House Finch

Red Cardinal

The Farm on the way to Hammondsport

Curtiss V8

Restoration project at the Curtiss Museum

Life on the lake

Racing on the lake (is that Si Smith we see?)

Life on the lake (again, is that Si Smith?)

Hammondsport church

The bandstand at Hammondsport

The monsoon!

The monsoon!

The day started cloudy and warm but this afternoon we’ve had rain. Luckily, we had just finished lunch and were back in the car before it started. We so enjoyed dinner last night at the Waterfront Restaurant that we went there for lunch again today. There was racing on the lake, Si Smith we think we saw you there!!

Our first visit of the day was to The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport. The museum covers local history with a focus on Glenn Curtis and boasts a large collection of Curtiss’ airplanes, motorcycles and many other items pertaining to the local Finger Lakes area such as boats and wine culture. Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early as 1904, he began to manufacture engines for airships. In 1908 Curtiss joined the Aerial Experiment Association  (AEA), a pioneering research group, founded by Alexander Graham Bell at Beinn Bhreagh, Nova Scotia to build flying machines.

Curtiss made the first officially witnessed flight in North America, won a race at the world’s first international air meet in France, and made the first long-distance flight in the United States. His contributions in designing and building aircraft led to the formation of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, now part of Curtiss-Wright Corporation. His company built aircraft for the U.S. Army and Navy, and, during the years leading up to World War I, his experiments with seaplanes led to advances in naval aviation. Curtiss civil and military aircraft were predominant in the inter-war and World War II eras.

After visiting the Museum we went into Hammondsport, a small town that in 2011 had a population of 662 and in 2012 was voted ‘America’s Coolest Small Town’. Dot and I found two lovely small gift shops to spend some money in while Si spent time taking photographs.

We are currently trapped indoors as we are experiencing near monsoon rain! Have we been transported back to the Mother country?

I’m happy to report that Dot managed to ‘get her act together’ this morning and the hummingbirds are again enjoying their special water.

We had a camp fire last night (sadly the resident photographer didn’t take photos!) and were going to have another one tonight and eat s’mores (a traditional nighttime campfire treat consisting of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two cracker pieces) but I don’t think that’s going happen as it looks as though the rains’s set in for the night.