Good morning! I took a break from the blog and almost completely unplugged for a week because I went on a trip with my family and it was so relaxing and fun, being all together. Last year, we decided that instead of doing a lot of gifts, we would instead put that money toward a family trip in the summer. We still did some gifts of course, but it was nice not having to stress about it so much, and of course having a trip to look forward to was nice! We have decided to make it a little bit of a tradition as well.
For this year's trip, we decided to stay fairly close to home, and get a house on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes. It is only about two hours from Buffalo, and if you haven't been, I highly recommend it! I had been to the area before for wine tasting trips, which the area is known for, but I had never stayed on the lake (or been in the lake) so I was very excited, and it did not disappoint. So, over the winter, we introduced our parents to the magic of Airbnb, and picked out a house, and before we knew it, August was here. My amazing mother in law agreed to house sit, and take care of our dog, Oscar, and we were off. Tony and I, my parents, and my brother and his girlfriend, picked out a house right on Seneca Lake, not far from Watkins Glenn, one of two towns on the lake. It was so relaxing, full of lots of laugh, great food and wine, and lots of time spent in the water. I wouldn't trade the memories for anything.
Since we didn't really go anywhere, this is more of a photo diary than a travel guide, but I hope it inspires you to check out the Finger Lakes. It is a beautiful area, with amazing wineries, and lots of opportunities for water sports if that is your thing, or plenty of relaxing if that is more your speed. It was quintessential summer. and I know when I think of summer from now on, it won't be without remembering this trip with my wonderful family.
I spent plenty of time floating in my donut, with matching drink floaty
swimsuit is from Target, as well as my boater hat that is in a lot of these photos
This was our spot! Every day we read here (I finished an entire book!) as well as watched the sunrise, and stayed here until the sun went down, watching the dinner dance cruise boat from Watkins Glenn go by, and sipping wine and eating way too much brownie brittle. No regrets.
Every single morning we got up to watch the sunrise. The very first morning we were all just in awe of how beautiful it was, and then the other mornings we watched it by default, because the sun came streaming in at 6:30 in the morning.
My brother and his girlfriend got us kayaks as wedding present, and this trip was perfect for them. We took them out on the lake a lot, it was so much fun picking a spot to just float a long for a while, laying out in the sun, and then kayaking back. The waves sometimes were kind of tricky, I've only ever kayaked in small rivers/streams, or on tiny bodies of water with little to no waves, but it was fun! I can't wait to use them more.
I have been hearing all summer about how good Elin Hilenbrand's summer book, T
he Summer of '69 is, every single blog I read has been raving about it, and I thought it sounded like the perfect "lake read" if you will. It was! I started it before the trip, and finished it while we were there. I read by the lake, and in bed at night, I loved the characters, setting, and the time period it took place during, weaving real life events, with the lives of the characters. Very enjoyable summer read!
Tony and my brother really wanted to catch a fish, and although we saw plenty of them jumping out of the water, they unfortunately didn't catch anything. Next time guys!
We got to visit plenty of wineries, breweries, and distilleries. Just about every day we spent the morning on the lake, and would venture out in the afternoon. I have been on the trail several times, but we went to lots of places I had never been which was exciting. This is Magnus Ridge, which was mere minutes from our house. I love tasting here because they do a cheese pairing with each of their wines, with something for everyone with both a dry and a sweet flight.
This is Starkey's Lookout. I really like the setting here, with dry or sweet flights that you can take out to their patio with a stunning view of the lake. The guys really liked their beer flights as well.
We cranked the AC the first night we got there, because it was pretty stuffy. Well this is the result. I walked in from outside to find Tony and my brother like this doing a John Wick marathon. Had to snap a photo.
We went out one night,, but otherwise than that took turns cooking the whole week. We did burgers the first night, after jumping in the lake, kayaking and floating for awhile. My parents made steaks, my brother and his girlfriend made amazing steak fajitas, and Tony and I did grilled pizza.
It is faint, but you can see a little bit of a rainbow when we got home one evening after quite a rainstorm.
On our way home we stopped at Taborah, which is a winery as well as farm and bakery, for coffee, and I couldn't resist getting a blueberry pie to take home. I have one piece left, and I'm very sad, it was amazing. The Finger Lakes are known for their blueberries.
These photos are Castel Griche winery, which I had never been to, but the scenery is stunning! The wine was wonderful as well.
My mom got this amazing giant 6 person float, and we had so much fun in it. We brought one of those waterproof disposable cameras (remember those?!) and I can't wait to see what's on there.
The guys fish while the ladies have mimosas.
I was really sad when we had to leave. The amount of peace I felt on this trip was just wonderful. Being surrounded by my family, who I haven't spent so much consecutive time with in years, was just wonderful. and when you start your day like this, walk out to the sunset and a cup of coffee and greeting your family, it doesn't get better than that. It also felt like summer winding down, since we had been looking forward to this trip for so long, but I am also excited for the rest of summer and then fall of course! Although, after jumping in the lake and then warming up in the sun afterwards reading, it was hard to want summer to end. If you are looking for a great trip to take with family or a group of friends, I definitely suggest a trip like this, and I hope this post was inspiring
Thanks for reading!
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