August2014 Road Trip: Day 17-Erie PA

It was a cool morning when we left for our next stop.  The temperatures had dropped to the 50's and it was breezy.  We have decided to stop at Niagara Falls on the way to Erie Pennsylvania.  We stayed on the Canadian side 3 years ago but never stopped on the American side.  The views were very different and you can get much closer to the water.  In fact there are areas where you can walk right up to the water.

if you look closely you can see a rainbow in this shot

We stopped to these pictures in Silver Creek NY

We stopped at three wineries for tastings.  The first one was in NY before the Pennsylvania border.   we bought their ice wine and some horseradish cheese which we both really liked.

This second winery is in a renovated stone cellar, it was really cool.



The third and last winery had the friendliest people from Houston Texas working the tastings.  They were great folks.



After 3 wineries, we were definitely ready to head to our hotel.  Our FREE hotel this time is the Holiday Inn Express-Meadville which is a little south of Erie.  This hotel is the best so far.  We were greeted by very friendly front desk workers.  They even fed us delicious hot soup, FREE.  The hotel smells and looks new.  Our room is great with a microwave & fridge.  It is very nice.



August2014 Road Trip: Day 16- Rochester NY

Today we're headed for our next stop, Rochester NY.  We drove along the coastline of Lake Ontario stopping along the way to enjoy a park with this fantastic view of the Lake.

We saw this farmers market that served fresh salads & soups made from his crops.

 It was a great lunch.  We bought peaches,cherries & gold plums to snack on.

Next we visited a NY winery for a wine & cheese tasting.

I didn't find any that impressed me enough to buy, but they were decent wines

Next we checked into the Holiday Inn Express-Rochester & cleaned up before heading out to explore Rochester.  We usually choose hotels in small towns, this one is in a more congested area, but again....ITS FREE.  The room is nice, clean & quiet. The room had a fridge but no microwave or room safe.  The people at the front desk seemed new & untrained.  Their FREE breakfast was decent.   Hubby liked  their hot cookies in the evening.

In the evening we decided to walk along the Erie River, it's lined with cafe restaurants.  We walked for an hour enjoying the fresh air.  It was a great way to end the day.

August2014 Road Trip: Day 15-Watertown NY

After Breakfast we were on our way to Watertown NY.  We drove over the North top of Lake Champlain very near the Canadian Border

We discovered this great waterfall named The High Falls just by chance and it turned out to be fabulous.  One of the great part of this roadtrip has been spontaneity, we love to pull over just because something looks interesting and not have to worry about being on a schedule.  We pretty much drive until we need a break and then continue on when we're ready.  This particular stop paid off nicely.  First we got to see this awesome waterfall in middle of nowhere.....

........and Second we saw this sign to visit the farm of Alonzo Wilder.  Now if you have never been of fan of Little House on the Prairie then this stop would not have interested you.  But, my whole family watched this show.  My sister Charlotte was more of a fan than any of us, but I loved the show too so I was thrilled to find this place.  There is a museum and all types of memorabilia from the life of Almanzo and his wife/author Laura Wilder.

This is a replica of the farm on the tv show

I loved all the huge windmill farms along the road

It looks like the trees are beginning to change here too!

Our hotel tonight is Candlewood Suites-Fort Drum....and yes it was free with our loyalty points.  Its a one bedroom suite with a complete kitchen.  This is by far the biggest room we have gotten on this trip. 

After we checked in and unloaded, we headed to downtown to explore.  Its a very quiet tree lined town, we walked about for a while and decided NY Style pizza would be great for supper.  I found this hole-in-the-wall place on Yelp and the pizza was great.