Taughannock Falls - Ithaca, NY

When people say that it was a perfect day, they were talking about this Saturday in the middle of June.  It was warm, but not hot.  It was breezy, but not windy.  Basically, it's the type of day that we wish for everyday in upstate New York but rarely get.  And The Five made good on it.  "Who are the five?" you ask.

From L to R: Zack, Elisabeth, Pisey, me, and Andrea.

What was first a loose and ragtag plan, eventually emerged as The Five celebrating Elisabeth's birthday with a day of food and hiking at Taughannock Falls in Ithaca, New York.  (No, I didn't make up the name, click the link!)  Once assembled, The Five got into one vehicle most of the ride there (and back) was consumed answering questions from Pisey's trivia app on his phone.  Lunch was a delightful spread of sandwiches, chips, salsa, hummus, peaches, peanuts and string cheese.  With full stomachs and water bottles, we tackled all 4.5 miles worth of trails and even splashed around a bit in the gorge when we were done.  The end of the trip was capped off, naturally, at Purity Ice Cream.

Here are some visual highlights of the day. (I'm playing around with the X-Large picture option.  Comment me on how it page looks from your computer.)

A stone staircase leading to the Lower Rim Trail

The cliffs reach a height of nearly 400 feet from the gorge.

The falls themselves are 215 feet tall.  That's 48 feet taller
than Niagara Falls.  Take that, Canada!

Looks like my old banner huh?  Try to guess who's who.

The falls from the bottom of the gorge.

See stone sculptures... 

... make stone sculptures.

Nice "over the shoulder" shot of Pisey.

Elisabeth and Zack looking (and possibly studying?) rocks.

Me with my pretty wife and a pretty waterfall in the background.

Sporting a new look.  Think it's working?

Just tall enough to peek over the fence.

Pisey sneaking a picture with the Birthday Girl.