Yes ! We're going to see Dane Cook in NYC at the Madison Square Garden this November !!

I'm so excited.
:)

I had been looking forward to this weekend for a long time... and finally it was time to make the trip to Ithaca!
We had perfect weather the whole time we were there and I truly appreciated having the chance to be away from home for a few days. The hardest part was having to leave Buddy at the kennel...we missed him a lot.
:(

When we first pulled into town, we drove directly to the visitors center to pickup some maps and suggestions for places to bike. They were so nice there and suggested the plantation area surrounding Cornell college. We also asked for a nearby place for a bite before we headed out biking and they suggested the Ithaca Bakery which was perfect. The sandwiches were amazing; so much to choose from ! Perfectly priced and easy to find. I think we both had this one:
Sweet Rachel
Smoked turkey, Muenster cheese, Honeycup mustard and sliced red onion on hand-sliced pumpernickel bread.

After lunch we drove to our hotel to drop stuff off and freshen up and then we headed to the

Plantations and rode our bikes around this Lake


It was perfect, just what we were looking for...groomed trails through woodes areas, open areas, a little bit of a city feeling







through the college town, and then some bridges and back...I could have rode around the lake a dozen times.





We watched students jump off bridges into the water below too...I'll put a video on here soon.

We rode around some of the beautiful gardens there also across the street... we saw so much natural beauty.



It was starting to get late, so we put the bikes back on the car and started heading back to the hotel...I started recognizing some of the roads our friend Susan took us down the last time we were there... and when I studied the map, we realized we were near a place called Flat Rocks so we found it and walked around there for a little bit too.
The water was still really warm... it felt so great to wade and sit on the rocks and play in the water...












We drove around a huge park across the street from there and then headed back to the hotel and got ready for dinner.
We asked our hotel front desk what they suggested for out of towners and they had a menu book for us to flip through.
The most suggested place was called The Boat Yard and it was easy to find too.
We had a great time there....LONG wait so we had some cocktails and Bob wanted to get some calamari ... I'm not a huge fan of the stuff, but YUM...they made it really really good. We walked around outside for a while enjoying the colored lights reflecting on the lake and were eventually seated on the outside porch... I was really relaxed and happy to be somewhere new...with a view !



I ordered the scallops....heavenly and Bob ordered the Swordfish...



the best Swordfish I've ever had... perfection. yum all around.
On our way home, my car stalled and we had to push it to the side of the road... I tried it a few times after that and it eventually started... we made it back to the hotel thinking everything was fine.
The next morning... it wouldn't start at all. Nothing.
We were stuck at the hotel bummed because we still had a lot to see that day before heading back home...
:(
Can I just say... Bob is the best. He keeps my spirits up even through my tantrums. lol. I can't believe how patient he is and how he puts me at ease even in the midst of being stranded. Hooray for Bob.

So, we got a tow (free through AAA)



to the nearest Sears since it was a Sunday and no other garages were open..of course. And they couldn't do anything with it... so we had it towed again to the Honda dealer in town and got a room right down the street and stayed over another day since they weren't open until Monday morning. We took our bikes off the car, left it in the lot with a note and biked to the hotel carrying some of our things... good thing we had a backpack ! Our hotel was great and I was happy to stay another day. We rested a bit and then headed out by bike with our trusty map



and made our way to the Ithaca Commons.



(we miss Buddy!)





It's great biking around there too; and the people are so friendly. We walked around a few shops and tried to decide what to have for dinner. There's lots of really cute restaurants there in that area.
For some reason, we were both craving Italian...and there didn't seem to be anything like that where we were... so we biked around some more and headed back out of town into the busy part of the city. We came across this seemingly regular place called
Joe's Restaurant and decided to give it a try
Another HIT ! It was casual, but DELICIOUS...home made italian food...really really good. Bob got the penne with Vodka sauce and that was the best vodka sauce I've ever had.



Usually it's really strong tasting...spicy .. but you keep eating it because it's a good sauce...but this one was milder, but just as tasty ..just different and just yum. I got the ol' standby angel hair with meatballs... the sauce was incredible.



We were very happy, and once again relaxed and crossed our fingers that the next morning they could look at our car so we could head home.



We biked back to the hotel...it was chilly now so we peddled really fast to get warm. We relaxed in the room and watched cable.
The next morning, we had a really good continental breakfast in our hotel and waited to hear from Honda whether they could look at the car today. Thankfully there was an opening; and we came to find out that I had filled up with "Bad Gas" before making our trip and it contaminated the whole fuel system. They changed out the spark plugs to help it and it did start... and they told me to leave from there directly and get premium gas and fill it up. The car has been fine since. phew !
(Until I got in an accident the other day in Rochester, but that's another story; I'm fine)

So, we filled up the tank, and started to head out of town. We stopped at Buttermilk Falls first since it was right there and walked up the side of the fall to the top and then came back down since we had to be heading home.







Also, since I was in the area, I wanted to try to find the Inn that I'll be shooting a Wedding at in two weeks...
It's called TheFontainebleau Inn
It was beautiful and similar in style to the Inn we're using for our Wedding...only not 2 hours away.



I was glad to find it so that I'll understand better how to get home at a late hour ; two hours away from home.
That's going to be a beautiful wedding...can't wait.
From there, we headed back home and along the way, we passed Watkins Glen and HAD to show it to Bob since he'd never been there.





We hiked for about an hour through the gorge...incredible.













We stopped at a casual Marina restaurant after that at the end of Seneca Lake for lunch



(this was our view)












and then no more stopping... headed home and spent the rest of the night playing with Buddy.
Hooray for getaways !
:)

We've been meaning to have Anna (Bob's mom) and Ralph over to show them our new house; painted and finally the day arrived. We invited them over for dinner; it was SO good.
I wanted to make something new and fancy, but I just don't have the time to do all that right now... so... I opted to grill steaks and we're all glad we did that... mmmm beef.
It's so good..especially when it's a treat .. I rarely have it so it just makes it so much more savory. Bob grilled them perfectly. I did however make a bundt for dessert. My friend Carrie gave me a cookbook a while back called 101 things to do with a cake mix. So, you still use a boxed cake mix, but the recipes help you to make it different; spice it up. So I chose the lemon creamcheese bundt cake. mmm so good. I always get nervous with a bundt (can you tell I like saying bundt?) lol. You never know if it's going to come out of the pan without falling apart when you tip it over. It came out no problem !
I displayed it on a blue glass cake stand and sprinkled powdered sugar on top. It was nice and simple as a dessert to follow steaks.
I just realized I still don't have a picture of our house with the new paint... so I'll put that on here soon.
Here's just a few pictures from the dinner.









Thank you Anna and Ralph for joining us for dinner; we had a lovely time and truly appreciate all your help in helping us to make our house a home.
Love you, Bob and Sue


(Ithaca pictures coming soon; have to get back to work for now)

Our family got together at Hamlin Beach this year for a picnic and park activities. We all brought a dish to pass, grilled the meats and veggies, played in the sand, went for walks, (Bob and I biked around together), played bocce .. insert phrase from the movie "Splash" when Daryl Hannah comes out of the water wearing nothing but her long golden hair into a tour of the Statue of Liberty ... the tour guide turns to see her and screams "Bocce Balls !"
LOL. I can't say the word Bocce without thinking of that scene.
Anywho...I was SO relaxed that day... I love our family and we're so lucky to have chances to get together and visit.
Here's some pix:





























Happy Labor Day !

I have had such an incredibly busy working summer and was very excited to make plans with our friends Jim and Susan to go biking the Sunday before Labor Day ! I've been working 6 days every week since April so I try to get out and do something on my treasured Sundays.

We biked along the Erie Canal all the way to Brockport, then parked the bikes and walked around town; visited a few shops, had lunch and headed back. I could have kept going; I love being on my bike and the canal is perfectly groomed and peaceful.
Here's a few pix from our trip:
Cute little shop we stopped in:




Thanks for the picture Bob... I like crossing over bridges and this is a working lift bridge and they have them all along the canal in different spots:
(I'm in the bottom right corner)

Yay biking !