Seneca Lake 

By: Brenda Olsen

The beauty here does not seem aimless

It flows in directions that have been chosen. 

An author that knew exactly where to place it.

An artist that sketched beauty with virgin eyes.

The breezes that drift by on an August day,

The nature of Seneca.

The waters that have an angry temperament

But can ease and soften in a mere moment like

A Father with his infant child

Time drifts by here, uncontained – it melts you into its landscape

Like a seed drifting downward from a high north wind,

A bloom that originated here.

One is no stranger, one is an inhabitant.

The one place that invites you in, beckons you to stay, creates your solace.

Mine eyes reflect this splendor into permanence in my minds eye.

Indelible – never to fade or erase from my memory.

The quiet peace like one once knew in their watery womb,

The outside world only a muffled quiet noise – a coagulation of all your senses.

We return here to safe harbor to relive our exquisite birth in a painless domain.

It is Seneca – It is a gift of life that one shares sparingly like aged Cognac.

Drink to inebriation.

 

Several years ago while exploring the countryside between Seneca and Keuka Lake with my father on one of his long Sunday drives, I found myself getting slightly bored and anxious to get back to our cottage on Seneca Lake. With a bright blue sky and the warm July sun shining down, most children would find themselves satisfied with simply swimming in the lake all day or exploring the nearby woods and gullies. Although I had my fair share of childhood play time, I found it hard to pass up the chance to get out in the car and see things that I had never seen before. Whether it be old restaurants that held stories of the days before my birth, amish farms that had been around since the beginning of time or even a small town that some believe is the inspiration for the town of Bedford Falls in the movie It's a Wonderful Life, I could always stand a few hours of driving around in order to learn a thing or two. As the afternoon moved and I soon realized that I would be out of daylight and unable start that tree fort I had been thinking about all day, my father leaned over and said to me, "I've got something really neat to show you." We made our way north on Rt. 14 along the west side of Seneca Lake and in the same direction as our cottage. Thinking we might actually get home on time I felt a sense of excitement until we suddenly made a right-hand turn and headed down a small road towards the lake. At this point I couldn't see anything worth looking at and I couldn't think for the life of me what might be located down this road. Besides, I had passed this road a thousand times since the day I was born. What could be so great that we passed up so many times? As we moved along the narrow road and towards the lake, we wove through woods and crossed over small streams, all while watching the grade of the road get steeper and steeper. Right when I thought we couldn't go any further without driving right over a cliff and into the lake, we made a sharp left-hand turn and headed right down towards the lake. To my right I could see a set of quaint lake-front cottages with nice level, grassy yards that stretched all the way to the water's edge. Up ahead I could see a small bridge that lead into what appeared to be a small village. This was starting to get a bit more interesting but I still had not seen anything worth the sales pitch by my father only a few minutes earlier. As we approached the bridge my father rolled down the windows and stopped the car. Aside from the faint moan of a boat or two passing by in the distance, I could hear what appeared to be the roar or rushing water. As we slowly inched forward in the car, I drew my attention over to the left where this roaring water sound seemed to be coming from. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye there it was. A giant waterfall spilling over a cliff and into a rocky pool of water. This was something I had only seen in the movies. I had always dreamed of being able to explore a waterfall and to look behind the wall of water to search for hidden caves. I could go through the rocks for hours to see what had come down stream over the years. Perhaps I could even find a place to jump off and have my own private high dive. This was it! It was right here, it had always been here and I never had a clue.
To this day, one of the first places I always bring first-time Finger Lakes visitors to, is Glenora Falls (just below Glenora Winery on the west side of Seneca Lake). It's a rare gem in the region and is unknown to most visitors. In addition to Glenora, The Finger Lakes region boasts quite a collection of waterfalls. Each waterfall has it's own look and sound and requires a little detective work and navigation to find. Some of the falls even require a small to moderate hike which provides for some great exercise in addition to amazing photo opportunities. Where might one find these beautiful waterfalls? Not to worry! A few websites have popped up over the last few years that map out the locations of the most popular waterfalls in The Finger Lakes. Simply click here for a map and photos.
First and foremost I would highly recommend Watkins Glen State Park, right at the foot of Seneca Lake in the town of Watkins Glen. It is easily one of the greatest natural wonders in the region.
As for taking car rides with my dad, it's still one of my favorite things to do and there's always something new to find or discover. As I've grown up, I've taken on the"day drive" roll myself. I've been known to spend over ten hours in a car, doing nothing more than exploring the region, and driving my passenger crazy as they beg me to simply, "go back to the cottage."
Outside of the lakes themselves and the wonderful wineries that dot the countryside, there are an infinite number of things to do and see in The Finger Lakes and the best way to discover what you like best, is to simply go out and find it.

Michael Hoke
The Savannah House Inn on Seneca Lake
SavannahHouseVacation.com

Got some new pics from my dad today and posted them on our site and on Facebook. Look for some new standard queen room and suite pics. To join us on Twitter or Facebook, simple go to our home page and look for the links up on the top of the page. Our home page is www.SavannahHouseVacation.com. This would be the best way to get info on last minute deals and upcoming events in the area. Also, as we take more guest photos moving forward, you might catch your photo on our site.

Some other good news:

We're making progress on the addition of our cabins for 2010. If all goes as planned we should have around 3-5 new cabins in place this summer. To get on an early list for reservations simply call my father Pat Hoke right at The Savannah House. All contact numbers can be found at the bottom of our home page (www.SavannahHouseVacation.com).

Have a great night!

Regards,
Michael Hoke

Ok, after some thorough research I think I've got this thing working! Check back on a regular basis for news and updates. Often we come up with last minute deals which we will post in real-time right here on our blog!

I thought I had this thing down but for some reason I'm having a hard time getting this blog feed on our site. At any rate, check back later today and hopefully I'll have this thing done!

Although I consider myself somewhat tech savvy, I seem to be the last one to the "blog" table. I must admit that I have no personal use for a blog, I would LOVE to share as much as possible about our wondeful lodging establishment in The Finger Lakes region of upstate NY. This is the first official BLOG for The Savannah House Inn on Seneca Lake!

More to come!