If Things Go As Planned (Ha!), Our Last Full Day in New York

We’re within striking distance of the New York-Pennsylvania border, and if things go as planned today was our last full day in New York.  It was a spectacular one, and a real high note to wrap up a very long transit.

We started the day in Portland, NY and hiked down US-20 through some of the most spectacular scenery that we’ve seen to date.  Our first stop was as the 21 Brix Winery where dad horsed around on the famous pink elephant. You’d never guess he was a septuagenarian.  I suppose he has never really grown up, and that’s a great way to live from my perspective.

Dad examining the pink elephant - What’s he looking for back there anyway?

In addition to the Instagram famous pink elephant, the golden buffalo is a lesser known but still fun addition to the winery grounds.

The 21 Brix Golden Buffalo - Guarding the Vineyard

We continued on to the beautiful grape growing region of western New York that produces both wine and juice varieties. Spring has arrived in full force full of wildflowers and new leaves.

Wildflowers in the vineyard - A nice sunny blue sky as well!

We took some time and poked around a grape harvester, and I think we finally figured out how it works.  It’s a single row harvester that hydraulically shakes the vines causing the ripened grapes to fall into a curtain assembly and be raised to the hopper or right side discharge with a conveyor-elevator combination.  It’s a brilliant piece of engineering that has reached our shores from the country of France.

Dad contemplating a grape harvester

Finally, we ended the day at The Theater Motel in Westfield, NY.  

The Theater Motel

This place is  brilliant piece of Americana that makes one nostalgic for a time before the Interstates came and made transportation much more efficient but far less personal.

Fortunately for (all) of us there are still a few hearty souls keeping the notion that life should be just a little bit slower and people should know the folks who are keeping the lights on for them while they travel the roads.

Dad making friends with the owners of The Theater Motel

Tye and his family embraced us as friends, and have once again shown the generosity and spirit that truly make this country a great place to live.  If you ever find yourself in Westfield and need a place to stay, pay them a visit. I guarantee you won’t regret it.

Today, It Was All About the Scenery

The last couple of days have been rich with meeting new people, establishing new friendships, and learning a little something about the human landscape in southwestern New York.  Today it was all about the scenery.

Random fire hydrant in a field of wildflowers

Spring has really started to take hold, and the sun shined on us of the majority of our trek today.  The warmth of that golden orb was a much needed change from the dreary wetness that’s been characteristic of the rest of the week.

Not everything has embrace spring, but those that have are spectacular

The area to the southeast of Lake Erie is a grape growing region of New York.  Not too many vineyards are producing wine varieties. The area around us are producing the Concord and other varieties that wind up in the grape juice bottle on your grocery store shelves.

The cool spring has slowed the grape growing cycle, and the vines are just beginning to show buds.  The lack of foliage has given an opportunity for wildflowers to spring up among the rows of vines. Apparently, there is always opportunity in adversity.

Wildflowers making the most of a late budding vineyard

There was one human related event.  After stumbling upon the Walleye Association a cople of days ago, I thought I could no longer be surprised by the fraternal organizations related to animals.  After all, there are moose, elk, eagles, and walleyes to name just a few. Today, we were welcomed to Fredonia, by a club celebrating mammals.

Welcome to Fredonia, NY

It made me laugh, and I just had to snap a quick photo.

Back on the Road - Avon to Caledonia, NY

Not a lot to report today really.  We wrapped up our business in Rochester and headed south to Tom Wahl’s Drive in at Avon, NY to pick up the trail where we left it on Sunday.

We headed west on US 20 and NY 5 in a cool, steady rain and hiked just a little over eight miles to Caldedonia, NY.

Once we arrived in Caledonia, the sky cleared up, the sun came out, and spring revealed herself in all her glory.

First Presbyterian Church - Caledonia, NY

The chiropractor and High Priests of Backpacking at REI seem to have worked their magic.  Dad’s tilt did not return today, and we’re optimistic that we have addressed the issue to the greatest extent possible.

Tomorrow will be the real test.  We’re planning to cover a little over nineteen miles and arrive in Batavia.  We’ll see how it goes.

Getting started again after a day off the trail is a challenge for me.  I’m always restless when we’re idle, but I somehow feel just a little lonely on the first day back on the trail.  It’s a really odd reaction, and I don’t know why it happens. It is pretty consistent.

I’ll be back to my old grouchy self tomorrow, and we’re gonna grind out the distance.  We’re also going to look for interesting things to visit along the way.