Day 31: More adventures in Ithaca, NY

And in another episode of how things sometimes go wrong....We aren't sure what happened but we ran out of power this morning and had to use the backup power to recharge. Kasey mentioned that he left the motorhome in reverse and turned the engine off but did not remove the key. The coach battery shouldn't have anything to do with the house battery, except to charge it when we run the engine. It is not supposed to pull battery power from the house battery. We had full power after the recharge from the backup and so far it is holding. Hopefully it is nothing serious.

This morning we wanted to get to the Ithaca Farmers Market early because we heard about the difficulty of finding a parking spot. It was cloudy and a few sprinkles, but tolerable. We had a big hike yesterday so we are being cautious with Lincoln and his back legs, but he was as good as normal. We arrived a little before it opened and had no trouble with parking. Dogs aren't allowed in the pavillion so we made our rounds to check out the wares. You could tell the popular booths by the lines already forming: fresh bread, breakfast burritos, and organic fresh meat and poultry. 

This is the 50th Anniversary of the market.

We looked for Jeri and Woody in the pictures, but could not find them.

Not knowing our power situation back at the motorhome, we opted to get some breakfast bakery items. We started strolling around the waterfront, watching the Cornell Crew team, the boats, and talking to a resident, Katie with her Golden Retriever, Mooky. 

That got us thinking about our pups and so we went and got them for a stroll. We soon had to get going to our next activity at Gourdlandia. 

The wedding couple, Ryan K. and Ryan H., met us there. Ryan H's mom and her husband Rick also were there. A few other people were not there because their plane was delayed. 

Our goal was to drill little holes in a small gourd that was preprepared for a nightlight. Fearful of anything that requires artistic talent, I chuckled nervously at what I might create. Some exquisite examples were shown to us for ideas. Now, I am even more sure that this could end poorly. But, I turned to Google for help. It was an interesting learning experience. 

Kasey, Ryan K. and Ryan H. had wonderful final products. We got a nice tour of the gourd garden (under the watchful eyes 2 Irish Setters who heard our voices) which is located on the Ithaca Ecovillage grounds, on Rachel Carson Way. I am guessing that the grounds are pesticide free.

From there we headed to Moosewood Cafe, a very famous vegetarian restaurant in downtown Ithaca. When I was in college, back in my vegetarian days, the Moosewood Cookbook was a favorite. We were meeting Cindy Haws and her high school friend Karen for lunch. We had a great visit and will see them at the wedding. Cindy is a dear friend from the

Umpqua Valley in Oregon who is also a biologist. She is Chair of the Umpqua Watersheds Education Committee and former Forest Service Forest Biologist on the Umpqua National Forest. We have known her for a long time due to these connections. When Ryan K. was the AmeriCorps for Umpqua Watersheds a few years ago, she rented a room from Cindy in Myrtle Creek. They became great friends.

After lunch, we decided to visit Cornell. Mostly because I wanted to be able to say that I went to Cornell. We went to the welcome center. So now I can say that I was welcomed when I went to Cornell. The welcome center has an impressive botanical garden. The Nevin Center is amazing and I wish we had more time to visit it, but we need to save something for next time.  We saw a very big Dawn Redwood. Impressive.

Another must see according to Ryan, is Wegman Grocery Store. Again, not knowing what our power situation was, we opted to just pick up a few non-perishable items. That was the last stop before heading back to the motorhome at Treman State Park. Upon arriving, we found that our power situation was normal so the mystery continues. We sat outside listening to birds and apparently other noises coming from the direction of our neighboring campers tent. I can't say for sure what the noise was but he got out and smoked a cigarette while she went off to the showers. Ah, I just love campgrounds....Not!