Mark Sherman

Sometimes the best way to get away is to jump in the car and drive. Its a good idea to do some advance planning, such as mapping out a route, and making sure you have confirmed hotel reservations before you leave home. That still gives you plenty of flexibility to deviate from your planned route and arrival times, but with the security of knowing you'll have a comfortable accommodation waiting for you whenever you choose to arrive.

My wife and I recently did just that, taking a one week tour of the Finger Lakes district in upper New York State. There's lots to see and do there, always in a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere. The main attractions are the scenery: beautiful lakes, landscapes and waterfalls to view; the many, many wineries, most with tasting rooms and some with restaurants; historical sites; and cultural events. You can also be active, and participate in hiking, fishing and sailing.

There are accommodations to fit every taste and budget. We stayed in a variety of hotels, sometimes on one of the main lakes (Cayuga or Seneca), but also in the centre of Ithaca, a college town with a great commons area filled with trendy restaurants and shopping.

Each day we'd do a drive around one side of one of the main lakes, stopping to take in the views (and sometimes sample some wine!) and marvel at some well-preserved historical architecture. We checked out some of the larger towns, including Ithaca, Watkins Glen, Geneva and Corning, always finding interesting things to see and do, and reasonably priced restaurants with good food, serving very good beers from local breweries.

In Corning, home of the Corning Museum of Glass, we just happened to visit during the Glass Festival. The main street is closed and lined with exhibitors and demonstrations (such as glass blowing) and free concerts.

The best thing about this trip was being able to take everything at a very leisurely pace, knowing that we'd always find something interesting to experience before heading to our pre-reserved nightly accommodation.