HI Fellow Travelers ..
It’s been awhile since my last post due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Life practically came to a screeching halt as well as traveling. Borders were closed and travelers quickly became nervous in doing the 1 thing they love: TRAVELING. As the world slowly crawled back to some level of normalcy, residents quickly became anxious to get out of their homes and be outdoors once again and I certainly was not an exception. Though some borders still remained closed and stricter restrictions were enforced if traveling out of the country, I decided for a safer option:STAYCATION…
Living in the US, it offers me the opportunityto visit 50 different states of my choosing with loads of exciting things to do and explore. For my staycation I decided to go Glamping!! Ever heard of it? If not, its basically glamorous camping. Ive always wanted to go camping but didn’t think I had the “stuffs” needed to rough it, so I went to the next best option. For my glamping accommodations I chose FireLight Camps for a romantic weekend getaway, located in Ithaca, NY.. 4hrs from NYC. FireLight Camps offers a very unique experience for outdoors enthusiasts.
Upon arriving to stay in one of their 19 luxury tents you immediately get a sense of peace as it is completely surrounded by nature. Each tent comes with a king/queen bed, a balcony and basic essentials (table, chairs,lantern). The Camp grounds also allows you to BBQ, camp fire for roasting marshmallow, games and endless star gazing..
Ithaca is nestled in the Finger Lake region of NY offering great culinary experiences, award-winning winery tours and of course stunning outdoor scenery and activities with some of the most stunning waterfalls and lakes.
MUST DO
HIKING
Ithaca offers many great hiking trails with beautiful scenery. While visiting we decided to hike Buttermilk Falls State Park. Located in southwest Ithaca, these falls gets hits name from the foaming cascade form from the buttermilk creek and forms many natural pools which we noticed many locals take advantage of. It does have a main natural swimming hole at the base of the falls, but it was closed for the season due to COVID-19 Concerns, but as stated earlier many locals were diving and swimming in the many other pools located higher up the trail, whether it was permitted or not.. Unfortunately I did not walk with my swimsuit so I settled for looking at all the other visitors diving and swimming in the turquoise pools.
Dining
There is a plethora of options to choose from for your dining pleasures. We decided on dining at Hazelnut Kitchen which is approximately 25 mins from FirelightCamps and offers a farm to table dining experience. Due to COVID-19 they offered a prix fixe menu for the main dining room but since we sat outside (because we missed our reservations) we had the option of not doing the prix fixed menu and had steak with fries special.. It was an amazing culinary experience. Sitting outside allowed us to really take in the quaint village scenery and sit in the coolish summer setting evening. For desert we had the hazelnut butter cake with salted caramel ice-cream and it was sooo good! I really didn’t expect it to be that good. I wondered if it was because I worked up a serious appetite from hiking all day, but me and my boyfriend ate every last crumb! Everything looked and tasted so great that we forgot to take pictures of the food..so we took pictures of our empty plate.. I mean empty plates are indicative of great food right?
Parks
Ithaca being situated on the Finger Lakes offers a some of the most picturesque parks for your lounging and picnic pleasures. We decided to visit Stewart Park due a friends recommendation of it being on Cayuga’s lake. Right along the waters edge were benches shaded by weeping willows to sit and take in the scenic views. I could have spent all day on that bench, daydreaming the day away. Stewart Park also offers a variety of other amenities such as picnic tables, BBQ pits, tennis courts, waterfront trails and many more.
Click HERE
There are lots more to do and explore in Ithaca. These were only a few options, time permitted me to take advantage of. It was a great mini vacation that offered me the much need rejuvenation and relaxation from the bustling city.
Gallery
Camp Grounds CLICK ME TENTS CLICK HERE
