Watkins Glen - Bully Hill -- Rainy Day and Hemmings Cruise In

Well, as usual I had great intentions of catching up earlier while Glenn was at the Hemmings Cruise In, but instead I got chatting meeting interesting people and before you know it, it was time to go - then as he loaded Cecelia on the trailer, I got chatting with the owner of the Bennington Motor Inn and well now it's 9:00 and we sit on the porch overlooking the lovely full service Hemmings Gas station and museum. Sadly it's closed and the attendants in their white pants and shirts have no windows to wash or oil to check.

I will start with today - we left Ithaca early had a beautiful drive through the countryside to Vermont. As usual as soon as we entered Vermont my shoulders dropped and I just felt this feeling of "ahhhhhhhhhh" :-) The Cruise In did not start till 5:30 but cars started rolling in around 3:30 so we took Cecelia over and were lucky enough to get a spot in the shade. A good turn out but not great as we got rained on 3 times. As usual great people, good music and lovely cars - even my lottery car a 62 Vette. A brief drive through town before back to the motel so Cecelia could dry off a bit - and now here we sit.

Now I just wrote all the next part out already and then lost connection .... grrr so let me quickly try to re-create.

Yesterday was a rainy day so Cecelia stayed in her portable garage aka trailer while Glenn unhitched and we went exploring.  First stop necessities, wine and beer.  Then it was off to Corning.  After being stuck in a loooooooooooooooooong traffic jam we finally made it, enjoyed some antique shopping and a great sale at Van Heusens.  How great was it?  70% off + an additional 30% on many items . . yes almost FREE!!  Back to Ithaca we explored their pedestrian mall and enjoyed a nice dinner just before the clouds opened again.

Tuesday I think was the highlight of Glenn's holiday so far.  We headed out to Watkins Glen and enjoyed some beautiful roads with some challenging hills (up and down) along the way.  When we arrived at "The Glen" we stopped at "The Shop" to buy our Thunders Run tickets and some merchandise, then headed up to the track.  Cecelia had quite a climb up to the track but once up there, the view was magnificent and we were sent to the staging area.  With some time to spare we were allowed to sit in the stands and watch some "pro's" practice on the track.  The squealing engines and the screeching tires scared the heck out of me ... no just kidding :-)  it gave us a new appreciation for the craziness and skill of these drivers.  The track is much different than it appears on TV, the hair pin turns hairier, the hills steeper and the banks .. well bankier!!!!  After they finished our pace car arrived.

OK side story here.  The one car that really belonged on the track was a nice Corvette driven by two men enjoying their mid-life crisis.  Well what do you know it over heated just on the way up to the track.  These poor guys looked very down in the mouth as they sat their trying to cool off their engine as our 1931 Model A chugged along cool as a cucumber - even with all her badges *laughing*

Ok back to the track - speed Demon Glenn thought he could put the pedal to the metal and whip around the track no problem, well even though he had the perfect racing line going, he still had to brake in the chicanes and hairpins.  We did however reach a whopping 49.3MPH on the back straight away.

One of the rules was no passing.  Apparently that did not apply to the Mini Vans on the track with us as the ones in front of us were soon out of sight and the ones behind us were tired of being held back and broke the rules.  Oh well it was fun :-)  we got to do 3 laps, stopping at the finish line on the 2nd lap to take photo's and change drivers (yeah right!!!)  It was an experience.

After that we headed to Bully Hill Vineyards for lunch.  We had heard a lot of good things about Bully Hill and I guess so had a lot of other people.  It was packed.  The drive up there was beautiful but even Cecelia had trouble with a few of the inclines.  It was worth the drive though as the view was spectacular of Keuka Lake and the Vines on the side of the hill were reminiscent of Tuscany (or at least the photo's I've seen).  The patio was packed but it didn't take long for them to seat us and enjoy another wonderful meal with a gorgeous view.   After our late lunch we took the long way back to Ithaca where Cecelia enjoyed a rest, as did we.

Well I think that's you caught up.  Tomorrow morning we have a 7 hour drive to Maine, I can't wait to get their and experience the East Coast.  I'll let you know how it goes.  Good night for now :-)