If you go

By Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 8, 2000

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Beyond all the longer articles today about western New York, there are still more places worth visiting, and they run the gamut from geologic wonders to a museum of the history of aviation and its place in warfare. Except as noted, these attractions are open year-round, closing for major holidays:

Just 5.5 miles south of Olean is one of those natural wonders that give you pause. Rock City Park claims to be the world's largest collection of exposed quartz conglomerate: a bunch of huge boulders squatting amid trees that arrived tens of millions of years after the rocks.

Be sure to chat with owner William Buckley, who arrived thousands of years after the trees. He spins great tales about working around Cape Canaveral 50 years ago, when there really were more snakes than people.

Rock City Park, State Road 16 S, Olean, NY 14760; call (716) 372-7790; e-mail to rockcity78@hotmail.com. Open May 1 through Oct. 31.

The treats of New York If city streets aren't your thing, the Empire State offers more: countryside byways with hamlets and villages and a charming dose of Americana. Falling for the Finger Lakes region Nature entices visitors to northern New York with 25 state parks. And, with Cornell University at its heart, it's a breeding ground for fine inns, hotels and restaurants. Awash in wine A score of western New York's wineries welcome visitors with free tours that are similar in nature. But it's the tastings that define them. Company town reborn Corning, N.Y., reinvents itself as a prosperous marketplace, with nods to its architectural past and its ties to Corning glassware and Mark Twain. If you go Beyond all the longer articles today about western New York, there are still more places worth visiting, and they run the gamut from geologic wonders to a museum of the history of aviation and its place in warfare. Except as noted, these attractions are open year-round, closing for major holidays:

Among the treasures in the National Warplane Museum are the volunteers, who take turns restoring planes from World War II to jet fighters and recounting their wartime experiences. More than a dozen aircraft have been superbly refinished in one hangar, and in the other, labor progresses on several more, featured on the narrated tours.

The museum's pride and joy is a B-17 Flying Fortress; for $350, you can take to the skies in that reconditioned plane, powered by four nearly new engines. For just the admission price ($7 for adults, $5.50 for seniors, $4 for children ages 6 to 17), you can get guide Bob Young to tell you how he suddenly went from crewman on a bomber to driver of a tank for Gen. George Patton.

The National Warplane Museum is based at Elmira Corning Regional Airport, a few minutes' drive from either city. The address is 17 Aviation Drive, Horseheads, NY 14845; call (607) 739-8200; e-mail to nwm@warplane.org; the Web site is http://www.warplane.org.

A different tribute to aviation is at the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum. Located a half-mile south of his hometown of Hammondsport, where pioneer Curtiss built and flew many successful designs, the museum has a video tribute recounting his successes and a hangar full of restored aircraft, motorcycles and boats. Curtiss worked on them all. He received the nation's first pilot's license in June 1911, though he had been flying for three years.

Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, open daily year-round except for major holidays; State Road 54, Hammondsport, NY 14840; call (607) 569-2160; the Web site is http://www.fingerlakes.org/FingerLakes/
members/curtissmuseum.html.

For something with less "vroom" to it, drop by the Arnot Art Museum in downtown Elmira, housed in a 167-year-old mansion. The permanent collection, a donation from Matthias Arnot, features European works from the 17th to 19th centuries, plus works by Americans, Asians, American Indians and even ancient Egyptians. Every other year, the Arnot stages a display of contemporary works.

Arnot Art Museum, 235 Lake St., Elmira, NY 14901; call (607) 734-3697; open Tuesday to Sunday.

STAYING THERE: Co-owner Jim Heil is so busy redecorating the Vinehurst Inn that he often leaves a note at the motel's front desk, telling visitors or guests that he's elsewhere on the property and to push the call button to page him.

Already finished in delightful fashion are a winery suite, decorated with memorabilia from his years as a wine broker, and an Adirondacks log cabin, with oversized representations of fishing gear. Each of these two-room suites has a Jacuzzi. Other rooms and efficiencies are done in bright, if more common, colors and accents.

Heil, formerly a restaurateur in Siesta Key ("Too seasonal to make a profit") and Chicago, is happy to offer advice on the nearby Keuka Lake wineries, hiking trails, craft markets and the Curtiss Museum, almost across the highway.

Vinehurst Inn, P.O. Box 203, State Road 54, Hammondsport, NY 14840; call (607) 569-2300; Web site, http://www.fingerlakes-ny.com/vinehurst.

At the opposite end of country lodgings is the impressive Roycroft Inn, about a half-hour southeast of Buffalo and its airport. The Roycroft dates to 1896, though it has had several additions, and late 20th century restoration efforts have returned it to a beautiful state.

Interior designs are full of parallel lines -- there is more than a hint of Frank Lloyd Wright here -- and stained glass accents the arched windows. Wooden floors and staircases occasionally squeak, reminding you that this a handcrafted place.

Cushions ease you into the wooden slat-back chairs in the public spaces; reproduction furniture in the 22 guest rooms is quality work of simple design.

The tiny bar seems to gently shunt you back into the spacious lounge, with its fireplace and vaulted ceiling. Walls here are lined with bookshelves, chests of drawers, small tables, single chairs.

Seeking to recall the character of Elbert Hubbard, who founded Roycroft as a successful artists' colony, framed homilies appear all over the place, even on the wall next to the toilet. Hubbard, a soap salesman, made his fame by writing the inspirational A Message to Garcia. The homilies, even left in place of pillow mints, tend toward such as "Listen more, speak less" and "Enthusiasm is the great hill-climber."

Well, at least we have the inn, too.

Roycroft Inn, 40 S Grove St., East Aurora, NY 14052; call (716) 652-5552; Web site, http://www.roycroftinn.com. I had an excellent dinner there, too.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: The Corning Museum of Glass is at One Museum Way, Corning, NY 14830-2253; call (800) 732-6845; the Web site is www.cmog.org . for information on the Fun With Glass program, currently available for groups of at least 10, call (607) 974-6467.

The Busti Cider Mill and Farm Market is at 1135 Southwestern Dr., Jamestown, NY 14701; call (716) 487-0177. It is open primarily from July through October; Southwestern DRive is also S.R. 45.

Pumpkinville is at 4844 Sugartown Road, Great Valley, NY 14741; call (716) 699-2205. It is open from the third Saturday in September through October.

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