This is the time of year that my relatives and friends head out on their summer vacations.
Where will they go this year? The traffic and crowds of Florida or Cape Cod? The balmy Caribbean? Somewhere far away where people have to be crammed like sardines into jets?
The conversation then comes back to my plans. I enjoy getting out of town on trips too. This summer I took a short jaunt down to Baltimore and Virginia Beach, but also had to spend a few hours roasting in traffic on the I-95. It seems like every time I go somewhere else, I miss being home. I like to stay around here and spend my time and money exploring the treasures that surround me.
Every year, thousands of visitors come our way to play, relax, sample wine or eat in some of our reknowned restaurants. In fact, the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance estimates tourists spend $200 million in the region every year — creating jobs for almost 15,000 people.
When the economy tanked last year, the national media made much of summer “staycations,” where people canceled their travel plans and stayed home. The airlines and gas stations suffered, but local museums, parks and other tourist attractions prospered.
I’ve been taking “staycations” since I began working here — mostly because I get anxious when I’m not at my computer on Monday and Tuesday production days.
However, I don’t feel like I’ve missed much.
I take a couple of days off here and there, often extending my weekends. My family goes camping or attends a local fair or festival.
When I see the number of RVs at the Geneseo Airshow or the out-of-state license plates at the Hemlock Fair, I get a sense of the far-reaching impact of our local attractions. People come from hundreds of miles around to enjoy the things we can do any day of the week.
Slightly farther afield is the majesty of Niagara Falls, the thrills of Darien Lake, the rolling span of the Finger Lakes and the broad expanse of Lake Ontario. None of these require a hotel stay or more than a tank of gas.
My favorite thing to do is host family members from Virginia Beach or Toronto. Every time they come, I dream up something new for them to do. For them, life here is a throwback to an earlier era where we’d pile a bunch of friends into a pick-up truck and catch the double feature at the local drive-in movie or buy our root beer floats in a frosted mug.
They like going to our flea markets, monster truck rallies and gazebo concerts. They are thrillled to take their kids to local swimming holes — where the grownups can be entertained by a lawn chair, a good book and a full cooler. They enjoy staying in our quaint bed and breakfasts, and dining in both our historic inns and swanky new restaurants.
We are truly lucky to live here. I reflect on this from the Dansville Dogwood Festival — which I think of as the official start of summer — to early autumn’s Letchworth Craft Festival and everything in-between.
None of these events are slick productions. They happen through the hard work of volunteers and the weight of tradition. Without them, our towns and villages would be less disinguishable and less enjoyable.
Save your out-of-state road trips for fall and spring, when the heat is off and the crowds are thinned. Now is the time to enjoy the bounty in your own backyard.
How I spend my summers
Where will they go this year? The traffic and crowds of Florida or Cape Cod? The balmy Caribbean? Somewhere far away where people have to be crammed like sardines into jets?
The conversation then comes back to my plans. I enjoy getting out of town on trips too. This summer I took a short jaunt down to Baltimore and Virginia Beach, but also had to spend a few hours roasting in traffic on the I-95. It seems like every time I go somewhere else, I miss being home. I like to stay around here and spend my time and money exploring the treasures that surround me.
Every year, thousands of visitors come our way to play, relax, sample wine or eat in some of our reknowned restaurants. In fact, the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance estimates tourists spend $200 million in the region every year — creating jobs for almost 15,000 people.
When the economy tanked last year, the national media made much of summer “staycations,” where people canceled their travel plans and stayed home. The airlines and gas stations suffered, but local museums, parks and other tourist attractions prospered.
I’ve been taking “staycations” since I began working here — mostly because I get anxious when I’m not at my computer on Monday and Tuesday production days.
However, I don’t feel like I’ve missed much.
I take a couple of days off here and there, often extending my weekends. My family goes camping or attends a local fair or festival.
When I see the number of RVs at the Geneseo Airshow or the out-of-state license plates at the Hemlock Fair, I get a sense of the far-reaching impact of our local attractions. People come from hundreds of miles around to enjoy the things we can do any day of the week.
Slightly farther afield is the majesty of Niagara Falls, the thrills of Darien Lake, the rolling span of the Finger Lakes and the broad expanse of Lake Ontario. None of these require a hotel stay or more than a tank of gas.
My favorite thing to do is host family members from Virginia Beach or Toronto. Every time they come, I dream up something new for them to do. For them, life here is a throwback to an earlier era where we’d pile a bunch of friends into a pick-up truck and catch the double feature at the local drive-in movie or buy our root beer floats in a frosted mug.
They like going to our flea markets, monster truck rallies and gazebo concerts. They are thrillled to take their kids to local swimming holes — where the grownups can be entertained by a lawn chair, a good book and a full cooler. They enjoy staying in our quaint bed and breakfasts, and dining in both our historic inns and swanky new restaurants.
We are truly lucky to live here. I reflect on this from the Dansville Dogwood Festival — which I think of as the official start of summer — to early autumn’s Letchworth Craft Festival and everything in-between.
None of these events are slick productions. They happen through the hard work of volunteers and the weight of tradition. Without them, our towns and villages would be less disinguishable and less enjoyable.
Save your out-of-state road trips for fall and spring, when the heat is off and the crowds are thinned. Now is the time to enjoy the bounty in your own backyard.