And a few more hotels

Claire's parents headed back to Clarion from a weekend visit, and reminded us that there are some hotels in Owego, which would be a little closer to Ithaca than Vestal and Johnson City. Also, Owego is a pretty little river town, with shops, a couple of cafes and restaurants, and even an independent bookstore. All three of these hotels are on Rte 17C, at the east end of Owego:
The Hampton Inn, 1030 State Route 17C, Owego, NY 13827, has no reviews on google, and rates of $130/night for two people.
The Holiday Inn Express, 20 Hickory Park Rd (OK, evidently not right on Rte 17C, but you can see it easily from 17C), Owego, NY 13728, has good reviews on google, and has rates starting at $114/night for 2 people.
And finally, the Owego Treadway Inn, 1100 State Route 17C, Owego, NY 13827, is a local place with a great Sunday brunch. There are positive comments on google, with people noting the pleasant views of the Susquehanna River. Their rates start at $105/night for 2 adults.

Things to do around Ithaca (& Binghamton), Part I

Well, truly there are more things to do around Ithaca. That's where we tend to take out-of-town visitors.
The wedding will be at Robert H. Treman State Park, which has a beautiful gorge trail with waterfalls.
This is just one little waterfall, along with the lovely CCC stonework on the pathway.
Gorges and waterfalls are sort of a geological theme around Ithaca. There are two other great parks nearby: Buttermilk Falls and Taughannock Falls State Parks. Both RH Treman and Buttermilk Falls have upper and lower parks, with trails connecting along gorges with numerous small waterfalls. Taughannock has a much wider gorge, with one very large waterfall at the end. There is an overlook spot for the falls, and another park entrance at Seneca Lake with a grassy picnic area on the lakeshore, and a trail back into the gorge to the waterfall. While any of these parks are well worth visiting, RH Treman and Buttermilk have trails that give more hiking opportunity. The trail at Taughannock is somewhat like walking along a sidewalk, very flat, level and wide.
Oh, and all three parks have camping through November 30. The lower park at Robert H. Treman SP has some pretty cute cabins, so one could conceivably stay there and hike up the gorge to the wedding.

Binghamton hotels

In the last post, we listed hotels in the Ithaca area. It's been suggested that since we live in the Binghamton area, perhaps I should list some down here as well.
In Vestal
These hotels are on the Vestal Parkway/Rte 434, which is our main shopping strip, with plazas & all the stores and restaurants that you find everywhere else in the country, so it may be convenient.
The Hampton Inn & Suites, 3708 Vestal Parkway East, Vestal, NY 13850, has very good reviews on google, and the rate for 2 people is around $160/night.
The Courtyard by Marriot, 3801 Vestal Parkway East, Vestal, NY 13850, also has very good reviews, with a rate of $140-170/night.
The Holiday Inn, 4105 Vestal Parkway, Vestal, NY 13850, is right across from Binghamton University, and has good reviews, with $120-130/night.
The Residence Inn by Marriott, 4610 Vestal Parkway East, Vestal, NY 13850, with a rate of $150/night. Decent reviews.
In Johnson City
There's a little cluster of hotels at the Johnson City exit from Rte 17. These hotels are all near the mall, a couple of restaurants, and Wegman's, a great local grocery store. But if you stay in this area, just DON'T eat at Christie's Grill. The food is lousy and overpriced.
The Hampton Inn, 630 Field Street, Johnson City, NY 13790, is behind Wegman's. Though that doesn't sound so great, it's mentioned as a good point in one google review. The rates are $125-135/night.
La Quinta, 581 Harry L. Drive, Johnson City, NY 13790, with rates of $105/night, and good reviews.
Best Western, 569 Harry L. Drive, Johnson City, NY 13790, with rates of $90/night, has mainly positve reviews.
Red Roof Inn, 590 Fairview Street, Johnson City, NY 13790 (just up the hill from Harry L. Drive), with rates of $85/night. Claire's parents have stayed here, and liked the place.
Appalachin (east of Vestal & Johnson City, closer to Owego)
Quality Inn, 7666 Rte 434, Appalachin, NY 13732, decent reviews, rates around $90/night. (And, incidentally, if you're familiar with "Analyze This," the opening scene with mobsters escaping a police bust out in the country, is based on an actual police bust at a mobster's house in Appalachin)

Hotels for guests

I've done a little research on hotels in the area. We haven't stayed at any of these, when we go to Ithaca, it's just for day trips, so we can't vouch for them personally. But I took out the ones with really awful reviews on google.

In the City of Ithaca
The Statler Hotel, 130 Statler Dr, Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-257-2500. This is the training facility for Cornell's School of Hotel Administration. It's rather pricy, but has really great reviews. According to their website, rooms start at $230/night.
The Hilton Garden Inn, 130 E Seneca St., Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-277-8900. Also pricy, but a bit less, with rooms starting around $185/night.
These are both well-reviewed, and being in town would be better for just walking out of the hotel and being somewhere interesting.

Along Rte 96
This stretch of road is just a few miles to the north of the main park entrance for Robert H. Treman SP. It's Ithaca's big strip mall area, so it's rather busy.
Hampton Inn, 337 Elmira Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-277-5500. This one advertises rooms at $170+/night. It's well-reviewed on google and other sites.
Comfort Inn, 356 Elmira Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-272-0100. The Comfort Inn is a little more reasonable with advertised rates of $90+/night. The reviews are mixed, but mainly positive. Comfort Inn's 2nd tier in the Choice Hotels lineup of Sleep/Comfort/Quality/Clarion. There's a Clarion Inn in Ithaca, but it had some pretty poor reviews.
Grayhaven Motel, 657 Elmira Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-272-6434. Their website lists $95+ as a nightly rate for weekends. From the outside, it has a kitschy 1960s charm.
Rodeway Inn, 654 Elmira Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-272-5252. This is the best bargain I've found, with rates listed as $49+/night, weekend rate.

Bed & Breakfasts that look promising
The Inn at City Lights, 1319 Mecklenburg Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-227-3003. Their website gives a rate of $110/night. Seems like a good location, north on Rte 96 and west on Rte 79. It would be possible to get to the Upper Robert H Treman SP entrance by going west on Rte 79 to Rte 327. Great reviews.
Besemer Station Inn, 2024 Slaterville Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-539-6319. Located a little farther away, to the east of Ithaca. Rate of $115/night. Only 2 reviews on google, but both good.
The Coddington Guest House, 130 Coddington Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-275-0021. I didn't find any reviews of this one, but it's relatiely nearby on Ithaca's South Hill. They advertise rooms starting at $100/night, and suites starting around $200/night.
Taughannock Farms Inn, 2030 Gorge Rd, Trumansburg, NY 14886, 607-387-7711/888-387-7711. This one is located farther away, beside the lower entrance to Taughannock Falls State Park. They have a variety of room and suite options, starting around $130/night. I didn't find any reviews, but it looks like a lovely place. And, the owners are Sheridans as well.

We're getting married!

Well, we've decided to get married, and have generally let everyone know by now that it will be September 23, 2007 at Robert H. Treman State Park. We have a lovely park shelter reserved at the Upper Park. Here's what it looked like the first time we visited, on Easter Sunday:

A month later, the snow was gone, and it looked a bit more hospitable.

The picnic shelter is just a very short walk from the start of the upper gorge trail, which looks like the road to Rivendell (one of the elf settlements in Lord of the Rings).

At any rate, my idea with this blog is to post information that might be of use to people attending the wedding.