Grapehounds New York 2010

We finally made it to Grapehounds New York this year! We met up with the Parks and drove the 8 hours north to Ithaca, New York. It was a long drive, but well worth it. Due to the very active nature of this trip, we only took Cali. Dana and Henry are getting a little old to be jumping in and out of the car every 10 minutes.
the first night we went to Hazlitt for the welcome night event. A lot of greyhounds and their owners were there to kick off the event. then we headed to a restaurant in Ithaca for a great dinner in the perfect weather!We awake the next morning ready for a day of wine tasting and exploring. Of course, the very first morning on my way inside from the morning potty break with Cali, I pull a door open and right on to Cali's toe. I felt horrible! and of course, she milked it. But kristen and I always come prepared so we doctored it up and moved on.Cali enjoys her ride to Seneca lake, boo-boo toe and all.
I was taken aback by how beautiful it was, even the trip from our hotel in Ithaca to Seneca lake was great.We start at our favorite 'name' winery but not necessarily our favorite winery. But every one welcomed us.This was a perfect first winery b/c we were able to have a little fun before the wine tasting began.Then we moved on to other wineries. I didn't take photos of the next two but we found that Seneca lake does Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir pretty well. We worked our way around to Watkins Glen for a 're-hydration' lunch. We were always behind Gyeong and Kristen, so this was a common site. But we weren't in Italy..there was just an Italian festival going in in Watkins Glen.
We had met up with Doreen and Allen with their two greyhounds Sidney and Tempest. That afternoon we hit a few more wineries. Each with wonderful views of the lake.We end up at the host winery, Silver Springs. That is where all the vending was set up.We had intended to hang here for the evening and listen to music. But the winery was not as accommodating as we had hoped, so we enjoyed a bit of the music and headed back to Ithaca for dinner.After a good night's sleep, we were ready for round 2 of wine tasting. Cali enjoyed her ride to Seneca Lake but I think only b/c she could nap the whole way! There were 14 wineries participating in the event (Seneca Lake has a total of 40 wineries), so we had to hit them all! Kings Garden was a favorite of the day.
And you can bet we liked this one as well
Cali and Stanley were definitely done with the wine tasting situation.We take time to enjoy the surroundings.And get the only group photo of the trip! The girls-me, Kristen, Doreen with Cali, Jaimie, Stanley, Stella, Sidney and TempestThen we get the boys involved.and a rare photo of just meWe ended the afternoon at the final winery with a cheese/cracker picnic...well most of us did. Jason was 'wined-out' and held the dogs outside while we did the tasting. Normally, i would make fun of him for napping. But after a day of tasting, this winery had a LONG list of wines. What turned out to be a list that was TOO long. I do remember this photo..but only barely. That night we had a light dinner that consisted of lots of ginger ale for me! But we made it through and it was a really great time.
The next day we woke and Cali was done.
We literally carried her to the car and made the 8 hour trek home. We ended up with almost 2 cases of wine, lots of stories and a greater appreciation for the beauty of New York state.