Teddy’s Travels: Ithaca, NY

Not many larger towns straddle the barren stretch between Rochester and Binghamton where corn fields seemingly outnumber real humans ten to one. That is, of course, except for Ithaca.

Situated on the Southern tip of Lake Cayuga is a small city of about 30,000 people. The city’s footprint is shaped by hundreds of gorges that carve through the town. Ithaca is also home to the Ivy League’s Cornell University.

A little less than half of the 91-mile journey can be covered by highway. The rest of the journey consists of long stretches of farm-surrounded rural roads. The one hour and 45 minute drive was not too bad and the scenic landscape gave way to increasing signs of human life as we made our way down to the city. 

Our first stop, Taughannock Falls State Park, was about 10 miles outside Ithaca. The lookout, which was accessible by car, offered a stunning view of the nearly 215-foot waterfall which cascaded into a gorge below. 

This waterfall also carries the prestigious title of “highest single-drop waterfall within the United States east of the Rocky Mountains,” and is definitely worth the visit — only adding about 15 minutes to our journey. 

When we arrived, the first thing we did was find parking. This was not terribly difficult as on the weekends, Ithaca offers complementary street parking. However, parking during the weekday without paying can be a costly mistake: one of my friends who came on the journey, Guinevere Toczek, explained that when she had last visited, her friend’s car was towed, and they demanded $300 to have the car released. 

After parking, we made our way to the Moosewood Restaurant — a vegetarian restaurant located in the heart of Ithaca.

The menu offered an extensive selection of options that would suit all tastes, as well as a large drink menu. 

I ordered the Moroccan chickpea stew which is served over couscous and with sour cream. The dish was amazing and would highly recommend it to anyone interested. Gwen ordered the black bean burger served with potatoes and a giant leaf of lettuce, which also looked appetizing. I would, however, suggest that you not order the $5 bread basket as it had been marketed as “fresh sourdough” on the menu, and while yes, it was sourdough, it was not what I would call “fresh” and not worth the extra $5. The establishment, which featured a wood-burning fireplace, offered a cozy atmosphere and delicious food. Although a little pricey with its $22 entrées, I would still recommend the restaurant to anyone in the area. 

Afterwards, we went up to the Cornell Dairy farm which sells locally-made ice cream on Cornell’s campus. I had been to Ithaca before, and I think that they make some of the best ice cream you can buy and would suggest taking some tubs to go. Unfortunately, after arriving, we learned that on weekends the shop was closed and we were not able to purchase the frozen treat.

This is the exterior of the Cornell Dairy Bar — which was unfortunately closed the day we went. You can view their hours here.

We stopped at the Cornell bookstore which made us both think that the College Town Barnes & Noble needed to take it up a notch. If we don’t also have a photo booth or collegiate branded soaps, then who really are we?

As we started to make our way back to town, we decided to drive around briefly before heading home. 

Obviously, every ‘Teddy’s Travels’ needs adventure, and after our unremarkable stay in Ithaca, I began to wonder if perhaps we would break the streak. But sure enough, about halfway back to Rochester in Romulus, NY, we got pulled over by a state trooper. I have never been pulled over before and was in the end given a ticket. However, in New York, I found out that the state troopers do not tell you how much you owe and that the fine is determined by the city court where you got pulled over. 

Not wanting to pay something without knowing how much it is, I will be ringing in the new year by driving an hour and 15 minutes down to Romulus to visit the court which only had one judge, one clerk, and one district attorney. 

There was some confusion over our alleged speed as even Gwen’s Life360 app, an app that monitors your speed and location, reported that we were in fact not going the alleged speed. Nevertheless, we very cautiously returned to UR and decided that we ended up having a great time nonetheless. 

As always, here is my breakdown on how I decided how many ‘Teddy Stars’ to award this trip:

• Price: The main cost of this day trip was food and fuel (and ultimately the ticket if it’s not dismissed). The journey down, including the stop at Taughannock Falls, was about 95 miles, while the return trip was about 91 miles. We drove, I would estimate, an additional 10 miles or so in town. There is a toll on I-90, charging about $1.12 in both directions. My car gets about 26.1 miles per gallon and we drove a total of about 196 miles. Assuming a price of about $2.90 a gallon, our fuel costs for the trip set us back about $22. The food was a little pricey with the stew costing $22 and the bread $5. In total, the trip set us back around $45.24 per person, if you split the gas bill. 

• Food: The chickpea stew at the Moosewood was amazing and I would highly recommend it to anyone — however, I would skip the bread. If you’re there on a weekday, I also highly recommend the Cornell Dairy Farm ice cream

• Parking: Parking in Ithaca, on the weekends, was not a problem. You may drive around for a few minutes trying to find a space, but it isn’t that hard to find one. Keep in mind that if there is snow on the ground, the rules may be different. 

• Shops: There are many shops in downtown Ithaca, many of which are small locally owned businesses. 

• Adventure/Fun: There are plenty of hiking opportunities around Ithaca.

All in all, I would award this trip 2½ Teddy Stars. I think that this trip could have more potential, I am just not sure if it was really worth the 1:45 drive.