Rochester and the Finger Lakes in early spring

Some cities are so well-known through images as to be recognizable to those who have never set foot in town. New York, San Francisco, Paris and Washington are obvious examples. Rochester, New York is not one of those places. A good friend recently moved to this livable city of about one million (MSA-wise) on Lake Ontario to continue her medical training, so I was excited at the chance to visit her. In addition to catching up with my friend who I had not seen since my wedding last year, this would be a chance to visit a place with no pre-conceived notions on my part about what to expect. It's been my experience that such trips often reward with surprising discoveries. Some of my other recent "finds" include such diverse places as Louisville, Kentucky; Joseph, Oregon; and Ljubljana, Slovenia.

What I found in Rochester was a very pleasant, attractive city that is struggling economically like much of western New York, but which also has vibrant medical and educational sectors, beautiful neighborhoods of old homes and big trees at very affordable prices, several lovely parks, including lakefront beaches, and some really good restaurants. An added plus, Rochester is the western gateway to the beautiful Finger Lakes region with its sparkling waters, charming historical towns and some very drinkable (really) wines.

FLOUR CITY: Rochester was founded at the beginning of the 19th Century by Col. Nathanial Rochester and two other land speculators from Hagerstown, Maryland who thought the location of falls along the Genesee River as it flows into Lake Ontario would be auspicious. That water power indeed fueled Rochester's industrial growth and it became a major center of commerce along the Erie Canal and, in particular, a milling town; thus, the name, "Flour City." Today, much of that early industry is gone, but Rochester is now home to some famous companies like Kodak, Bausch and Lomb and my personal favorite, Wegman's supermarkets. The third largest city in New York, Rochester also attracts fresh crops of bright minds each year to its colleges and universities, including the well-regarded University of Rochester and the Rochester Institute of Technology.

My friend lives in a great neighborhood of restored homes from the late 1800s, just east of downtown. Nearby Park Avenue is the main neighborhood thoroughfare with several interesting shops and good restaurants. On a recent Sunday, the line outside Jines was a good indicator of the food inside. Once seated, we gorged ourselves on delicious servings of pumpkin pancakes and two kinds of French toast, including one version stuffed with orange marmalade and cream cheese. The wait staff was friendly and efficient on a really busy morning.

Fortunately for my waistline, I was able to get in two runs while in Rochester, which is a good runner's town. In one direction, towards downtown, I could ran along flat streets of historic homes. The stretch along East Avenue in particular features blocks of grand mansions from an earlier time, including the home of George Eastman, the founder of Kodak. In the other direction, I found Cobb's Hill Park, which challenges with a hilly ascent to a track along the edge of the city reservoir that offers commanding views of the Rochester skyline. Although we had to make choices about what to do on a quick weekend visit, and did not make it to the center of the city, I understand that downtown Rochester has some sights worth checking out, including the High Falls historic area.

HISTORY AND WINE: On this particular March weekend, however, with the sun shining and temperatures in the high 40s, we headed east to the Finger Lakes for a great day of history, sightseeing, food, wine and company (of course). We made it to three of the Fingers Lakes: Canandaigua, Seneca and Cayuga. Our first stop was Seneca Falls, which sits near Cayuga Lake on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal. Seneca Falls is famous for a couple of reasons. It is the site of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, during which Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other women's rights advocates met and discussed the then-revolutionary concept that all men AND women are created equal. Not to sound sanctimonious, but as the parents of a 9-year-old son in a "non-traditional" family, we seize every opportunity we find to reinforce the principles of equality and fairness (which are separate, defined terms from communism or socialism, by the way). The Women's Rights National Historical Park actually kept our son interested for an hour with displays and video clips telling the story of women's rights in the United States. The visitor's center is adjacent to the meeting house, at which the Declaration of Sentiments was delivered during the 1848 meeting, and which currently is under restoration to its original state. Across the street and along the canal is a women's sculpture park that could use some TLC, but it's interesting. The park also includes the nearby home of Mrs. Stanton, which has regularly scheduled tours. Back in Rochester, by the way, the home of another pioneer in gender equality, Susan B. Anthony, is a worthwhile stop. Seneca Falls' other claim to fame is that it purportedly was the inspiration for what the town of Bedford Falls should look like in "It's a wonderful life."

The next finger lake to the west is Seneca Lake. Presiding at the northern tip is the beautiful college town of Geneva, home to Hobart and William Smith Colleges, a well-respected, co-educational institution of higher learning that traces its history to separate colleges for men (Hobart) and women (William Smith). We arrived in town on spring break, and the place was pretty deserted, so we continued south along Route 14, enjoying the beautiful views from the road that hugs the western shore of the lake. At this point, the signs for wineries pop up pretty frequently, so we stopped at Billsboro Winery, a few miles south of town, and tasted some very good whites and reds.

Our final stop was the town of Canandaigua on its namesake lake. With a pretty, historic downtown featuring an impressive courthouse (Ontario County) and a nicely maintained city pier, Canandaigua is very scenic. Adjacent to the lakefront is the New York Wine and Culinary Center. This is a great place to stop for souvenirs of New York food and wine products, take a cooking class or, as we did, enjoy a fine meal in the upstairs restaurant that has great views of the lake and an outdoor deck in the warm weather months.

MY RULES: In recent posts, I have not highlighted two travel rules I follow. First, I like to fly from our hometown of Baltimore on Southwest nonstop because it's generally painless. Southwest does not fly to Rochester, but it does fly to nearby Buffalo-Niagara International Airport. My family and I flew to Rochester nonstop from Baltimore on AirTran and the Rochester Airport also has daily flights to New York, Atlanta and other hubs. For obvious reasons, my other half and I also like to visit places that are welcoming of everybody and not particularly homophobic. We did not get to check out Rochester's GLBT scene but, from what I read and saw, Rochester seems a pretty friendly and relaxed town.

As with prior trips to "unknown" destinations, Rochester did not disappoint and the drive through the Fingers Lakes reminded me again why New York is indeed the Empire State.