Flyin' and Road trippin'

Shane and I just returned from a nice journey up north. He had a workshop to attend in Ithaca, NY. They put us up at a bed and breakfast. Niiiice. While he worked I got to watch lots of tv. A treat, since we don't get much tv reception here. We refuse to get cable.

We arrived late Sunday night. (We flew in to an airport even smaller than the one here in Roanoke!) Our hotel was near the Commons area (downtown shops and restaurants) so we took a walk to explore and look for dinner. We settled on Thai. I had som tum (a green papaya salad). So good!

On Monday, we took a driving tour around the area before Shane had to go check-in to his workshop at Cornell U. I then drove around some more looking for the ever-so-famous Wegman's store. I forgot the map and directions at the hotel so I ended up driving really far and apparently nowhere near it. I managed to get back in time for dinner with Shane and company. The workshop group had dinner at a really nice bistro in town. It was called Dijon Bistro. It was a really cute small yet elegant place. A hole in the wall at a really not-so-nice looking shopping center.

On Tuesday I went out and explored. I walked over to a nearby farmer's market (YUM!!! it was pretty cool- much cooler than ours!). While there, I ran into our friend, Laura. She, her husband, and kids live in Ithaca. (They are Shane's friends from back in Caltech.) We had wanted to get together sometime during our stay, so this was a pleasant surprise to run into her. We ended up hanging out all afternoon. They have the most beautiful children. Later that evening, I found Wegman's! Pretty impressive. I explored it a little and bought some snacks for dinner.

Wednesday, I walked around town again. I was determined to walk up a hill towards the university. It was pretty brutal. I then walked back through a gorge that is near the university. So pretty. Apparently there are many gorges in the area. Souvenir shirts say " Ithaca is Gorges." yea, yea... hippies. I walked back into the Commons area. Ithaca sort of reminded me a little bit of Berkeley. The commons area had many hippie-type establishments. Overall it was nice.

That evening Shane and I went to Wegmans for dinner. I just had to show Wegmans to Shane. It's a mini-adventure you just can't miss. We had pizza. Then later we went over to Matt and Laura's place for dessert. It was nice to finally visit with them.

Thursday, we left our bed and breakfast and hopped in our rental car for our drive to Boston.

To be continued....