Saturday, August 13, 2011

A visit to Ithaca NY to see Cornell University…

2011-08-10 Ives Run Hke and Ithica Cornell 018

A day trip was in order since the weather was absolutely gorgeous… a high of 78 and low of 50 meant for some nice walking and biking weather. Today’s target was Ithaca, NY, home of Cornell University. Ithaca is about as far as we like to go for a day trip. Anything more than about 1.5 hours drive one way and we consider it too far to go. The drive over to Ithaca was on nice roads and the rolling hills covered in different species of trees appear as heads of broccoli waiting for harvest.2011-08-10 Ives Run Hke and Ithica Cornell 024

We rolled into Ithaca about 11:30 and sought out a parking spot and a campus map so we could mill our way around the campus at a leisurely pace. Locating a spot (parking is $3.00 for two hours) we parked and got our bikes off the carrier. With bikes in hand we set off down the hill from the parking lot to go see the Cornell Plantations which are a series of gardens and arboretums.

Even at this time of year there were many things in bloom. It has the appearance of late spring or early summer here in southern New York even though we are approaching autumn. After touring the gardens we found a spot to eat the lunch we brought on top of a hill overlooking the gardens.

2011-08-10 Ives Run Hke and Ithica Cornell 027Next we biked over to see the older part of Cornell’s central campus. Cornell, an Ivy League school founded in 1865,  sits upon a hilltop overlooking the 40-mile-long, glacially carved Cayuga Lake, the longest of the Finger Lakes in central New York State. Enrollment is nearly 20,000 students and it employs just over 1600 staff and faculty. To say this university is a powerhouse in research and education may be an understatement.

The architecture of the older buildings is really interesting as each building seems to have a story to tell when looking at them from different angels and in different light. Bikes help a lot when touring such a large campus and the hilly nature of this campus made for a nice workout as we rode up and down some 2011-08-10 Ives Run Hke and Ithica Cornell 026fairly steep inclines. We stopped many times to look and take photos and when we did as we were treated with vistas of the surrounding mountains or of Cayuga Lake off in the distance.

I think the campus would be a lot more interesting and beautiful if they would have maintained the older architectural presence in their newer buildings. As it is, the newer building stick out like a sore thumb and are not nearly as appealing as the older ones. A nice day none-the-less and after leaving the campus we stopped by Stewart Park and enjoyed the sound of the waves of Cayuga lake crashing into the shoreline…

2011-08-10 Ives Run Hke and Ithica Cornell 029We love college towns as they are always so full of life and vigor.The energy and vitality of college towns appeal to us. That may be why we lived in one for our last 27 years of living in our stick and bricks home. Now with our home on wheels we have the opportunity to visit many more such towns…

8 comments:

  1. Ah, Ithaca - one of my favorite small towns in NY - mostly because it's home to Moosewood Restaurant! That is something we are both looking forward too - biking around in small towns we might have never seen without the RV.

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  2. Beautiful photos, we need to do the East coast. So many places to go, so little time.

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  3. Hey...you're only 280 miles from us...c'mon up to Canada!

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  4. Well there ya go we are only 267miles from you, but 347 miles from Kevin and Ruth yes come to Canada!

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  5. Hey, you're in our stomping grounds! Two Cornell layoffs here. Ithaca is wonderful in the summer on a sunny day. That's why we're in Florida.

    Roxanne
    The Good Luck Duck

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  6. Tricia (Geeky Explorers) - yes we will revisit Ithaca if we return this way as we needed more time to explore it properly

    Janie and John well said - "So many places to go, so little time."

    Kevin and Ruth and George and Suzie Yates - we considered a run thru Canada but will head for Maine this time, maybe next time we go to Canada
    as my wife went to grade school there.

    ¡Vizcacha! - loved Cornell but have no plans of being anywhere near here by winter

    Four Windows - yes Cornell is a gorgeous campus.

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  7. Totally agree with you about loving college towns. We lived in one for over 30 years.

    Visited Cornell and Ithaca College on my daughter's "college campus tours" trip. Found the former's older buildings lovely and agree with you about the newer ones. The gorge stories were a bit depressing.

    Sherry
    www.directionofourdreams.blogspot.com

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