Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[webny99]

Wow, great trip report, noel! Found myself smiling and nodding through the whole thing.

What can I say about Elmira? It's got Mark Twain's childhood home, I guess.

Uh huh! Definitely not a world class city, so that suffices! 

NY 14 wasn't a terrible drive, except near Geneva. Do wish the Seneca Lake views were more frequent.

Yes, Geneva is a slog. You can use part of US 20/NY 5 (Lake Front Drive) to bypass the downtown area, but a proper alternate for north/south traffic is badly needed. Ditto for Watkins Glen, of course.

I took exit 18 there onto NY 31 west to Dogtown! A venerable Rochester institution, where I enjoyed their version of the garbage plate - two hot dogs on top of a bed of mac salad and home fries. Paired with a bottle of Stewart's, I felt like I was truly an Upstate New Yorker.

FTFY! But yes, definitely!

NY 104 was a pain in the rear to get through; 2 lanes east of Webster, for the 50 miles to Oswego? With traffic lights? Ugh. I stayed on NY 104 for 25 of those miles, exiting onto NY 14

It's a nice highway through Webster... if only the freeway extended a bit further. The two-lane portion is known for parades of 20+ cars forming, as traffic allows almost no passing opportunities. Williamson to Sodus is the worst. Glad you got to experience it though, as it's one of few real Super 2's in Upstate New York. I suppose one can always dream of a second carriageway...
Sounds like a classic Chimney Bluffs experience too: sorry about the sun, we've had plenty of that lately!

We took I-81 all the way south home from Syracuse, arriving home at 3 AM on July 8th and exploring more of the state that most New Yorkers probably have in their entire lives.

Likely true, because of New York City. I know I'm an exception, and I like to think that everyone else north of the 42nd parallel has done their share of exploring, but that still leaves millions of people from the city that probably haven't seen much of their own state.

[vdeane]

Notable about the journey is the missing NY State Fair signal on I-690 (no clue where it went)

It was only ever installed during the fair in late August.  The rest of the time it sits in storage, with only the wires visible on I-690.  Additionally, the Fair is cancelled this year, and they're building a flyover that will eliminate the traffic signal.
Outside of the Fair: http://nysroads.com/photos.php?route=i690&state=NY&file=100_2931.JPG
During the Fair: http://nysroads.com/photos.php?route=i690&state=NY&file=101_7644.JPG

[csw]

Wow, great trip report, noel! Found myself smiling and nodding through the whole thing.

Surprised you two didn't get together and turn this into a mini-meet.

[Roadgeekteen]

Wow, great trip report, noel! Found myself smiling and nodding through the whole thing.

Surprised you two didn't get together and turn this into a mini-meet.

I'm up for a mini meet somewhere but I can't drive so IDK.

[webny99]

Wow, great trip report, noel! Found myself smiling and nodding through the whole thing.

Surprised you two didn't get together and turn this into a mini-meet.

I was actually in Maryland for the 5th-6th of July, but if I had known he was coming right through Webster on the 7th, we possibly could have arranged something.

[noelbotevera]

Wow, great trip report, noel! Found myself smiling and nodding through the whole thing.

Surprised you two didn't get together and turn this into a mini-meet.

I was actually in Maryland for the 5th-6th of July, but if I had known he was coming right through Webster on the 7th, we possibly could have arranged something.

I didn't have much time in Rochester/Webster - I didn't want to be in Chimney Bluffs at dark, and my dad had to work the next day. Unless webny99 wants to brave the five hour drive to Chambersburg one day, I don't think we'd be meeting in the near future.

[webny99]

Paid another $8 for Treman. I hadn't swam in a while, so to warm up I practiced a bit. I noticed that the waterfall is near the diving board - so why not dive, then swim there? So I then attempted the diving board; fear overcame me and I bowed out. My dad was also filming me, making it more embarrassing. Okay, round 2; a bit more swimming, I feel confident. I ask how deep the watering hole is; it's 18 feet. I was never used to the deep end, but I was encouraged by a girl telling me to just tread my way there - easy enough. I forget to tell my dad, and I jump; I managed to make it to the waterfall and grasp onto the rocks. My fingers slip, and I begin to sink - I panic and call for help, along with reaching out to somebody. That same girl (who told me that I'll be okay) supports me for a moment while a lifeguard saves me from drowning. I escaped with a nosebleed, numb legs, and a rapidly beating heart.

Alright, I deserved that. I shouldn't have pushed myself to jump off if I couldn't do it the first time.

No, I'm proud of you for going off the board.  You worked through both the realistic fear and also the potential embarrassment.  Good for you!

Plus, you had two encouraging encounters with a nice girl, which is nothing to sneeze at.  Admittedly, the story would have been better if she had helped you out of the water herself but, then, that's what the lifeguards are for.

Some of life's best experiences end with a rapidly beating heart, and occasionally they come with a little bit of blood too.

Very well put. Sometimes, getting a scare is part of what makes an experience unforgettable. The setting always helps, too!

I got a scare at Kinzua Bridge once that was certainly unforgettable for me. I had hiked down into the valley at the base of the bridge, walked around for a bit, grabbed some pictures, and then made the grave mistake of deciding to run back up to meet the rest of my family. I started off, and just kept going, oblivious to the steep grade and the fact that I was in no shape to be doing such a climb at such speeds (you can get some idea of the dynamics of the trail  here and here - looks can certainly be deceiving!). All of a sudden about 2/3 of the way up, I started feeling faint, and had to stop to sit down and breathe for a while. I almost started to black out, and didn't think I was going to make it the rest of the way up the hill. It was scary stuff for a few minutes: I made it eventually, but learned my lesson and won't forget it anytime soon, either.

[webny99]

Wow, great trip report, noel! Found myself smiling and nodding through the whole thing.

Surprised you two didn't get together and turn this into a mini-meet.

I was actually in Maryland for the 5th-6th of July, but if I had known he was coming right through Webster on the 7th, we possibly could have arranged something.

I didn't have much time in Rochester/Webster - I didn't want to be in Chimney Bluffs at dark, and my dad had to work the next day. Unless webny99 wants to brave the five hour drive to Chambersburg one day, I don't think we'd be meeting in the near future.

Well, I have been past on I-81 (twice), and even stopped at the Wendy's on US 30/Lincoln Hwy last year. So you never know!
I'd like to meet people from this forum in real life someday, but am unsure if I could ever make it work for a number of reasons I won't get into.

No hard feelings though, and I'm glad you enjoyed your trip.

[noelbotevera]

Yet another trip in the works: August 14th is the day I leave for New York City. My brother starts his new job on the 24th at Lockheed Martin, in the Hempstead/Uniondale plant; so we're getting him  settled in first. We'll leave NYC on August 22nd.

Anything to watch out for? Looks like NYC's been easing on the restrictions, and NYS doesn't require PA visitors to quarantine.

I might revisit the High Line and several locations in NYC; if I'm lucky I could finally visit the Catskills. And, maybe next year, I'll get to visit the Adirondacks.

[kevinb1994]

Yet another trip in the works: August 14th is the day I leave for New York City. My brother starts his new job on the 24th at Lockheed Martin, in the Hempstead/Uniondale plant; so we're getting him  settled in first. We'll leave NYC on August 22nd.

Anything to watch out for? Looks like NYC's been easing on the restrictions, and NYS doesn't require PA visitors to quarantine.

I might revisit the High Line and several locations in NYC; if I'm lucky I could finally visit the Catskills. And, maybe next year, I'll get to visit the Adirondacks.

I have heard of improving conditions there. But you may still want to be careful and be sure to check the official government websites for more info. The High Line I clinched not long ago before I ended up here in FL. Just let us know what the rest of your itinerary looks like. I’ve driven through the Catskills, but I have ended up in the Adirondacks.

[noelbotevera]

Welp.

Got my license.

That's cool.

(and yes, I've also been on several trips to NYC since - it takes time to cover them in meticulous detail given they're week-long trips)

[kkt]

Welp.

Got my license.

That's cool.

(and yes, I've also been on several trips to NYC since - it takes time to cover them in meticulous detail given they're week-long trips)

Congratulations!