My Finger Lakes Year 2005 In Pictures

My wife and I had a great 2005 in the Finger Lakes, especially with our family and friends that stayed with us and helped us enjoy the great people, beautiful scenery, and of course, wine of the Finger Lakes. Here are some of the highlights of the year in pictures.


A Beautiful Seneca Sunrise in April 2005. I got up to let the dogs out and looked out and saw the sun just coming up and grabbed the camera quick. I took about 30 time lapse pictures as the sun slowly rose over the lake. It is so amazing to wake up and see that big lake lighting up right in front of you. (Click on photos for larger image)


This is a view of Keuka Lake in May 2005 from onboard the Keuka Maid, a large 3-deck tour boat. We took the lunch cruise for our first time on the boat and had a great time and a great lunch buffet, while getting up close looks at all the fabulous lakeside homes on Keuka Lake. The crew was terrific and I would recommend the Keuka Maid as a great thing to do if you are visiting the Finger Lakes. The have lunch and dinner cruises and night cruises.



In July 2005, we went to the Finger Lakes Wine Festival at Watkins Glen International Speedway. I had to take a picture of Mr. Mustard and his hot dog hat. Unfortunately, the day was unbearably hot and we could not really enjoy the wine tasting. I really do not know why they put all the wineries in the tents with the flaps down and no air moving through them.


Even though you can't really tell what it is from the picture, this was a once in a lifetime event. This is a picture of Mars rising over the eastern ridge of Seneca Lake in August 2005 in one of its closest orbits to the earth in a very long time. We had just arrived at about 10:30pm on a Thursday night and I was on the deck and looked out toward the lake and saw an orange glow starting to rise over the eastern horizon. I stood there a while and watched as this object that appeared like a small orange moon slowly rose. Somewhere in my mind, I recalled hearing that Mars would be viewable on this weekend and it clicked that this is what I was seeing. It was very exciting to see and I grabbed my camera and tried to get a picture, but my camera had a hard time focusing in the dark. I got my telescope out and I could make out craters on the surface.



In September 2005, we went to the Balloon Fest in Danville and had a great time watching as about 50 hot air balloons ascended into a beautiful blue evening sky. Some of the balloons were really interesting, such as one shaped like a spider with six arms coming out of the balloon and one shaped like a barn with farm animals looking out its windows.



This picture was taken while making the rounds of the wineries in October 2005. It is a picture of Hector Falls cascading on its journey to Seneca Lake. There are many wonderful waterfalls in the area.



This picture was taken in November 2005 outside the "Haunted" winery of Miles Wine Cellars. The craggy tree had shed its leaves and looked forlornly across Seneca Lake, knowing that winter was on its way. We sadly battened down the hatches and dreamed of spring.

I wish you all the best in 2006 and I thank you for visiting my blog. My resolution for 2006 is to try and continue to get better at writing and presenting interesting content about the Finger Lakes. Please feel free to comment or email me about any Finger Lakes news or topics.