WEEK OF SUNDAY June 16 through Saturday June 22

 Sunday:  I went to church and before going home I went to the DOLLAR TREE to get some extra paper plates and cups.  I also stopped at Little Caesers and purchased pizza for my lunch.   I spent the rest of the day getting ready for tomorrows trip.  I didn't get as far as vacuuming the floors like I had planned to do.  

Monday (Day one of trip) I think I left Lockport right around ten a.m.  I stopped and got gas at the "cheap place" on the Transit.  Then I got on the thruway.  I arrived in Penn Yan around noon and found the PENN YAN DINER, but it was closed.

  I called Leslie and she was already in Penn Yan, at a Presbyterian Church.  It is amazing that we both arrived in Penn Yan at the same time.  She made her way to where I was waiting in front of the condemned diner and we had lunch at THE WAGNER, right across the street from the diner.  The server (Zena) told us that there was a fire in the PENN YAN DINER about a month again.  Both Leslie and I had the special which was sliced prime rib on a roll.  It was pretty good.  After that, I suggested that we should go to the Chamber of Commerce and get information about things to see and do in the area.  It was difficult to find even using my navigation system in my car, but we finally found it, and got several brochures, maps, etc. It was still early in the day, so we decided to look for a couple of geocaches and we found one of them.  The one we found was hidden in a very interesting and detailed statue of an Indian.  It was terribly hot and humid and I was not having a lot of fun, and the heat was exhausting me.  Then we went to TOPS and bought some groceries.  Our original plans had been to get enough groceries for all four days, but we were worn out and only got a few items.  We then headed to COUNTRY CHARM.  We got separated (my fault) and there was a heavy downpour on the way there.  Upon arrival, we found the store/office closed.  Brenda had left me a note.  We had a bit of trouble getting into our cabin. Ours was the one on the left in this picture which I got from Country Charm's website, since I forgot to take a picture while I was there.

The note had contained a separate piece of paper with the code for the door, but it slipped out.  I was able to reach her by phone and we got in easily.  We had supper of rotisserie chicken, broccoli and baked beans, and spent the rest of the evening unpacking and settling in.  

Tuesday the 18th (Day 2 of Trip) We left the cottage at 9:25 and headed out to geocache.  We wanted to find SPOOK HILL but drove around in circles (courtesy of the navigation system in my car).  We finally gave up and went after THE RIGHT SPOT.  We stopped at a very nice scenic overlook before going on to GRAPES GALORE, which was pretty easy to find.  Then we went to Naples and had lunch at BOB and RUTHS Vineyard Restaurant.  While there, we were approached by another customer (Sarah) who noticed Leslie's bandana with "Buggy" on it.  There is some significance to it that Sara and Leslie know about.

  Our lunch there was good.  I had a chicken salad plate, which even had a small cup of mint ice cream with it. 

We went to SUTTON'S which is an old-time fishing lure store. 

I had read an article about this store a few months back and thought it would be interesting.  Indeed, it appeared to be as original and old fashioned as the article stated. We drove down to see the old Red Mill, and I took a few pictures of it. 

Our last stop on the way was in the Village of Middlesex for the Old Country Store, but it closed a few minutes before our arrival.  We went back to our lodging where we had more of the rotisserie chicken and the rest of the baked beans.  

WEDNESDAY  (Day 3 of Trip) Leslie drove today.  I think we were headed to Penn Yan, but Leslie made a wrong turn and we ended up in Middlesex, so we went into the Country Store.  We did some geocaching and when we were in a cemetery looking for a macabre structure in the BELLONA CEMETERY, well actually it was outside the perimeter of the cemetery. There must be a story behind it.  We saw this structure, but it must be the backside of the building. .  We did not see a way to get down to it.

The pictures on the geocache page do not really look like this, but I think those pictures were taken by people standing in front of the "macabre building". 

It was at Bellona Cemetery when Leslie thought her phone was missing.  We backtracked to the spots where we had geocached and then back to our cottage in case it as there, but no luck.  Turns out it was in her car all the time. RELIEF.   We decided we needed a relaxing lunch in a place where we could be waited on, and we ended up at THE ANTIQUE INN RESTAURANT north of Branchport.  We did more geocaching and found the FRIENDS HOME (which is a waymark).  It looks like it is a private residence now.  

  By this time, it was too late for lunch but too early for supper, but we both felt like we would enjoy a sit down meal being waited on.  On our way back to Penn Yan, Leslie spotted a little restaurant THE ANTIQUE INN RESTAURANT and we chose that.  I had a small baked fish meal which was quite good.  Then we went to TOPS again and purchased enough groceries to get us through to Friday morning.   

THURSDAY (Day 4 of Trip) It was not so terribly hot in the morning. We drove to North Cohocton to go to the OLDE COUNTRY STORE AND MORE.

We got a charge out of these benches on the front porch. 

 It is really neat!  I bought a bag of what we used to call PENNY CANDY,

but it costs a lot more now.  Then we drove to Penn Yan and had lunch at SENECA FARMS.  Leslie and I both had chicken and waffles, but they use corn fritters instead.  There was very little chicken in mine, but TONS of syrup.  I ate most of it, along with my side of coleslaw. While we were at SENECA FARMS it rained very heavily.  Because everything was wet, we decided to go to the museum. 

 It was quite interesting.  Mostly, learning about THE UNIVERSAL PUBLIC FRIEND, since we had already seen the large house that she lived in.  This painting of her is in the carriage house.  

I think today we would call her a leader of a cult. 

By the time we left the museum, it had cleared up so we decided to go to the KEUKA OUTLET TRAIL. We saw some ruins of old mill buildings and found two geocaches.  

FRIDAY:  I did NOT sleep well last night.  We got up a little before eight and had breakfast (we were tired of cheerios and bananas, but I cannot remember what we ate) and then packed our stuff up and cleaned the cabin.  Left COUNTRY CHARM at 9:45. I stopped in Batavia to get a slice of pizza at BATAVIA'S ORIGINAL PIZZERIA. I had a slice and a drink.  The pizza was good, but not exceptional.  But a slice is never as good as a fresh pizza.  I don't know why!  I would like to go back someday with a friend or two.  

My last stop was at one of the pull-offs at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.  I stopped in order to brush the pizza crumbs off of my shirt, but I took these two pictures: 

 Got home a little after one p.m. Didn't do much for the rest of the day.  

SATURDAY the 22nd:  Betty dropped my mail off in the morning.  I spent the entire day at home and did laundry, changed my sheets and continued to unpack.  In the early evening, I watched the movie BEHIND THE MASK, which was very good.  I worked on labelling my pictures in flickr.  

ALTOGETHER,  I consider it to be a very good trip, in spite of the horrendous heat!