Taughannock Falls in December

Christmas Day skiing? Made it to the ski slope but did not go; first - did not have the "discount" first-timer coupon so would need to pay a higher price and second - people in the parking lot said the conditions were very icy. Decided it would not be the best condition to ski (or snowboard as I had been told it was not as demanding on quad muscles - Thanks J) for the first time of the year. Now that the weather will get in the low 50's/high 40's this weekend, the next ski opportunity may be in 2009.

So off to photo the waterfalls that I had missed on Sunday. Hiking at
Buttermilk Falls was possible - advise using the ski poles to avoid falling on the way down! The photos at Taughannock Falls were much better though! The trails on the north and south rim had been closed but you could hike the "river" path. Bad news was that the park facilities were closed and being Christmas not many other places open either. (Luckily one of the Chinese restaurants was having a Celebration Day! Xie xie ni!!)

Sorry Y.F. and T.N. - Have not made it South during December so no new photos or travel stories of driving adventures! Tentatively planning camping in NY mountains soon so maybe photos from there.

Second Official Day of Winter 2008

Last year in early December, I was seeing the Fall foliage in Japan. Now the second official day of winter 2008, I took photos of frozen waterfalls. With the windchill, I was advised that it would be much colder outside than I had thought. (Thanks J - I stayed quite warm!) So rather than driving to the Ithaca area, I went to waterfalls near Watkins Glen. Three locations were photoed and each was beautiful. Found out that there is zero tolerance from police for stepping over gates/fences to hike --- hundreds of dollars in fines. So hiking to get closer or different angles of the falls was not something that I tried.

After being an amateur photographer and test driving my car on the "seasonal road" along the East side of the lake, we went to the Watkins Glen Pier restaurant, sorry did not catch the actual name. Burger was good, but not as good as the bleu-cheese burger at the Wildflower; however, the view of the blue sky and blue water was nice.

Can also say that my car handled great on the seasonal and unploughed mountain/lake road. Learned how to use the auto-manual drive as we climbed the mountain road over ice and to not to go off the road into the marsh and creek! Thanks Pam for the advice as I drove the one lane seasonal road. We stayed out of the lake!

Comedy Club #2

The second in the series was another wonderful night. Again, three of us went out. The Chinese place near the Clemens Center remained the "food of choice". The comedy was improved over the first night; two of the three were good and one was very good. (Note that the one I would say was "very good" was not the headliner!) The next Club #3 is set for early/mid January. Can only hope it they continue to either stay the same or improve!

Comedy Club #1

Tonight was the first of the Comedy Club series at the Clemens Center. Out of the original group of "invitees", three others wanted to go but at the last minute (due to the cold and snow?) one person backed out. So three of us started with a very filling Chinese dinner (Beijing Garden) then on to the Hall to be entertained. As expected, the comics got better thru the night ... Lots of laughter, some tears from too much laughter, and an evening that will be repeated again on December 15th!

Buying a House?

The move to upstate NY is slowly progressing. After a lot of soul searching, finally made an offer on a house this afternoon. Funny that when you have no emotional attachment to something either getting an acceptance or counter-offer doesn't really matter. The floor plan that I loved was in a house that would take all my extra $$ just to fix up. Too bad that I did not feel comfortable to ask a friend to help remodel it --- would be like a real HGTV show and I think the final results would be so satisfying! So I placed the offer on a house that did not need too much work and that had a good/great? location. I did not even include the great floor plan house in my questions about how the neighborhood would be. My "next houses to see list" is prepared and I'll continue looking if the offer is not accepted by Tuesday at 5 pm. Wish me luck -- either way it goes AND if you are reading this and wanted to help remodel a house, let me know!!

"First" Day of Winter - Still Looking at Houses

Yesterday was the first day of snow for 2008; snow flurries from early morning thru the night. Of course with the temperatures, there is no accumulation except in the shade. Realizing winter is basically here has made me go back to see the two houses that are still on my list. (Looking at houses has been an on-going thing most of the fall but in mid-October started ramping up the effort.) One of them has lots of entrances/exits to the neighborhood but the other one really only has one access road. (Okay a second access road but it adds almost 40 minutes.) A few more houses to look at today!

When I walked in the second place, I just wanted to curl up in front of the fire. I could see myself in the dual-headed shower looking out at the woods. The single access to the main roads is a concern. Small kitchen. Above ground pool. Beautiful 4 acres of woods with a creek on the far side. Guess I need to see the houses today! One of them, at least in the photos, was gorgeous but it is high on a hill and may be a problem in winter with snow.

With the economy, sometimes I wonder if I should be buying now or not. However, I also feel that part of the issue with the economy is that people, in general, have lost the positive feelings about life and the world. Rather than focusing on everything that is good, they focus on what is bad. People do not feel they can do anything! I guess my philosophy is to live in the moment even as I save/plan for the future. And then again, I feel that there will be a sign when I find the right place and "I will just know" that it is okay to buy.

PA Grand Canyon - Hike to the Bottom

The weather was fantastic so I decided to try again to make it to the bottom of the PA Grand Canyon. First stop was to pick up the convertible - may be the last time to have the top down until 2009!!

Once I reached the park, I bundled up like it was 10 degrees outside - didn't want to get cold like the previous weekend. 3/4 length t-shirt, wool sweater, fleece vest, then a fleece jacket. Finally, changed shoes to put on the all weather insulated hiking boots. Now was the time to get started...

The trail was more active than I had anticipated. Ran into the boy scout troop (and leaders) on their way backup. It was kinda funny that many of the adults were easily walking up when the kids were panting -- many years ago this would have been the opposite! But wait, that was when schools had something called PE.... Took the 2-mile hike. It was one mile down and one mile back up; with elevation change of around 650 feet. Doesn't sound like much to you maybe. Interesting notice at the bottom; be careful of the hunters, they are helping keep wildlife under control. Great, I did not wear hunter orange! Guess the portable toilet at the bottom of the trial is for the hunters?

I highly recommend the trail. Keep around 1.5 to 2 hours for the hike. If you want to extend, it connects to a much longer trail at the bottom along the river which you can walk as far as you would desire.

Grand Canyon of PA

Great day in upstate New York; upper 50's/low 60's and lots of sunshine! The "Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania" had been recommended as a beautiful place to hike and see. Originally I had planned to visit last weekend (end of peak for the color change) but couldn't.

There are two state parks: Leonard Harrison State Park ("east rim") and Colton Point State Park "west rim") as well as Tioga State Forest (Pine Creek Gorge Natural Area). I ended up at Colton Point today. A local vendor was selling maple goodies. After hiking, a cup of hot cinnamon maple coffee was fantastic. I am still not used to wearing a hat and fleece jacket in October so I was not dressed quite warmly enough for my hike!

The drive to the park was also very nice. The town of Wellsboro is quite wonderful. It is the type town someone could easily live in and everything is within walking distance. I stopped on the way back and walked around a little. On December 6th is "Dickens of a Christmas Celebration" so I will definitely return to see the beginning of Christmas season!

Heart - Best Teppan in Hamamatsu

This week I realized I had been neglect in communicating with my friends in Japan. One couple and group in particular -- those at Heart, Teppan restaurant in Hamamatsu. They were all wonderful to me during my stay. Fantastic food and an overall fun place to eat. Here is their website; http://www.jonetsu-teppan.jp . Please visit if you are ever in Hamamatsu. The menu is in Japanese but everyone will help you to choose some food that you will really like! The photos are from my last visit to Teppan.

Welsh Caves in Alabama

Visited Desoto State Park in Alabama to see the Welsh Caves. Legend has it that Welsh prince Medoc visited America hundreds of years before Columbus. Northern Alabama was one of the places he visited after landing in Mobile Bay. (The website: http://www.desotostatepark.com then go to "legends".) After reading a little about the legend, even the part that Medoc was part of the "King Arthur" legacy, I decided it was something to see.

The hike to the drop off was about 1/2 mile. You need to drop down about 5-7 ft to reach a 2 ft-4ft ledge. The 4 ft ledge is at the beginning then the ledge is about 2 ft wide. The drop-off to the valley is ~ 350 feet. It was fairly easy to get to the first 3 caves, not too bad to get to the 4th cave, but to get to the 5th cave, you will need repelling gear or to do rock climbing.

It was easy to see the columns that had been made similar to those in castles/cathedrals in the 12th century. History has descriptions of the actual walls at the cliff side of the caves but they did not exist any longer. You could see the square shaped rocks that had been hauled away or fallen from the "caves".

The views were great!

Driving Adventures

Or should I call it "Poor Timing/Good Timing"?

Poor timing - Delayed leaving the beach as long as possible on Wednesday. So much so that I hit Atlanta as rush hour was starting. Normally would not have been an issue but the first rain storm of the year, it appears, also started. You would have thought people had not seen rain for years -- well it was the biggest rain in 5-6 years based on the radio announcer. Accidents right and left, roads leading to the interstate were shut-down due to flooding, standing water on the road - glad I drove a high standing car, and people just stopping right in the middle of the road! Reminded me a little of a typhoon I was in - but this lasted 20 minutes rather than 8 hours! No big issues just amusement - Atlanta rush hour has nothing on everyday traffic in Taiwan or Japan.

Good timing - Have you ever noticed that some people have no clue what is acceptable behavior for a driver? When I stopped to get a coke in GA, the person in the truck next to me was sitting there downing a Budweiser! Something about him gave me the creeps so I left (driving not walking) and went to the place next door. As the waitress was getting my coke, I warned her and her co-worker about the guy - silver Mitsubishi pickup truck, had opened his second beer in the few seconds between when I pulled in and when I left, and to take care when they left. On my way back to my car, the guy had pulled around and was telling one of the waitresses (who had to take the trash out) how "fine" she was and asking her to get closer so he could talk to her better. She looked at me and said "thanks". When he left, he was headed into town/away from the interstate. I can only hope he did not hurt anyone with his driving.

Otherwise, made it to my destination with no problems and no speeding tickets!!

Myrtle Beach & the Sea Captain's House

The beach was wonderful. Great seeing the surf and sand again. My skin now looks like most US people do at the end of winter; pale but not ghostly!

Found another interesting restaurant with a unique history (www.seacaptains.com). The Sea Captain's House truly understands customer service and it showed. Food was good/slightly above average but the view was great and the service fantastic.

Beaches

Ended up at the beach. Guess it was hearing about the beach and the table of seafood! Weather today was great (88F) and suppose to be beautiful tomorrow also. Some benefits related to going to the beach during off-season .... nice room for $57/night including all taxes - right on the beach too! Tried a local seafood shack for dinner; steamed oysters, clams, and shrimp. Don't know if the prices are good or not (30cents each for shrimp and oysters; clams 40cents). They tasted good!

Starting to see the "gas shortage" too. Was okay until I got to NC then some stations only had one grade; in SC, there was a line of ~ 10 cars at the one station that had 3 grades.

Bama Football

Agghh - What a football game! Those friends that are Kentucky fans are probably a little happy - would be happier if you had 3 more points or should I say 4. Really makes you wonder how far Bama will fall in the polls ..... (VaTech - you did good too.)

Night Time Football

A rainy weekend in Upstate NY; at least it was not a typhoon! A friend told me about a festival occurring in Mansfield, PA; a "1892" Party to celebrate the anniversity of the first night time football game. There was also a festival in the Addison area. Since I had been at Pinnacle State Park the previous weekend, I did not stop.

Not sure how many people stayed until the actual reenactment of the Night-time football game. I stayed to hear two of the many bands during the day. What I would consider the highlights of the event were a group of Red Hatters and the "Historian". The Red Hatters were obviously having a grand ole time. They rode in the wagons to the event, enjoyed the 5 cent lemonade - to which they added a little extra it appeared, and they definitely enjoyed eating the fantastic barbeque. The "historian" was a man whose father had actually been in the football game; if I understood his storytelling correctly! Unfortunately, I did not get any photos of either the Red Hatters or the "Historian".

There were a few good local vendors including one lady from Eastern Texas, now she and her family live in PA, that makes facial/body scrubs. Yes I bought two - one a rock salt base (Orange Vanilla) and the other a sugar base (Chocolate Brown Sugar) scrub. Another stall had home-made/handmade baskets. The unique thing was each basket had the name of the person who made it on the bottom. There was one made by a 11 or 12 year old boy - very nice workmanship! You can even order some special size and purpose baskets.

Pinnacle State Park

This weekend's hiking location was Pinnacle State Park located near Addison, NY. Same location as last weekend's location which was canceled due to weather. Since I was hiking alone, I did not take the longest route but next to the longest path; red trail rather than orange trail.

The scenery was nice, very different than the views at Taughannock. At the beginning (top) of the trail, you looked out at the valley. There were many beautiful fields of flowers. They brought back good memories of picnics.

I have noticed both here and at Taughannock Falls, the squirrels and chipmonks have very bushy tails -- based on folklore, this means we are in for a very snowy and very cold winter. Guess sometime in the next two weeks, I'll make sure I have good clothes for cold weather as well as finding what I will wear to the wedding.

All in all another place that I will go again. Next time, I will wait until the leaves have changed, bring a blanket, and if alone - a book.

Friends Week

The past two weeks have been great in terms of getting reacquainted with my friends! (And in the process regained 5 pounds.) Aside from catching up on stuff; I have learned that 50% of the lunch choice is been Thali but only about 30% of the dinner choices. I've even been able to spend time talking or email chatting with my friends in Taiwan and friends from college. Thanks to Greg for having hooked me up with Plaxo years ago. Now I just need to put in a true profile update at some point.

Thali is a very good restaurant on Market Street in Corning NY; Indian food. There is a second Indian restaurant that has opened on Market street closer to the Radisson Hotel. Looks like it had just opened - maybe this week. Also we found that another place (near the new Indian) has started having karaoke on Wednesday nights at 9 pm.

So now back to the McD diet - yes diet not "supersize me". Even started exercising again!

Night with Don Piper

Tonight I finally forgave myself. Maybe I should go back a few steps in the story ... For my whole life, I have always received at times "feelings"/ "thoughts"/ even dreams telling me what I should do. Honestly, there has only been one time that I ignored and that could only last 24 hours; it was 3-4 years ago and not what I will discuss here. (Maybe another time.)

On Friday, I had one of those "you must do" thoughts regarding going to hear a certain author speak. Just flashed in my mind when I was driving. So after searching to find where he would be and when, I decided to go tonight to hear Don Piper, author of "90 Minutes in Heaven". He was speaking at one of the local high school auditoriums.

I won't repeat his story here or what his speech regarded, read his book if you like. Just suffice it to say that I finally can forgive myself for not being there for JP, her husband, or her parents. JP said the whole time that she understood even when she was asking if we could go on a road trip. However, I have not been able to accept her forgiveness and have not been able to forgive myself.


I can only hope that I was able to do what she had asked of me ... treat her as normal and make her laugh. Won't forget talking to her from the airline lounge in Korea. She was telling me how bad chemotherapy was and how she wanted to quit; I was thinking that she had asked me to always make her laugh and how could I do that .... It just slipped out ... "If chemotherapy was fun, it would be a ride a Disney World." So there I was tears rolling down my face, trying to smile so she would not notice when I talked, making her laugh until she said it hurt, and having most of the other people in the lounge just staring at me.


All I can really say is that I thank her family from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to be there to say "see you later" to her. She was and will always be my best friend; the kind you can only make when you are young enough to always say what you think! The kind you miss when you just want to talk; or just be on the phone in silence. JP ... I did not forget your birthday and thank you.

Cross out "Hiking in the Rain"

Saturday September 13th was to be the 6.5 mile hike that was "exhilerating" due to the steep incline at the beginning. Spent time last night buying water-repellent to treat some old pants - not blue jeans - and buying 98% DEET spray to avoid ticks. Figured I had enough to do without getting Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever!

So now the pants are sprayed, stiff as all getout, and the smell is almost gone. The hike did not occur since thunderstorm were predicted. Actually, I was a little happy that the hike was cancelled or postponed. I was not looking forward to hiking in pouring rain and mud. Could do it if I had been caught out in the woods but knowing it was coming ..... kinda like staying in the known path of a hurricane! I may be stubborn but not stupid.

Singing at Simon's

Last weekend tried a Teppenyaki and Tapa's resturant in Horseheads area called Simon's. The Thai rolls with spicy peanut sauce were really good! However, the main reason that I tried the place was to check out the Karaoke which starts at 10 pm on Fridays. Wanted to compare it to those in Japan and the place I went to in Kentucky.

The crowd was about 20 people. I was told it was a much smaller group than normal; the employees thought it was because school had just started. Good setup, casual, and enjoyable. I'm not a singer but it was very relaxing and another woman agreed to sing a duet so I did not have to carry the tune alone!

As I listened to all the song that were sung, it made me start thinking "what causes a person to select a certain song"? Is it because it is the only English song that they know -- yes this was the case many times in Japan! Is it that the song brings back good memories? Or is it because a person has selected one or two songs, practiced so they are good, and those are "their songs"? (And yes, if you wanted to ask .... it is a female trait to analyze everything!)

There were many good singers and some, like me, just sang. In general, the atmosphere was good, the company quite enjoyable, and a place I will go again. But there are also a few others in this area to check out.

Waterfall of New York - not Niagra

What to do on a beautiful sunny day? Take a quiet hike on the north and south rim of Taughannock Fall. The waterfall is higher than Niagra Falls but as you can see, much less water. Beautiful area that I would highly recommend.

At times you feel that you are out west in one of the canyons.

One bit of advice ... unless you like to climb stairs ... go up the "south rim" and back down the "north rim". The overall hike distance is approximately 4-4.5 miles if you include the very easy portion along the water to the base of the falls.

All-in-all, it was a nice hike to begin enjoying all that Upstate NY has to offer.