It is a beautiful October morning. The sun is shining and it is a great day for a drive up to The Sugar Shack for a little taste of a variety of locally made fruit syrups over ice cream.
Our destination today, Sunday, October 14, 2012:
Vinewood Acres Sugar Shack®
7904 Route 5
Westfield, NY 14787
Open 1-4 daily. Other times by chance or appt. Call (716) 326-3351 to schedule appt.
Call to place an order - 888-563-4324
Email: Sugrshak@Fairpoint.net
http://www.sugarshack1.com
The Cackle is getting together for yet another adventure, and at the last minute, we invite Brooke along as well. We left mom's house just about 11:45am hoping to make our 1:00pm appointment with Gail Black, owner and proprietor of Vinewood Acres Sugar Shack, and author of "Asses and Angels", a book about Gail's childhood experiences and the ups and downs she faced as a lone woman trying to purchase and run her own fruit farm.
I met Gail at a local fair where she set up shop to sell her wares; the most wonderful fruit syrups you ever want to taste! Of course, she also makes and sells delicious pure maple syrup. Gail is quite a character, I must say. She would fit into the Cackle just like family! Having promised her that I would bring "The Cackle" out to see her at her farm later in the year, I did not want to disappoint.
Hoping to catch a little Fall foliage on digital film, we set out in an easterly direction on Route 5, paralleling Lake Erie. Glimpses of the sun dancing off the blue-green waves appeared periodically to our left as the brilliantly colored leaves opened a path to the North for one spectacular view after another.We pass by a lighthouse and pier that look interesting. We will stop on the way back.
We finally arrive at The Sugar Shack. There is a nice gift shop where Gail is selling her fruit and maple syrups along with other various knick knacks. Her friend, Bruce is also there in the store along with her faithful spaniel, Wannago. Bruce offered to take us on a tour of the farm that sits on the bluffs of Lake Erie as he regales us with the history as he knows it. He shows us the blue sap tubing snaking between the maple trees that disappears down the hill to the processing shed where the sap will be boiled down into maple syrup. He will not take us down the steep hill to the shack due to the treacherous, root-ridden path leading to it as well as the steep incline.
We wander across the top of the bluff to the west and stop near a pond on the property. He tells us about the acreage, and the trials that Gail had to go through to get a loan from the bank due to the fact that "women just don't own farms". Gail went back to the bank repeatedly to make her case and repeatedly got turned down. She finally resorted to going into the bank in her dirtiest, smelliest clothing and sitting in the waiting area until the bank manager finally relented and gave her a loan. She was now the proud owner of a small farm. We ended the tour back in the shop.
Gail is expecting us and breaks out the ice cream and fruit syrups from the 'fridge behind the counter. She gives each one of us a small 2oz. portion cup with a smidge of vanilla ice cream in it and a small white plastic spoon and instructs us to take a tiny bit of ice cream on the tip of the spoon and she will pour some fruit syrup into the spoon, the flavor of our choosing. Gail warns us that this is all the ice cream that we will get so use it wisely, after all, she only said a tasting! Even when Carolyn pouted (and she knows how to pout), Gail stood firm, pouting back with what equated to a 'tough luck!'. Has mother met her match? Gasp!
With 21 different flavors available, it is hard to choose a favorite: blueberry, elderberry, currant raspberry, peach and wild mint pear, just to name a few. I purchase the wild mint pear and the wild currant raspberry...yum! I also pick up a copy of Gail's book and she autographed it right there at the counter as she rung up my purchases. We each pick up one or two of our favorite flavors as well as a copy of the book and even a few trinkets. Mom buys a hummingbird that she likes.
We left the farm in search of a certain little barn that was featured in a story that Gail told us about her piloting lessons. It seems that it is a much harder thing to do, this piloting of aircraft, than one would imagine. One tiny mistake, and you have put a plane through someone's barn. The barn was repaired and it is still standing today. We find the barn, take a few pictures and turn around to head back to Route 5.
We start heading back west on Route 5. When we come to the Westfield Village Pier near Barcelona, NY. There is a small beach to the east of the pier and a lighthouse to the west. between the pier and the beach sits a large boat. It is a cool photo op, which we take advantage of. A walk along the beach under the bluffs reveals a couple of waterfalls and a large tree worn smooth by the water. More great photo ops. After a bit of exploring, we leave the pier and pause at the lighthouse long enough to snap a few pictures before heading west once again.
Everyone is hungry so we stop at a KFC on Buffalo Road (Route 20) in Harborcreek for some nourishment. I had to practically sit on the girls to make them behave! After all that sugar, they were a little wound up. That poor restaurant will never be the same. Herding them back into the vehicle, replete with good food, I head for home. Yep, we survived another day trip together.
