Back in the US / flashback to Ithaca

We were readmitted to the US, but only after an hour in the US immigration office and being warned there is no warranty they will let us back on a tourist visa if we leave the country. The Canadian immigration officers that denied us entry were very friendly in comparison to their American collegues and the office itself much nicer (sorry for pointing this out).
The reason for denial was: as Polish citizens we don't need visas for tourist visits up to 6 months, but we didn't know that since January 2009 this applies only to holders of biometric passports and we don't have them.
...
A positive surprise on the other hand was the town of Ithaca, NY and it's surroundings. We stopped there on the way from NYC to Niagara Falls without really knowing much about the place and we found it to be a very nice town with human scale spatial planning, nice neighborhoods, impressive campus oif the Cornell University and a beatiful location in the first place with the gorgeous Cayatuga Lake, waterfalls and even wineries (we visited one and got a bottle).
On the photographs: snow at the ice skating ring at Cornell University; Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca, where we took a bath, and the Cayatuga Lake.

We're close to Cleveland now and should hit Chicago tomorrow on Sunday.