Wednesday, our first full day in Watkins Glen, was a cold and dreary day. I didn’t do much besides read a book and research some supplies I’ll need next week for my battery project. The four Lifeline AGM batteries I ordered will be shipped to Donna’s parents’ house in Bennington, Vermont. I expect them to get there next Wednesday – we’ll be there by then. I’m also ordering some new cables and connectors.

It stopped raining in the afternoon, but remained cool. The high temperature for the day was 62, but with the wind and cloud cover, it felt colder. Trucks rumbled into the boat launch area all day. They were dumping soil and gravel and made a huge mound of dirt. In the late afternoon, Donna went for a hike on a portion of the Finger Lakes Trail that borders the Catharine Creek Marsh.

When she returned, she made a skillet meal. It was just the thing for a dreary day. Skillet recipes are usually fairly quick and easy – and don’t leave a lot of dirty dishes from preparation. It was a new recipe that she’s calling Quick Chicken Enchilada Skillet Casserole.

Dished out on a plate it was like a de-constructed enchilada.

It was a hearty and nutritious meal. And it took less than 25 minutes to prepare and cook.

On Thursday morning, we were greeted with sunshine and the promise of a warmer day. Trucks continued to rumble past the campground, but I noticed now they were being filled with dirt from the huge mound near the boat launch. There was a large loader with a giant bucket filling truckload after truckload. I went over there and asked one of the drivers waiting in line to be filled what was up. They’re delivering the dirt to a construction site in town. The wet weather on Tuesday and Wednesday interrupted the delivery – one of the roads they have to traverse was too soft for the load. So, they dumped everything here and now they’re shuttling it to the construction site.

Donna went out for a ride on her knock-around bike. I call it a knock-around because it’s an inexpensive mountain bike hybrid that she bought from a guy at Viewpoint in Mesa, Arizona for $25. I lubed it and made a few adjustments after she bought it and it rides fine – but it’s much slower and heavier than her road bike or my Specialized mountain bike.

She rode out the Catharine Valley Trail and found She-Qua-Ga Falls in the neighboring village of Montour Falls.

She rode about 13 miles – a fair ride considering the bike she was riding.

Later I rode the Spyder out to Watkins Glen International Raceway. At the main gate, they let me in on the condition that I limit myself to one grandstand area and not go near the pits or infield. There was a car club at the track – they rented the track for the week and were doing laps.

Members of this car club are definitely not from the hoi polloi – they have money to burn.

This track is in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable. And there is so much history here. The US Formula One Grand Prix started here in 1961 and ran every year until 1980. The Can-Am and Trans-Am series raced here. Jimmy Clark, Dan Gurney, Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Peter Revson – all of the greats from that era raced here.

Sadly, Francoise Cevert lost his life when he crashed at turn four during the Grand Prix on October 6, 1973 – my birthday. I was a 17-year-old Formula One fan at the time. We didn’t have TV coverage of Formula One back then – I would get the coverage through articles in Road & Track magazine weeks after the race. The articles were usually written by Rob Walker, a former team owner or Innes Ireland, a former Formula One driver who won the first US Grand Prix in 1961.

Last evening, Donna finally got her birthday dinner. Traditionally we go out to eat at the restaurant of her choice on her birthday. This year we had to put it off for two reasons – inclement weather and the fact that all of the nicer restaurants in Frankfort, Kentucky – where we were at the time – are closed on Sunday. Her birthday fell on a Sunday.

Donna chose the Veraisons Restaurant at the Glenora Winery for her birthday dinner. It’s about 10 miles from the park and we rode the Spyder up to check out the winery before dinner.

They had a nicely restored 1955 Chevrolet flat-bed truck in the parking lot. I don’t know if they just display it or use it around the winery. It didn’t have license plates, so I doubt it ever sees the highway.

We dined on the deck at the back of the restaurant and enjoyed the spectacular view. Donna discovered she actually likes New York State cabernet sauvignon! Donna had the pappardelle and I had a pork chop. The presentation of both dishes included an edible flower. By the way, we noticed that Glenora Winery uses an image of the She-Qua-Ga Falls on their label.

The weather was great yesterday with a high of 77 degrees and a few clouds. Today is forecast to be a copy of yesterday’s weather. We plan to check out a local brewery or two then hit the farmers’ market right down the road from us at Lafayette Park.

Meanwhile the loader at the boat launch is still filling dump trucks – the dirt mound is much smaller after filling truckload after truckload all day yesterday. I think they’ll finish the job today. That was a lot of dirt!