The Itinerary: Part II for the New York Finger Lakes

Exiting Canada and entering the beauty of New York (Day 6 continued)

Letchworth State Park: The "Grand Canyon of the East"

About two hours southeast of Niagara, we stopped at Letchworth State Park ($10 daily entry fee). It served as the perfect transition from the commercial bustle of Niagara to the pristine natural beauty of upstate New York.

A Travel Reflection: Niagara Falls is unquestionably one of the natural wonders of the world—the sheer volume of roaring water is awe-inspiring. But the surrounding commercialization can feel overdeveloped and takes away from the beauty that is simply nature. The second half of our trip felt far more meaningful, beautiful, and unadulterated. New York's state parks feature breathtaking, untouched wilderness—and several waterfalls that actually rival or surpass Niagara's height!

Park Highlights & Food Stand Wins

Letchworth is incredibly well-maintained and accessible, featuring paved, wheelchair-accessible walking paths to the Upper and Middle Falls, with a slightly more rugged hike down to the Lower Falls.

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The park amenities made it a total hit for the family:

• The Food Stand: We fueled up on incredible wonton-wrapped pizza rolls (crispy, cheesy perfection far superior to breaded rolls), mozzarella sticks with maximum cheese-pull (I gained some Aura points for that one), and chicken tenders. $33.99.

• Perry's Ice Cream: New York proved to be an epic "creamery crawl," and grabbing Perry’s local ice cream after our hike set the bar high for the rest of the state, $16.17.

• Free Olympic-Sized Pool: Included with the $10 entry fee (since swimming isn't permitted in the gorges).

• Picnic Facilities: Ample shady spots and tables to relax and take in the gorge views.

Finger Lakes Basecamp: The Historic Schoolhouse Airbnb

Another 90-minute drive brought us to our home base in the Finger Lakes: a converted late-1800s brick schoolhouse on a working dairy farm.

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The decor paid homage to the building's history with framed archival photos of the original schoolteachers and students. It featured four separate beds—giving everyone their own space—and easily the most comfortable, supportive foam mattress of the entire trip. After days of travel, getting a fantastic night's sleep was a game-changer. It cost a total of $629.87 for 3 nights.

Honor-System Farm Stands & Roadside Finds

The schoolhouse farm supplies milk to Organic Valley and operates a 24/7 honor-system farm store right outside the front door. L in particular fell in love with this setup!

Throughout our drives in the region, hunting for local roadside farm stands became one of our favorite mini-adventures. Over the course of our stay, we stocked up on:

• Farm-Fresh Staples: Fresh eggs, local cheeses, and pasture-raised meats (sausage and beef).

• Local Treats: Freshly picked peaches, raw honey, and a half-gallon of homemade New York maple syrup at unbeatable prices.

After settling into the schoolhouse on our first evening, we kept dinner simple with a quick stop for Wendy's and protein bars ($28.64), crashing early to prepare for a full day of gorge exploring in the Finger Lakes!

Watkins Glen, Creamery Flights, & New York Pizza (Day 7)

After a restful night's sleep in our schoolhouse beds and a completely lazy start to the day, we started Friday with a stop at Tobey's Donut Shop ($3). Although they were sold out of donuts for the morning, I got my coffee, and the staff kindly handed us their last three donuts for free—a sweet morning surprise!

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Next, we tackled the breathtaking 1.5-mile Gorge Trail hike at Watkins Glen State Park ($10 parking fee). Walking among the cascading waterfalls and carved stone paths was incredible. At the top of the trail, we treated ourselves to Perry's Ice Cream ($15.98) at the concession stand, and the boys let off extra steam at the playground while waiting out the path crowds.

Rather than paying for the shuttle back down, we took the 1.5-mile gravel trail walk back to the main entrance—an easy, peaceful downhill stroll. Before leaving, the boys earned their Junior Ranger / Camp Explorer patches to iron onto their backpacks, along with cute activity books!

Ravenous after the hike, we stopped at Holy Cow Deli in Horseheads for massive, delicious subs to recharge ($21.74). Then, our official Finger Lakes Creamery Crawl began:

1. Shtayburne Farm Creamery & Crosswinds Creamery: We ordered an 8-flavor ice cream tasting flight paired with an 8-cheese sample platter, buying a tub of maple-flavored quark (a rich, cream cheese-like spread) to enjoy while overlooking the beautiful farm fields for a total of $51.51

2. Spotted Duck Creamery: Famous for making rich, velvety frozen custard crafted exclusively with duck eggs! We split a 4-flavor tasting flight while enjoying the farm views for $11.36

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We rounded out the afternoon thrifting for art and vintage decor at a local Goodwill - where they have a free book program: any kid 18 and under can walk in, pick a book and bring it to the checkout to get that book for free - so each boy went home with some reading. We wrapped the food tour with dinner at Cam's Pizzeria ($38.40). The giant, authentic New York-style slices were a huge hit with locals and fully satisfied our appetites. We took a cautious night drive back along the unlit backcountry roads to our schoolhouse basecamp.

Saturday: N's Special Day – The Arcade & Attica Steam Railroad (Day 8)

Saturday was all about N's passion for trains! We packed a picnic lunch with groceries from Walmart ($53.04) and made a quick stop at Sweet Arts Bakery in Geneseo for discounted cinnamon rolls, cake pops, and chocolates ($37.64).

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At the Arcade & Attica Railroad, we boarded a vintage 1920s steam locomotive ($109.14). N was in absolute heaven—watching the steam mechanisms, seeing the locomotive turned on the turntable, and exploring the historic station museum at the halfway mark. On the return trip, we sat in the front car directly behind the engine for an up-close view of the working locomotive. As a sweet bonus, the train crew handed the boys a massive bag of freshly popped popcorn at the end of the line!

After exploring local antique shops, we headed back toward the Airbnb and stopped at a roadside BBQ stand, Good Eats BBQ, which we had passed several times ($50.43). We devoured an entire slab of ribs, tender brisket, baked beans, and local salt potatoes (a central New York staple available right at our farm stand!). Back at the Airbnb, I knocked out all our laundry using the on-site washer and dryer so we could pack clean clothes for the drive home.

The Journey South & Home Sweet Home: Taughannock Falls & Transit to Pennsylvania (Day 9)

We enjoyed a relaxed Sunday morning reading and packing up before checking out at 11:00 AM. We drove through Ithaca to Taughannock Falls State Park ($10 daily fee) on Cayuga Lake.

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We had a picnic lunch by the water (where the boys spotted a baby bird that we carefully protected while eating) and let the kids paddle around in the lake and build sandcastles.

From there, we drove south to Wilkes-Barre, PA, grabbed some sushi ($45.99) before checking in, and got comfy at a brand-new DoubleTree by Hilton ($131.73 for the night and I was able to apply my $60 Hilton Amex Business Card credit). It was more of a travel day so we hit the indoor pool, and used the gym for my PT mobility work. Upon check out, I had $20 of food and beverage credit so we stocked the cooler with Uncrustables and some chips for the road!

Steamtown, Hershey’s Chocolate World, & Smart Savings (Day 10)

On Monday, we broke up the 12-hour drive home with two fantastic (and free!) stops:

1. Steamtown National Historic Site (Scranton, PA): An incredible, free museum featuring historic roundhouses and giant locomotives, including the famous Big Boy steam engine. The interactive exhibits were right up N's alley!

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2. Hershey’s Chocolate World (Hershey, PA): We took the free chocolate-making tour (complete with free Hershey bars at the exit!), grabbed some unique treats ($7.45), and created a custom, massive Reese's Peanut Butter Cup stuffed with potato chips, Reese's Pieces, marshmallow fluff, caramel, and chocolate chips ($23.85). (We're still eating it over a week later!). You're allotted two free hours of parking as you tour the gift shop and tour experiences; however, make sure to dip out before then to avoid the hefty parking fees!

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We stayed that night at the Hyatt Studios Harrisburg East—a fresh, modern hotel featuring a full kitchen, stove, and full-size fridge for $120.16. This is a sizable room, lots of space to move and would be great for a longer stay - simple but comfortable amenities.

Stacking Savings Hacks: I stacked an Instacart credit card deal ($20 off a $35 order plus buy-one-get-one-free turkey subs) at Subway to feed the entire family for both dinner and the next day's road trip lunch - 3 footlong Turkey subs and 1 footlong meatball sub for $18.

Before bed, I sent the boys to run laps around the building perimeter to tire them out, followed by a workout session in the hotel fitness room (peloton, treadmill, stair climber, and light weightlifting for me).

Crossing the Finish Line (Day 11)

On our final driving day, we skipped unnecessary stops to head straight for home. We picked up dinner using a Little Caesars gift card ($19), and once home, N jumped right on the lawnmower to trim the yard.

While we were away, our home painters finished priming and prepping our interior walls with Behr Wheat Bread paint! After a quick vacuum to clean up the sanding dust and a hurried wipe down of the baseboards, my house looked refreshed. We unpacked, started the laundry, and collapsed into our own beds—ending an incredible, memory-filled summer road trip.

We don't have to do it all. By slowing our pace, each boy felt treasured and seen, we felt far less rushed, and we completely recharged our family battery. We logged a massive chunk of screen-free quality time following their real interests, and we ate intuitively—some days balanced, other days subsisting mainly on ice cream. We worked on not stealing each other's joy when someone was thriving in their element (even if it wasn't another's vibe). And yes—boys can endure an astonishing amount of roughhousing and be totally fine, even if Mom needs a deep breath!

My single biggest lesson? Drop the tight schedule. We kept the main highlights on the radar, but let go of the clock. We stayed up late, took our sweet time getting moving in the morning, and I even swapped our plans on the fly—canceling our last three hotel nights and booking our next stop over morning coffee. Every place met our needs, didn't cost a fortune, and gave us the exact freedom we needed.

So let's talk travel budget and provide that sense of transparency for this 11-day trip for 1 adult and 3 children ages 8, 8, and 13:

Category	Amount
🏨 Lodging	$1,716.14
🍔 Food & Dining	$613.86
🎟️ Attractions & Admissions	$518.36
🚗 Transportation — Gas, Tolls & Parking	$283.61
🎁 Souvenirs & Gifts	$74.62
TOTAL TRIP SPENDING	$3,206.59

So, is $3,100 chump change? Definitely not. Was it my most aggressive travel-hacking feat ever? Not quite! BUT at $291 a day for 11 days of complete flexibility, full tummies, and zero rush, it was worth every penny. For comparison, a standard 6-night Disney trip can easily cost $970 to $1,500+ a day for lodging, tickets, and food. Sure, comparing a gorge-hiking road trip to Disney is apples and oranges, but it proves just how much the type of vacation you choose impacts your bottom line. Now, let’s see if I can push these travel hacks even further for our Fall and Spring breaks!