1 Day visit to Aurora, NY and Cayuga Lake

 

Aurora is a cute little village located along the shores of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes Region of New York.  About 2 weeks prior we planned a fun day here.  At the time of planning the weather was supposed to be rainy.  Somehow we totally lucked out and it was a really nice, sunny, warm day in October!

Our plan was to begin with lunch at a local tavern called Fargo Bar and Grill (yup, Wells Fargo) built in 1834.  As we approached to walk in, we saw a sign that they were doing take-out only for the week due to a lack of employees.  Grrr....this is a college town, interesting that they can't get workers.  3 out of 4 of us had eaten here before.

Across the street, was the Inns of Aurora, formerly known as Aurora Inn.  We knew they had a restaurant, and assumed that it would not be open for lunch.  To our surprise it was open!   The restaurant is called 1833 Kitchen & Bar.  Upscale, gorgeous interior, but we chose to eat outdoors on the veranda. 

It was a wonderful lunch of fabulous food and great views of Cayuga Lake.  None of us had eaten here in years, and it seemed like it worked out even better than our original plans.

Mediterranean Humus Toast

After a yummy lunch we went on a great walk thru the village.  The leaves still were looking pretty colorful.  We saw so many different kinds of plants and trees.  We did a little walking around the Wells Campus (again...Wells Fargo), and it is a lovely campus.

The famous Wells College Tree

We next drove to Long Point State Park. Walked around-checked out Cayuga Lake, and enjoyed the last of the sunny day.  The clouds were starting to roll in a bit.  The park isn't really large from what we could see-but would be a nice place for a picnic. 

On we traveled to  Long Point Winery.  We had all been here before, and have even read the book that John Hartsock wrote about this winery!! (Seasons of a Finger Lakes Winery)  We decided to buy a bottle of wine to share.  The Dry Reisling is  amazing.  It was starting to be a light rain, and the wind was picking up a bit-so we chose to have the drinks inside.  The vineyards were absolutely spectacular in a bright yellow color that we have never experienced before.    

Our next stop was right next door at Aurora Brewing Company.  We did have to drive, but could see those beautiful vineyards from the brewery.  They have a wonderful outside place-but it was a light rain.  It was so cool watching the clouds, fog and rain clouds roll in over Cayuga Lake.  We ordered a flight and some snack food, and spent a couple hours playing a few card games.  Great backdrop for playing cards!  They did have some bar games-but we brought our own.

After that, we headed back to Cortland and a stop at Doug's Fish Fry for dinner.

Fantastic day with friends-and so happy we were able to take advantage of the wonderful Finger Lakes weather that day!

All places in italics are reviewed by me on Trip Advisor for more specific details.