Travels in the 2nd half

  Torqued Ellipses by Richard Serra When people think of museums in New York, the city is what usually comes to mind. But sixty-five miles north of the city, in the town of Beacon NY, is one of the nation’s top museums of contemporary art - DIA:Beacon . The Dia Foundation was founded in 1974, with the mission of “advancing, realizing, and preserving the vision of artists by commissioning projects, organizing exhibitions, and realizing site-specific works” (DIA mission statement). Its early projects included The Lightning Field (1977) and The Broken Kilometer (1979) both by Walter de Maria . In 1987, they opened their first gallery in New York City on West 22nd street, which served as their primary exhibition space. In 2003 DIA:Beacon opened. This museum is now the home of DIA’s permanent collection. Beacon, New York, was founded in the early 1800’s, as a grist mill town on the shore of the Hudson River, near the mouth of Fishkill Creek. By the middle of the 19th century, the are...

The Finger Lakes region of New York is a beautiful area to visit. There are several state parks and lots of places to hike in nature. But there is more than that to do in the Ithaca area. So, on a lovely, if windy day I took off and drove around Cayuga lake. This gave me the chance to visit a few of the local wineries and some historic sites. The loop around Cayuga Lake is about 90 miles, and, if you do it right, it will take you most of a day. I started by heading north on NY-89, which hugs the western shore of the lake. I chose this route because it took me to two of the three wineries I had chosen, out of the more than a dozen that are in the area. My first stop was at the Thirsty Owl Wine Company , a 24-mile drive north of Ithaca, with the lake peaking in and out of the trees the whole way. Thirsty Owl sits on the lake shore, offering great views along with great wines. You can purchase a tasting flight of five wines for $5. You choose the ones you want from a long menu of wines....


   Taughannock Creek The Finger Lakes section of New York is a beautiful part of the state. The ice age glaciers and local geology have created a large collection of river gorges along with the eleven lakes themselves. Last week I wrote about Buttermilk Falls, a beautiful set of cascades. It is beautiful, but not an easy hike. Another gorgeous gorge, and one with a much easier walk is at Taughannock Falls State Par k.  Located eleven miles north of Ithaca, on the western shore of Lake Cayuga, the park offers some of the best hiking, swimming, fishing and boating, all in one place. Taughannock Falls State Park straddles NY-96, with its eastern section along the water. This lake-front section offers access to a beach, a fishing pier and the park’s boat-launch and marina. There are plenty of picnic tables and places for kids to play. It is a great place to come for the day, set up a picnic and enjoy everything the lake has to offer.   The highlight of the park is on the oth...