So you’ve made the fantastic decision to drive eastward and visit the Finger Lakes. Chances are you will end up hitting my favorite part of the drive on Interstate 86. My sister and I are usually pretty slap happy and excited to get home by this part of the stretch, so we’ve come up with a car game to pass the last hour or two: ISpy (Finger Lakes Edition).
I didn’t realize until our trip home today that some of the biggest point earners in our game are some very distinctive, uniquely Finger Lakes sights:
- Bear Crossing Signs – shortly followed by multiple deer crossing signs as well as various wildlife sightings in the fields around roads.
- Cloud shadows on the tightly-packed, tree-carpeted glacial hills.
- Senecan translations of the town names – especially in and around Allegany County.
- Sections of the hills that have been cut through for phone lines – they make it look like the hill has a reverse Mohawk hairdo!
- Red Tail hawks swooping around in the trees.
- Perfectly S-shaped roads – a summer sports car owner’s dream (though a winter plows nightmare).
- Bridges that cross over water – be it a small lake, river, or canal
- Someone towing a boat – kayaks and canoes definitely count though certain family members will argue otherwise.
- Cuba Cheese advertisements – you might laugh, but their cheese curds are always a welcome snack at this point of the drive. Someone inevitably makes the joke: “Cuba in 1 mile? We must have taken a wrong turn somewhere!!” But that might just be us.
- Horses – this usually means we’re home and is the most anticipated part of our game because you’re either trying to hold on to your title or overthrow the current standing (but mostly because the ride is almost over and that family is right around the corner).
You and your family can hash out your own points system, but this game is yet another excuse to check out the beautiful New York scenery around you.
by Halie Solea
