Traveling in My Backyard

How it took me moving back to the Empire State to appreciate all that it has to offer

For as long as I can remember, I have always appreciated escaping home for a new destination. It didn’t matter if it meant getting onto an airplane, hopping in the car for a long weekend, or heading a few hours away for some camping. My head would be filled with excitement and anticipation for something new. The new destination always delivered because it was different.

My first long trip far away from home was going with my mother, sister, and niece to visit my older brother in Phoenix, Arizona when I was six years old. After a few days, my older niece missed home so much, that she and my sister went home early. But I had no interest in leaving early. I can’t recall, even at such a young age, ever being homesick.

Maybe it was because my mom was with me? Maybe it’s because I am a Sagittarius, the natural wanderer. Or maybe I was born with the travel bug in my blood and regardless of my age, I was meant to travel.

And travel I have!

I left my upstate home in Rochester, NY for college and never looked back. I had no interest in returning home beyond visits until I lost my parents in the early 2000s and realized my family was aging and I needed to be closer to home. In 2007, I chose to move back to New York State settling in NYC, and have decided to stay at least for now.

Since moving back to New York, I have realized what an amazing state I was born into and I have chosen to call my home. Many of you might say, sure, New York has one of the most interesting cities in the world to visit: New York City. And maybe you don’t even like cities! Yes, New York has New York City which is fabulous; but it also has so much more!

Hopefully, after you take this journey with me, you will feel the same way I do about my home state or at least I will have piqued your curiosity.

Southern New York and Long Island

I begin our journey through New York together at the furthest point east of New York one can travel, the beautiful Montauk Point State Park with the Montauk Lighthouse and Museum famous for being commissioned by George Washington in 1792. For years the lighthouse guided ships away from the Montauk rocks. Today, the park provides one of the best places in the country to view a sunrise. It also offers numerous hiking trails, surf fishing, and surfing.

Driving westward we reach the hamlet of Montauk which was once a fishing and surfing community and has more recently become a high-end tourist and dining location for the Northeastern elite. Montauk has become the starting point of the Hamptons which stretches west from Montauk through many towns and hamlets from East Hampton, Southhampton to Westhampton which make up a southern peninsula called the East End or South Fork. At the end of Long Island, the island develops two forks that look like an open mouth — North Fork and South Fork.

I have spent some time in the Hamptons, driving down Route 27, and understand its allure for both the rich and poor. The towns within the Hamptons offer beautiful sunny weather and powder sand beaches in the summer. Montauk and the northern hamlet of Sag Harbour offer boating experiences and excursions.

While the cost of spending summers in the Hamptons can be astronomical, I would argue the best time to go to the Hamptons is in the shoulder months, of May, September, and October. The weather is pleasant, the crowds have thinned out and the prices have declined. In September, you can still swim in the ocean. In October, the small-town atmosphere awaits with corn mazes, apple and pumpkin picking, apple cider and cider donuts. Plus, the lobster rolls and incredible seafood will still be there to enjoy!

If elitism and beaches are not your thing, after a nice lobster roll, let’s hop into the car and take a short ferry just north of Sag Harbour to Shelter Island. After navigating through Shelter Island, we take a second short ferry to Greenpoint and arrive at the North Fork peninsula which offers a very different vibe. In the North, you will find the peninsula dotted with family farmstands, U-pick berries, peas, and other vegetables, grape vineyards, and yes, wineries.

The North Fork wineries offer some nice Sauvignon Blanc, Rose, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir wines along with the opportunity to spend an afternoon sipping a glass of wine with a charcuterie board overlooking the beautiful vineyards. The relaxed style of the North Fork contrasts wildly from the South Fork and I find it a nice respite from the craziness the South has to offer.

The Hudson Valley and the Adirondacks

After a nice lunch at a winery with a glass of rose, we take Interstate 495 Westward, and by-passing New York City, we head north on Interstate 87 making the next stop — the Hudson Valley. The Hudson Valley has a lot to provide as a destination. As a key farming area of New York, it offers gastronomical delights to visitors as well as quaint towns with lovely antique stores for browsing. With its proximity to the Catskill mountains, there are also hiking and skiing opportunities galore.

After a nice dinner and overnight in the town of Reinbeck, we head further north to Lake George and the Adirondack mountains. The Adirondacks are where I spent my summers camping with my family as a youngster. It’s incredibly rustic but breathtaking. While Lake George is another playground for the Northeast elite, the Adirondacks offer affordable hiking, camping, and skiing for the rest of the Northeast. While many have heard of Lake Placid because of the Winter Olympics, there are plenty of other lovely towns to explore like Saratoga Springs, Saranac Lake, and Old Forge.

After watching a horse race at the Saratoga Racecourse, we set up camp at Old Forge and the next day we explore the Adirondacks on hikes leading to outlooks and views of beautiful mountains and valleys in the distance. In the morning, we take a drive together north to the tiny college town of Potsdam with its quaint bed & breakfasts which we use as a base to explore the Thousand Islands.

The Thousand Islands are hundreds of tiny islands in the St. Lawrence River. During the summer, many people ascend the Thousand Islands to enjoy boating, scuba diving, and fishing. While I have never done scuba diving in the Thousand Islands myself, I have heard that if you are not opposed to cold water diving, it has some well-preserved wrecks due to the river’s depth and cold.

The Finger Lakes and Western New York

After a nice day of swimming and exploring the Thousand Islands, we head south on Interstate 81 and west on Interstate 90 to stop in Geneva, New York, and the Finger Lakes. The Finger Lakes are comprised of approximately fifteen long, deep, and skinny lakes that look like fingers situated in Central New York. The lakes were made by receding glaciers from the last Ice Age.

This area is well known for its rolling hills, boating, swimming, vineyards, and wineries. The Finger Lakes produces some of the best Reisling wine and ice wine in the United States. Ice wine is a sweet dessert wine produced from grapes that have already experienced their first freeze before harvesting, not unusual for this to happen in Autumn in this part of the United States.

The Finger Lakes offers both an affordable and quality wine-tasting experience. Quality restaurants have also opened up to entice visitors to spend long weekends in the Spring, Summer, and Autumn. After a night at a B&B in Geneva, we spend the day wine-tasting and enjoying the restaurant scene. My favorite is FLX in Geneva which offers a multiple-course tasting menu at a reasonable price.

The Finger Lakes are also well known for some very important history. The area played a key role in the Underground Railroad and women’s rights movement which can be explored at Harriet Tubman’s home in Auburn, or the Women’s Rights Museum in Seneca Falls.

After we have exhausted the sites of the Finger Lakes, we take Interstate 90 West and then Interstate 190 North to Niagara Falls. We finish our tour of New York by viewing the famous Niagara Falls and perhaps taking a ride on the Mermaids of the Mist boat which takes you up close to the bottom of the falls for a wet viewing.

While I haven’t covered every nook and cranny of the Empire State, I hope I have given you a glimpse into the diversity and majesty of my home state. You may have also noticed that we completely bypassed, my permanent home, New York City, and may be asking me why.

When many travelers come to my home state, they come to New York City and may pass up on the rest of the state. New York City has already done a pretty good job of selling what it can provide so I don’t feel like I need to sell it to you.

Instead, I would like for you to see that New York State has much more to offer than the Big Apple, it has mountains, beaches, lakes, rivers, rolling hills, waterfalls, and vineyards. It’s why after living and traveling all over the world, I fell back in love with the state of my birth and finally returned to call it home.