July 2012: RV summer trip...Niagara Falls ON, Finger Lakes New York, Niagara on the Lake ON

Finally, a trip with the Cedar Creek!  It seems like a long time since we have travelled in our "little home" and I am very happy to be on the road.  We planned to meet up with Seamus and Carolyn in Finger Lakes New York but John and I left a couple of days early to catch up with cousins in Fonthill but we took some time out to visit Niagara Falls.  It's been a while.  No matter how many times you visit the falls you can't help but be amazed.  

John booked River Forest Campground near Weedsport New York on the Seneca River. This RV park was the closest he could find to the concert venue which was one of the main attractions of this trip for us.  We planned to see the band "Alabama Shakes" in Baldwinsville New York.  Unfortunately the park was not what we had hoped for.  John and I arrived before Seamus and Carolyn and were very disappointed with our campsite.  For one thing there were no sewer hook ups in the marina area even though we had booked sewer sites.  Also, it was very muddy in this area of the campground and the views were downright ugly!  From our site we looked toward the boat storage area and a rusty old crane holding up an ancient houseboat.  Seamus and Carolyn arrived and agreed this was not what we paid for but we had to stay for the first night.  In the morning we got our money back for the next 3 nights and went looking for a better campground.  It wasn't easy!  We ended up booking a site at Cayuga Lake State Park.  It was gorgeous but further from the concert venue than we would have liked.  It was worth the move! 

This is a winery region but Montezuma is the only one we visited.  We knew we would have our fill of wine tasting once we got to Niagara on the Lake in Ontario and we were on a mission to find a different campground.  

Lake Cayuga State Park turned out have a couple of empty sites we could book into for the next 3 nights.  

And it was beautiful.  Now back we go to River Forest to get the RV's and get ready to go to the concert.  

Once we moved the RV's to Lake Cayuga State Park we didn't have much time to get organized, eat a meal and head over to Baldwinsville and Paper Mill Island where Alabama Shakes was playing.  Seamus had heard this band on CBC radio and tracked down where they were playing.  We decided to make an RV trip out it!  

I have no idea what is so fascinating up there! 

This was a lovely venue on Paper Mill Island (Seneca River)

We thoroughly enjoyed the concert.  We arrived at 5 p.m.  when the gates opened and sat comfortably in our lawnchairs enjoying the sunshine and a beer.  There were 2 warm up bands and Alabama Shakes ( http://www.alabamashakes.com/)  came on around 8 p.m.  It was a great evening!  

The next day a driving tour took us around Cayuga Lake to Seneca Lake where we found a lovely harbour view restaurant for lunch at Watkins Glen.  A tour of the gorge at Watkins Glen State Park was lovely!  It was a good hike and the scenery was spectacular.  

The Beach at Cayuga Lake State Park 

We drove to Niagara on the Lake and checked into Shalamar RV Park on the Parkway along the Niagara River.  John and I have stayed here a few times and it is so handy to be able to hop on your bike and ride into the town of Niagara on the Lake stopping at wineries and fruit stands along the way.  

We headed into town to play the Niagara on the Lake Golf Course, claiming to be the oldest golf course in North America.  It is only 9 holes but it is so beautiful with gorgeous town and lake views!   First we had lunch on the patio of the clubhouse looking over the Niagara River and Fort Niagara on the American side.  

We spent some time driving and biking the wineries.  

 The grapes look small but actually they are very healthy...this year of drought has been good for wine making.  

Seamus and Carolyn had the site next to ours at Shalimar. 

Inneskillen Winery

Gorgeous flowers downtown Niagara on the Lake

A lovely picnic in the park in town. 

The grapes are just starting to turn red at Pellar.  

We did a tour of Pellar estates and had a great tasting experience.  

It was a hot few days but we made the most of it.  A huge storm went through the area but Shalamar was spared except for a few branches down.  We enjoyed dancing to a local band at the campground.  

June 20/21...Trim, Trim Castle Hotel, Bru na Boinne visitor Centre (Newgrange and Knowth)

We left the Westport Woods Hotel around 9:30 with clouds around of course and a gloomy forecast but this has come to mean nothing to us!  We were heading toward Ballina (small town in county Mayo) and Rappa Castle, once home to Ann's Great Grandmother.  What an adventure.  

We had no trouble finding the town but needed GPS coordinates to find Rappa Castle and this was the exciting part.  The road was tiny and seemed to shrink as we got closer.  Our anticipation mounted and we were thrilled when we got our first glimpse of Rappa. Ann recognized it immediately. Her great grandmother had lived there as a girl while her family were caretakers of the estate.  She fell in love and ran away with a farm hand much to the dismay of her family.  Eventually they ended up in Inverhuron, just north of Kincardine and that is how Ann ended up in the Kincardine area. What a story!  It seems so romantic and adventurous for a young couple to leave their home and make a new one on a different continent.  I am sure there were lots of difficulties however. 

  It was a moving scene for me so I can hardly imagine how Ann must have felt seeing this.    

Imagine!  

Beautiful even as a ruin...ivy gives it new life. 

This is the farm house with acreage for sale that has Rappa Castle on the property.  Maybe Ann and Ken should buy it as a summer home!  

Trim Castle Hotel did not disappoint us.  It was a modern and fairly luxurious Hotel, like the Westport but right across the street is Trim Castle another beautiful ruin.  John and Ken went golfing while Ann and I checked out the town.  There wasn't much there so we decided to have dinner at the hotel.  It looked like the best place in town. 

We toured the castle the next day in the rain as usual.  This castle is preserved in a state of disrepair with modern walkways allowing access to parts not safely restored and models showing the castle at various stages of history.  Part of the movie "Braveheart" was filmed here.  

From the hotel the castle dominated the view but from the castle the view of the hotel gave us a much different perspective.  This gives you an idea of how large this Norman castle was, and still is. 

June 21st; our last day of touring has arrived!  We had to make the most of it.  We headed off to Slane and the  Bru na Boinne Visitor Centre, the starting point for a tour of Newgrange and Knowth, two of the three great passage tombs in Ireland.  Like Maeshowe in the Orkney, these sites showcased the archeology, history and burial tombs of the ancients from 5000 to 6000 BC.  The similarities between the  Newgrange Chamber in particular and Maeshowe are remarkable to me.  

Anticipation is amplified as you walk toward the Visitor Centre. 

This Centre does justice to the historical and archaeological significance of the sites.  

The endless spiral is  a predominant theme of the ancients. 

I just wanted to get inside these mounds.  

Access was restricted at Newgrange Passage Tomb  but I got this shot through the viewing fence.  This reminded me so much of Maeshowe in Orkney. 

The spiral drawings are over 5000 years old.  

Passage Tomb

Huge stones guard the entrance and the familiar spiral is carved in the rock.  

This was a long day but we still had the energy to tour Trim Castle before an early dinner and bed.  Tomorrow we head off to the airport at Dublin and the long journey home.