Becks & Benabik's Wedding

becabikwedding @ 2005-07-08T10:00:00

2005-07-08T14:23:46Z

Wheee, we're down to the wire.
I've hit this pleasant mellowness, even after realizing that the thank you notes that we spent hours writing were probably in the car before it got stolen. Apparently my mother hasn't had a copy of my birth certificate all these years, she's had a certificate of birth registration, which is apparently a piece of paper that says that another piece of paper exists... *chuckle*
Luckily, the mysteries of government are being reasonably easy to unwind, every department that hasn't been able to help has at least has a good guess who to talk to next and where to find them. The Binghamton office is quite willing to expedite things, so we shouldn't even have to drive down.

becabikwedding @ 2005-05-27T17:36:00

2005-05-27T23:07:58Z

Invitations will be out shortly, they're all written up and just need to be printed out, and dropped in the mail. Brian's car got stolen by joyriders at an inconvenient time and not returned in perfect shape, though I suppose every time is inconvenient for that.
Sara got us to register at target last weekend, though to be honest, we aren't looking for a pile of gifts. We'll still be living like students for a couple of years, and space is precious. It's starting to look like a gorgeous summer up here, and I'm looking forward to spending some time in Letchworth. Our parents met last weekend after Brian's graduation, and luckily, it was gorgeous, and everyone gets along. Hurrah!

I hope people aren't too thrown off by this journal format! :-)

becabikwedding @ 2005-04-24T16:18:00

2005-04-24T22:47:30Z

Went out to the Glen Iris yesterday, picked up a local events list, and managed to get the schedule mostly sorted out. Also managed to find the most ridiculously busy DJ, officiant, hotel room booker and pool hall owner I've ever met.. he regrets not getting into photography too. *chuckle* The trees were wearing veils of young leaves, and rain, and the road through the park was lovely and truly unsafe to speed on. In the rain, you're so much more likely to notice the striking similarity between scenic overlooks and cliffs.. and that park is full of scenic overlooks.

Other things to do in the area
July 7-10 Geneseo Summer Festival Sidewalk sales, craft show, teddy bear parade, shuttle service to the airshow.
July 9-10 History of Flight Airshow Warbird, classic antique & experimental planes www.1941hag.org
July 9 Celtic Gathering www.letchworthpark.org
July 9 Italian Festival Italian food & music.. 585-658-9830
July 16-17 Civil War Re-enactment www.geneseecountryvillage.com
July 16-17 Rubber Band Flying Aces at genesee airport www.geneseecountryvillage.com
July 16-17 Arts & Crafts show long point park, conesus lake www.livoniachamber.com
July 19-20 Hemlock Fair truck & tractor pulls, demolition derby, and other country amusements.

Airports

2005-02-17T06:34:35Z

http://www.buffaloairport.com/
BNIA Buffalo Niagara International Airport
110 daily flights with nonstop service to 18 cities
About an hour Northwest of Letchworth, and West of Rochester.

http://www.rocairport.com/
GRIA Greater Rochester International Airport
medium hub airport which handles 220 flights per day to over 20 cities
About an hour North of Letchworth

Other airports
Elmira - Corning Regional Airport (ELM)
Ithaca - Tompkins County Airport (ITH) www.ithaca-airport.com/
Binghamton Regional Airport (BGM) www.binghamtonairport.com/

inns, hotels and other such

2005-02-17T06:08:56Z

This list I pulled from iloveny.com
Just did an accomodations keyword search for letchworth. I pulled out the results that didn't seem close enough.
Mt Morris and Castille are both towns that have park entrances. (yep, it's a long park)

Just a Plane "B & B"
585/567-8338
11152, Rte 19A
Fillmore, NY 14735

Description:
Airplane rides; full breakfast; AC. 7 miles south of Letchworth State Park
Total Number of Rooms: 4

Greenway and Country Inn apparently offer group rates, so if you'd like to stay at one, just tell me which, and if you prefer saturday or sunday night.
Greenway Motel
6456 Sonyea Rd
Mount Morris, NY 14510
585/658-4500
www.greenwaymotel.com

Clean, economic, backyard BBQ, and play area for children, across the street from Greenway, a hiking/biking trail, 2 miles from North entrance of Letchworth State Park.
Type: Room Rates-BB(breakfast) Dbl Room
NY state website lists costs as: $80 - $119
Their site lists cost as 55 -65, $10 extra bed (kids under 10 free)
Total Number of Rooms: 23
Air Conditioning, Direct Phone, In-room Movie, Non-smoking rooms available, In-Room Coffeemaker, Cable Television w/ Free Disney & Showtime, Modem Jack in Room, Free Local Phone Calls,

Country Inn & Suites By Carlson
130 N Main St
Mount Morris, NY 14510
585/658-4080
www.countryinns.com
Type: Room Rates-BB(breakfast) Dbl Room
Fees: $79 - $109

Total Number of Rooms: 60
Bar & Restaurant

Air Conditioning Cable Direct Phone Fireplace In-room Hot tub In-room Movie Kitchenettes
Modem Connection available Non-smoking rooms available

Silver Tendril
3054 Main St
Rte 36
Piffard, NY 14533
www.silvertendril.com

Intimate western Finger Lakes B&B. Near Letchworth State Park & SUNY Geneseo Gardens, pond, vineyard, complimentary award-winning wines and autumn wine making weekends.

Type: Room Rates-BB(breakfast) Dbl Room
Description: Reservations required
Fee: $75

Meadowood Acres
Denton Corners Rd
Castile, NY 14427
585/786-8312

A guest house situated on 10 acres of beautiful wooded land bordering Letchworth State Park. It has two bedrooms, includes a full bath and kitchen facilities. Wheel chair accessible.
Total Number of Rooms: 2

Broman's Genesee Falls Inn
Main & Hamilton St
Rte 436
Portageville, NY 14536
585/493-2484

Chef-owned, family-operated. The history & old world charm will bring you here; the friendly atmosphere and fine food will bring you back. (not quite as close as Mt Morris or Castille, I believe there is a park entrance in Portageville though)
Resturaunt & Bar: American Cuisine
Total Number of Rooms: 10
Air Conditioning Cable Private Baths In-room Television available VCRs available

http://www.visitrochester.com
Rochester simply has too many hotels to mention. If we should ask a Rochester hotel for group rates, just let us know.
There are city guides for Ithaca and Corning in my last post.
next post, airports!

becabikwedding @ 2005-02-16T23:06:00

2005-02-17T04:06:49Z

We picked Letchworth because we wanted to share it. It's incredibly beautiful. Some of you will be coming a long way, so if you decide to get a little more out of your trip than one good party, here's all the info you should need.

Hiking, Horseback riding, challenging whitewater rafting, and hot air ballooning are all available in the park itself. The fingerlakes offer all kinds of bed & breakfasts, strings of wineries & microbreweries, and fun oddities like castles. The glaciers carved out an area full of waterfalls and lakes.. and the only one the tourists know about is Niagra.

Corning is a great trip, the museum of glass is simply cool, especially if you take one of their glassblowing classes. All the little glassblowing shops support a very old fashioned downtown, where you can grab a nice ice cream cone or sandwich and wander, and pick a romantic pub for dinner. It's barely an hour South from the park.

Ithaca is also a great trip, the downtown commons is a great place to shop. It's gotten to be a very unusual, artsy town over the years, the kind of place where people will just sit down and start playing music in the middle of town. If you're energetic, you can literally walk from downtown up past all the waterfalls in the gorge on the way to Cornell. Booklovers will be in heaven in Autumn Leaves. There's other strange goodies in town, like the most highly trained shoestore staff I've ever seen, every kind of cusine, an impressive art museum that Cornell seems to have forgotten that they have, also, the tallest waterfall in NY, which most people never discover. I completely forgot the Sciencenter, which is very cool for kids. Ithaca's about 2 1/2 hours east of the park.

If you've never seen Niagra falls, it's less than two hours northwest, and very pretty at night. If you go, bring an extra form of I.D. since you'll be tempted to go to the Canadian side. Most of the attractions are tourist-y, like the casinos, but I've heard the maid of the mist is a great ride.

Rochester (home) is just over an hour north of the park, and is actually a major city. We have 4 malls, a thriving arts scene, two great professional theatre groups that I know of, and everything else you'd expect. If you're interested in the history of the woman's rights movement, Frederick Douglas, the underground railroad.. it's a very interesting place. About an hour east of us, Syracuse's Carousel Mall is trying to rival the Mall of America.

Making reservations at least 6 months ahead of time is a very good idea.

For those who'd love to camp or bring a pet, you can stay at the park itself. Both campsites and cabins are available in abundance, and half the campsites are pet friendly. http://www.letchworthpark.com/camping.htm For reservations call 1-800-456-CAMP Cabins are anywhere from 340 - 115/week camping is $9 to reserve for 2-14 days, and is only 20 a night.

The Glen Iris has 12 standard rooms, and a few luxury suites within the Inn itself (mention the wedding when you reserve rooms, some Sunday night rooms are only for you). The pinewood lodge is just up the hill, it's an easy walk, but I wouldn't do it in high heels. Down the road about 5 minutes are the Stone house, with 4 bedrooms, and Caroline's cottage, with three. The stone cottage is lovely, has a nice big kitchen, a yard large enough for two football games, and seems like the best place for a bunch of family to get together.
http://www.glenirisinn.com/

Best area guide: http://www.visitfingerlakes.org/index.htm
Get a free travel guide in the mail by calling 1-800-839-3919

You may find that you're having enough fun exploring the park that you don't need organized activities.. there are playgrounds, gift shops and good places to cook out near the major sight seeing stops, and that alone will keep you busy for a day or three.
The Park http://www.letchworthpark.com/
Horseback riding http://www.wolcottfarms.com/
Hot Air Balloons (585)493-3340
Whitewater http://www.adventure-calls.com/

Ithaca: http://www.ithacaevents.com/ http://www.ithaca.edu/ithacaguide/index.php
Scuba diving lessons http://www.marshalldiving.com
Museums http://www.sciencenter.org/ http://www.museum.cornell.edu
Skydiving http://www.skydivefingerlakes.com

Corning: http://www.corningny.com/
Museum of Glass http://www.cmog.org/
Take a lesson, come back tommorrow & take home what you make. http://www.cmog.org/index.asp?pageId=672

Rochester http://www.visitrochester.com/
Geva Theate http://www.gevatheatre.org
Downstairs Cabaret http://www.downstairscabaret.com/
Comix Cafe http://www.comixcafe.com/start.htm
Little Theatre http://www.little-theatre.com/
The coolest rib joint http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/
Culture & local museums http://www.rit.edu/~finearts/links.htm
Beware of Rochester's signature heart attack causer, the garbage plate Nick Tahou Hots 320 West Main St

Winery tour company http://www.newworldtour.com
Winery info http://fingerlakeswinecountry.com/

I promised a romantic castle http://www.belhurstcastle.com/ (2 hours from the park)

and for you flight lovers who'd really like to stay at "Just a ‘Plane' Bed & Breakfast" (585) 567-8338
(and get plane rides over Letchworth State Park)
You should know the national soaring and warplane museums are both easy day trips from the park.
http://www.soaringmuseum.org http://www.wingsofeagles.com/

becabikwedding @ 2005-01-30T18:10:00

2005-01-30T23:20:01Z

The Glen Iris is ours!