January 7, 2025 • 16 mins
There's so much more to New York than Manhattan. In this episode we'll discover the "hidden gems" of upstate and western New York's waterways: the serene beauty of the historic Erie Canal, the charm of villages nestled along the way, and the natural delights of the Finger Lakes, with its surrounding farms, vineyards and waterfalls.
Chris Jennings, the General Manager of the Lake House on Canandaigua, helps us touch on downtown waterfalls of the city of Rochester, with a history of notable figures like Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony. We'll uncover the lesser-known natural wonders of western New York beyond famed Niagara Falls, including Letchworth State Park, often referred to as the Grand Canyon of the East.
The Finger Lakes, 11 glacier-formed bodies of water, are celebrated for their wine scene and cultural tapestry, including Amish and Mennonite influences. And Chris ends the episode sharing a heartwarming story on Lake Canandaigua.
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Chris Jennings is the General Manager of the Lake House on Canandaigua, and lives in the Finger Lakes area.
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Podcast host Lea Lane has traveled to over 100 countries, and has written nine books, including the award-winning Places I Remember (Kirkus Reviews star rating, and 'one of the top 100 Indie books of the year'). She has contributed to many guidebooks and has written thousands of travel articles.
_____
Our award-winning travel podcast, Places I Remember with Lea Lane, has dropped over 100 travel episodes! New podcast episodes drop on the first Tuesday of the month, on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you listen.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lea Lane (00:12):
I've spent several summers in a beautiful area of
New York State that I especiallywanted to share with you
because, even if you're asophisticated traveler, you may
not realize how special it is.
(00:40):
I've spent several summers in abeautiful area of New York
State that I especially wantedto share with you because, even
if you're a sophisticatedtraveler, you may not realize
how special it is.
So in this episode, we'll befocusing on water, specifically
the quite amazing lakes, riversand canals, the waterways and
waterfalls of upstate andwestern New York.
(01:02):
We'll be talking mainly aboutthe historic Erie Canal, with
its charming villages and quietpleasures, and the Finger Lakes
11 glacial lakes, most of theman hour or so south of Lake
Ontario.
The region is filled with ruraltowns, gorges, vineyards,
(01:22):
hiking trails.
It's a peaceful, unspoiled,laid-back part of the world.
Our guest is Chris Jennings,general Manager of the Lake
House on Canandaigua, voted byTravel and Leisure number one
resort hotel in New York Stateand number two resort hotel in
the continental US.
Welcome, Chris, to Places IRemember.
Chris Jennings (01:42):
Thank you Very glad to be a part of the podcast
.
Thank you very much forinviting me.
Lea Lane (01:46):
Well, let's start by talking about upstate New York,
with a man-made waterway, thefamous Erie Canal, which runs
east-west between the HudsonRiver and Lake Erie.
It's 339 miles long from Albanyto Buffalo.
Completed in 1825, the canalwas the first navigable waterway
connecting the Atlantic Oceanto the Great Lakes, and it
(02:08):
vastly reduced the costs oftransporting people and goods
across the Appalachians forabout a century, until the
railroads and the highways tookover.
The capital district where thecanal begins is in and around
Albany, New York.
Besides the impressivegovernment buildings, the area
still has many architectural andhistorical reminders that it
was first settled by the Dutchin the early 17th century and
(02:30):
came under English control in1664.
Here's an interesting factAlmost every major city in New
York falls along the trade routeestablished by the Hudson River
and along the Erie Canal fromNew York City to Albany, to
Schenectady, Utica and Syracuse,to Rochester and Buffalo, and
nearly 80% of upstate New York'spopulation lives within 25
(02:53):
miles of the Erie Canal.
You can find out more about thecanal in Syracuse.
There's a building called theWaylock Building, dating from
1850, and there's lots ofinformation there to give you a
real heads up on this wonderfulAmerican creation, Chris.
let's talk about a few of thecharming Erie Canal towns we
both visited.
(03:13):
They are no longer used forcommercial transport.
What's special about them now,would you say.
Chris Jennings (03:20):
What I think is special is the tours that they
do on them.
Now you can get on a boat nduring the afternoon evening and
you can go and they do dinnersand they'll have a band.
Sometimes it's just for adults,sometimes it's for kids.
So the parents can have funsometimes and they also can
(03:40):
bring the kids and my kids havedone it before and they
absolutely love it.
They also can bring the kidsand my kids have done it before
and they absolutely love it.
And I mean, playing music onthe canal is just it's nothing
you're ever going to experienceand you just go through it and
the kids are just like wow.
And then sometimes you get awaywith the kids and you rock out
a little harder and it's amazing.
Lea Lane (03:58):
So how wide is the canal?
When we're talking about a aacanal, how do you visualize it?
Chris Jennings (04:04):
You know, there's certain areas that are
probably 20, 30 feet, but thenI've seen it as wide as like 50,
60 feet sometimes, but most ofthe time it's a little more
skinnier.
So it's very.
Most of the time it's smaller,but you get your little passes
that it's a little bit morewider.
Lea Lane (04:21):
So it's quite interesting.
Well, you can bike along it,you can walk and hike and stroll
.
There are beautiful areas ofnatural beauty on many of these
canal paths.
Chris Jennings (04:32):
There are restaurants, which is great A
lot of times not to interrupt.
But there's also a lot ofrestaurants along them too,
which is super nice.
Lea Lane (04:38):
Yes, and Pittsford, there's a lovely area.
Tell us about that.
Chris Jennings (04:41):
That's a suburb of of Rochester.
honestly.
honestly, it's our favoriteplace to go to Pittsford.
Honestly, we live in Victor,New York right now, but
Pittsford is our favorite placeto go to There's so many
restaurants along the canal thatwill we'll our kids there and
literally there's ducks there.
They want to go fishing there.
We've even sat some of therestaurants and They practice
their t rowing the like youThey're Olympics they they go
(05:08):
past it and then they come backand they're like what is this?
Like?
Lea Lane (05:10):
h scene from the 18th or 19th century very peaceful
and pastoral.
Yes, ice cream at PittsburghDairy.
They've got terrific ice creamthere.
I've had that.
I think these villages retaintheir Erie Canal character, but
many of them are stillconsidered suburbs of bigger
cities such as Pittsford, whichyou mentioned.
Near Rochester, which is onLake Ontario, Rochester itself
(05:32):
has quite a history.
It's become a boomtown afterthe canal was built.
It was home in the 1800s toFrederick Douglass, the
African-American social reformerwho escaped from slavery in
Maryland and became a renownedabolitionist orator, writer and
statesman, and also Susan BAnthony, who also lived in
Rochester, an American socialreformer and women's rights
(05:53):
activist who played a pivotalrole in the women's suffrage
movement.
Today Rochester is a mid-sizedcity.
It has lots to offer.
Where would you bring visitorsfor a day in Rochester?
What are a couple of the thingsyou like in that city?
Chris Jennings (06:08):
I would recommend coming to some of the
festivals, like the LilacFestival or even the Greek
Festival is probably my favorite.
To be honest with you, themuseum is a great place.
We also have the Science Museum.
We're members of the sciencemuseum, we're members of the u
(06:29):
ochester museum down there andalso t we've done something like
at the at the uh city center.
We've done some things where wethey've had some dinosaurs down
there.
We brought the kids down there,which was super cool and super
fun.
I've also done the hockey.
We have amateur hockey teamdown there, which is super,
which is fun as well.
U, t's just a cool littlequaint town.
When you bring the kids downthere, they're like because we
(06:50):
live in the suburbs and youbring them there like, wow,
daddy, we're back into the bigcity and the restaurant scene
down there is very good.
There's a place called Red'sthat I really love.
Lea Lane (06:58):
Yeah, it's a nice city .
I think it's a real midsizecity.
It had a great history.
It had some hard times.
It's coming back.
There's a wonderful, StrongNational Museum of Play, which
is something world-class.
If you have children, it'swonderful.
It's just expanded and it's agreat museum.
Then there's the George EastmanMuseum.
He was the founder of Kodak andhas great exhibits and it's an
(07:21):
early 1900s estate with gardens.
It's really beautiful.
So there's lots to see and doin Rochester.
But, as I said, many of thecanal towns are only about 20
minutes from downtown.
We mentioned Pittsford.
There's also Fairport, which isfilled with festivals and
restaurants and bars and allkinds of fun things.
And there's Brockport, whichhas nine public parks.
(07:43):
It's about 20 miles west ofRochester.
It's also a lot of fun.
And then there's Lockport,which is a suburb of Buffalo and
it has the widest bridge inNorth America.
It spans the canal to thesouthwest of the locks.
There are locks on these canalsand many of them are still
usable.
There's a Lockport Cave andUnderground Boat Ride in
Lockport where you can go andhave fun with the locks.
(08:06):
So I think that's another goodthing for families.
By the way, Buffalo itself youknow, we know it for the Buffalo
Bills and chicken wings and allthat.
But, it's been developing.
It's downtown.
Have you been to Buffalo lately, Chris?
Chris Jennings (08:19):
I have actually, and my wife works, for I mean
she gets to visit more than I do.
But yeah, I mean it's a greatcity.
I mean the people there areamazing and there's so many cool
things that are going on withthat city as well.
Lea Lane (08:32):
Yeah, there's something called Canal Side,
which is a terrific developmentof their waterfront, and they
have beautiful parks designed byFrederick Law Olmsted, who also
designed Central Park and whoalso designed some parks in
Rochester.
So there's some beautiful oldthings and they develop their
old buildings beautifully.
I know they're repurposing them.
So Buffalo's on the rise, justlike Rochester, and it's fun to
(08:53):
watch that.
Now the Erie Canal is a man-madewater wonder, but this area of
Western New York is filled withnatural water wonders, a lot of
water rivers, lakes, waterfalls,gorges, carved from the Ice Age
.
We all know the Niagara Riverthat connects between two great
lakes, the Erie and Ontario, andit culminates with the
(09:15):
world-famous drop of NiagaraFalls near Buffalo, maybe the
fastest moving waterfalls in theworld.
It straddles the Canadianborder and you can walk along
the falls or go see the plungingwaters from below by boat and
you will get wet, but it's a lotof fun.
But we're focusing on waterythings you probably didn't know
much about, so we're going topass a little on that.
(09:36):
I'm going to tell you aboutwaterfalls in the center of
Rochester.
Tell us about that waterfall,chris.
If you can't, I will, becausewe're editing.
You're off, you're mute, you'remute.
Chris Jennings (09:52):
I don't know that one, so I apologize.
Lea Lane (10:01):
But we're focusing on watery things that you probably
didn't know much about.
So I'm going to tell you thatthere are three major waterfalls
in the center of Rochester,where the Genesee River drops
and that area is now beingdeveloped into a state park.
And you know it's a surprise.
You come to a downtown with abig waterfall it's not as big as
Niagara, but it's big.
And then there's LetchworthState Park, between Rochester
(10:24):
and Buffalo.
Have you been there, chris?
Chris Jennings (10:27):
I have not.
No, I have not.
It follows the course of theGenesee River.
Locals call it the Grand Canyonof the East.
It has three or four waterfalls, two lookouts which are easily
accessible from the road.
It's really something else.
There are hot air balloonssometimes.
Over there there's an inn whereyou can eat overlooking the
falls.
Very special and not manypeople know about it out of New
(10:50):
York State.
Let's talk about your area,Chris the Finger Lakes.
It's maybe an hour or so southof Rochester, a group of 11 long
, narrow, roughly north-southlakes located south of Lake
Ontario.
How were these lakes created?
What's great, what most people probably don't
know is by glaciers, which Idon't think people would ever
(11:11):
think there's any glaciers uphere in the u or in the Finger
Lakes, but they're all createdby glaciers u and they're all
right correct, but you and I,100% honestly, right before I
moved up there, I didn't reallyhear a lot about these.
(11:32):
And when you tell people they'recreated by glaciers, they're
mind blown because they thinkthey're man-made.
Lea Lane (11:37):
Which is, I know, because they're very narrow.
Some of them are very deep too,like fjords.
Chris Jennings (11:41):
Seneca lake, I know, is special ours is almost
200 and at the deepest points isalmost 252 feet deep.
Lea Lane (11:48):
That's c yeah yes, yes , ma'am yeah, I mean it's, it's.
Chris Jennings (11:55):
You look at them and you're like, wow, these are
just man-made lakes.
And they're not.
And I'm someone who's fromTexas I come from a lot of
man-made lakes and they looklike it and, uh, the way that
they're formed.
And when you tell people howthey are with glaciers, then you
actually take a boat ride andyou see the hills and the
mountains and just like, okay, Iunderstand how these actually
weren't man-made.
It's magical.
Lea Lane (12:15):
The fact that there are 11 of them like fingers
sticking down.
You know from the Great Lakes.
It's really eerie.
And you're right, many peopledo not know about this at all
and it is a secret A lot ofpeople don't like that.
People will be talking about itbecause they like to keep it a
little uncrowded.
Chris Jennings (12:30):
But I'm talking about it.
I'm glad we're talking about it, because I would love for more
people to come visit us.
Lea Lane (12:34):
Yeah, I want other people to see it too.
That's why we're doing thiswonderful segment.
There are vineyards let's talkabout the vineyards.
Hundreds and hundreds ofvineyards and wonderful wine.
It's become an excellent,excellent wine.
It was known for white wine,but now all the wines are very
good, right?
Chris Jennings (12:49):
The red wines are coming through and it's
amazing.
We have the second most and wealso have the second most
breweries in the country thananybody else now too, but the
wines up here just becoming soamazing.
Um, when you first moved up,when I first moved up here, you
know you, you try some differentwines, different areas, and now
everybody's just evolving how,even over a year or two, they've
(13:09):
just evolved and they're tryingdifferent grapes and different
things, because most of theirwhite wines and their Rieslings
and non-sweet Rieslings but nowthey're getting the red wines
and they're even doing somerosés too.
Lea Lane (13:20):
Right now I know some really very picky people who
thought they wouldn't like t hand they just are ordering the
wine.
Chris Jennings (13:29):
It's flowing now .
It's awesome.
Lea Lane (13:32):
Right.
There's a lot of music aroundtheir places, their venues in
vineyards.
Many of them have music onweekends, especially in the
summer and fall.
It's just a great, great placefor that.
If you like dark skies, whereyou can see the stars, and farm
to table cuisine and birds andwildlife, it's great.
There's also a lot of Amish andMennonite culture around.
(13:54):
Tell us why?
Do you know why?
Chris Jennings (13:57):
I don't necessarily know why.
They settled here lately, Iknow that they build their
Adirondack chairs all the time.
Lea Lane (14:05):
Yeah, but they were settled in other areas and came
here later and it's a wonderfuladdition.
There are wonderful markets andquilts and so forth to buy, so
it adds to the beauty of thearea.
Canandaigua Lake especially hassome nice things to note.
The Sonnenberg Gardens andMansion is a 50 acre state park
at the north end of the lake.
(14:26):
I like the pier with the oldboathouses.
There's a whole row ofbeautifully painted boathouses,
right, yes, and they'rebeautiful.
Concerts in the summer, and canyou swim in the lake?
Chris Jennings (14:38):
Yes, yes, you can swim in the lake a as long
as you don't mind it being alittle cold and uh, (how cold
are you talking?
So I'm from Texas, right, so Ilike my water like 90 degrees,
but p people come.
It's like it's up to 70 to 72and people love it.
You know it's refreshing,especially on 9 92 degree day.
(15:00):
You jump in.
It's actually is refreshingThe Lake House.
e're putting in weed mats,creating a swim area so you can
actually jump in and swim withstairs and make it quite
comfortable cool.
Lea Lane (15:15):
Well, there are beautiful areas around
Canandaigua Lake.
Naples is a charming littletown in the highlands.
It's the highest area of theregion and it specializes in
great hikes and something calledgrape pie.
Have you had grape pie?
Chris Jennings (15:29):
I have.
Lea Lane (15:30):
Now you either love it or you don't.
Are you a lover of it?
Chris Jennings (15:34):
No, I could lie and say yes, no no, So you
should try it, but my sonabsolutely loves it, and so does
my daughter.
Lea Lane (15:44):
It can be gummy.
Chris Jennings (15:45):
You never know.
Everybody's taste buds aredifferent.
Lea Lane (15:47):
That's what's fun about a region like this.
There's local foods andwonderful traditions, so you
want to try them.
Bristol Mountain is the highestpeak in the region.
It's about 1,200 vertical,which isn't that high, but for
this area it is snow made in thewinter and you can do Nordic
trails.
For this area, it is snow madein the winter and you can do
Nordic trails.
You could do a zip line in thesummer and that's close to
Canandaigua Lake.
There's one hike I really likeat Grimes Glen.
(16:09):
There's two stunning 60 footwaterfalls and you have to walk
through a stream.
Have you done it?
Chris Jennings (16:15):
My team does tours there and it's amazing.
Lea Lane (16:17):
Yeah, very nice.
Go early in the morning beforeit gets crowded.
That's my tip usually forthings to try to go off peak.
Now, another lake besidesCanandaigua that I especially
love is Keuka Lake.
It's a Y-shaped lake and bothbanks covered in vineyards.
This is an area where, if youlike wine, if you just take
these tours, you can go to fiveor six wineries in a day and
(16:39):
just enjoy it's a wonderful dayit looks like in Italy or
something it really doesactually.
Yeah, very beautiful.
Chris Jennings (16:45):
It's an amazing area.
It looks like it's in.
Lea Lane (16:46):
Italy or something it really does actually.
Yeah, very beautiful.
There's a town calledHammondsport at the south end,
where there's Glenn CurtisMuseum, which is focusing on
planes and so forth.
At the top, at the north, atown called Penn Yan is very
charming as well.
Now, Seneca Lake is the deepestof the lakes.
I think we mentioned that.
I think they did submarinetraining there.
It was so deep.
There's a town called Geneva atthe north end, which has
(17:09):
wonderful 19th centuryarchitecture.
Do you like Geneva?
Chris Jennings (17:12):
Every time she takes me, it's always like a
special thing for us but, thebest food in the Finger Lakes.
Lea Lane (17:16):
Yeah, I know there are many, many good restaurants.
It's farm to table.
It's all fresh farmland allaround and that's one of the
beauties of it, both the beautyand the food.
You've got these fields offresh vegetables and fruits all
summer and fall.
There's one place in Genevathat I like.
It's called Belhurst Castle,built about, I think, 1885.
(17:48):
You can have high tea there.
It's very elegant.
I like high tea.
Now, Watkins Glen is at thesouthern end of Seneca.
Chris Jennings (17:55):
Lake.
It's known for its race cardriving right, but it's also
known for the waterfalls thatthey have in the gorges there.
Lea Lane (18:01):
The last lake that I love.
The place, as they say, Ithaca,is gorgeous, meaning with the
gorges, it has the tallestwaterfall east of the Rockies.
Very beautiful.
It's a kind of laid back areawith hidden beauty, natural
scenery, good food, place torelax, see the stars.
This is the place.
Th name of the podcast is PlacesI Remember.
(18:21):
So, Chris, would you pleaseshare one special memory of this
beautiful area of New York.
Chris Jennings (18:25):
So my most special moment to me and it
makes me emotional is when Imoved my family up here last
year, right, so we went on oursecond pontoon boat ride in Lake
Canandaigua and I took my wifeand my son and my daughter and
my son caught his first fish onLake Canandaigua.
As a proud dad, he caught ithimself.
It just brings tears to my eyesbecause you don't get to
(18:47):
experience those things but onlyonce.
Right, you only get your firstfish one time and it was magical
and it was great.
My wife's like wow, we actuallylive here.
This is amazing.
Lea Lane (18:57):
Oh, that's wonderful.
It's that kind of place.
Chris Jennings (18:59):
But I've lived all around the country and all
around the world and this isabsolutely my favorite.
Lea Lane (19:03):
Yeah, I know I've traveled obviously a lot all
over the world and I findsomething about the atmosphere
up here.
I don't know what it is quite.
It's a combination, right, andwe need people to come up here.
They will because it's a greatplace.
They tell others, so anyway,for the moment it's perfect.
So, through all four seasons,upstate New York, from east to
(19:24):
west, is a special Americanregion worthy of a visit,
especially if you get on or evennear the water.
I love New York, especiallythis area of New York, and I
think Chris does too, obviously.
Chris Jennings (19:35):
I love it.
Lea Lane (19:36):
So I thank you, Chris Jennings, General Manager of the
Lake House in Canandaigua, forjoining us.
Here's to the Finger Lakes, theErie Canal and all the
beautiful waters.
Chris Jennings (19:46):
I want to thank you, Lea.
Thank you for inviting me.
It was a great time.
No-transcript.
I've spent several summers in a beautiful area of
New York State that I especiallywanted to share with you
because, even if you're asophisticated traveler, you may
not realize how special it is.
(00:40):
I've spent several summers in abeautiful area of New York
State that I especially wantedto share with you because, even
if you're a sophisticatedtraveler, you may not realize
how special it is.
So in this episode, we'll befocusing on water, specifically
the quite amazing lakes, riversand canals, the waterways and
waterfalls of upstate andwestern New York.
(01:02):
We'll be talking mainly aboutthe historic Erie Canal, with
its charming villages and quietpleasures, and the Finger Lakes
11 glacial lakes, most of theman hour or so south of Lake
Ontario.
The region is filled with ruraltowns, gorges, vineyards,
(01:22):
hiking trails.
It's a peaceful, unspoiled,laid-back part of the world.
Our guest is Chris Jennings,general Manager of the Lake
House on Canandaigua, voted byTravel and Leisure number one
resort hotel in New York Stateand number two resort hotel in
the continental US.
Welcome, Chris, to Places IRemember.
Chris Jennings (01:42):
Thank you Very glad to be a part of the podcast
.
Thank you very much forinviting me.
Lea Lane (01:46):
Well, let's start by talking about upstate New York,
with a man-made waterway, thefamous Erie Canal, which runs
east-west between the HudsonRiver and Lake Erie.
It's 339 miles long from Albanyto Buffalo.
Completed in 1825, the canalwas the first navigable waterway
connecting the Atlantic Oceanto the Great Lakes, and it
(02:08):
vastly reduced the costs oftransporting people and goods
across the Appalachians forabout a century, until the
railroads and the highways tookover.
The capital district where thecanal begins is in and around
Albany, New York.
Besides the impressivegovernment buildings, the area
still has many architectural andhistorical reminders that it
was first settled by the Dutchin the early 17th century and
(02:30):
came under English control in1664.
Here's an interesting factAlmost every major city in New
York falls along the trade routeestablished by the Hudson River
and along the Erie Canal fromNew York City to Albany, to
Schenectady, Utica and Syracuse,to Rochester and Buffalo, and
nearly 80% of upstate New York'spopulation lives within 25
(02:53):
miles of the Erie Canal.
You can find out more about thecanal in Syracuse.
There's a building called theWaylock Building, dating from
1850, and there's lots ofinformation there to give you a
real heads up on this wonderfulAmerican creation, Chris.
let's talk about a few of thecharming Erie Canal towns we
both visited.
(03:13):
They are no longer used forcommercial transport.
What's special about them now,would you say.
Chris Jennings (03:20):
What I think is special is the tours that they
do on them.
Now you can get on a boat nduring the afternoon evening and
you can go and they do dinnersand they'll have a band.
Sometimes it's just for adults,sometimes it's for kids.
So the parents can have funsometimes and they also can
(03:40):
bring the kids and my kids havedone it before and they
absolutely love it.
They also can bring the kidsand my kids have done it before
and they absolutely love it.
And I mean, playing music onthe canal is just it's nothing
you're ever going to experienceand you just go through it and
the kids are just like wow.
And then sometimes you get awaywith the kids and you rock out
a little harder and it's amazing.
Lea Lane (03:58):
So how wide is the canal?
When we're talking about a aacanal, how do you visualize it?
Chris Jennings (04:04):
You know, there's certain areas that are
probably 20, 30 feet, but thenI've seen it as wide as like 50,
60 feet sometimes, but most ofthe time it's a little more
skinnier.
So it's very.
Most of the time it's smaller,but you get your little passes
that it's a little bit morewider.
Lea Lane (04:21):
So it's quite interesting.
Well, you can bike along it,you can walk and hike and stroll
.
There are beautiful areas ofnatural beauty on many of these
canal paths.
Chris Jennings (04:32):
There are restaurants, which is great A
lot of times not to interrupt.
But there's also a lot ofrestaurants along them too,
which is super nice.
Lea Lane (04:38):
Yes, and Pittsford, there's a lovely area.
Tell us about that.
Chris Jennings (04:41):
That's a suburb of of Rochester.
honestly.
honestly, it's our favoriteplace to go to Pittsford.
Honestly, we live in Victor,New York right now, but
Pittsford is our favorite placeto go to There's so many
restaurants along the canal thatwill we'll our kids there and
literally there's ducks there.
They want to go fishing there.
We've even sat some of therestaurants and They practice
their t rowing the like youThey're Olympics they they go
(05:08):
past it and then they come backand they're like what is this?
Like?
Lea Lane (05:10):
h scene from the 18th or 19th century very peaceful
and pastoral.
Yes, ice cream at PittsburghDairy.
They've got terrific ice creamthere.
I've had that.
I think these villages retaintheir Erie Canal character, but
many of them are stillconsidered suburbs of bigger
cities such as Pittsford, whichyou mentioned.
Near Rochester, which is onLake Ontario, Rochester itself
(05:32):
has quite a history.
It's become a boomtown afterthe canal was built.
It was home in the 1800s toFrederick Douglass, the
African-American social reformerwho escaped from slavery in
Maryland and became a renownedabolitionist orator, writer and
statesman, and also Susan BAnthony, who also lived in
Rochester, an American socialreformer and women's rights
(05:53):
activist who played a pivotalrole in the women's suffrage
movement.
Today Rochester is a mid-sizedcity.
It has lots to offer.
Where would you bring visitorsfor a day in Rochester?
What are a couple of the thingsyou like in that city?
Chris Jennings (06:08):
I would recommend coming to some of the
festivals, like the LilacFestival or even the Greek
Festival is probably my favorite.
To be honest with you, themuseum is a great place.
We also have the Science Museum.
We're members of the sciencemuseum, we're members of the u
(06:29):
ochester museum down there andalso t we've done something like
at the at the uh city center.
We've done some things where wethey've had some dinosaurs down
there.
We brought the kids down there,which was super cool and super
fun.
I've also done the hockey.
We have amateur hockey teamdown there, which is super,
which is fun as well.
U, t's just a cool littlequaint town.
When you bring the kids downthere, they're like because we
(06:50):
live in the suburbs and youbring them there like, wow,
daddy, we're back into the bigcity and the restaurant scene
down there is very good.
There's a place called Red'sthat I really love.
Lea Lane (06:58):
Yeah, it's a nice city .
I think it's a real midsizecity.
It had a great history.
It had some hard times.
It's coming back.
There's a wonderful, StrongNational Museum of Play, which
is something world-class.
If you have children, it'swonderful.
It's just expanded and it's agreat museum.
Then there's the George EastmanMuseum.
He was the founder of Kodak andhas great exhibits and it's an
(07:21):
early 1900s estate with gardens.
It's really beautiful.
So there's lots to see and doin Rochester.
But, as I said, many of thecanal towns are only about 20
minutes from downtown.
We mentioned Pittsford.
There's also Fairport, which isfilled with festivals and
restaurants and bars and allkinds of fun things.
And there's Brockport, whichhas nine public parks.
(07:43):
It's about 20 miles west ofRochester.
It's also a lot of fun.
And then there's Lockport,which is a suburb of Buffalo and
it has the widest bridge inNorth America.
It spans the canal to thesouthwest of the locks.
There are locks on these canalsand many of them are still
usable.
There's a Lockport Cave andUnderground Boat Ride in
Lockport where you can go andhave fun with the locks.
(08:06):
So I think that's another goodthing for families.
By the way, Buffalo itself youknow, we know it for the Buffalo
Bills and chicken wings and allthat.
But, it's been developing.
It's downtown.
Have you been to Buffalo lately, Chris?
Chris Jennings (08:19):
I have actually, and my wife works, for I mean
she gets to visit more than I do.
But yeah, I mean it's a greatcity.
I mean the people there areamazing and there's so many cool
things that are going on withthat city as well.
Lea Lane (08:32):
Yeah, there's something called Canal Side,
which is a terrific developmentof their waterfront, and they
have beautiful parks designed byFrederick Law Olmsted, who also
designed Central Park and whoalso designed some parks in
Rochester.
So there's some beautiful oldthings and they develop their
old buildings beautifully.
I know they're repurposing them.
So Buffalo's on the rise, justlike Rochester, and it's fun to
(08:53):
watch that.
Now the Erie Canal is a man-madewater wonder, but this area of
Western New York is filled withnatural water wonders, a lot of
water rivers, lakes, waterfalls,gorges, carved from the Ice Age
.
We all know the Niagara Riverthat connects between two great
lakes, the Erie and Ontario, andit culminates with the
(09:15):
world-famous drop of NiagaraFalls near Buffalo, maybe the
fastest moving waterfalls in theworld.
It straddles the Canadianborder and you can walk along
the falls or go see the plungingwaters from below by boat and
you will get wet, but it's a lotof fun.
But we're focusing on waterythings you probably didn't know
much about, so we're going topass a little on that.
(09:36):
I'm going to tell you aboutwaterfalls in the center of
Rochester.
Tell us about that waterfall,chris.
If you can't, I will, becausewe're editing.
You're off, you're mute, you'remute.
Chris Jennings (09:52):
I don't know that one, so I apologize.
Lea Lane (10:01):
But we're focusing on watery things that you probably
didn't know much about.
So I'm going to tell you thatthere are three major waterfalls
in the center of Rochester,where the Genesee River drops
and that area is now beingdeveloped into a state park.
And you know it's a surprise.
You come to a downtown with abig waterfall it's not as big as
Niagara, but it's big.
And then there's LetchworthState Park, between Rochester
(10:24):
and Buffalo.
Have you been there, chris?
Chris Jennings (10:27):
I have not.
No, I have not.
It follows the course of theGenesee River.
Locals call it the Grand Canyonof the East.
It has three or four waterfalls, two lookouts which are easily
accessible from the road.
It's really something else.
There are hot air balloonssometimes.
Over there there's an inn whereyou can eat overlooking the
falls.
Very special and not manypeople know about it out of New
(10:50):
York State.
Let's talk about your area,Chris the Finger Lakes.
It's maybe an hour or so southof Rochester, a group of 11 long
, narrow, roughly north-southlakes located south of Lake
Ontario.
How were these lakes created?
What's great, what most people probably don't
know is by glaciers, which Idon't think people would ever
(11:11):
think there's any glaciers uphere in the u or in the Finger
Lakes, but they're all createdby glaciers u and they're all
right correct, but you and I,100% honestly, right before I
moved up there, I didn't reallyhear a lot about these.
(11:32):
And when you tell people they'recreated by glaciers, they're
mind blown because they thinkthey're man-made.
Lea Lane (11:37):
Which is, I know, because they're very narrow.
Some of them are very deep too,like fjords.
Chris Jennings (11:41):
Seneca lake, I know, is special ours is almost
200 and at the deepest points isalmost 252 feet deep.
Lea Lane (11:48):
That's c yeah yes, yes , ma'am yeah, I mean it's, it's.
Chris Jennings (11:55):
You look at them and you're like, wow, these are
just man-made lakes.
And they're not.
And I'm someone who's fromTexas I come from a lot of
man-made lakes and they looklike it and, uh, the way that
they're formed.
And when you tell people howthey are with glaciers, then you
actually take a boat ride andyou see the hills and the
mountains and just like, okay, Iunderstand how these actually
weren't man-made.
It's magical.
Lea Lane (12:15):
The fact that there are 11 of them like fingers
sticking down.
You know from the Great Lakes.
It's really eerie.
And you're right, many peopledo not know about this at all
and it is a secret A lot ofpeople don't like that.
People will be talking about itbecause they like to keep it a
little uncrowded.
Chris Jennings (12:30):
But I'm talking about it.
I'm glad we're talking about it, because I would love for more
people to come visit us.
Lea Lane (12:34):
Yeah, I want other people to see it too.
That's why we're doing thiswonderful segment.
There are vineyards let's talkabout the vineyards.
Hundreds and hundreds ofvineyards and wonderful wine.
It's become an excellent,excellent wine.
It was known for white wine,but now all the wines are very
good, right?
Chris Jennings (12:49):
The red wines are coming through and it's
amazing.
We have the second most and wealso have the second most
breweries in the country thananybody else now too, but the
wines up here just becoming soamazing.
Um, when you first moved up,when I first moved up here, you
know you, you try some differentwines, different areas, and now
everybody's just evolving how,even over a year or two, they've
(13:09):
just evolved and they're tryingdifferent grapes and different
things, because most of theirwhite wines and their Rieslings
and non-sweet Rieslings but nowthey're getting the red wines
and they're even doing somerosés too.
Lea Lane (13:20):
Right now I know some really very picky people who
thought they wouldn't like t hand they just are ordering the
wine.
Chris Jennings (13:29):
It's flowing now .
It's awesome.
Lea Lane (13:32):
Right.
There's a lot of music aroundtheir places, their venues in
vineyards.
Many of them have music onweekends, especially in the
summer and fall.
It's just a great, great placefor that.
If you like dark skies, whereyou can see the stars, and farm
to table cuisine and birds andwildlife, it's great.
There's also a lot of Amish andMennonite culture around.
(13:54):
Tell us why?
Do you know why?
Chris Jennings (13:57):
I don't necessarily know why.
They settled here lately, Iknow that they build their
Adirondack chairs all the time.
Lea Lane (14:05):
Yeah, but they were settled in other areas and came
here later and it's a wonderfuladdition.
There are wonderful markets andquilts and so forth to buy, so
it adds to the beauty of thearea.
Canandaigua Lake especially hassome nice things to note.
The Sonnenberg Gardens andMansion is a 50 acre state park
at the north end of the lake.
(14:26):
I like the pier with the oldboathouses.
There's a whole row ofbeautifully painted boathouses,
right, yes, and they'rebeautiful.
Concerts in the summer, and canyou swim in the lake?
Chris Jennings (14:38):
Yes, yes, you can swim in the lake a as long
as you don't mind it being alittle cold and uh, (how cold
are you talking?
So I'm from Texas, right, so Ilike my water like 90 degrees,
but p people come.
It's like it's up to 70 to 72and people love it.
You know it's refreshing,especially on 9 92 degree day.
(15:00):
You jump in.
It's actually is refreshingThe Lake House.
e're putting in weed mats,creating a swim area so you can
actually jump in and swim withstairs and make it quite
comfortable cool.
Lea Lane (15:15):
Well, there are beautiful areas around
Canandaigua Lake.
Naples is a charming littletown in the highlands.
It's the highest area of theregion and it specializes in
great hikes and something calledgrape pie.
Have you had grape pie?
Chris Jennings (15:29):
I have.
Lea Lane (15:30):
Now you either love it or you don't.
Are you a lover of it?
Chris Jennings (15:34):
No, I could lie and say yes, no no, So you
should try it, but my sonabsolutely loves it, and so does
my daughter.
Lea Lane (15:44):
It can be gummy.
Chris Jennings (15:45):
You never know.
Everybody's taste buds aredifferent.
Lea Lane (15:47):
That's what's fun about a region like this.
There's local foods andwonderful traditions, so you
want to try them.
Bristol Mountain is the highestpeak in the region.
It's about 1,200 vertical,which isn't that high, but for
this area it is snow made in thewinter and you can do Nordic
trails.
For this area, it is snow madein the winter and you can do
Nordic trails.
You could do a zip line in thesummer and that's close to
Canandaigua Lake.
There's one hike I really likeat Grimes Glen.
(16:09):
There's two stunning 60 footwaterfalls and you have to walk
through a stream.
Have you done it?
Chris Jennings (16:15):
My team does tours there and it's amazing.
Lea Lane (16:17):
Yeah, very nice.
Go early in the morning beforeit gets crowded.
That's my tip usually forthings to try to go off peak.
Now, another lake besidesCanandaigua that I especially
love is Keuka Lake.
It's a Y-shaped lake and bothbanks covered in vineyards.
This is an area where, if youlike wine, if you just take
these tours, you can go to fiveor six wineries in a day and
(16:39):
just enjoy it's a wonderful dayit looks like in Italy or
something it really doesactually.
Yeah, very beautiful.
Chris Jennings (16:45):
It's an amazing area.
It looks like it's in.
Lea Lane (16:46):
Italy or something it really does actually.
Yeah, very beautiful.
There's a town calledHammondsport at the south end,
where there's Glenn CurtisMuseum, which is focusing on
planes and so forth.
At the top, at the north, atown called Penn Yan is very
charming as well.
Now, Seneca Lake is the deepestof the lakes.
I think we mentioned that.
I think they did submarinetraining there.
It was so deep.
There's a town called Geneva atthe north end, which has
(17:09):
wonderful 19th centuryarchitecture.
Do you like Geneva?
Chris Jennings (17:12):
Every time she takes me, it's always like a
special thing for us but, thebest food in the Finger Lakes.
Lea Lane (17:16):
Yeah, I know there are many, many good restaurants.
It's farm to table.
It's all fresh farmland allaround and that's one of the
beauties of it, both the beautyand the food.
You've got these fields offresh vegetables and fruits all
summer and fall.
There's one place in Genevathat I like.
It's called Belhurst Castle,built about, I think, 1885.
(17:48):
You can have high tea there.
It's very elegant.
I like high tea.
Now, Watkins Glen is at thesouthern end of Seneca.
Chris Jennings (17:55):
Lake.
It's known for its race cardriving right, but it's also
known for the waterfalls thatthey have in the gorges there.
Lea Lane (18:01):
The last lake that I love.
The place, as they say, Ithaca,is gorgeous, meaning with the
gorges, it has the tallestwaterfall east of the Rockies.
Very beautiful.
It's a kind of laid back areawith hidden beauty, natural
scenery, good food, place torelax, see the stars.
This is the place.
Th name of the podcast is PlacesI Remember.
(18:21):
So, Chris, would you pleaseshare one special memory of this
beautiful area of New York.
Chris Jennings (18:25):
So my most special moment to me and it
makes me emotional is when Imoved my family up here last
year, right, so we went on oursecond pontoon boat ride in Lake
Canandaigua and I took my wifeand my son and my daughter and
my son caught his first fish onLake Canandaigua.
As a proud dad, he caught ithimself.
It just brings tears to my eyesbecause you don't get to
(18:47):
experience those things but onlyonce.
Right, you only get your firstfish one time and it was magical
and it was great.
My wife's like wow, we actuallylive here.
This is amazing.
Lea Lane (18:57):
Oh, that's wonderful.
It's that kind of place.
Chris Jennings (18:59):
But I've lived all around the country and all
around the world and this isabsolutely my favorite.
Lea Lane (19:03):
Yeah, I know I've traveled obviously a lot all
over the world and I findsomething about the atmosphere
up here.
I don't know what it is quite.
It's a combination, right, andwe need people to come up here.
They will because it's a greatplace.
They tell others, so anyway,for the moment it's perfect.
So, through all four seasons,upstate New York, from east to
(19:24):
west, is a special Americanregion worthy of a visit,
especially if you get on or evennear the water.
I love New York, especiallythis area of New York, and I
think Chris does too, obviously.
Chris Jennings (19:35):
I love it.
Lea Lane (19:36):
So I thank you, Chris Jennings, General Manager of the
Lake House in Canandaigua, forjoining us.
Here's to the Finger Lakes, theErie Canal and all the
beautiful waters.
Chris Jennings (19:46):
I want to thank you, Lea.
Thank you for inviting me.
It was a great time.
No-transcript.
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