BY KATHY LALUK

Rochester has
plenty to offer in the way of entertainment, but everyone still needs a getaway
now and then. The best thing is, you don’t have to
blow big bucks on an exotic vacation. There are lots of fun
places nearby that are perfect for daytrips or even a long weekend away. To the
south of Rochester you’ll find
rolling hills that are rich in history and are sprinkled with arts and enterainment, a dash of wine, and topped with stunning
views of nature that will simply take your breath away.

Seneca Falls

Drive time: 55 minutes

Take a quick drive down the Thruway to the quaint little town
of Seneca Falls for a glance into
history. Known mostly for being the site of the Women’s Rights Convention in
1848, Seneca Falls is also home to the National Women’s Hall of Fame (76
Fall St, greatwomen.org, 31-568-8060). Stroll through the museum to hear the
stories of some incredible women, including Rochester’s
own Susan B. Anthony. During the summer the museum is open Mondays-Saturdays 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Sundays 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is only $3 for adults, $1.50 for
students and seniors.

If the weather’s nice enough, you can hop over to the Women’s
Rights National Historic Park (136 Fall St), open daily from dawn to dusk.
Take a tour of the Wesleyan Chapel where the Seneca Falls Convention was held
(daily at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.), or of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s
house (daily at 11:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m.). For more information about the
park, visit nps.gov/wori or call 315-568-0024.

Finger Lakes Wine Country

Drive time: 50-90 minutes

Here’s one you adults can enjoy. You don’t need to travel all
the way to the vineyards of Italy
or California when New
York’s own wine country is only about an hour away.

The Finger Lakes, notably Cayuga
Lake (16 wineries) and Seneca Lake (more
than 30 wineries), offer a number of wine-tasting tours. Hire a bus to take you
along the trail and sip away the afternoon. Wine Tour Trolley
(winetourtrolley.com, 315-521-0223) offers tours of the Seneca trail for
$45-$60 per person with a pickup at a number of hotels in Geneva.
If you’re looking for a local pickup, try Metropolitan Limousines for $35-$70
per person (metlimos.com or 259-7136).

The wine trails also offer special events throughout the
year. The Cayuga Wine Trail hosts a canine-friendly weekend every year
with its Greyhound Wine Tour (June 24-27) as well as musical performances, like
the Sunday afternoon concert series weekly at the Americana winery (4367 East
Covert Rd, Interlaken). For more info about the Cayuga Wine Trail, visit
cayugawinetrail.com or call 607-869-4281.

The Seneca Wine Trail hosts its Riesling to Visit tour
all summer long (May-August) to highlight one of the region’s signature grapes.
Now in its fifth year, the special tour includes a free flight of wines at
participating wineries (15 in all) and a chance to win a weekend getaway. For
details, visit senecalakewine.com or call 607-535-8080.

Watkins Glen

Drive time: 90 minutes

Located at the Southern tip of Seneca Lake,
Watkins Glen is well known for its scenic state park, but also for its place in
the auto racing world. The Watkins Glen International Race Track (2790
County Rt. 16) open June through September, hosts a number of races, including
the Camping World Grand Prix (July 2-4) and the Vintage Grand Prix (September
10-12). Even if you’re not a fan of the fast and furious, the track has plenty
of special events everyone can enjoy, like the Finger Lakes Wine Festival (July
16-18) and the Art of Ferrari (September 3-5), which celebrates the art, design
and culture around the well-known car. For ticket information and a full list
of events, visit theglen.com or call 607-535-2486.

Even though the race track is the big attraction here, there
are other things to do too. Enjoy the outdoors at Watkins Glen State Park (433 S. Franklin St, nysparks.state.ny.us, 607-535-4511) or rollerblade at Lakeside
State Park (State Rt. 14, watkinsglen.us/parks.htm, 607-535-4438). If you
have time, take a boat ride on Seneca Lake with Captain Bill’s Seneca Lake
Cruises (senecaharborstation.com, 607-535-4541) or tour around yourself in
a kayak at the Kayak Shak (Seneca Harbor Park,
3 N. Franklin St, bergerssports.com, 607-937-5001).

Ithaca

Drive time: 2 hours

Even though it’s small, Ithaca
is its own scenic hippieville that has a surprising
number of things to do. If you’re familiar with the t-shirts this area is famed
for, you’ll also know that “Ithaca
is Gorges,” and there are plenty of the natural formations to explore. There are a bunch near CornellUniversity or IthacaCollege, or you could head for Taughannock Falls State Park (2221
Taughannock Park Rd, taughannock.com,
607-387-6739). Take a dip in the pond beneath the 215-foot-tall falls (33 feet
taller than Niagara Falls) or just
hike along a mile-long trail.

If the weather isn’t cooperating, visit the Museum of the
Earth (1259 Route 96, museumoftheearth.org, 607-273-6623) for a look at what
makes the world turn, or the Sciencenter (601
First St, sciencenter.org, 607-272-0600) for an educational but fun afternoon. Both
museums have hands-on exhibits and special events perfect for kids, but never
fear — adults will have fun too (take it from this 20something who’s been to
both places more times than she’d care to admit).

This article appears in Jun 9-15, 2010.