jennifer146 / Jennifer

My mom used to take my sister and I and our friends to many of the waterfalls and gorges in the Finger Lakes region when we were little, but we have never been to the Watkins Glen State Park before. My mom told me the last time that she went there was when she was a teenager in the 1960’s. Things have changed quite a bit since then. She said you used to be able to picnic anywhere, now there is a small designated picnic area at the South entrance. My mom and her friends also used to swim in the natural pools in the park. Swimming is now prohibited since people have died from the strong undercurrents in the pools.

The park really is beautiful. The pathways, stairs, and bridges are made from natural rocks, so they blend in perfectly with the natural surroundings. There is a lot of climbing, so I definitely got my workout that day. :) It was well worth the hike though, as the scenery seemed to get more beautiful the farther out you went. My mom was telling me that her favorite part of the park as a girl was the path where you could walk under the waterfall. We were hoping that was still a part of the park, and happily, it was. My mom was so happy that it still was there. She went up to the falls and put her arms out to catch the water, and had me take two pictures of her doing it. She was so excited, it was so cute. :)

After we got to the path under the waterfall, we turned back, since we thought we had a lot of climbing to do since most of the way there was downhill. However, we took a path called Lover’s Lane that was much shorter and didn’t have nearly as many stairs, so the way back turned out to be easier than the way in.

Corning is a great little town. It’s beautiful, well maintained, and downtown Corning is great for window shopping. :)

My grandmother used to take me on rides on Corning’s double-decker busses. I remember going to the Corning glass museum and watching the exhibits of glass-blowing with awe when I was a little girl, and having fun playing on the glass playground.

Every time I go to Corning I feel like a little girl again. They have a maze going across the walking bridge that is drawn in yellow and blue paint. When I went to Corning yesterday, my mom and I traveled through the maze as we crossed the bridge, and I really did feel like a care-free little kid. Corning has that effect on people. :D

They have a great park near the walking bridge with a pavillion that is decorated in vines that is really beautiful. We ate our lunch there, which was a pizza that we got from the best Pizzeria in upstate New York: Aniello’s on Market Street in Corning. It is New York style pizza, large flat slices that you are meant to fold when you eat with just the right amount of cheese and delicious, mouth watering pizza sauce.

We always used to go to Ithaca in the summer when I was a little girl. We would go to the Robert H Treman State Park and go swimming. It was so much fun to dive off of the high dive into the water below. My sister and I always used to swim up to the falls and stand up on the edge. It was great, because if you scooted yourself along the rocks, you could actually stand under the falls and watch the water fall over you.

We also used to go to Buttermilk Falls, but my sister and I didn’t like it as much since the waterfall was a trickle compared to the Robert Treman falls. Now that I have grown up, I appreciate it more. The falls really are beautiful, and the slow trickle actually adds to the beauty as it really does look like buttermilk coming down the rocks.

Aside from nature, I have always enjoyed downtown Ithaca as well. We used to walk the commons, window shopping through the stores, and stopping for a bite to eat at one of the restaurants.

I had never been to Cornell University until last week. The college town that is around it is amazing. There is so much diversity in the restaurants that are up there. We are planning on going back up there sometime this year to check out some of the restaurants. I love diversity in my food as well as my life, so I can’t wait to try them out. :)