Ithaca Close-up

There were a few things that I didn't get to mention in my last post about what I've seen and experienced in Ithaca prior to today. Here they are:
1) Rumor has it that the cooks at the pizza place we went to the first night like to do some recreational smoking; that's why they are so laid back with filling orders. My brother said that you can often place an order and get it an hour later--so not a good place to go when you are chomping at the bit for food.
2) The people dancing the reel dance at the festival ranged in age from barely teenage to 60s. It was so wonderful to see such a wide range of ages enjoying and carrying on old-fashioned dances.
3) The restaurant we went to last night brews their own beer--including a raspberry jalapeño one that supposedly (according to others) has a very interesting flavor. My dad would love that place.
I think that's all I wanted to mention. Now on to today.

Breakfast was at the Ithaca Bakery, a place that seems to specialize not only in the usual baked goods one would find (breads, pastries, and so on) but on anything that one could even imagine having for breakfast. Breakfast sandwiches; jams; cheeses; every mocha-, frappa-, or coffee-type beverage you could want; and a hot food bar with special yummy breakfast foods that you can get like quiche, breakfast burritos or strudels, sausage, and apple crisp (it counts as a breakfast food in my world). The available menu stretches down the entire wall behind the counter, which itself stretches along the entire solid wall space. This is a place that is serious about breakfast, and the locals know it--and love it.

After breakfast, we went to the Farmer's Market. I had my Ithaca Bakery coffee cup in hand, which according to my brother is a very Ithaca thing to do. Showing support for local business by having something with their logo is "in."The Ithaca Farmer's Market is so well-established and has been around for so long that it's under cover in a wooden pavilion complete with booths that are also made of wood with solid counters. The local vendors have their own booths where they sell their wares weekend after weekend. Flowers, fresh organic vegetables, some crafts and artwork, and ready-to-eat foods can be purchased. There were a bunch of people there, but my brother told me that it was usually much more crowded. However, the regular FM was competing with the last day of the Summer Festival, so many people who would normally be at the FM were likely frequenting the festival before it ended.

It was at the Farmer's Market where I found the first thing I've seen this trip that I felt I had to have. You can see it here: an ocarina. And not just any ocarina, a Zelda ocarina. Those of you who know video games would know where that comes from. For those of you who do not, look up The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It's one of the best games in the Zelda series, and one I have replayed many times. So I could not pass up the chance to own this little bit of Zelda paraphernalia (and the songbook that shows me how to play the different song in the game!). It's my first little souvenir to remember this awesome trip by, aside from the pictures and these blog posts.

So after a quick stop at the apartment to drop off the few items we purchased and the car, we took to Ithaca on foot. And I got to see firsthand the true and alluring beauty of this place. Not two minutes after we started walking, I saw a small group of waxwings (a type of bird). Back home, this was a bird I saw one or two times a year as it passed through the area during its migration north or south. Here, it seems to be a year-round native. An auspicious beginning to what proved to be an awesome (in the traditional sense) view of this place.

If elements were ascribed to Ithaca, it would be represented by earth and water. So much green and wet all over. Ithaca has many gorges with water running through them, making this a place with a wealth of waterfalls. Big, small, hidden, obvious, they are many. My brother took me hiking down the trail leading to the bottom of one of the gorges where I got to see the nameless creek that rushes through the bottom over large slabs of rock (slate?) that can be seen scattered in and around the water. Some of the trees along the trail sported evidence of the wildlife in the area. Several had woodpecker holes and a couple even looked like they had been scratched and marked by a large animal (are there bears around here?). Later, we went and walked to Ithaca Falls, an impressive and beautiful waterfall on the same creek we had already explored.

While we were exploring the creek, we came across a table that has been made by stacking some of the large slabs of rock we saw in the area. The large top slab had a sizable chunk that had cracked and was lying askew on one side. I jokingly dubbed it Aslan's Table. Located in an isolated clearing as it was, it wasn't hard for me to imagine that it could have some mystic or sacred properties. But it was probably just  a gathering area that someone had constructed that had succumbed to what weather and time does to everything. It was a fun thing to discover.

Dinner was at a nice steak place and I splurged and had wine with my meal. Now we're back at the apartment where my brother and his roommate are making cheesecake and I'm enjoying the jovial conversation. Tomorrow is Wegman's (we didn't get a chance to go today), the sushi place, walking around the campus, and BBQ for dinner (with cheesecake!).