Ithaca is gorges....
























As we close in on our last days here in the Central Southern Tier, I reflect. I may have griped about Ithaca in the past to many of you out there..(all 4 of you!) But, as spring hits and the flowers and lilacs fill the air with their sweet scent, I actually feel a little sad to be leaving. So, without further ado...

Things I will miss about Ithaca..

** The “Ithaca is…” series; which features everything from ‘Ithaca is Gorges’, to ‘Ithaca is Gangsta’ (my personal fave), to just plain ‘Ithaca is Cold’…and this is printed EVERYWHERE; on tshirts, bumper stickers and license plate holders, magnets, mugs..you name it!

** Sapsucker Woods, in our backyard. Cross country skiing on the trails in the winter, and a nice walk or run the other drier months of the year. Not to mention the nice view of the trees from our windows..


** The wildlife. The flocks of geese that we would hear flying over our house every night in the early fall, the lightning bugs in the summer, the deer, birds, turtles…

** The crazy storms. snow, hail, lightning and thunder. I actually think that lightning hit our house once. Scary the sh.. out of me.

** The Carriage House Café. Home of the best café ambience, simple breakfast and latté in Ithaca.

** The Lost Dog Café. Good hearty food, always with great service..

** The Boonys. There was something nice about being out in the country for a while. Small town USA. A place where the air feels cleaner, the people call me “dear” and haircuts are 20$..

** Target. The rest of the mall sucked, but I loved having Targét within spitting distance of our house… at times, this was dangerous.

** The new Starbucks! Damn, bad timing!! I have been waiting for this for 2 years! Of course, along with this came the Ithacan poo-poo’ers…

** Hockey. My new favorite sport. And I still have my teeth! I hope to find more of this back in Seattle…

** The Farmers Market, and Ludgate Farms. Both prided on being mostly organic, and featuring locally made products. This is something that I love about Ithaca, the sense of supporting the local business community, hence the anti-Starbucks crowd…

** People Watching. I loved watching the people come out of the woodwork during the Spring and Summer here. Ithaca is full of ‘interesting’ characters.. I do think that people hole up with their acorns in the winter, only to emerge during the warmer months.

** Wegmans! The ONLY good market in town. Tops was ok, but P&C was so depressing with its un-updated and falling apart 50’s façade, its dusty cereal boxes and its crappy produce! (the clerk didn’t know what ginger was when I went in once to ask…)


** Running on country roads and the Cayuga Nature Trail.


** The Lakes, the parks, the gorges, the waterfalls..all beautiful.

** Picking Blueberries at U pick, and the buying in bulk at the Apple Orchards.

** Small town movie theaters. Where else can you buy homebaked cookies at the movies?

** Pangea Restaurant. Ecclectic and good food, cozy and fun atmosphere and creative owners who gave me so much room to grow as a pastry chef. Thanks Paul and Nina..

** Huge Book Sale. I think that this is where the people go before and after the long winter, to load up on books for the next year..

** New Friends. Come visit us in Seattle!