"Ithaca, almost like a second home" a Ithaca Travel Page by 78Eva

Having a boyfriend who is a real "Ithaca townie", i.e. was born and grew up there, I have bee to Ithaca many times. I really like Ithaca, a small, friendly university town in upstate New York, about five hours away from NYC.
Cornell University probably has made Ithaca what it is, and gives it some life. The campus is very pretty, and I also like collegetown, although it is a bit too trendy and expensive for my taste.
The landscape around Ithaca is beautiful; Ithaca is situated in the Finger Lakes region - a region with a number of longish lakes lying pretty close to one another. The lake at which Ithaca lies is called Cayuga lake. It is very long, is takes about an hour by car to arrive at the other end. I fell in love with Cayuga lake at once, and have also swum in it in the summers. Around Ithaca, it's all woods and lakes and little rivers. Unfortunately, Ithaca has long, cold winters, so you can't always have the nature experience. However, I hear that you can go skiing in the winter. I would say that the best time to go there is from May to October. The autumn colours are amazing.
I'm being told Ithaca is a very liberal town, a bit eccentric and unusual. It appears some "hippie spirit" has remained there - people with alternative lifestyles, lots of little shops etc. They even have the "Ithaca dollar", their own little currency, which is only valid in certain places in Ithaca.