46 CORNELL ALUMNI MAGAZINE MJ19_161_things_final.indd 46 4/8/19 3:06 PM Ithaca Is . .Sumer ! ‘161 Things’ to do when the weather’s warm—— on the Hill and beyond MAY | JUNE 2019 47 MJ19_161_things_final.indd 47 4/8/19 3:06 PM # In the mid -Nineties—inspired by the 2 number of steps in McGraw Tower —CAM published a guide to the “161 Things Every Cornell Student Should Do.” The Daily Sun later ran its own version, and we updated our original list in 2015. But as Ithaca’s year -round residents often observe, most students don’t see Cornell’s hometown in its glory: the summer, when we locals reap our karmic debt for all those frigid winter days. It’s the perfect time for alumni to return — and to use Ithaca as the base for a vacation. In that spirit, we offer a different list: 161 things to do—in Ithaca or within about an hour’s drive—if you come back this summer (with a few events in fall). Like Cornell itself, it has something for everyone. #18 48 CORNELL ALUMNI MAGAZINE MJ19_161_things_final.indd 48 4/8/19 3:06 PM On the Hil Outdoor 10. Take a 19. Enjoy a free up some cheese, Amusements recreational tree concert in Klarman chocolate milk, and climbing course Hall (Tuesday other Cornell- 1. Request a song at COE. evenings). made products—at to be played on the the Dairy Bar in chimes, then listen 11. Watch an 20. Go bowling at Stocking Hall. to it while lounging outdoor movie on Helen Newman Hall on the grass. the Willard Straight (closed on Sundays). 28. Enjoy a coffee terrace, hosted by at your favorite 2. Walk through the Cornell Cinema. campus café, such Botanic Gardens’ as Manndible or the arboretum; rest at 12. Go on a self- Temple of Zeus. the pond’s gazebo guided tour of and admire the campus’s many 29. Stock up on aquatic life. outdoor sculptures. apples, cider, maple syrup, and more 3. Take an official 13. Follow a at the Cornell tour of campus (and timeline of Big Orchards. see the new Tang Red history at the Welcome Center, Sesquicentennial 21. Attend a with its lovely view Commemorative free lecture in of Beebe Lake). Grove, at the top of Kennedy Hall’s Libe Slope. Call Auditorium 4. Go on a guided (Wednesday bird walk at the Lab evenings). Around of Ornithology. Indoor Collegetown Activities 22. View the Wilder Brain Collection 30. Walk up 14. Go rock in Uris Hall, whose the Cascadilla climbing at the specimens include Gorge Trail from #14 8,000-square-foot the brain of downtown; reward Lindseth Climbing infamous murderer yourself with coffee Center, one of the Edward Rulloff. and a sweet treat at # largest of its kind in Collegetown Bagels. 24 5. Rent equipment— the U.S. from canoes to 31. Have brunch backpacks to 15. Stargaze at Rulloff’s, one camping gear—from at Fuertes of Collegetown’s Cornell Outdoor Observatory on oldest eateries. Education (COE), Friday nights, 23. Read a book then enjoy the great cloud conditions in Uris Library’s outdoors. permitting. ornate A.D. White reading room. 6. Kiss your significant other 24. Savor a quiet on the Suspension moment in Sage Bridge. Chapel. 7. Enjoy a free 16. Take a week- 25. Pick up some concert on the long Cornell’s Adult Big Red swag for Arts Quad, held on University course; the whole family at 32. Shop for summer Fridays. topics this summer the Cornell Store. comfortable shoes range from gourmet at Fontana’s. 8. Stroll around cooking to the Beebe Lake. science of climate 33. Relive your change. undergrad days with 9. Marvel at the a bar-hopping tour blooms in the 17. Climb to the top of Collegetown’s Azalea Garden (on of McGraw Tower remaining watering Tower Road) and to hear (and see) a holes. Rhododendron chimes concert. Collection (at Food & Drink 34. Refresh Cornell Botanic 18. Tour the yourself with Gardens), at their Johnson Museum; 26. Sip a cocktail bubble tea at one of height May to July. after checking out at the Statler bar several spots in the the view from the (don’t forget to ask neighborhood. fifth floor, go to the about the secret sculpture court and drinks menu). 35. Grab a pizza admire the Cosmos and Greek salad light installation 27. Check out the at Souvlaki House; from the “zero latest ice cream don’t forget the PHOTOS: PREVIOUS SPREAD, ALAMY. THIS SPREAD: ARBORETUM, MUSEUM, LAB OFFLOWERS, 0RNITHOLOGY, ROBERT OBSERVATORY, BARKER (UREL); BOWLING, BRAIN AND RULLOFF’S, AND APPLE, SHUTTERSTOCK; JASON KOSKI (UREL); SHIRT, CORNELL STORE; CLIMBING, LINDSAY FRANCE (UREL); SAGE, OFFICE OF VISUAL SERVICES gravity” bench. flavors—and pick baklava. MAY | JUNE 2019 49 MJ19_161_things_final.indd 49 4/8/19 3:06 PM Ithaca and Beyond The Great Water World 53. Hike a state Outdoors park; nearby 44. Go swimming options include 36. Take a in Cayuga Lake; Buttermilk, Treman, gentle stroll to lifeguarded areas Taughannock, Taughannock are available at Watkins Glen, and Falls (two miles such venues as Fillmore Glen. round-trip from Taughannock Falls the parking lot), State Park (on the 54. Go mountain then drive up to the western shore) and biking at Greek falls overlook for a Lansing’s Myers Peak, home to #48 spectacular view. Point (on the east). seventeen trails (and a chairlift); 37. Go on a hot air 45. Take a sailboat, rentals and lessons balloon ride; flights canoe, kayak, or are available. leave from various paddleboard onto parks in Ithaca Cayuga Lake; depending on wind various venues direction. offer rentals and/or lessons. 38. Go skydiving over the Finger 46. Spice up your Lakes from a private Farmers Market airport in Ovid. visit with a one-hour boat ride from its 39. Bring a picnic dock (Saturdays, 55. Stroll or cycle to the Flat Rock Sundays, and the Black Diamond area of Forest Thursday evenings Trail, an 8.4-mile Home, on Fall Creek in season). former rail line that just upstream of runs from Ithaca to Beebe Lake. 47. Go for a Taughannock Falls dip in a (legal) in Trumansburg. 40. Ooh and ahh at swimming hole at the Independence Lower Treman or 56. Rent a Lime Day fireworks Buttermilk Falls Bike and explore (set for July 3) state parks. Ithaca and its over Cayuga Lake; environs. viewing options 48. Take a # include Sunset paddleboard yoga 57. Explore the 40 Park, Cass Park, class on the lake. trails of the Arnot Taughannock Falls Teaching and State Park . and a 49. Wine and Research Forest, #45 boat on the lake. dine on the lake; a Cornell-run offerings include preserve fifteen 41. Explore wine-tasting cruises miles southwest of the farm and and self-catered Ithaca. make crafts at sunset trips. Gourdlandia, a 58. Hike part of the gourd-centric arts 50. Go scuba diving 580-mile Finger and agriculture spot in the Finger Lakes, Lakes Trail, which on West Hill. where you can view stretches from sunken fossils, Allegany State Park boats, even (in at the Pennsylvania Skaneateles Lake) border across a plane. Central New York to the Catskills. 51. Watch the action at the Finger 59. Bike along the Lakes International Erie Canal, located Dragon Boat about an hour north Festival, set for July of Ithaca; the annual 42. Visit Ithaca 13 at Taughannock Cycle the Erie Canal Falls, either by Falls State Park. event, with riders parking in the pedaling from adjacent lot or Get Some Buffalo to Albany taking an easy stroll Exercise and camping en from downtown. route, is July 7–14. 52. Rent a bike 43. Admire the at Stewart Park 60. Walk, jog, nineteenth-century and cruise Ithaca’s or cycle the 3.5- covered bridge in 5.5-mile Cayuga mile East Ithaca Newfield. Waterfront Trail. Recreation Way. PHOTOS: YOGA, TERRY KENT/ITHACA SUP YOGA; FIREWORKS, BARBARA FRIEDMAN;GOURDS, CANOE, GOURDLANDIA; ALAMY; MOUNTAIN BIKE, GREEK PEAK; CYCLING, ERIE CANAL NHC; SWIMMING, ALAMY MJ19_161_things_final.indd 50 4/8/19 3:06 PM #59 #47 MAY | JUNE 2019 51 MJ19_161_things_final.indd 51 4/8/19 3:06 PM Race to the Finish 61. Run a 5K, such as the Ithaca Twilight (June 12), the Fillmore (July 20) in Moravia, or the Ithaca 5 & 10 (September 15), which also has a 10K option. 62. Run a trail race. Cayuga Trails (June 1) offers marathon and 50-mile distances, with a route that includes Buttermilk Falls and Treman state parks; the Finger Lakes 50s (July 6), which goes through the Finger Lakes National Forest, offers 25K, 50K, or 50 miles. 63. Compete in a triathlon. Options include the Musselman (Geneva, July 14), the Cayuga Lake (Taughannock Falls State Park, August 4), and the Finger Lakes (Canandaigua, September 8). 64. Run the Ithaca Gorges Half Marathon (June 15), described by its organizers as “fantastically fast and scenic.” 65. Cycle around Cayuga Lake—and raise funds for HIV/ AIDS prevention and services—with the annual AIDS Ride for Life, September 7. 66. Brave 5K or 10K obstacle courses along the Cayuga Waterfront and Black Diamond trails at the Tough Turtle Mud Run, September 21. Family Fun 67. Stroll the Sagan Planet Walk, a scale model of the solar system stretching from the center # of the Commons 62 (the sun) to the Sciencenter (Pluto). 52 CORNELL ALUMNI MAGAZINE MJ19_161_things_final.indd 52 4/8/19 3:06 PM at the legendary Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca’s Dewitt Mall. 82. Sample dairy delights on the seven-stop Finger # Lakes Cheese Trail; 68 the closest one to Ithaca is Lively Run 68.