After finishing up in Michigan at the end of July, we moved on to the 38th state of our 50 state road trip – New York.
We’ve visited New York City many times before and Shae lived there for a while, but we’d never spent any time in upstate New York. It was therefore great getting to spend some time exploring the rest of the state which turned out to be even more beautiful than I was expecting.
Here are all of our best and worst things from New York state.
Favorite Accommodation We Stayed At
Stephen – This is a toss up for me between our Airbnbs in Lodi and Troy. The Troy property was a little bit better equipped seeing as it had a dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, but despite that I think I preferred the Airbnb in Lodi overall. I can’t quite explain why; perhaps it’s because I loved it in the Finger Lakes so much and so have very fond memories of our two weeks there.
Shae – This one is a tough one because each one had pros and cons. Rochester was a nice location and a hotel brand you expect to deliver. Lodi’s Airbnb was nicely stocked, located near lots of great wineries and it was across the street from ice cream! Troy’s (Albany) Airbnb felt new and was spacious. But Rochester’s room had issues, Lodi’s space made Truffles bark since we were downstairs in an old house and Troy’s location was less desirable and was a three story walk up we had to do with all our stuff. If I were going to go back to one location and space? Probably Lodi.
BUT! If you include the weekend away we had in NYC… well, The Beekman wins hands down!
Favorite Meal
Stephen – The curry bowl we got from Naan-Tastic in Rochester was delicious.
Shae – My birthday dinner at Gotham in NYC was pretty amazing.
Most Disappointing Meal
Stephen – In terms of overall experience, I’d say City Vineyard in New York City. In terms of actual food, the General Tso’s chicken I got from Green Shell Chinese Restaurant in Troy.
Shae – City Vineyard in NYC was a very different experience (and not in a good way) from our dinner in City Winery in St. Louis so it was disappointing.
Favorite Free Activity
Stephen – Some of the many waterfalls we visited in the Finger Lakes region.
Shae – It’s a toss up between visiting Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester and the Women’s Rights National Historic Park in Seneca Falls.
Favorite Paid Activity
Stephen – Definitely going to have to be all the wine tasting in the Finger Lakes.
Shae – All the wineries… and our ice cream bracket challenge. We make our own fun and I loved it!
Favorite Pet-Friendly Activity
Stephen – I loved how pet-friendly all the wineries we visited were.
Shae – Taking Truffles on the subway in NYC. I’m using “pet friendly” loosely, but I loved taking her to my favorite US place (NYC, not the subway) and seeing her get all the sniffs.
Least Favorite Activity
Stephen – I don’t know if it really counts, but moving all our stuff from our car in to the Airbnbs we stayed at, then out again at the end of our stays. The Lodi Airbnb had a fairly long walkway up to the house, while the one in Troy was on the third floor. Neither would be an issue for your average Airbnb guest, but seeing as we travel with pretty much everything we own, having to manually carry all that in gets a little tedious.
Shae – The Susan B. Anthony Museum & House, sadly. The tour guide wasn’t very good or engaging.
Favorite Hike
Stephen – I think the most beautiful one was the Gorge Trail at Watkins Glen State Park.
Shae – I think the day at Taughannock Falls State Park. Watkins Glen was beautiful, but the overall experience and being able to bring Truffles along made Taughannock my favorite hike.
Favorite Quirky Thing We Did
Stephen – Seeing the firehouse from Ghostbusters in New York City.
Shae – We didn’t do that much “quirky”, although we did pass by the griddle used to make the World’s Largest Pancake.
Favorite Memory
Stephen – Our two weeks in the Finger Lakes in general. It was two of my most favorite weeks from the entire road trip. Waterfalls….wineries….natural beauty…hiking…ice cream…relaxing but active…it was just a wonderful time.
Shae – I got to see a few new and old friends, so that was my favorite. I went on a girls night to see Barbie with Kelsey and Lorelai in Rochester, had my birthday meal with Katina, caught up with fellow nomads Chris and Steve (from Eat Walk Learn), while we both happened to be in NYC (they’re often all around the world, while we’re mostly US based) but we seem to find a way to meet up at least once a year, plus I got to see my old colleague and friend, Paul, and his beautiful family in NYC as they came to visit their daughter who attends college near Philadelphia.
Funniest Moment
Stephen – I can’t think of anything that stands out.
Shae – While the last few states have had really obvious “funniest moments”, NY hasn’t delivered the same experience. Truffles, upon checking in to our Troy Airbnb, saw movement in the corner and ran over to the full length mirror and growled at the dog she found there, then went to look behind it for a while before realizing she’d definitely scared that “other dog” away.
Here she is acting like she’s never seen a mirror in her 10 years of life (Shae started recording just after her initial freak out)!
Thing We Most Regretted
Stephen – It would’ve been nice to have had more time to explore the state. It’s been one of my favorites so far and feels like there’s still so much to see.
Shae – Not planning for more time in NYC. We love it there and had planned to do the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade there this year, but when the choice was a few days in NYC or points for 10 days in Alaska next year, choices had to be made.
Something We Missed And Want To See
Stephen – 100+ more wineries in the Finger Lakes and probably hundreds more waterfalls!
Shae – There’s quite a few women’s rights and abolitionist locations that I’d have liked to have seen. One thing that several people recommended was Seward’s home near Seneca Falls and I didn’t get there. I also wish we’d booked to stay near Niagara Falls for a few days, but we did get to see it as we passed through – we’ve been there for a stay before the road trip on the Canada side.
Our Biggest Surprise
Stephen – How beautiful upstate New York is, particularly the Finger Lakes. I’d heard the upstate New York was pretty, but hadn’t appreciated quite how true that would be.
Shae – How much the Finger Lakes grew on me during our two weeks there – so much so that it’s on our list of places to consider moving to after the road trip, even with the winters.
My New York Drinking Game Would Be…
Stephen – Take a drink at every winery in the Finger Lakes which would make it the easiest ever drinking game 😉
Shae – Take a drink every time you see ‘I <3 NY’.
Summary Of New York In 10 Words Or Less
Stephen – A state with far more to offer than expected (Side note: Shae’s a cheater below as she’s counting NYC as one word!)
Shae – New York is indeed more than just NYC – go visit!
New York Cities We Visited In Order From Favorite To Least Favorite
Stephen – Lodi, New York City, Troy/Albany, Rochester
Shae – NYC, Lodi, Rochester and Troy/Albany
Leave a Reply