Taughannock Falls, in the New York Finger Lakes

We took a vacation day Friday to do a one-day mini Finger Lakes vacation. And what a wonderful day we had!

The drive from central Pennsylvania to the Finger Lakes takes about 3 to 4 hours, depending on driving speeds and routes taken. We got up early, and with one gas stop and a breakfast stop, we were in the Finger Lakes well before noon.

We had time to visit three of our favorite Finger Lakes waterfall-and-gorge parks: Buttermilk, Taughannock (pictured in this photo), and Watkins Glen.

Taughannock is probably our favorite of the Finger Lakes parks. It has a 215-foot waterfall, which is higher than Niagara Falls. The falls can be reached by hiking an easy less-than-a-mile gorge trail from the closest parking lot. You can see the falls behind the bridge in this picture. (But alas you cannot hear the thundering of the water, which is evident long before you get into viewing distance of the falls.)

Taughannock has numerous trails and campgrounds, and several rustic cabins constructed during the Civilian Conservation Corps era. We've rented a cabin at Taughannock (the first time was for our honeymoon in spring of 2009) and taken the cat along several times, and had a wonderful time.

I admit that fitting in all of what we did in one day was a challenge. "Can you take a whole week's worth of photos in one day?" my husband had asked me before we left. And indeed I tried: I took between 300 and 400 photos on our trip.

The Finger Lakes area is prime for growing grapes, and there are numerous wine trails along several of the lakes, including the Cayuga Wine Trail and the Seneca Lake Wine Trail. The wines there come highly recommended.

We fit in one more treat before leaving the Finger Lakes: a baked chicken dinner, with mashed potatoes and gravy and buttered rolls, at the chicken restaurant across the road from the Watkins Glen park's parking lot. After our meal, we walked up to check out the glen.

Unfortunately, the Watkins Glen trail was not open for the season yet, as winter clean-up and maintenance on the trails had not yet occurred. So we could only see what we could see from the edge of the parking lot. But the one waterfall we saw, cascading beneath an old stone bridge, was enchanting and inviting.

We fit in as much fun as we could in one day, and managed to make it home just before dark. What an adventure! If you've never seen the Finger Lakes, I highly recommend a visit!