– www.americanpresstravelnews.com -September 15,-Lake Erie, N.Y.-Love Concord grapes, so we just had to visit “The Grape Discovery Center”. The Lake Erie Grape Discovery Center is the official Visitor’s Center for New York State, Lake Erie Concord Grape Belt Heritage Area. It is about all things, but especially the Grape!
Enjoyed their tasting bar which has a selection of wines and grape juice from local wineries.We browsed through the Discovery Center which is both informational and hands on information. and and found the gift shop had a beautiful selection of locally made crafts. They had a tasting of local dipping oils and sauces. Once we tried them, just had to take some home. This is a great place for your first stop if you want to pick up information on local wineries. Not only do they have the information. but they will direct you to the place that is best for your travel destinations.
Lake Erie Country is the Concord Grape Belt Stretching over 60 miles along the Lake Erie Plain, the Concord Grape Belt was formed by the advance and retreat of glacial ice more tn am 12,000 years ago. The conditions for grape growing -viticulture -are so perfect that the Lake Erie Concord Grape Belt, “America’s Grape Country,”is the largest Grape Growing region in the world.You will learn all about grapes at the interactive discovery center.
For information either call: (716) 326-2003 or take a look at the website: www.grapediscoverycenter.com
Webb Candy – A Place To Get Your Chocolate Fix. Making peanut brittle at Webb’s. A favorite of ours!
– www.americanpresstravelnews.com. Maryville, NY-At Webb’s Candy Factory– We love chocolate, so a visit to Webb’s Candy Factory was a “Must”place to visit. All candy is made on site. Webb’s Candy Factory is located beside Chautauqua Lake in Mayville, New York. Opened in 1942 and has remained in the family since 1942. Famous for making goat’s milk fudge, molasses sponge and peanut butter squares. All their candy is made by hand using the old fashioned copper kettle method.
When we entered the store, we were enticed with glass cases filled with chocolates of every shape and sizes. Darrel Webb was in the candy factory ready to make peanut brittle for us. He filled the large copper kettle with all the ingredients and as we watched it heat up he stirred everything until it was ready to pour on to the table for the finished product. Wow, it was delicious!! The store has a nice viewing area so each day visitors can view the candy being prepared. Just had to take home the famous fudge and of course a few turtles. Everything looked so good, it was hard to decide what we wanted. They also have a selection of local gifts and souvenirs. Webb’s is located in Mayville, New York. They also have another store in Haines City, FL. Take a look at their website: www.webbsworld.com
Dunkirk Lighthouse and Museum. Living history of an early time in Americas nautical age.
www.americanpresstravelnews.com -Sept. 14th, Dunkirk, NY.- Bob and Barb “On The Road Again”- While visiting sites along Lake Erie, we visited Dunkirk, New York. The Dunkirk lighthouse is a must see if you are traveling through. The 61 foot tower still has its original third order Fresno lens. The lights 27-mile range makes Dunkirk one of the most prominent on Lake Erie. Tours include the original historic home of the lighthouse keepers along being able to go up to the lighthouse tower. The tale is that the home is haunted and has haunted tours. Go get haunted, ha, ha! For additional information visit their website at : www.dunkirklighthouse.com.
An early transport boat for the lighthouse!
Just down the road is the Merritt Winery in Forestville, N.Y. Lake Erie is the largest grape-growing region east of the Rockies. We enjoyed the wonderful wine tasting with their large selection of home grown wines.
Contact them for many scheduled events and festivals. They are part of the Lake Erie Wine Trail. The next scheduled event is the Harvest Wine Weekend November 4-6 and 11-13.
Contact them either by telephone: (888) 965-4800. or check out their website: MerrittEstateWinery.com
Wine tasting at Merritt Winery.Automated capping at Merritt Winery!
Out the window photo of a young bull elk in the Cataloochie Valley!
Out the window elk watching.Elk calf at side of the road!Side of the road in the Cataloochie Valley. Elk meander all around you!
Bull Elk just after bugling setting up for mounting one of his cows!
APtravelnews-September 10th, Maggie Valley, at Cataloochee Valley-We took part in visiting the Cataloochee Valley area full of transplanted elk. The bulls were bugling their dominance over their herd of cows-quite a display! The occasion for this trip was an Eco-Tour and Picnic lunch with Cataloochee Valley Tours, Inc. Esther, the owner and tour guide put us in touch with the history and actual animals (Elk) that had been reintroduced to the area known as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We took in the beauty and grandeur of a place in time and history that, although now having the protection of it being designated a National Park, put us in touch within a living history of the way this place once was, untold years in the past. The only obvious hint that this area has taken on the veil of modernity, was the 3-mile tar road area of the valley (most of the other roads are gravel) and the (of a couple of hundred years of human habitation now gone from the park except for a few buildings left as monuments of this habitation) signs of old foundations left after so many homes were burnt down, during the course of turning many private lands into a park designation, and takeover of the lands of the Cataloochee Valley by the US Government for future protection against the inroads of commercialization.
Viewing the elk and the big adult bulls, hearing their bugling gave me the feeling of a palpable tingling on the back of my neck, I realized that I was being witness to a tableau that has played itself out season after season for many, many millennium, and for a moment- a mere quadrillion of a second, on a million-year timeline, I was there touching the face of Gods handiwork “again!”
Esther, our Naturalist Guide was responsible for this opportunity! She is, and will be a teacher of visitors to this wild and natural area for a long time!
