Taughannock and the Western Lake Drive.

I decided I needed a change of pace today. After a couple weeks of sitting in the apartment job searching, playing video games, watching tv and generally being bored, I decided to go outside. I headed west out of Ithaca on HWY 89 and made my way to Taughannock Falls State Park. Being the cheap, make that poor, man that I am, I bypassed paid entry and made my way to the scenic drives around the park. After finding a place to park at the far south end of the falls, I started hiking the gorge rim trail. To say this area is beautiful is a complete understatement.
















Just a hundred feet down the path I found a bridge overlooking one of the smaller falls leading up to Taughannock.



















The gorge rim trail was pretty sweet. I only saw one other person in the hour I was walking, and it was incredibly peaceful. Here are some other views from the trail.






















The best view of the falls came from the opposite side of the gorge. After my hike along the eastern rim, I drove back along the western rim to take a few pictures of the actual falls.




























































After leaving Taughannock, I decided to continue further north west along the side of the lake. In approximately 20 miles of driving I saw 5 wineries, a cidery and a creamery. On my way back to Ithaca I decided to stop at the Bell Weather Cidery. I felt a little pathetic as the other people there were younger married couples and I was by myself. That being said, for a buck I was able to sample 7 of their different ciders. Everything from sparkling, to cherry, to a black currant. I ended up leaving with a semi-dry Heritage that I am hoping Brianna will like.

All in all, it was a good day.