Living on the Edge

We traveled through the Finger Lakes yesterday with Andy and Peggy, and I have to tell you, we were living on the edge – right on the edge. We drank water without any ice at all; at one point Andy had a bottle of cherry juice; and we had a couple pieces of pie at Bob and Ruth’s in Naples. Pecan and Banana Cream. Andy had wanted to put his feet into Keuka Lake, but instead of that, he settled for just washing his face in the lake. On the edge of the lake as I recall.

The best part of all was the Hammondsport Art Fair, where every kind of craft object and useless chotchke was on sale. For a while, I thought Andy and I might have to run away, but we managed to herd the gals toward the car, and escaped before anyone bought a single useless piece of junk. What does everyone do with all that junk they buy at these craft fairs? Other than resell them a year later in a garage sale. Still, there were hundreds of people crowding the town square, eating strawberry shortcake, and browsing through the dozens of booths, all bursting with original art works. Or stacking dolls with pictures of cats on them. I might have liked to pick up a couple of those, but really, we didn’t have time.

Most of the day was devoted to gastronomic excess, starting with the aforementioned pies in Naples, and continuing with a generous sampling of Dr. Frank’s wines, high above the western shore of Keuka Lake. After that tasting, I was permitted only a single glass of beer at the Village Tavern in Hammondsport. Which was too bad, because they have not only a great selection of beers, but a not too bad assortment of whiskies as well. Still, I was driving, and notwithstanding the fact that we spent the day living on the edge, I agreed not to overindulge in the consumption of alcoholic beverages. I looked for ionized water at the Village Tavern, but fortunately, it wasn’t on the menu.

After circling Keuka, and that episode of face washing, we found ourselves in Canandaigua at the Wine and Culinary Center. I had my second New York State locally brewed beer of the day, this one a Middle Ages Swallow Wit, a very enjoyable wheat beer brewed in our old home town. We tasted their smoked trout, and I was perhaps tooting my own horn a bit too much, but I considered it far below our family standards for smoked fish. And lastly, we ate at the Inn on the Lake, overlooking Canandaigua Lake at sunset, a beautiful setting, and a fitting end to the day, despite perhaps the worst service we had experienced in years, rivaling the kind of inattention one suffers when flying on a commercial airline these days.

It wasn’t quite the end, however, as everyone except me had to eat a gigantic ice cream dip top on the walk back to car. That took everyone else over the edge actually, and rendered them speechless, almost unconscious, for the drive back home. I managed to stay awake for the drive, and avoided running into any wild animals, but had to drink a Highland Park all by myself when we got home, as everyone else immediately retired for the night. But that’s how it is when you live on the edge. Next time we’ll bring bottles of ionized water, and have the dip tops before dinner.