If New York City is like Beyonce, a dazzling showstopper, then New York State is often treated like Solange, her sister: known but largely ignored. How frustrating it must be to live in Schenectady or Syracuse and have to explain to clueless foreigners that a world exist beyond the far reaches of the Bronx. Occasionally, in New York City subway stations, advertisements appear reminding passengers about the 22 national parks, the four National Heritage Areas, Bear Mountain, even the wilderness of Adirondack Park. There is a surreal disconnect between these picturesque images and the unhappy urbanites tapping away at Candy Crush while the driver announces yet another delay.
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One day I decide to investigate. New York City covers 1214 square kilometres. New York State covers 54,555 square kilometres. So what's in that other 97.8 per cent?
I hire a car and drive out of Manhattan across the George Washington Bridge, cutting through the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. On a map, New York State looks like a head of a bird; the metropolis is at the base of the neck while my destination, Rochester, is near the end of the beak, slightly short of Buffalo and Niagara Falls. From Rochester my plan is to meander down to Ithaca, which conveniently takes me through wine country.
Built on the banks of the Genesse River, the city of Rochester may be unknown to most people outside America, but the world would look very different without it. For starters, we would not have Xerox or Kodak. In 1888, George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Company and spent the next few decades transforming photography into a medium for the masses. "You Press the Button, We Do the Rest," claimed the early company slogan. The Kodak headquarters loom in downtown Rochester, but Eastman wanted the city to be a great place to live so he could attract the best and brightest workers. His influence extends beyond to the Eastman Theatre, the Eastman School of Music, even a photography museum built in his renovated mansion.
Given Kodak's impact on the way we document our travel, this seems like a good place to start a sight-seeing tour of the state, and so, fleeing rain outside, I pass a fascinating morning wandering through rooms filled with daguerreotypes and elephant trophies (of which Eastman was apparently a fan). This surrealism continues in the afternoon. After taking a drive around the sleepy industrial city I stop by Artisanworks, a sprawling studio complex that reminds me of Frankenfurter's mansion from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. That is a good thing. Some of the sights include the Mona Lisa vomiting subway cars, a room full of Marilyn Monroes, a dentist chair and a clown, and a painting of New York City on fire, its populace being devoured by lions. Artisanworks is worth the trip to Rochester alone.
Part of what made Rochester's fortune in the early years was the Erie Canal, built to create a water route from Lake Ontario all the way over to the Hudson River. Today the canal is largely scenic, hugged by a multi-use recreation trail that, when finished, will be the longest in the United States, offering everything from cycling to cross-country skiing. It is possible to follow the water flow all the way back to New York City.
After leaving Rochester I decide to spend a night in Newark, right near the canal; but before getting there I detour through New York's largest apple growing area, Wayne County. Until recently, Williamson was the last dry town in the state. Maintaining a law left over from prohibition, alcohol was taboo. But the fruit business isn't exactly lucrative anymore, so several people lobbied a few years ago to have the rule changed so they could start bottling their produce. In other words, the teetotalers saved themselves through drink.
This makes the distilleries and vineyards something of a novelty here. At Apple Country Spirits, there is a sense of playfulness to the enterprise, even as the distiller hopes pear brandy and apple vodka can save his family's future. At Young Sommer Winery, the owners enjoy their chardonnay with a serious dose of irony. "Surprisingly, we haven't slid off the edge of the world," Herm Young tells me as he pours out a glass.
Just an hour or two south of Williamson is the largest wine region in the state. The Finger Lakes get their name from their appearance on a map: long and thin and bunched together. After breakfast in Newark, I drive down the west side of Seneca Lake, stopping along the way to admire the trees changing colours in rolling groves that resemble a lava flow pouring into the water.
There are almost 100 wineries, breweries, and distilleries scattered around the Finger Lakes. This means it's entirely feasible to pass a whole weekend shuffling from one stop to the next, breaking up the journey with artisan cheese and ice cream. At Lakewood Vineyards, visitors huddle around a horseshoe-shaped tasting bar. The attendant pretends to chug on a bottle, joking it is "cuckoo juice". Then she hands out glasses of Lemburger, noting that "it's good with pizza, pasta, popcorn, Cheetos, pop tarts – whatever". The tasting experience of the Finger Lakes is a very different beast from anything found in the Barossa or Clare, but it has its own peculiarly American charms.
As does Ithaca, a stunning town famous for gorges and waterfalls and Cornell University. I drive in on a Saturday afternoon, when the annual Homecoming festival has turned the streets into a raucous spectacle of nostalgic ex-students returning to their alma mater. Soon I'm settled down at the Argos, sipping Sheldrake Point Cabernet Franc and watching yellow leaves fall outside between the party-goers. A polished-steel bar (selling absinthe, no less) is a surprising find in an 1831 mansion. But then again, if getting outside Manhattan has taught me anything, it's that creativity doesn't stop at the city limits.
TRIP NOTES
MORE INFORMATION
fingerlakestravelny.com; visitrochester.com.
GETTING THERE
Qantas and Virgin Australia offer daily flights between Sydney and Melbourne to New York. See qantas.com.au; virginaustralia.com. From New York City, Rochester is a scenic five-hour drive northwest, or a short flight.
STAYING THERE
Vintage Gardens Bed and Breakfast, 310 High Street, Newark, is two blocks from the Erie Canal and offers a stellar breakfast. Rooms start form US$115 a night. See vintagegardensbedandbreakfast.com.
William Henry Miller Inn, 303 N Aurora St, Ithaca, is an old mansion conveniently located for exploring the college town. Rooms start from US$185. See millerinn.com.
SEE + DO
George Eastman House in Rochester features rotating photography exhibitions and tours of Eastman's living quarters; see eastmanhouse.org. Artisanworks is a spectacle, with in-house artists; see artisanworks.net.
The Erie Canalway Trail is constantly expanding with new options and activities; see ptny.org/canalway. The best way to approach the wineries of the Finger Lakes is also on a trail; for suggestions, see fingerlakestravelny.com.
Argos Inn, Ithaca, offers a stunning cocktail bar after a long drive, along with 10 recently renovated guest rooms. See argosinn.com.
Lance Richardson travelled as a guest of Finger Lakes Tourism and Visit Rochester.
