Sprinty goes to Naples

Thursday, 19 July

As most know, Kris’ fondness for Naples, Italy, is considerably less than Darrell’s.  So how do you get Kris to agree to go to Naples, even if only for a few hours?  First you discuss places to play golf, without telling her where the golf course is.  Then after she has picked the course based on a web site description and distance from the campground, you make a tee time.  Still not telling her where the golf course is, just that it is 55 minute drive away.  Then you just go.  And act surprised when you get near the golf course and see the town sign “Welcome to Naples, NY.”

Golf today was at Reservoir Creek Golf Course in Naples, NY.  We arrived about an hour before our scheduled tee time only to find out the driving range was closed on Thursday mornings for mowing, a minor detail they overlooked telling us when we called for the tee time last night and asked if they had a driving range.  So we just practiced chipping and putting.

The course was laid out a little differently than most - fairly narrow holes, laid out end to end, with some holes spaced pretty far apart.  Most of the fairways were narrow enough to reward precise shots and penalize you for inconsistency.    The greens were undulating and required some getting used to.  We both opened with a bogey.  After Kris got over the first two holes, she started bombing the ball off the tee.  Darrell was also hitting well, so we were very close until the 9th hole when Darrell tried to go over a tree with his drive only to hit another tree behind the one he went over.  More tree trouble caused him to triple bogey and Kris was up by two strokes at the turn.  

Darrell tied it up after two holes on the back nine, then Kris birdied the long par 5 to take the lead.  Darrell slowly caught up and was up by one stroke after 17 holes.  Kris made par on the final hole to Darrell’s bogey to tie it all square for the day.  Just as well we tied as there were no Starbucks for either of us to pay up.

After giving the golf pro a tour of Sprinty (we was quite impressed from the moment we drove in the parking lot - to the point of researching what Roadtreks like Sprinty cost), we headed south to the town of Hammondsport, NY located at the south end of Keuka Lake to visit the Glenn Curtiss Museum (www.glennhcurtissmuseum.org).  Our sailing friends, Tom and Heidi, told us about the museum, and we had put it on our NY trip list.

The story of Glenn Curtiss and his contributions to the early days of aviation was just amazing.  Like the Wright brothers, he was a bicycle maker who started making motorcycles.  After buying an engine to build a motorcycle, he decided he could build a better engine.  He was successful at racing motorcycles, which led to a booming business.  Before long, his reputation for building high power-to-weight ratio engines had him also building engines for early attempts at manned flight. 

He invented the V8, and went so far as to build a V8 powered motorcycle that set a speed record of 136 mph in 1907 that was not broken until 1930.

On July 4th, 1908, Curtiss gained notoriety of a different kind when he flew his flying machine, named the "June Bug", a distance of over 5,000 feet to win the Scientific American Trophy.  This was the first pre-announced, public flight in America - a feat that earned him pilot's license # 1.  A full-sized reproduction of the "June Bug" is one of several historic aircraft on display.

One of the highlights of the museum was the film about his life:  “Glenn Curtiss: The Forgotten Eagle”.  We learned that the Wright Brothers were secretive about their flying machines, and the Scientific American Trophy Glenn Curtiss sought was actually designed to lure the Wright Brothers to fly their airplane publicly.  

The museum had lots of motorcycles on display, including some early Curtiss motorcycles.  Equally as fascinating were the modern day replicas of Curtiss designs that were actually flown in the last 15 years.

Another interesting piece of information we learned was that he walked away from his aviation career to live in Florida.  He also developed an early camper, although we did not see an example on exhibit.

Overall, the Glenn Curtiss Museum was very well worth the visit. Thank you Tom & Heidi.

After the museum visit, we made our way up the west side of Keuka Lake to Keuka Lake State Park for the night.  Keuka Lake is one of 11 Finger Lakes in New York that were created during the various ice ages.  During the past million years, giant mounds of ice, or glaciers, covered New York State several times, dramatically transforming the land in its path.  In this region, the most recent glacier move through shallow river valleys leaving in their place deep troughs with steep sides.  When the glacier receded north about 10,000 years ago, water filled these new troughs creating the 11 Finger Lakes which include Keuka  Lake.

Keuka Lake State Park campground was nicely laid out.  With 150 sites, only about 1/3 are electric, which made us glad we had made reservations.