This one is for Sam

Neville, the cat.

Watkins Glen

Going to Watkins Glen was completely unplanned. My wife's parents had been there before and made the suggestion. We had been driving all day and were pretty tired from our 5 and 20 road trip. By the time we hit Seneca Falls, it was around 4:30 pm and we still had no plans for the rest of the day. The GPS calculated that it would take us about 1 hour or so to get to Watkins Glen. The park closed around 6 pm, from what I remember. So we had to get down there quickly and start the hike. We really had no idea what it looked like, how hard the hike was and how long it would take to complete the hike. But we made the decision to do it, despite our hesitations. Watkins Glen is a NY State Park, at the bottom of Seneca Lake. The road that takes you down to Watkins Glen is adjacent to the lake. At times it's hard to focus on the road. All I wanted to do was look at the lake. It's a very pretty drive.

So we got down to Watkins Glen around 5:30 or so. You have to pay a fee to do the hike. We were the last group allowed in. Talk about luck! A shuttle takes you to the top of the hill and you hike it down. The hike is absolutely gorgeous. It's a rocky canyon, with water running through the canyon, waterfalls, tunnels, bridges, etc. It took us about 1 hour to hike it down. Make sure you bring a bottle of water and wear some comfortable shoes. Because it was getting dark as we were going down and because the trees cover most of the trail, it got a little chilly, so go prepared. It was totally different from what we were expecting. It is worth the drive. We came out of there tired, but very glad we made the trip down there. We didn't eat anything down there, which is a shame. So I can't give any suggestions on restaurants. I hate driving at night, especially on roads I'm not familiar with, so we decided to just make the drive back to the hotel and eat around there.

Lake Chatauqua

Before I talk about Palmyra and the whole Church history leg of the trip, let me talk about Jamestown and the Lake Chautauqua area. 

We drove from Victor down to Stow. It was almost 3 hours on the road. Not the funnest drive until you get to Mayville. After Mayville, it's a lot prettier of a drive. The road is right by the lake, so it makes it all more fun. We stayed in Stow at a friend's house. Their backyard was Lake Chautauqua. Couldn't get any better. And they took us on a boat ride that was unforgettable. The weather was perfect and the lake was incredible.

After the boat ride we took the ferry to the other side of the lake to Bemus Point. It's a very nice small town but it kinda has a beach town feel to it. And we got lucky to be there on Labor Day because they were having concerts on the water and a beautiful fireworks show at night.

I recommend eating some ice cream in any of the ice cream shops in Bemus Point. Also, there's a great sign store that if I recall correctly it's on the corner of Lakeside and Main. You can find great wood and metal signs with funny and interesting quotes. Quite a treat just to walk around.

5 and 20

Ok. So here to the right you'll see a slideshow. I'll leave it up for this month. It's our trip to upstate NY. I just can't post all the pictures right here (we took way too many), so it's easier to just let the slideshow tell the story.

There's actually quite a lot to see up there. If you enjoy driving around, this is the perfect spot. Here on this map are all the spots we drove to. I put little pins on the spots we went to, and the green route is where we actually drove.

Today I'll just mention the 5 and 20 drive. It's the one in green from Canandaigua and Syracuse. We actually went from Victor to Skaneateles, where the wife lived for a few years when she was a child. The route doesn't really go all the way up to Syracuse, but on the map, that's all I could show. The drive will probably last around an hour and a half, if you don't stop along the way. I would definitely suggest taking 2-3 hours so you can stop and visit the little towns along the road. It's called the 5 and 20 because it keeps switching from Route 5 and Route 20. You cross several small towns on this drive and they're all very nice. Most of them have a small downtown area, usually a Main Street or something similar. Flowers decorate sides of the roads and just make you feel welcome. You'll see several wineries on the side of the road as well. We went at the end of August, so it was about 75 degrees and it was very pleasant. When you go by Geneva, make sure you stop by the Lake Seneca State Park and go for a walk.

If you get down to Skaneateles, right across from the city library there's an awesome ice cream shop. Actually, if I remember correctly there were 2 shops, one next to the other. Grab a scoop and go for a walk up Genessee street. There are quite a few antique and gift shops there.

Upstate New York

This is thefirst trip that comes to my mind because it is my favorite trip so far. Everything about it was incredible. As you're driving around, you feel like you're looking at scenes from a movie that won an Oscar for best cinematography. The green seems greener and the fog doesn't seem to bother the driver.

Later I'll post a little map of the spots we went to and the ones I recommend. For now, here's just a sample picture and some spots I recommend.

- Drive 5 and 20

- Watkins Glen

- Skaneateles, NY

- Microtel Inn, Victor, NY (Great value)

- Ice Cream in Bemus Point

First trip

Ok. First, for those of you who don't speak Portuguese, let me translate the name of the blog. Viajante means traveler. It could also mean daydreamer. Traveling is my favorite thing to do. We save our money mainly to go on fun trips. We haven't gone to too many places together so far (well, I haven't -- My wife has been to quite a few places). So hopefully I'll keep traveling, taking my pretty girl with me and posting my experiences here. Fun, right? At least for me it is.

I travel a lot in my head too. So I'll share with you some of my crazy trips and some of my absurd opinions. It's my blog, right? So before the Fairness Doctrine stops bloggers from speaking their mind and puts a duck tape over my mouth, or ties up my pretty little fingers, I'll use this space to tell you what I think.

Enjoy!