Weds Sept 5, Donna

Today was a big driving day. First, we rode along Lake Erie for about an hour, then started our trek east. We stopped in Mayville on Lake Chautauqua to sample the goat milk fudge in order to report back to our friends at Harley Farms. The fudge was delicious, of course, even more so once we found out that the goat milk was from California!

We drove through the Chautauqua Institute to check it out. It’s like summer camp for adults. It is full of charming bungalows crammed in together, with a bunch of central buildings. All summer they have lectures, concerts and art festivals in the public spaces. It’s on the lake, so there’s also boating and water activities. We vowed to come back sometime in the season.

Our next stop was one of the centerpieces of the trip, Jamesville, hometown of Lucille Ball. The town is pretty much about Lucy and Desi at this point, with multiple museums, gift shops and wall murals (my favorite). Marina nearly had heart failure in the shop trying to pick a few souvenirs. Everything Lucy was available … from purses, to steering wheel covers, to trivia games, to full sets on DVD of all shows every recorded by Lucy or Desi. You name it, they had it, with “I Love Lucy” on it.

After Jamestown, we took a detour through Amish country. At first we saw nothing unusual, and were really regretting having added some extra driving on an already long day. Then, just as we were heading back to the highway, we encountered a horse and buggy going the opposite direction, followed later by several others. Each was occupied by people in full 18th century costume … although they weren’t costumes, it was really how they lived. We stopped in a few shops with hand-lettered signs for quilts, preserves and baked goods. Marina was very impressed by the fact that these people live as if it was 100 years ago. She seemed to find some appeal in it and proposed we try it for a year. That is until we told her that she would have to do without her iPod and cell phone, at which point she changed her mind.

We continued on our drive to our B&B in Corning and strolled through the quaint town this evening. We had a lovely dinner at the Three Bird Café. The weather is ideal. There’s no internet connection at the B&B so I’m afraid you’ll read this entry a little late!

-- Donna