Tag Archives: The Windmill

What to Do on a Summer’s Day

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Sometime summer seems endless, but we know too well that it isn’t so. But what DO you do (especially if you’ve got kids!)? On a hot day… a rainy day… or just any day? There are simple things to do, and they’re not too far away.

*Play miniature golf. It’s an American tradition, and no two courses are alike! Windmills, spouts, and bridges abound, not to mention crazy slopes, and it’s all in fun, and if you don’t take it too seriously, everybody has a good time. The course at Harris Hill Amusement Park has entertained players for many years – there are also courses at Corning, Watkins Glen, and Ithaca Sciencenter.
*Visit the comic-book store. I personally patronize Heroes Your Mom Threw Out in Elmira Heights, where Jared Aiosa loves kids as well as grownups. (And yes, at his shop I HAVE found comics that my Mom threw out!)
*Attend a summer service at Garret Memorial Chapel, on Keuka Bluff. It’s a lovely stone chapel, built almost a hundred years ago in memory of an only son who died too young. It’s a quiet place, set in the woods, with services only in summers. You may find that you’re growing quiet too, in the best sense of the word.
*Amble along the Erie Canal. Fairport is known as “the crown jewel of the Erie Canal” – the towpath is a fine place to stroll, with restaurants and other amenities on the route or just a few steps away. The same is true in Pittsford, and many another canal town. For a quieter, more rural stretch, start in Brockport. Check ’em all out. Now two centuries old, the Canal still welcomes visitors. Nathaniel Hawthorne liked it! Why shouldn’t you?
*Shop at The Windmill, on 14A between Penn Yan and Dundee: Saturdays only, April through November, with an occasional added day for holidays. Wander in and out amongst 175 shops and stands – it’s one of the largest open-air farm and craft markets in the state of New York.
*Get an ice cream! It just isn’t summer if you don’t make at least one stop at an ice cream stand. I use Emmie’s near Lake Salubria in Bath! And also Hokey-Pokey on Corning Northside. Honestly, there’s ice cream stands just about everywhere, and I’ve never found one that disappointed me. The closing of the ice cream stands is a sure sad sign of the end of summer. Get into the season while the getting’s good!
*Get a hot dog, and eat it “al fresco.” Central Hots in Elmira is a good place. Jim’s Texas Hots is a good place on Market Street in Corning.
*Take a walk on the waterfront. Watkins Glen in particular gives you lots of waterline to stroll on, lots of boats to look at, lots of birds to watch. You can also see the schooner True Love (used in the movie High Society, with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly).
*Listen to a concert in the park. Wow! LOTS of our communities have free evening concerts every week through the summer – I know for a fact you can find them in Bath, Hammondsport, Penn Yan, Watkins Glen… plenty of others too! Sometimes there’s a sort of ongoing theme, more likely there’s a different “sound” every week, from rock-and-roll to folk to country to “band music.” Somebody makes fried chicken, somebody sells lemonade, little kids run in and out… pick out the music you like, bring your lawn chair, chat with your friends, and enjoy the summer’s eve. Maybe stars will come out. Maybe you’ll see fireflies. “Just a song at twilight, when the lights are low, and the flickering shadows softly come and go; though the heart be weary, sad the day and long, still to us at twilight comes Love’s old song – comes Love’s old, sweet song.”

Welcome to the Windmill

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I figure we missed the 2013 AND 2014 seasons at least… what with heart attacks, broken ankles, and more scattered around the family. But all three of us had the day off on July 3, and it was a beautiful day, so we went to The Windmill.
We always enjoy our trip, but the sunny sky, mild temperature, and light breeze made one of those perfect Finger Lakes summer days. What more could we ask for?
The Windmill bills itself as the first and friendliest farm and craft market in Upstate New York, and I’m willing to believe it. Parking’s free, admission’s free, and visitors find about 200 shops and vendors. That’s up from 89 on opening day twenty-eight years ago.
On their second day of operation (Saturday, July 4, 1987) traffic backed up for five miles in each direction.
That doesn’t happen much any more, but eight or ten thousand people drop by on a typical Saturday. From the start conservative Mennonites have been a key component of the operation; there’s a horse and buggy parking lot here, as well as lots for cars and motor coaches.
Right from the first discussion The Windmill was planned as an outlet for local producers and local craftspeople. So there’s all sorts of seasonal produce, depending on what’s coming in that week. There’s also honey; maple syrup; HICKORY syrup; cheese; pies; bread; wine; cider; beef… you name it.
PLUS… t-shirts, quilts, fabrics, kitchenware, woodwork, leathercraft, wool (from both sheep and alpaca)… you name it.
We weren’t having lunch that day, so we contented ourselves with soft pretzels and yellow mustard. Otherwise we might have indulged at one of several places, including Valhalla (Building 3), where Erik and I like the hot dogs, or Klute’s Kitchen (Building 2), which makes a good omelet with a nice choice of meats.
We started out at Building 3 (where Brittany’s Cove gets a gold star for carrying several of my historic photo books about the Finger Lakes… drop in and see her), then worked carefully through Building 4, because Joyce was planning on buying some produce. I checked out a couple of antique shops, where I was impressed with the number of Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and Bobbsey Twins books. No copies, unfortunately, of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.
After that we ambled over to Building 2 and stopped at Clute’s Maple to sample some of that hickory syrup. We used to make our own maple syrup, so we’re always interested in such things. It was good, and we liked it, but after considerable discussion we decided not to buy a jar just yet – it’s mostly used in cooking, and we couldn’t see that we’d make adequate use of it. We’re bearing it in mind, though, for a future visit.
Then we strolled across the way to Building 1, where more soft pretzels are available, in addition to a Gluten Free store and several shops for fudge and candy. There’s Faithful Heart Books, and The Quilt Room, in keeping with the Amish/Mennonite background.
At the north end of the Street of Shops the Dundee Steel Band was entertaining, and they’re always fun to listen to. We wandered up and down the boardwalk and into shops that caught our fancy, looking at heavy woolen socks (go back in the fall), railroading souvenirs (birthday gift for a family member), a wooden porch glider, children’s books, paintings and prints of the Finger Lakes, a huge selection of Corelle and CorningWare (in case you need to replace some pieces).
You never know what you’re going to turn up in the south end at the Street of Shops, which sometimes takes on sort of flea market feel. I once bought a VHS of “Things to Come” the 1930s cult-classic science fiction movie starring Ralph Richardson and Raymond Massey. So like I say, you never know.
On our way out we circled back to Building 4, where Joyce bought fresh potatoes, strawberries, and rhubarb (her rhubarb pies are great, worthy of my Aunt Eleanor, who was renowned for her pies and pickles). I’m still burning a candle for the hickory syrup.
Some odds-and-ends notes:
*The windmill is dog-friendly, and several vendors have outside spigots and bowls for water.
*People get thirsty too. Several vendors have honor-system coolers out front with cans of soda and bottles of water.
*The Windmill sponsors a classic car show every spring, and another every fall. The next one will be October 10. We’ve been, it’s fun.
*The Windmill is open every Saturday from the last Saturday of April through the second Saturday of December… plus Labor Day, Memorial Day, and Fourth of July (third of July this year).
*Admission is free, and operating hours are from 8:00 to 4:30.
*The web site is www.thewindmill.com.
*It’s in a very pleasant location, on the height between Keuka and Seneca Lakes… less than half an hour from Watkins Glen, Hammondsport, Penn Yan, or Bath.
*You should go. It’s a cool place to visit.