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Valentine's Day || Ink Shop || Group Tours || Day Trips || For Teachers
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Valentine's
Day Weekend
This
weekend, if you arrive on Friday or Saturday you will receive our
Valentine's Day gift basket.
 When you arrive at McLallen House you
will find a basket in your room filled with locally made chocolate (Life's So Sweet),
cheese (Bronson
Hill Cheesery) and wine (Americana Vineyards).In the morning you will be treated to a special Valentine's Day breakfast served fireside in our dining room. If you would like to spend the day on the wine trails, let us know your taste in wine and we will steer you to a winery or two that will satisfy your palate. We are only 5 minutes from Americana Vineyards on the Cayuga Wine Trail. There is both good food and live music within walking distance of McLallen House and several good restaurants only a short drive away. All our rooms are available at their regular rates with the Valentine's weekend extras included. |
| As
part of our ongoing support of the local arts community, we are pleased
to offer special B&B room rates for registered
students at The
Ink Shop in Ithaca. Take a workshop
at their studio and we'll provide a discount on your room for the
duration of your course. Mid-November through April: 30%
off per night, seven days/week
April through mid-November: 15% off per night, mid-week only Proof of workshop
registration is required prior to your arrival.
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| Trumansburg
Vacation Packages Itineraries An exceptional educational experience of the Finger Lakes!
Join
Deirdre Cunningham, owner/operator of McLallen House Bed &
Breakfast, for private (6 – 12)
educational group tours that will give you a general slice of life
within the Finger Lakes region. One to three day tours start
in
the historic village of Trumansburg, located at the crossroads between
Cayuga and Seneca lakes. Deirdre can also custom plan an itinerary for
your
 group—tour combinations are nearly
limitless! Currently tour
itineraries feature tours/tastings at
farms and wineries that are combined with
tours of artist studios, a world-class glass museum and a multitude of
waterfalls that the Finger Lakes are known for. More are in the works.Background Trained as a horticulturist and landscape architect, Deirdre has lived, worked and played within the Finger Lakes region for over forty years. Raised in Binghamton, she grew up working and riding horses on the family farm which took her to competitions throughout central and western New York state. After finishing college in Oneonta and Cobleskill, Deirdre moved to Ithaca where she worked in greenhouses and florist shops, and volunteered at Cornell Plantations as a gardener and tour guide. She also worked in several well-known Ithaca restaurants such as: Café DeWitt, Turback’s, Abbie’s and L’Auberge de la Cochon Rouge, where she learned to serve, cook and pair local foods with Finger Lakes wines. Upon completion of a master's degree in landscape architecture, Deirdre moved to Rochester, New York where she worked over twelve years at George Eastman House. As landscape curator, she specialized in horticulture, landscape preservation and American landscape history; oversaw the restoration/rehabilitation of several early 20th–century gardens; created public landscape tours with printed materials, and organized exhibitions, public programs, and conferences that included tours of regional gardens and parks. She also served as a board member of the National Association of Olmsted Parks and the Rochester,NY-based ArtWalk and as landscape consultant to the city of Rochester Preservation Board. In 2003, Deirdre and her husband Bill Chaisson, a geologist, decided to open McLallen House Bed & Breakfast in Trumansburg. At that time, she was hired as Manager of Gardens and Grounds at MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. In 2006, Deirdre chose to devote more time to the bed & breakfast and work part-time. She was hired as coordinator of the Discovery Trail, comprised of Ithaca’s seven cultural institutions: Cayuga Nature Center, Cornell Plantations, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Johnson Museum of Art, Museum of the Earth at PRI, The History Center in Tompkins County, Sciencenter and Tompkins County Public Library. The Trail’s mission is to “promote awareness and understanding of the connections among art, history, literature, science and the natural world.” Currently, Deirdre is integrating her knowledge of the Finger Lakes region and beyond with her professional expertise. She now serves as a step-on guide and group tour coordinator. She works with: Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance, Finger Lakes Culinary Bounty, and has established TrumansburgPackages.com with five Trumansburg bed & breakfasts that offer educational workshops for their guests. which overlooks the east shore of Cayuga Lake in Aurora. She was part of the landscape design/implementation team for the 65–acre property’s master plan while also giving public tours and talks. |
Out and About in the Finger Lakes
| Garden
Conservancy's Open Day in Tompkins County Package: Gardens, Gorges, Glass, and Grapes Friday July 13 - 15, 2007Stay at a Trumansburg, NY bed and breakfast of your choice (Thursday - Saturday) and join the fun on this custom-crafted natural and cultural history tour for 6-12 travellers who are eager for edification.Thursday,
July 12: (5:00pm - 6:30pm) A welcome
gathering at McLallen
House B&B to meet your
traveling partners for the weekend.
Friday, Day #1: (8:00am - 6:00pm) Spend the morning at Corning Museum of Glass and explore the history, art and science of glass: tour "Botanical Wonders: the Story of the Harvard Glass Flowers", a famous 19th-century display of delicate glass flowers and plant models, and see a live demonstration of the techniques used to make these  botanical
specimens; shop at the international Glass Market full of
sparkling treasures. Then we'll head to Watkins Glen for a
guided natural history hike
through the grotto-like gorge with 19
waterfalls, and then get "behind the scenes" tours and tastings at some
of
our favorite Seneca Lake
wineries and awesome artisan
cheese-makers. Dinner
is on your own.Caption:
courtesy of Watkins Glen State Park
Saturday, Day #2: (8:30am - 6pm) Hop on our bus and spend the day visiting six private gardens that are on the Garden Conservancy's Open Day Garden Tour in Tompkins County. En route, we'll sneak into a Cayuga Lake winery for a tour and tasting, and ogle Buttermilk Falls. Dinner is on your own. Sunday, Day #3: (8:30am - 2:30pm) After breakfast, start off with an easy 1.5 mile guided natural history walk through the spectacular gorge to Taughannock Falls, the highest waterfall in the Northeast; enjoy a combination guided bus and walking tour of Cornell Plantations' arboretum and botanical gardens; and finish off the  weekend at the
Ithaca
Farmers
Market where you can lunch on your own at the
multitude of international food vendors and shop at up
to 125 local growers and craftspeople. Caption: bluets courtesy of CMOG Package
includes:
tour guide, driver & bus for three days; a welcome reception; food and wine tastings; admission fees; guided tours, two lunches and an educational booklet to take home. Cost
of 3 day package per person: $335
Overnight
accommodations with breakfast, based on double occupancy, are an
additional fee, which varying with your choice of bed and breakfast.
Pre-register for this package at the B & B of your choice two weeks in advance. Contact McLallen House for package information. The Full Cayuga—From Grapes to Goats ongoing Stay
at a participating Trumansburg bed and breakfast of your choice and
spend a fabulous day with your family, a group of friends, or
professional colleagues. Deirdre Cunningham, of McLallen House Group
Tours, will regale your group with “stories that
abound” around Cayuga
Lake. Your group will visit the highest waterfall in the northeast,
located just 5 minutes away; a variety of wineries with vineyards and
orchards; farms and potteries all found along the Cayuga Lake Wine
Trail—Finger Lakes bounty.
Throughout the trip Deirdre will provide commentary about the natural, cultural and historical features within the region. Her careful selection of each location is based on personal visits with each artisan and observation of their individual and unique craftsmanship—pottery, wine, cheese, seasonal fruits. Cost
per person
(includes lunch, tours, tastings): $125 tour package + accommodations.
Group size: 6 – 12 Duration: 8:30am – 6:00pm To
pre-register
(10 days prior) contact: Deirdre
Cunningham
McLallen House Group Tours www.McLallenHouse.com Email: Info@McLallenHouse.com Phone: 607-387-3892 |
Winter Recess Packages for Teachers
| Teachers
on the Road: “Ladies
Who Lunch” Shopping Spree Date: Weds., Feb. 20, 8:30 a.m.—6:00 p.m. Location: Tour departs from Stewart Park, Ithaca Ph: (607) 387-3892 Website: www.McLallenHouse.com Kick
back,
relax and shop ‘til you drop on this daylong chauffeßured
excursion to the storybook town of Aurora, N.Y., home of
MacKenzie-Childs and the acclaimed Aurora Inn.
At MacKenzie-Childs,
makers of whimsical pottery, glass and furniture, you’ll
learn how
artisans create the company’s signature designs, tour the
refurbished
Farmhouse and enjoy one-of-a-kind shopping at the MacKenzie-Childs
Shop. Next, enjoy a lakeside lunch and tour of the Aurora Inn and E.B.
Morgan House; enjoy a wine and chocolate tasting at Bet The Farm; shop
at Grove Gallery, Vintage Lighting, Jane Morgan and Odds and Ends. Your
spree concludes with a delicious wine tasting and tour at King Ferry
Winery. Space is limited. To pre-register (10 days prior) contact
McLallen House Group Tours at (607) 387-3892 or info@McLallenHouse.com.
Teachers
on the Road: “Drinking in” Glass and Grapes
Date: Thurs., Feb. 21, 8:30 a.m.—6:00 p.m. Location: Tour departs from Stewart Park, Ithaca Kick back, relax and learn on this daylong chauffeured excursion to Corning, N.Y., home of the world-famous Corning Museum of Glass. You’ll spend the day visually drinking in beautiful glass objects at the acclaimed Corning Museum 
and actually drinking delicious wines at
select Seneca Lake wineries. From history to science and art, learn how
glass-making and grape-growing can fit into your lesson plans. And of
course, there’ll be time to shop at the GlassMarket. Space is
limited.
To pre-register (10 days prior) contact McLallen House Group Tours at
(607) 387-3892 or info@McLallenHouse.com.
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