Camping in the Fabulous Finger Lakes and Verdant Vermont

Happy Saturday everyone! ​Before I tell you about all my recent adventures, I have some exciting news. Jazz House is under contract! Whoot! Whoot! It’s been a long time coming. I’ll keep you posted of any developments. Now let’s light the fire.

D. V.’s Glamping Must Haves
To be a true glamper there are things that have to be on every trip, at least for me. My list does vary depending on season and destination but I’m never without the following

1. Coffee. I have many fallbacks in case of emergency. Yep the regular drip pot is always ready to go. But what if there’s no electricity? The old blue and white ceramic stovetop Corning pot is ready to roll, or perk. Sometimes while traveling I get the hankering for a cuppa. Purchasing coffee on the road can go many ways from great to awful. This is where the French Press comes in. Boil the water on the gas stove, pour it into the grounds, stir, wait (or go potty) and press. Voila! Delicious every time.
2. Books.  There’s a Kindle app in my phone and before we head out I make sure a couple of books are down loaded. You never know when you will have cell or Wi-Fi. Sitting around the fire late into the night reading is one of my favorite pastimes. There’s also a few physical books waiting just in case. 
3. Speaking of sitting around the fire, sometimes it just won’t light. Wood is damp or the campfire sprites are mischievous, you never know. In my tool box is a propane torch, yep, I cheat. Fire up that puppy and snap, crackle, flame.
4. Misc. other always haves. Hubby, because who else is going to back up the 41′ behemoth and get rid of spiders?  Hali, my doggo, because she’s adorable.

These are a few of my must haves on any trip. What do or would you find necessary?

We had a lovely time the past week traveling. First off we hit Seneca Falls, NY. Hubby’s favorite question is, “Why did we go to Seneca Falls?” If any of you know his birthday is December 6th, which is also St. Nicholas Day. He loves all thing Christmas and builds outside displays for favorite Christmas classics. We have Snoopy’s doghouse among others things. So Seneca Falls is the inspiration for one of the pictures below. Can you guess which?

We also enjoyed visiting a few wineries. My sister and I up until the the pandemic were fans of the Finger Lakes Wine Festival in Watkins Glen NY. After the first couple of times, instead of doing shots of wine in the tents, knew what our favorites were.  We’d grab a bottle (or two) from those wineries and head over to the park for the live music and food trucks. So, my designated driver, Pete, brought me to a few of my favorites. Not because I like owls, well I do but for this conversation it’s not important what is, is the Thirsty Owl Wine Company has a great selection. My favorite is Snow Owl. Here’s the link if you want to check them out. www.thirstyowl.com/
We also visited Swedish Hill Winery, I love the Riesling at swedishhill.com/our-locations/swedish-hill-winery/
and  finally Miles Wine Cellars has a white called Ghost Wine AND a ghostly history.
mileswinecellars.com/  I’m sipping a glass of this at the time of this writing.

After visiting the museum and area we drove over to Vermont. The state is gorgeous at this time of year. I’m sure other times as well, but we are Autumn people. Time spent at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science was amazing. I think I had more fun there than anyone at the time and even climbed the tower above the canopy. Pete’s not a fan of heights. vinsweb.org/

I hope you enjoyed today’s campfire chat. We have another trip coming up in Lancaster Pa. Some of you may know it’s one of my favorite places. We’re going full circle this trip. In 1998 Pete and I took our first camping trip to Lancaster in a borrowed Pop-up trailer.  We’re going to be back at this campground later this month. I can’t wait to see all the changes, so stay connected. 
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Driving to destinations can be a long and tedious day. What makes it fly by for me? Audio books. This summer I enjoyed The Chronicles of Narnia in it’s entirety. From The Magician’s Nephew to The Last Battle Kenneth Branagh, Alex Jennings, Michael York, Lynn Redgrave, Derek Jacobi, Jeremy North, and Patrick Stewart kept me engaged and entertained. 33 Hours and 45 minutes covered it. Whether you are an adult or child this is a timeless set of stories that is as fresh and relevant today as when it first became published in the 1950s.