I Have Returned

First things first. My trip to Corning was fun! Mom and I found the Corelle/Corningware store and made that our first stop. I felt like a kid in a candy store -- all those patterns and pyrex and gadgets to choose from. Sadly, my Spring Blossom pattern has been discontinued. It's a spray of little green flowers against white and now it's become history. Unfortunately, there were no stray pieces left to snatch up. But I did buy a few gadgets I decided I couldn't live without including a zester, cheese cutting board and pyrex measuring cup. I would have happily spent more money but controlled myself.

Market Street is quaint. The shops have been refurbished so they have a small town feel and the bricks are made of sidewalk. We were there about 4pm on Saturday and were surprised to find so many of the shops closed. The LPGA was in town so we thought maybe everybody was watching the golf but it was also a long weekend so maybe everybody just left town. We went into an antique store and I saw a set of mugs that matched the Spring Blossom pattern but there was no price tag on them. Since my friend Monica is an expert at these things, I should have called her to ask her what she thought I should pay but I didn't think of it. There was also a set of nesting bowls with a very large bowl I don't have but I didn't need the others so I passed on that too.

On Sunday morning we went to the Corning Museum of Glass and watched glass being made into a vase. It was fascinating and very hot. I was impressed by the constant rolling of the tube the glass sits on as it goes into and out of the fire which is done, I learned, to prevent gravity from mishaping the object. I found some very cute and patriotic looking 20 oz. drinking glasses for 99 cents each, so I bought some. I also bought some martini glasses too, for the proper enjoyment of my favorite dirty martini at cocktail time.

Afterwards, we decided to head a little further west into Hammondsport which is on one of the Finger Lakes (Keuka Lake) and sample some of the fruit from the vineyards that have made New York State wines a force to be reckoned with in the grape world. The first vineyard we stopped at was off the beaten path but it would turn out to be the one we enjoyed the most. My mother liked a Chardonnay and I liked a Strawberry Merlot. I know it sounds funny but it's soooo much better than a wine cooler because it is not malt based.

We stopped at three more vineyards but only lingered at the last one, Dr. Frank's. Personally, the name didn't inspire me to think lofty thoughts of fine wine but rather Frankenstein himself which is not a good image to have when you're talking about wines. The sommelier (is that what she was? I have no idea. I should have asked what she called herself) only offered us selected samples of dry vs. sweet in similar families like Reisling. We didn't care for any of the samples.

By then it was after 4pm and we decided to head back into Corning and the hotel. We had supper at Applebees and were on the road the next morning to head back to Syracuse and points north. Our next trip when she visits will be to visit Canada.