Days 40 - 42

We left Niagara Falls and drove through upstate New York to Owego. It was beautiful countryside and we had perfect weather. Waiting for us in Owego was a Sulich Cousins' Reunion. A little background - My mom's maiden name is Sulich and she came from a family of five brothers and sisters. Our Grandfather emigrated from (what is now) Slovakia to the USA in 1914. They didn't consider themselves Slovakians, rather, they considered themselves Carpatho-Rusyns. From the internet: "Carpatho-Russians, also known as Rusyns, are an East Slavic ethnic group that have lived in the Carpathian Mountains of Central Europe for over a thousand years. They have their own unique culture, language, and identity." He settled in this area of New York because a lot of Rusyns have also settled there. There was a shoe factory there that hired a lot of eastern European emigrants because of their high work ethic. There are 14 of us Sulich cousins and 9 of us, along with spouses and children gathered for this reunion. Our hosts were my cousin Becky and her husband Brian. They opened up their home to us and we enjoyed an evening of meeting / re-meeting our surviving Sulich cousins. We had a very enjoyable evening.

Later in the day Becky & Brian and Karen and her dog Jackson Browne came by our campsite for some campfire time.

It looks like my shoes have caught fire. They haven't - it's just the propane gas burning over the fire ring!

It turns out that one of our daughter's old college roommates has gone on to become the winemaker at one of these wineries - Knapp Winery. We wanted to stop by and visit Vanessa and enjoy some of her wine.

We also stopped by Muranda Cheese Company and did a cheese tasting that included 12 different cheeses. It was a lot of fun and a very enjoyable day.

It's time to say Goodbye to Becky and Brian who were so gracious in welcoming us and taking care of us for three days. We look forward to seeing them again soon. Tomorrow we press on with the trip and head on to Stowe, Vermont!

The next day we took a tour of the area. This included our grandparent's home, the church our grandparents attended as well as the graveyards where they are buried.

The next day Becky and Brian joined us for a trip north to the Finger Lakes region of upper New York. These eleven lakes were formed by glaciers during the ice age. It is now a popular resort area with lots of wineries. Along the way we stopped at a waterfall overlook.