This map contains locations of the places we blog about! Check out our different discoveries like the Ithaca Farmer’s Market, the gorges, and the AIDS Ride For Life! Look at the pictures and videos we’ve posted too. These places are in Ithaca or surrounding areas and are all outdoor places that you can visit. See you there!
Maybe you’re not used to cracking open a beer at 7 in the morning, but one day out of the year it seems to be acceptable – the Cortaca Jug!
It’s been around for decades and is the football game between Cortland and Ithaca. However, Cortaca has turned into more than just a game to attend with friends and family.
This year, it will be held at Ithaca College, but last year Ithaca students had to find ways of transportation that somehow included a Designated Driver to get to Cortland. Being without a car, my experience led me to take the TCat, which did not show up on time. So, my friends and I took a $20 cab ride to the Greyhound station where we spend money on tickets to get to Cortland. We were a few hours early because the bus only dropped people off at certain times. The reason: my friends were ready to get plastered and no one had a car to play DD.
That’s not where it began however. Cortaca is a whole weekend celebration! Friday night you can find people partying hard as their “pre-game” for the next day. Some people even stay in Friday night so they can prepare to get up and drink by 7 a.m. Some people start off Friday night and do not even sleep! The idea is to get as drunk as possible because bags, alcohol, and other items are not allowed in the stadium. This way, you can enjoy the game while inebriated and sober up enough in time to start partying again when the game ends!
And don’t forget about the tailgates with an incredible amount of food lining the streets surrounding the college and outside the stadium too!
People come from hours away including alumni, parents and friends. When I played field hockey in Hoboken last weekend, I met boys who were planning on taking the at least 4 hour drive to Ithaca this Friday.
And no doubt is the air of rivalry dense. While Ithaca screams “State School!” at Cortland, security tries to keep Cortland fans from entering Ithaca’s side and the other way around so fights won’t break out. Last year, two Cortland fans had barely stepped onto our side of the bleachers before a fight began.
The “Biggest Little Game In The Nation” has sparked many other interests besides football. You can decide for yourself if they are admirable.
It was a beautiful day for a parade in honor of the Veterans on this November 11th Veterans day. There were privates, patriots and pipers that came out for the 90th annual Veterans Day Parade.
Hundreds of people came out with flags and dressed in red white in blue to show their patriotism.
What stood out most about this year’s parade had to have been the unseasonable weather that has taken hold of Ithaca for the past few days! This 50 and even 60 degree weather is unheard of for this time of year in Tompkins County and should be taken advantage of in every way possible! So if you missed the parade, don’t worry just get outside somewhere and soak up the sun- because we all know it won’t last too long!
Cayuga Nature Center is filled with both indoor and outdoor activities. The trails are open 365 days a year!
Are you a college student? This weekend is College Weekend! Bring you student I.D. Saturday and Sunday all day and receive free admission. You can learn about the various jobs and internships CNC offers while exploring what it has to offer.
CNC also has educational programs about the environment and animals, a TEAM ropes course, and other opportunities. They also offer winter, spring, and summer camps.
Director of Environmental Education and CNC’s collaborator with the Museum of Earth’s James Dake has written a Field Guide to the Cayuga Lake Region. You can buy in for $15 at the center.
What are you waiting for? Explore the natural beauty around us today!
There’s something about those beautiful autumn days especially in a frigid place like Ithaca that makes you bask in every ray of sun when given the chance.
Last Monday night set the stage for a perfect Halloween/Fall activity when the weather said 70 degrees and my teacher e-mailed me saying my class got canceled! An afternoon free, no tests the next day, and a gorgeous day at the end of October? I’d be crazy not to get off campus and make the most of the Halloween season!
I gathered my friends, convinced them to play hooky, and went pumpkin picking on a Tuesday afternoon. Although we’re all 19 or older, we spent the day pretending we were in second grade again…I don’t think there’s any other way to enjoy pumpkin picking. I ran through the corn maze, slipped in the mud, and ruined my clothes. I went on a seesaw I was definitely too heavy for. And I bought way too much fudge and ate it for the rest of the week. But I felt free and happy and totally distant from anything at Ithaca College even if it was just for 2 hours making it completely worth it.
If you ever find yourself with enough time on a beautiful day to get off campus, it can really boost your spirits and make your week a hell of a lot happier. There’s only so many times you can lay out in the quad, or sit by the fountains read outside the library. Instead, focus and get that work done and get off campus for a few hours! Ithaca gets pretty brutal in the winter and these are the days we need to make the most of the warm sunlight!
Cornell University’s Department of Horticulture grows their own orchard, vineyard and fruit farm, making up Cornell Orchards, to support teaching and researching funds.
The people of Cornell Orchards use various sustainability methods to keep the fruit fresher and to make it last longer. They also have another orchard, which is 100 miles long, in Lansing. Cayuga Lake keeps a moderate temperature and keeps the fruit fresher for longer.
Students use the orchards to research fruit production and different ways to manage crops as well as how to care for fruit and any diseases the fruit may have.
So, check out Cornell Orchards, the research done there, and the 50 varieties of apples!
On Friday afternoon I heard someone scream, “It’s not Halloween yet!” There were students everywhere walking around in ghost costumes in the middle of the day, one week too early for Halloween. They were walking through the pub and marching out onto the field to join the rest of their kind. A huge cheery picker and A girl with a microphone were out in the middle of the campus, and then it became evident of what all these ghosts were doing- raising climate change awareness.
Sofia Johnson, microphone in hand called me out and said, “fight climate change!” Go grab a ghost costume!” After taking a class about global warming last year I decided I should show my support and join the mob of spooks. As I walked out onto the field, sheet over my head, I couldn’t tell who anyone around me was. Part of the impact of the movement was in the disguise of those around you. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like- everyone came together for the same cause to make a difference.
We got in a formation of the number 350, indicating the amount of carbon dioxide molecules that would put the Earth over the edge making permanent changes that are irreversible to our climate. Currently we are at about 379 molecules. The picture was taken and will be up in Time Square along with countless other places that participated in the same movement.
Chris has been selling her aprons and other handmade things at the Farmer’s Market for years. She said everyone must produce the things they sell themselves.
Check out her stand – she may even make you a personalized apron! You can also find housewarming gifts and homemade Halloween decorations!
Check out my interview with her!
Ithaca is stepping up its Halloween game this year and giving haunted tours through the Ithaca City Cemetery. Tours stated on September 27th and will continue on through Halloween. The tours are meant to teach this mostly college inhabited town about the interesting and apparently creepy past of Ithaca residents.
In the Ithacan’s coverage of the tours it mentions many spooky stories that were told on the first tour. The interesting part of the tours is that they bring you right to the grave of the person the story is about. Also actors are designated to tell and perform the stories to add an extra dramatic factor to the haunted tales.
One of the famous stories being told on the tour is of a young married couple, Harriet and Edward Rulloff who lived in Ithaca in the 1800s. Edward was a well-known author of grammar books and was sent to prison when people accused him of murdering his wife. His wife mysteriously disappeared in 1863. It is said that Rulloff asked a neighbor to help him load a heavy crate onto a cart the morning after the disappearance and that later that evening he was seen pushing an empty cart back from the lake. Richard was hung for the crime even though Harriet’s body was never found. Legend has it that Richard’s ghost cans till be heard rolling a cart through the streets of Ithaca.
Stories like this would definitely freak me out if I were right next to the “ghosts’grave. This kind of ghost story is an amplified version of most Halloween traditions and would be an awesome Halloween night activity. What’s scarier than an eerie ghost story told right next to a deceased body? So get out in the crisp October air and get ready to scream!
The Iron Kettle Farm:
Top 9 Reasons to visit:
1) Not just your average pumpkin picking: buy baby pumpkins to decorate your room, medium sized pumpkins to carve and put on your doorstep, or huge pumpkins that will make passerby say “WOW!” (trust me, these pumpkins are worth $80 so they are incredibly large).
2) Buy two or three pounds of red potatoes for $1 (yes, $1, you heard me correctly!)
3) It’s a fun bonding activity for friends, family, and teams.
4) Taste the doughnuts, kettle corn, apple cider, and other delicious treats the Farm offers.
5) Find your way through the Corn Maze.
6) Overcome adversity in the Obstacle Course (make sure to wear sneakers and long pants- the hay scratches!)
7) Say hello to all of the farm animals including beautiful peacocks, rabbits, and one of the biggest pigs I’ve ever seen!
8) Don’t be afraid to try the haunted house!
9) The people at the Farm decorate it very nicely so there are many great spots to pose for pictures.
What other great reasons do you think should be added?
