Road trip from New York To Chicago - part 3 (Cleveland)

I sleep better in a tent than a highway motel. Thank god for that we are going to be driving about 4 hours to Cleveland, Ohio, right after a nice breakfast prepared with our portable stove. Packing and cleaning up our camp area takes less time than we though, by 10:30am everything was set, we even had a nice hot shower.

our camp area

the drive to Cleveland was a smooth one, as i remember there wasn't much tolls so there wasn't any service area, though there are welcome center where one can stop by and stretch up a little. 

Once we arrived in Cleveland we went straight to our Inn(Red Roof Inn $69 tax included) which is on the west side of Cleveland near to the airport

it was still early, so we went and check out West side market near Downtown. it was a highly recommended place to visit in Cleveland

it was almost 3:30pm by the time we reached most of the stall was already close

but we went in anyway, there was alot of nice pastry stall which was still open. The interior of this market is pretty impressive

walked around the area for a while and went for early dinner nearby at a Sichuan Restaurant, can't remember the name though. Food was not bad, the potion was too big.

We just drove around the city, there wasn't much that we wanted to see.

i would have taken some photos but unfortunately i was the driver and not like Boon gonna bother with  the camera.

Cleveland is alright, not rundown at all as some people has told us. Maybe in the suburb? i don't know. As far as i can see it's like any other city, maybe less crowded i would say but traffic was not good. Silly us to be headed out of the city during rush hour.

well that's about it for Day 3 of our road trip from New York to Chicago. A much relaxing day than the previous 2 days. I'm not used to this :P

~ end of road trip Day 3 ~

Road trip from New York To Chicago - part 2 (Letchworth State Park)

Continue our roadtip, after some what few hours of sleep at a highway motel, thanks to the room next to ours for "watching tv" at 3am.....3 freaking am in the morning. oh well what do i expect it was a highway motel.

We left early and head out to hunt for the nearest Panera Bread for a nice healthy breakfast before driving about 2 hours north west from Horse head town to Letchworth State Park. Another day of fun hiking and be one with nature.

Entrance fee to Letchworth State Park is $8 but because we will be camping there for the day it's included. yippy!! and the camp site only cost $25/ night

it was Sunday when we arrived and there was a flee market,

wolf-pack anyone?? or scented skunk hat??

tried this arrow thingy....can't remember the name. it's fun, i almost hit the target

scenic overlook, Genesee River

water level is pretty low

when i was doing some research on Letchworth State park, i read that it is consider to be the "Grand Canyon" of the east. I was like, wow this place better be good because I've been to The Grand Canyon. I got to say that as a state park it's not bad 

big bend, this place remind me of Lilienstein @ Saxony Switzerland

after getting a map from the visitor center we headed to Lower Falls for a nice hiking

there wasn't much sign or marking for direction or where we were. It's easy to get confuse, not knowing which direction to take and the map doesn't really help either.

 the state park's popular features are its 3 large waterfalls.

This is Lower Falls, from here one can hike till the Upper Falls, we did that ,and it took us about 3-4 hours for a 6 miles round trip

it's really a nice hike up

not sure what they call this area but it's near to the Lower falls, it was really slippery with water dripping down from the gorge rock wall but it's really beautiful

a short detour around this area before heading up stream to the Upper Falls

it's important to wear suitable hiking or sport shoes to hike. I'm amaze that some people wearing flip flops, not sure to be amuse or pity when a woman broke her flip flop when it got stuck in the mud

the best time to hike is during noon when the sun is scorching hot and the trail is shaded by the lushes green trees

the trail is relatively easy, however there are a few up hill and steps which is tiring but good news is that they have benches. Bring water enough for you to reach the Upper Falls. from there one can refill

after an hour hike we can see the Middle Falls, but this picture i zoom in, so we had to hike for another 30 minutes or so

one can always drive up to see these waterfalls but where's the fun in it, right?

we were a little lost here as the trail somehow just doesn't connect. many people were walking aimlessly but luckily we went up the bridge and followed along the road

and reach our Middle Falls viewing area

at this point i was a little tired as our water was running low and seeing all these water flowing make me even more thirsty

we were really lucky with the weather, as usual the weather forecast is not accurate

the rainbow was really a bonus

how i wish i can just jump in to this cool water in this hot weather but swimming is prohibited in the Genesee River

onece u have reach the Middle Falls, Upper Falls is just  15- 20 minutes hike away

we did it! Upper Falls

after a nice 5 minutes rest we head back down to our car........." someone"(cough* Boon) suggested that we took a "short cut" we end up in a long cut.......boy was i pissed

at least we manage to reach our car in one peace

we then check in to the campground, set up, washed up, cooked dinner, enjoy a cool starry night with a nice cut of hot coco

a big fat skunk visited us near to our tent.....luckily no nasty gas

good thing about camping is that, by 9pm it's quiet time. I can finally get some good night sleep.

Camping in Letchworth State Park is nice, the camp area come with a BBQ pit and electric hook ups and cost only $25\ night for a camp site where u can squeeze up to 6 person

i would pick camping anytime than a dodgy highway motel!!!!  

Next driving to Cleveland

~ end of road trip Day 2 ~

Road trip from New York To Chicago - part 1 (Taughannock Falls)

Summer almost end, kids are back to school, gas is still cheap and it's my birthday. This can only mean one thing, best time for ROAD TRIP!!! we recently did a 9 days road trip starting from New York to Chicago. It's a 12-14 hours drive one way(depends which road you take), so we decided to take it easy and visit few hot spots along the way and drag it for 9 days. Spending about less than $100 on gas and about $50 on tolls(interstate) with EZPass.

I'm a person who likes to plan ahead before i travel so that i get the best deals on everything(damn i sound like i'm doing a commercial) It can be rigid at times but with smart planning it can work. So weeks before our road trip I've done some research on where to visit, where to stop and read a few suggestions online. All i can say is that everyone's preferences are different and here is Our's:

Day 1

we start early in the morning and headed to our 1st destination Taughannock Falls State Park at Finger Lake region, central New York , using the I-88 

nice weather to start our road trip

before we headed to Taughannock Falls State Park we stopped by Cornell University, it was on the way anyway located in Ithaca so we though, why not! right?

coincidence it was also college visit open week for those who are college hunting, best time to visit

get to roam around without looking like a stalker lurking in the dark

love this work carving

what a beautiful place to study

the visit won't complete without a trip to the Cornell store, look at those blings

my tummy was already growling by the time we finish touring.

We then had lunch (a Korean restaurant, food was just ok so i'm not gonna put any photo) in college town before we headed to Taughannock Falls, which was about 20 minutes drive away from the College town

with a full belly, time to walk it off. Entrance fee to the state park is $8/ car but u can enter all the state parks in the area. There is a few trail options and we did the Gorge trail 1st which is shorter and more relax, probably a good idea not to work my tummy too hard after a heavy meal

late summer it's almost dry

better luck in spring

these rocks around once formed the bottom of an ancient sea 380 million years ago.

The gorge floor is made of light grey limestone that was once lime mud made from skeletons  and shells of algae and other marine organisms

i think we just found lost Atlantis!!! 

according to the explanation board there, these crumbly rocks on the gorge's wall is called "Shale". Shale was clay and slit that settle on top of the lime mud and eventually hardened into rock 

this is the great Shale rock!! the Shale revolution is make an impact in gas and oil industry

apparently this region is full of them however the government of New York banned all fracking within the state, citing pollution risks

the hike along the gorge to see the Taughannock falls takes about 15 - 20 minutes,  easy path to hike

not much rain, hence this not impressive shot

oh well at least there is some water dropping from this 66m high waterfall

Taughannock Falls, the name is from Native American origins, meaning "great fall in the woods" but there is another theory suggests that the name may refer to an Indian chief named Taughannock who died near the falls and his body was thrown over the falls during a battle between the Cayugas and Delaware Indians. Spoooooky!!

it is a beautiful sight

the rim trail, this is slightly longer and tiring than the Gorge trail, more uphill hike

but we got to see the top view of the gorge

it is said that the area surrounding the Taughannock Falls was inhabited  by the Cayuga Indians before the Revolution War (1775 - 1783) 

view of the Cayuga Lake

after 30 minutes hike we arrived at the viewing area

one can drive up to this point,

it it a big loop rim trail but we cheat only gone half way

well it is just the 1st day, didn't want to wear out....hehehe

after a tiring hike, time to enjoy the cool breeze at the Cayuga Lake on a hot summer day.

This Cayuga Lake is the longest among a group of 11 lakes of Finger Lakes

from the map it really do looks like finger

there is also beach area for public to enjoy a cool dip in the lake with lifeguards of course. This is the USA u know

setting up our cooking spot by the lake

was really a brilliant idea, we get to enjoy this beautiful scenery longer while enjoy good food

i originally plan to camp here but unfortunately there is a minimum 2 days stay at the campsite. It is possible to camp for 1 night but the booking can only be done 1 week before the camping date by that time it was already fully booked(maybe next time). But at the end of the day it was fun even without camping, less setting up and clean up.

we then drove to a nearby town and stayed in a highway motel for the night( Horseheads Knights Inn $68 tax included).

~ end of road trip Day 1~