Reset search
United States
Satellite

United States
Tompkins County

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Top 10 Travel Destinations Tompkins County
Show all
Travelers at this place
    • TravelerEast Coast Summer Trip
      1
      Day 2

      Finally Made it to Ithaca

      July 24, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      I’m here in Ithaca staying with my dear cousin Leon and his beautiful wife Renate and their daughter Sylvie. Leon and I grew up together in the Bronx and spent glorious summers in Swan Lake. He still looks at me funny sometimes - now that I’m all growed up.

      We went over to Cornell to take in some of the spectacular gardens. Lee is quite the plant maven, especially roses and bonsai. I’m spending a few days so I’ll get some nice shots of their 3-acre property later. Today was catching up, telling stories, looking at photos as well as popping into town for a drizzly stroll.

      Renate cooked up a famous Cornell marinaded chicken with their first basil pesto of the season for dinner. Delish.

      Looking forward to my first good night’s sleep in two days. Sleeping on a red-eye and on the floor at the Detroit airport for my layover just didn’t quite do it.      Read more

    • TravelerEast Coast Summer Trip
      Day 3

      Der Rosenmeister Estate

      July 25, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      Ollie, Lee and Renate’s grandson, spent the day with us. What a cutie pie. We took a short hike up to Taughannock Falls Park. Gorgeous gorges. (Sorry, I had to do it.) The visible geology shows the layers of inland sea sediment from thousands of years carved out by water and ice. The falls were muddy brown from all the rain. It has been beautiful, but I wouldn’t be unhappy to see some sunshine.

      After lunch, I asked Leon to take me on a tour of the property. One of the design elements central throughout the gardens incorporates the Fibonacci spiral echoed in the architecture, rocks and planting beds and also in the selection of trees, shrubs and flowers. Impossible to capture in my photos, the Fibonacci spiral of huge boulders and plants begins with a small Norway Spruce Acrocona at the center and whirls outwards for about 40 feet. At the stones’ end, the pattern continues around the property to a second row of trees, flowers and sitting areas. (A drone camera would work well here.) Each seating area is carefully placed to give the viewer a vantage point to discover the beautiful, whimsical and lush garden features plus a hint of what is only partially visible from that spot beckoning you to visit another part of the garden. It is really quite magical. And who can resist a flock of pink flamingos?

      Renate has a big food garden with garlic, basil, rhubarb, beans, tomatoes, and a pile of other edibles. They also have blueberries, blackberries, elderberries, strawberries and a few I don’t remember. So much good food. The roses are not at their best at this point in the season, but none, and I mean none, have black spots. He really has found all the right roses to plant in the right locations. Jealous.

      They have a meandering creek on the edge of the property where Lee has hand-built a couple of bridges and seating areas. Each of the structures’ ironwork, wood, stone, and tile throughout the property have been collected over the years - one from the New York Worlds Fair - and make up a rich portfolio of stories to go along with their thoughtful composition. All of this was built and dreamed up by Leon out of 3 acres of hay fields. They started with a blank slate.

      Tomorrow I believe we might have some sun for a change.      Read more

    • TravelerEast Coast Summer Trip
      Day 4

      Road Trip!

      July 26, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

      Mr Sunny was out today! We decided to see some of the surrounding sights. First stop was the Women’s Rights National Historic Park in Seneca Falls where the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention was held. I have to say that I was underwhelmed. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it was not well done - sadly. Quotes were mismatched with with historical photos of other women. The nearly life-sized sculptures of some convention attendees were places in the middle of the floor with no note about who was whom and even why the statues were there. Disappointing. I got a copy of the Women’s Declaration of Sentiments modeled after the Declaration of Independence to read. I’m still glad I went as I have thought about going for a long time.

      We stopped for lunch at this amazing old-fashioned diner called Connie’s Diner. Very kitschy. Most of the clientele fit right in. They had photos of famous people and old movie and tv posters. The food was pretty good and very inexpensive. Good times.

      After lunch we drove up to Chimney Bluffs State Park on Lake Ontario. This strange landscape of skyscraper-tall mounds of clay embedded with smooth river rocks are slowly eroding leaving jagged spires and pointed towers. It was beautiful and puzzling looking. Glaciers dumped a pile of this debris, and water has carved out these sculptures in the sky. I was a bit torn whether to look down at the stones or up at the formations. It was fun to walk along the lake’s edge with Renate, Leon and Sylvie.

      It was getting hot so we drove back to the house with a quick stop at Harriet Tubman’s house. It seems that there are very many famous people from this area. I loved driving through the little towns and villages with the east coast architecture and gardens. My hosts are a font of knowledge about the history and who’s who around here.

      We took a quick break at the house before heading back out to visit with Lee and Renate’s son, Jules and his wife Jean, and Ollie at their house. Jules and I have been connected for a little while on Facebook but have actually never met. He is into bicycling, makes beer, and loves the forest. It was a treat to finally meet and chat. Jean is the City Forester for Ithaca. They are a lovely couple. They will be joining that gang at the end of my east coast trip on the Cape.      Read more

    • TravelerEast Coast Summer Trip
      Day 5

      Family, Art, Good Food, and Fun

      July 27, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Leon is the keeper of the family lore. He spent his youth visiting with our older relatives learning their histories and stories. We spent the morning flipping through his papers and photos. When and why they came to the US, what political and union work they were involved in, and some of their great arts and artist’s circles they ran in. Fascinating stuff.

      I also got to see some family photos I had never seen before - some of me.

      After lunch, we visited an arts fair - I took no photos - but thoroughly enjoyed the art and watching both Lee and Renate run into a dozen people they know. They are well regarded in this town.

      Leon repotted a bonsai apple tree from a tall pot to a new shallower one. It’s not about trimming the roots; it is all about pruning. While learning the bonsai process, I got a better shot of the spiral from the side porch. Looks pretty cool.

      We went to dinner and a play, Pride and Prejudice. It was funny with lots of kooky slapstick humor. Very entertaining.

      A nice, relaxing day.      Read more

    • TravelerKate's Wedding
      Day 9

      Food Day 8

      August 13, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      Said farewell to Kate with a post-wedding brunch and headed out on out road trip across to Ithaca. As you can see we ate very healthily along the way. Highlight was those tapioca buns with dinner.

    • TravelerIndian Summer
      Day 15

      Ithaca Falls

      October 11, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

      Wir machen noch einen kurzen Ausflug zu den Ithaca Falls und genießen das schöne Herbstwetter, bevor wir uns Abends in unserem Ferienhaus köstliche Burger 🍔zubereiten 😋

      See translation
    • TravelerBack in the USA
      Day 175

      Ithaca H3 Trail #937

      October 4, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      After about 25 years of telling myself I need to take a break the next time I go home and go over and run with the Ithaca H3, I finally did it. Was an easy hour+ drive out on Sunday, Jo came over for a couple days to go as well. The trail announcement mentioned it was a virgin hare, with other virgins planning to attend. We arrived about an hour early, just as the hares arrived to drop off 2 beer checks and 2 shot stops. We chatted for a bit, and they made an off hand comment that the trail was going to be about 2 miles . . . I wonder how well I concealed my eye rolls? Soon after the hares took off, the pack started to arrive and we had time to chat with everyone. The first few mentioned they normally were getting 12-15 out for trail, but 33 turned up for this one. After the usual introductions, we set off on trail and true to form for a virgin hare, we soon had confusion. Marks were small and sparse, but with a pack of over 30, we spread out and managed to find our way. After 3/4 of a mile, we hit the first beer check, where we socialized for nearly 30 minutes. Then after another half mile, we hit the first shot stop, with another 20 minute halt. Then 1/4 mile later we hit the second beer stop, an another 1/4 mile after that we hit the second shot stop. In the end, true trail was about 2 miles, with false trails and searching, trail was maybe 2.5 miles . . . but just standing around the beer/shot checks, the wobble of the satellites added the additional mile while standing around for over an hour. Not exactly a great trail, but it was fun meeting all the hashers, and circle was a good time as well, with many songs and jokes. We even had an on on on at a local pub, which also was fun. (Hope to get more photos from other hashers, so only the two I snapped before trail so far). https://www.relive.cc/view/vYvEZPoVnGORead more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Tompkins County, مقاطعة تومبكينز, Томпкинс, টমকিনস কাউন্টি, Condado de Tompkins, Tompkinsi maakond, Tompkins konderria, شهرستان تامپکینز، نیویورک, Comté de Tompkins, Tompkins megye, Տոմպկինս շրջան, Contea di Tompkins, トンプキンス郡, Tompkins Comitatus, Tompkins Kūn, Hrabstwo Tompkins, ٹامپکنز کاؤنٹی, Comitatul Tompkins, Округ Томпкинс, Томпкінс, ٹومپکنز کاؤنٹی، نیویارک, Quận Tompkins, Condado han Tompkins, 湯普金斯縣

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

    • 2024© FindPenguins
    • Home
    • About us
    • Blog
    • Group Tracking
    • Press
    • Terms
    • Privacy Policy & Cookies
    • Support
    • Legal notice
    • English