Chukoo..choo....Train Rides.... Fall Trains....





Guys there are these beutiful fall trains arounds.. Anyone want to try it out this week


Train Rides ..



Schedule and Fares


Last year photos

This was a a much awaited camping trip ,. We had begun preparations month earlier. Manish had put together a beautiful list drawing on his prior camping experiences and we were prepared with stuff from mosquito cream to combat West Nile virus to Stomach upset medicines. We were seven . That is me (Abhi ), Bini , Manish , Rashi , Sanjeev , Pooja , Aryan  

We started from Corning in the evening and reached Allegany with light still up thanks to the long summer day and the daylight savings. We started with beer as all good things should be started and we were soon putting up the tent . We put Sanjeev's tent first and it was a little tricky and we spend quite some time to put it up . Then we put mine and it took less time as we knew the ropes and then Manish's tent was to be put. by now we were self declared experts and tried to improvise the procedure and ended up taking more time . So we came to the conclusion Always follow instructions to the dot.

Once we set up tents we set up the dinner table and we cut cake as it was Raasi's birthday and we smeared her with cake . The cake was lovely.

Then we had a campfire going . we roasted marshamallows in the fire . It was fun even aryan tried a hand in roasting marshmallows . We were quite exhausted by now and we sent to sleep . The night sleeping out was very interesting , There were lot of foxes making sounds and later we realized that it was manish and then Sanjeev and some other tent ers joined in the howling :)

The next day morning we found out that there has been some breach in security . We had accidentaly left some buns outside and it was eaten by some animal . We had been warned about bears . Anyway we did not know what animal it was . but it was strong enough to make a hole in the basket and take the bun out of the cover. Anyway luckily we had some bread so we had bread instead of bun along with scrambled eggs and hot tea for breakfast.

Making breakfast at the campsite is really a wonderful experience . and we had a good filling breakfast with orange juice and stuff.

Some shade time. Lying down in the open air is so realxing . No cases for Sanjeev

After breakfast we lied down and relaxed for a while . No laptops , No cell phone no Instant messener and NO Tv is actually a lot of fun . Then we heade down and rented a cycle and Binitha went cycling for some thime and then we both went cycling together .

After some hour of cycling we were exhausted and then we thought of catching little fish from the stream . We had lot of fun . We even caught a small lobster but we let it go after some time.

Next on the agenda was slow cycle contest . We all had loads of fun in that . We timed each person's lap and decided winners

Next we went boating in the lake . There were some water cycles. But since there were lots of weeds we could not rent the water cycles. we rented rowboats instead .

We came baack and then started out charcoal fire again and started grilling . We had Onion, bell pepeer , Sukini and chicken and some veg burgers all toasted to perfection .

We had a couple of rounds of beer and vodka and I guess we did have a litttle too much as I apparently was walking all around in circles when I thought I was walking straight . the next day morning was not the fun part in camping where you need to pick up your trash and clean the place. The hangover of the previous night was there . Well we picked trash and checked out of the camp by 11 and drove back. the 2 days close to nature had taken a toll on everyone . I guess we should never have mixed alcohols as it had quite unpredictable results. But then there will always be some thing that you need to set right the next time . But it was definitely a wonderful experience. Hopefully we will have another one before the summer is over.

FOOD for Camping Trip !!! Any ideas ???
I have already ordered my tent. It has been
shipped already. I am planning to do a dry
run of setting up the tent at home in my
petio. Already getting gusbumps thinking
about camping and all the fun
associated with it.

I came across this site to which helps to decide
which type of tent to buy and stuff. ITs like a
Tent selection
guide for dummies.

http://tentshq.com

http://www.camping-tent-guide.com/

Good for people who still have to buy their
tent and don't
know which one to buy.

Amazon has some good deals with free
shipping on some of the tents. Definately a
good alternative if you want
to see lots of options. They offer tents
from $20 ~ $200.

There is one I really like is "10- by 8-Foot
Four-Person Two-Room Tent". Its a dome
style
tent with lots of room. Price tag is $40
(including shipping).

what do you say Manish?

Camping Trip Gear Deal

Check out this Deal at Walmart

Set Includes: One spacious, all-weather 13' x 10' dome tent Two 3 lbs. sleeping bags that keep their warmth down to 40 degrees One collapsible cooler that holds 12 cans Two quad chairs One 360-degree-rotating focusing light One propane stove An expandable wheeled carry bag All together for 99 $

Suggestions for Camping site



I found out about these state parks from a local friend of mine. We havent
checked out any of these .. but they seem to be good..with lakes nearby and more
activities to do.
And they are less than two hours drive from here.


Worlds End State Park

around 1 hr and 45 minutes drive from here

Activities
Hiking - Sightseeing - Picnicking - Swimming - Whitewater Boating - Fishing - Hunting - Cross-country Skiing - Snowmobiling - Organized Group Tenting - Cabins - Camping

About the Park
More Info
Map of the Park

if you google for worlds end state park you can see some wonderful pictures .

PS: my friend strongly suggested this place. she said even if i dont go camping there.. i should see this sometime..


Hills Creek State Park

around 1 hr drive from here

activities
Hiking - Picnicking - Swimming - Boating - Fishing - Ice Fishing - Hunting -

Wildlife Watching - Organized Group Tenting - Yurts - Cabins - Camping Cottages -

Camping

http://www.visittiogapa.com/hillscreek.html
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/

#recreation
Park Map

There are two more campsites...

Camping Reservation
and another one in elmira.. called parkstation.. phone number-737-2843


May be we'll be able to check out some of these during the weekend.

Mother nature is smiling on Corning this week.


http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/USNY1090_f.html

Bright sunny the whole week. Lets plan something this weekend. I am open to any activity as long as it involves FUN.

Just to start, we can go for a Hike in Ithaca water falls. Weather wise, both saturday and sunday are good. Let me know your thoughts.