Augusta Trip

We took a quick weekend trip down to Augusta, GA to attend a family member's wedding. Having spent very little time in the south, we were looking forward to seeing another part of the country, and also seeing the town that hosts the annual Masters golf tournament.

We arrived late on Friday afternoon and checked into our hotel, which was also the venue for the wedding reception to be held the next day. The hotel was centrally located within Augusta and within walking distance to the downtown area.

Following the rehearsal dinner, we headed over to the Still Water Tap room for a few drinks and enjoyed the causual atmosphere of the bar, including the pressed tin ceiling.

On Saturday, since the wedding was not scheduled until later in the evening, we had a late lunch at the Bee's Knees, a tapas restaurant located a few blocks away from the hotel. We had some drinks, and a number of small plates to tie us over until the wedding reception, which was scheduled for later that night.

Overall, it was a short trip, but we enjoyed the quick taste of the south, and hope to go back at some point to spend more time in the area.

Augusta Address Book

Still Water Tap Room
974 Broad Street
Augusta, GA 30901
(706) 826-9857

Bee's Knees Tapas
211 10th Street
Augusta, GA 30901
(706) 828-3600

August Marriott Hotel & Suites
Two 10th Street
Augusta, Georgia 30901
(706) 722-8900

Finger Lakes Trip

Having read a Wine Spectator article about New York state's emerging wine industry, we decided to take a trip to the Finger Lakes area to give some of the local wineries a try.

Using the recommendations provided by Wine Spectator as a rough itinerary, our first stop was for lunch at Red Newt Bistro, located on the shore of Seneca Lake. We enjoyed an appetizer of baked brie with cherry walnut relish in puff pastry, hand made pasta for our entree, complimented with a glass of the Red Newt Reisling.

After stopping by the Red Newt tasting room to sample some more wines, we then headed down the road for a tasting at Atwater Estate Vineyards. The tasting room was located directly next to Seneca Lake, and had a great deck overlooking the lake. We enjoyed some wonderful wines, with our favorite being the Reisling.

We then finished the day's wine tasting at Standing Stone Vineyards, before heading over to our accomodations at Taughannock Farms Inn, located in Trumansburg. The inn was comprised of several buildings. Our room was located in a new building, the Edgewood Guesthouse. We had a second story room with a beautiful view of nearby Cayuga Lake. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the dining room at the Inn to wrap up our day.

Our first stop the next day was at Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars, where we enjoyed the white wines, and some champagne. Next, we headed to Heron Hill Winery, where we enjoyed a beautiful view of the lake. Our next stop was Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars, where we enjoyed red and white wines, as well as some history on the Finger Lakes region. Our final two stops of the day were Fox Run Vineyards, and Anthony Road Wine Company.

For dinner, we ventured over to Ithaca and enjoyed a fantastic meal at The Heights Café & Grill. We would definitely recommend The Heights and hope to return again in the future.

We ended our trip with a quick trip to Taughannock Falls State Park where we enjoyed a view of the waterfall.