falls was the scene of the first Women's Rights Convention held on July 19-20, 1848.

It advertised itself as "a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman. 

This Museum, which is actually a National Park, tells the story of that convention and of the struggles for civil rights, human rights, and equality, global struggles that continue today.
Very interesting, we learned a lot! 

OK, next up, 'Watkins Glen'. Not to be missed according to my New York tourist guide, and they were right!
Watkins Glen State Park is the most famous of the Finger Lakes State Parks where a river has cut its way through layers of sedimentary rock  creating cascades and stunning vistas around every corner.

The Sentry Bridge at the entrance of the gorge

Within two miles, the glen's stream descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs, generating 19 waterfalls along its course. 
There's two ways to see this area, the gorge path winds over and under waterfalls, whereas the rim trails overlook the gorge.

The gorge trail is deep and the gorge itself, narrow. Most of the time sunshine never reaches the bottom.

The park's designers did an excellent job melding the walkways and stairs with the natural surroundings and enabling visitors to feel like part of the geography.

 Rainbow Bridge and Falls

180 steep steps on the 'Jacob's ladder' alone

There's more than 800 steps to take if you want to hike the full 1.5 mile long length of the gorge!

Central Cascade and Cavern Cascade

    

An overlook at the rim trail

It is such a stunning park, a photographer's delight, although it's darkness makes it a little bit of a challenge. We really enjoyed it!

Well, we certainly could have stayed a while longer in this beautiful area but we had a lot more scheduled for this trip, so it was time to move on.
Our next destination: 'Gettysburg!'

We'd booked a campground in Dillsburg, PA, about 15 miles from Gettysburg. It was a PA park but because of the weekend we didn't expect to get the discount for the $38 rate. Guess what, we did!
Score!
James went for a round of golf at the very nice municipal course just down the road from the campground, and I enjoyed a relaxed afternoon. Perfect!

The next day we set out for the main reason we were visiting the area, the Gettysburg battlefields.
But first we went to the National Military Museum to get a 'feel' for the area and brush up on our history knowledge:

We first  watched the very informative  film "A New Birth of Freedom," narrated by Morgan Freeman, which orients you to the battle and Gettysburg's place in the American Civil War ..

...  after which you are led upstairs to the dome of the building to see the sights and hear the sounds of the battle in the historic and truly amazing Cyclorama Painting Experience:

Wow!

Finally, we toured the museum, packed with original artifacts and interactive exhibits and of course a copy of the Gettysburg Address.

We had a quick lunch at the museum's cafe and headed to the actual battlefields.

The Gettysburg National Battlefield, as we just got reminded of, was the site of a crucial battle in the Civil War and is now part of Gettysburg National Military Park.

The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the Civil War, the Union victory that ended General Robert E. Lee's second and most ambitious invasion of the North. 

Often referred to as the "High Water Mark of the Rebellion", Gettysburg was the Civil War's bloodiest battle and was also the inspiration for President Abraham Lincoln's immortal "Gettysburg Address".

The fields are still there, protected and pretty much undisturbed, adorned with 1,328 monuments, markers, memorials and 370 of the original canons.

At the National Cemetery, at the site of this decisive battle of the American Civil War (July 1–3, 1863) and the final resting place for more than 3,500 Union soldiers killed in the Battle, a memorial marks the spot where Abraham Lincoln delivered his world-famous speech, the Gettysburg Address, at it's dedication (November 19, 1863).

His opening words:

“Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” and the rest of his (only) 2 minute speech, came to be recognized as one of the classic utterances of all time, a masterpiece of prose poetry.

We were lucky enough to catch a demonstration of  a Union civil war Infantry & Artillery re-enactment group, watching a canon and rifles being fired :

We also drove part of the self-guided auto tour that leads you to various points of interest, specific areas of the battle and many of the markers and monuments.

At the end of the day we were thoroughly impressed by all the courage and sacrifice displayed. What an incredible complex war this was and what a bloody battle! All in all, a very moving experience ...

We drove to the the historical down-town area of Getttysburg for a short stroll through the main shopping area, with it's many quaint buildings ..

...but we weren't quite in the mood for spending a lot of time hanging around after all we'd seen, so we called it a day and went back to the ranch for a quiet evening in the rig.

And that concludes the second blog of the six I'm behind on! 

Next up, Washington DC. 

Get ready to be as overwhelmed as I was!