Itinerary for MacKenzie Childs 2014 Tour

May 5 through May 9, 2014 tour throughout the beautiful Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. 

DAY 1

Monday, May 5th
• 4:42pm

Arrival into Ithaca Airport - Your motor coach and tour guide will meet the group at

the airport and assist with luggage handling onto the bus.

• 5:15pm – 6:30pm

Fabulous Falls Above Cayuga Tour: Our Fabulous Falls Above Cayuga Tour is a one

hour tour that is perfect experience for getting you acquainted with Ithaca and the natural beauty of our area. The group will experience three waterfall stops where we get out and explore the gorges carved out by Fall Creek and Cascadilla Creeks. These creeks border the beautiful Cornell University Campus and provide beautiful sites along its shores. We will traverse the famous Cornell Suspension bridge - a pedestrian bridge that is suspended 138 feet above the water, then see the falls surrounding College Town, as well as Cascadilla Falls. The tour culminates with an up-close-and-personal visit to Ithaca Falls, downtown Ithaca's own 135 foot waterfall. 

The tour is filled with narration about Ithaca and Cornell history in addition to the beautiful natural sites. There is not a lot of walking on this tour, although the last waterfall stop requires around a 200 ft walk on an uneven path to get to the base of the falls.

• 6:30pm 

Dinner at Cornell’s Statler Hotel

• 9:00pm

Hotel Check-in

Accommodations – 4 nights: Courtyard Marriott– 15 rooms reserved.

DAY 2

DAY EVENT

Breakfast: At Hotel

• Bus departs by 9:00 am

• 10:00am – 11:45am

MacKenzie-Childs: Experience the unique Victorian estate of MacKenzie-Childs,

world-renowned maker of beautiful hand-painted ceramics and home furnishings.

Tour the restored Victorian farmhouse showcasing their designs.

• 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Lunch at the Aurora Inn : Enjoy waterfront dining and the flavor of the Finger

Lakes with a lunch featuring fresh regional products and ingredients.

• 1:15pm – 3:15pm

Return to MacKenzie-Childs for shopping in their exquisite show room and

explore first hand their beautifully unique products and gifts.

• 3:15pm – 4:00pm

Enjoy a garden tour of the MacKenzie-Childs Victorian farm with estate manager

Mariann. The 65-acre farm includes the Production studio, a restored Victorian

farmhouse, a duck pond, the gothic revival Chicken Palace aviary, and a meadow

where a herd of Scottish Highland cattle graze.

• 4:45pm – 5:45pm

Explore the lakefront and storefronts of Skaneateles.

• 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Enjoy a private 3-course dinner at Mirbeau Inn and Spa in Skaneateles

• 9:00pm

Return to Hotel

DAY 3

Breakfast: At Hotel

• Bus departs by 9:00 am

• 10:00am – 1:00pm

Morning at The Corning Museum of Glass:

At Corning Museum of Glass -

Two-hour guided tour with Museum tour guide. During this tour, your group will be

guided through: The Contemporary Glass Gallery, one of the best collections of

contemporary glass art; The Glass Collection Galleries featuring the most

comprehensive collection of glass artifacts anywhere; The Hot Glass Show, where they

will experience a live, narrated glassblowing demonstration; and the Glass Innovation

Center, an interactive, high-tech science and technology experience.

Afterwards, the group will participate in a Make Your Own Glass Workshop where they

will have the opportunity to create their own sand-blasted glass souvenir

• 1:00pm – 3:00pm

Enjoy the museum Glass Shop followed by lunch on your own at Museum of Glass Café

• 4:00pm – 5:00pm

Wine and Local Cheese Tasting at Standing Stone Vineyards.

Enjoy a wine tasting featuring local New York State cheeses paired with fabulous

Standing Stone Vineyards wines, including their highly rated ice wines.

• 5:30pm
Vineyard Wine Dinner at the Red Newt Bistro

Enjoy a classic farm-to-table wine dinner at Red Newt Bistro. With a focus on regional

cuisine, This winery restaurant crafts regionally expressive menus with ingredients

sourced directly from local farms. Enjoy your meal paired with Red Newt’s awardwinning wines.

• 8:30pm

Return to Hotel

DAY 4

Breakfast: At Hotel,

• Bus departs by 9:00 am

• 10:30 – 1:00pm

Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion:

Enjoy a guided walking tour of the whimsies and wonders of the beautiful Sonnenberg

Mansion and Gardens. The mansion is a 40-room Queen Anne building perched atop a

sun-bathed hill and surrounded by nine formal gardens styled after European and Asian

designs.

• 1:30pm – 3:00pm

Seasonal Chef Demo and Wine Pairing-Lunch and Learn at the New York State

Wine and Culinary Center

Watch as a NYWCC chef creates a delicious recipe from seasonal NYS ingredients. You will be served a lunch-sized portion of the creation and explore how it pairs with two

NYS wines. The wine tasting instruction will be provided by one of the center’s certified

Wine Instructors. Incredibly educational, entertaining, and fun!

• 3:00pm – 4:00

Explore the Wine and Culinary Center:

After lunch at the Culinary Center on your own. Enjoy a flight of New York State wines or

beers in the Tasting Room, where you can taste and bring home one or more of the 225pm wineries, craft distilleries and microbreweries represented throughout the year. Browse and splurge in the Culinary Boutique where you will find NY State specialty foods, wine accessories, culinary tools, locally-made art, books and more.

• 7:00pm

Lakefront Dinner at the Boatyard Grill

Celebrate your final night in the Finger Lakes at Ithaca’s popular lake front restaurant.

DAY 5

Friday, May 9th
• Breakfast: At Hotel

• 10:30am – 11:30am

Shuttle to Airport:

Experience! The Finger Lakes will provide two vans to shuttle guests to the airport for