Our two weeks family trip to North America

On Tuesday we left early in order to reach Buffalo, New York, and change vehicles at the airport. We drove south on highway 90 and then turned south to route 14. The road runs by Seneca Lake, one of the Finger Lakes (the lakes are long and narrow, and resemble fingers). It was a 3 hours drive, and we absorbed the amazing scenes around. Watkins Glen state park is at the south end of the lake. If you get there by car, there is a parking lot for 8$ per car near the entrance, or you can go back (about 100 m) and leave your car in the Pizza Hut parking lot.

The Park is a real must-see, especially the amazing Glen creek. The stream cut through, and you’ll find 19 waterfalls descending from a max height of 120 meters, small polls and other wonders. The canyon was discovered was discovered in 1863, and in 1906 became the property of the state of New York. It was formed about 10,000 years ago by a glacier that defrosted deepened the Seneca valley.

There are 3 trails running through the park - the gorge, the Southern Rim and Indian Trail. We took the gorge, which starts about a 100 meters from the entrance to the park. The trail is an uphill walk, but it’s a pretty easy walk, some stairs along the way. On the sides you can see the water flowing, the arch falls and more. The path is narrow, and we had to walk one after the other.

At the end of the climb there are some more stairs, but the sights are worthwhile. You can go all the way back on the same trail, or take the Indian trail, that leads you into the forest. The walk up took about an hour, and the walk down on the Indian trail took us 40 minutes. If you are tired, you can always take the shuttle down.

From Watkins Glen Park we headed west to Ithaca on route 79, about 45 minutes drive.

We stayed at the Best Western University Inn which was rather nice.

1020 Ellis Hollow Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850

We did Old Forge, Tupper Lake and Lake Placid in a single day.

Old Forge is a small community on Route 28. It has a some local attractions, like the enchanted Forest Water Safari (a water theme park) and the Calypso's Cove Family entertainment center. We decided to pass, ate lunch at a local restaurant and continued to Tupper Lake.

From Ithaca to Old Forge its about three hours driving.

We drove west-north to Tupper Lake, where we visited the Wild Center. We sew lots of animals, some of a rare kind, and the kids loved it. It’s open from 10:00 till 17:00; a ticket for an adult is 15$, and for a child 9$.

We stayed at Econo Lodge, 5828 Cascade Road, Lake Placid

High Gorge falls and White Face Mountain:

On the way to White Face mountain we stopped on High Gorge falls, about 15 minutes from Lake Placid on route 86. We left the car and took the walking trail, crossing a spectacular hanging bridges and cool paths, near beautiful water fall and dark polls.

From there we drove up Whiteface Mountain, turning near Willimington to route 431 and then up to the parking lot. We took an elevator up the mountain for a spectacular view of the area. It was a bit chilly, so make sure you bring something warm to wear. From there we headed on to Ausable Chasm.

Ausable Chasm is a sandstone gorge near the village of Keeseville, with nature trails passing through the Adirondack Forest. It costs 16$ for an adult and 9$ for kids, but the sight of the beautiful rainbow falls was worth it. From the trail you can see the creek and the river flowing, and it is a pretty easy walk. It didn’t take that long, and looking we could have passed. You can see the waterfalls from the bridge by entrance, and that’s the feature of the gorge. You can also take a river raft for an extra 10$-12$, but we decided to pass.

In order to get to Burlington there are two options - 

(1) Take the direct ferry from Port Kent (one hour on the ferry)

(2) Drive to Plattasburgh, and a ferry via Grand Isle

We chose the second option. There’s a ferry every 15 minutes, and it takes about 12 minutes to reach the island. We visited the Grand Isle Art Works – an artisan gallery in an old farmhouse built in 1797 – and took a horseback riding.

We stayed at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center
870 Williston Road, Burlington

In Vermont you’ll find a wide variety of factories to visit, the most famous of them is the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory (Vermont finest). It’s near the town of Waterbury, close to route 100. There’s a half an hour tour of the factory, where you can see how the ice cream is being made step by step. At the end of the tour we got to the taste samples of almost every ice cream flavor. The price for adults is 2$, and kids get in for free.

After that we went to the nearby Cold Hollow Cider factory, where you can see how natural cider is made out of fresh apples. There is no entry fee at all. There is an excellent cheese shop close to the factories called Cabot Annex that is worth a visit. Vermont is also famous for its maple, so we headed on to the Morse Farm Sugar Works, located near Vermont Capital, Montpelier.

The next day we left Burlington early, and visited the local farmers market in Montpelier. The market is located at 60 State Street in downtown Montpelier, across the Washington County Court House Building. There’s a parking lot next to Julio’s Restaurant and Christ’s Church Parish House. The local farmers sell their dairy products, vegetables and fruit, honey, flowers, meats and more. After stocking up we continued the journey, and headed on the White Mountains in New Hampshire.

Flume Gorge & Visitor Center

Flume gorge is a natural gorge at the base of Mount Liberty. It has granite walls that rise to almost 30 meters, creating a narrow path 4-6 meters wide. The trail is almost 3 km, with an uphill walking and lots of stairs. There are a lot of flowers, ferns and mosses in the area, and spectacular views of Mount Liberty and Mount Flume. The trail ends in the Flume gorge, where you can watch a short movie about Franconia Notch State Park.

We stayed at the B/W White Mountain Resort (87 Wallace Hill Rd, Franconia).

We did a full day tour in Lost River Reservation, Clark Trading Post and North Conway. If you have time and weather permits, you can also visit Mt. Washington. We didn't have time.

We spend the day driving to Tilton. We spent the night in a town called Tilton, in a Holiday Inn Express on 75 Tilton Road.

We spent full day (9:00 - 18:00) in Tanger Outlet. As we understood New Hampshire doesn't have sale taxes, and indeed this outlet had the best prices we met in our trip.  

We spent two full days in Boston. Looking back, one day was enough for us. 

The next day we left Boston to Newport Rhode Island (approx. hour and a half driving), to visit the Touro synagogue that was built in 1763. It’s the oldest synagogue in North America, and it’s open daily from 10:00 till 17:00. There’s an old Jewish cemetery down the street, and a nice walk on the shore line which begins in Easton’s beach, and you can also take a drive down Ocean Ave and take a peek at the Kennedy estate.

After spending several hours in Newport, we continued to Mystic (approx. an hour driving) and there we spent the night.

Of course, we had to pay a visit to Mystic Pizza in the downtown, the location of the Hollywood film with Julia Roberts. The place was founded in 1973 and is still run by the Zelepos family, with their "secret recipe". Bear in mind you might have to wait in line to get a slice…

In Mystic we stayed at the Hyatt Place (224 Greenmanville ave

The Olde Mistick Village has some unique shops, and it is very nice just to wonder around, or just sit down for a cup of coffee or ice cream.

It took us 3 hours to get from Mystic to New York, and bear in mind you better get to the city before 13:00 if you don’t want to get stuck in traffic. We brought the car back to the rental agency, and took the subway to the hotel.

In New York we stayed in the Hotel Stanford (43 West 32nd Street).

We ate at an excellent pizza place called Lombardi’s Pizza, in little Italy (32 Spring street). The line was long but it was worth it. Another great place in Rice to Riches, which is a restaurant with a menu based around rice pudding in different flavors. It’s very close to the pizza place (37 Spring stree).

Another great Italian place is Carmine’s. They offer family dishes, and the smallest plate is for 2 people. You might want to skip the openings, because the main dishes are very large and very good, and surprisingly not expensive. The restaurant has 2 branches – one on 44 Street (near Times Square) and one on 2450 Brodway (Upper East Side).