A Rookie's Guide to Twain Country: ♫ "Leavin' on a jet plane..." ♫

The other day, in the midst of Chamberly duties, I learned about a recent effort to persuade Allegiant Air to include Finger Lakes Wine Country as one of the nifty vacation packages on their website: (http://www.allegiantair.com/aaDealsAndDestinations.php).

Allegiant already offers convenient direct flights from the Elmira Corning Regional Airport to two different locations in Florida. Hey, I understand why people want to go to Florida. But traveling to and throughout Wine Country, to me, makes for a unique and multi-faceted adventure all its own. In truly beautiful countryside to boot.

Personally, I don't need any more convincing than this that Wine Country would make a fantastic addition to Allegiant's featured destinations:

But even aside from almost 100 wineries, the wine and food trails you can explore, and the breweries and distilleries you can visit, there are farmers' and craft markets, hiking and biking opportunities in state parks, all sorts of shopping, the Corning Museum of Glass and Rockwell Museum of Western Art, plus car racing at Watkins Glen International.

It's pretty much got package deals written all over it.

Not to mention all of the soaring activities and museums (the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, National Soaring Museum, and the Wings of Eagles Discovery Center). You could go for a glider ride in the Soaring Capital of America.

Additionally, now having visited the airport, I can say firsthand that it has a refreshingly different vibe from any other airport I've ever been to, which is an added bonus.

Airports stress me out, usually. One time, in Las Vegas, I ran a mile across the airport to catch a connecting flight. Barefoot. Carrying my flip-flops, laptop, and carry-on. Darting not-so-nimbly through crowds of people. It was like my own personal re-enactment of the airport scene from "Home Alone."

Something like that would never happen at ELM.

This airport did not stress me out, for two reasons. One, because of its size. I always feel sort of like part of a cattle herd at other airports, but it's impossible to feel that way here. Just ask Bill DeGraw, the director of operations:

The airport's grown so much in the past few years that it's setting boarding records for itself, as evidenced by all these folks at baggage claim, but it's still got a relaxed, short (or no!) line feel:

Not having to wait in line at an airport slightly blows my mind.

Runway lights on the floor :)

Two, because it celebrates its ties to the local area, and I don't mean by gift-shop merchandising. It's got a raceway-themed baggage claim carousel, the Finger Lakes painted on the floor, a giant glider, and the work of local artists on the walls. There's just a nice hometown comfort level in that.

The Finger Lakes Region is all sorts of popular in these parts. For those in other realms of the country, I would imagine that it could be seen as a tucked-away gem with a ton to offer.