Home again!

We are back in Alabama. It was a fairly uneventful day, except for the fact that (even with clear blue skies from the Mississippi River throughout the entire eastern half of the country), our flight in Albany was thirty minutes late arriving! Of course this forced a later-than-thirty-minutes departure, and a later-than-expected arrival in Atlanta. From the time our plane landed in Atlanta until we fell breathless in our seats on the plane to Huntsville, only twenty minutes had passed, and we had to change terminals and run to the farthest gate at the end of the second terminal. We had our workout for the day by sprinting through the Atlanta airport.

So, we arrived in Huntsville at the originally-scheduled time. Our suitcases, of course, did not make the rapid plane-change in Atlanta. They are scheduled to arrive...sometime. Not to worry. They are full of dirty clothes, anyway. Isn't that the way vacations end...piles of clothes to be washed?

Small price to pay for such a great time.

The next "journey"? January, we think...so stay tuned.

Goodbye Vermont

View of Lake Champlain from Mt. Philo

Another view from Mt. Philo

What a wonderful way to spend a sunny afternoon in the late fall!

We worshipped with the brethren at Milton, Vermont this morning. As always, we made connections with some of the members as we visited with them before and after the worship service. This morning we met a lady who went to F.C. with Barbara Jo, Norm, Billy and Carole. Also, the group had a visiting preacher working with them for the month of October. He was someone Olen and I had gone to college with. We were told by several members that we had come the “perfect” year as the leaves were more colorful than they had been in recent years. (We have heard this comment several times!) We enjoyed the worship service and Bible study, and the group prayed for Benjie’s upcoming surgery, so prayers from saints in Vermont petitioned God on Benjie’s behalf.


We headed south after the worship service, making one final stop in Vermont. We went to Mt. Philo State Park and drove to the top of 968-foot Mt. Philo. The mountain is not extremely high, but is high enough to afford beautiful unobstructed views of the Lake Champlain Valley and New York’s Adironack Mountains. We were not the only ones with the idea of spending the last sunny weekend of the fall on Mt. Philo. Several others were enjoying picnic lunches or just relaxing and taking in the view.


We left Vermont and crossed into New York, following the foothills of the Adironacks along the shore of Lake George for a long way. Eventually we arrived at our hotel in Albany to re-pack our suitcases, get a good night’s rest and head for the airport late morning tomorrow.


Lord willing, we should be home in Alabama by dinnertime tomorrow. We will bring home delightful memories of good times spent with our dear friends, and hundreds of photos of the sights and experiences we have shared over these past two weeks. What a special time we have enjoyed! Seeing New England (Vermont in particular) in the fall is an experience everyone should experience at least once in their life…or perhaps twice…or as much as possible.

What do you do with rotten pumpkins?

Wait's River....postcard scene...but the lovely leaves have fallen.

Bath, New Hampshire...covered bridge, white church building and the brick store.

Round Barn near Newbury, Vermont

Catapult and pumpkins

(That is the "engineer" working on "improving" his design.)

As we left the condo this morning (after scraping ice off the car windows in 26 degree weather) Jack commented, “We’ve never met a trip we didn’t like,” and that about sums it all up. As we spent our last full day in Vermont, we agreed that this was, indeed, a wonderful trip…just like all the others we have shared.


The air was clear, and we could see for miles. We decided to head southeast toward the Connecticut River that separates Vermont from New Hampshire to see if the foliage might be better in the area down by the river. It was definitely past peek in that area also, but still a bright spot here and there.


We made several stops along the way. One stop was in Wait’s River and another in Bath, New Hampshire. In Bath we stopped to photograph the Old Brick Store, the oldest general store in the United States, and the covered bridge beside it. The covered bridge was built in 1834 and is one of the oldest in the United States. At 400 feet long, it is also the longest covered bridge in New Hampshire.


Somehow (good planning?) we ended up in the area of Wells River, Vermont about lunchtime, so we sampled the gourmet fare at the P & H Truck Stop once again. On down the road on the Vermont side of the river we stopped to photograph a farm with a round barn. Interesting.


In the “only in Vermont” category: We stopped at the “1782 Settlement Farm” in Middlesex. They were selling pumpkins (39 cents a pound). Some of the pumpkins rotted before they could sell them, so a creative young man had invented a large wooden catapult. He set it up beside the pumpkins for sale, and when a rotten pumpkin was discovered, he set it aside for his “launch”. Using a 500-pound counterweight, his record distance from the pumpkin area to the adjacent field was 250 feet. He had plans for trying a thousand-pound counter-weight and challenging other pumpkin farms in the area to launching contests. We stopped and talked to him, but unfortunately his catapult was non-functioning at the time we were there. He had done some “re-construction” and “improvements” on his design, and after the upgrade it failed to work completely. (Typical engineer…improve it until it does not work!) Not to worry. He has plans to get it up and working again and post a video on “You Tube”. He told us to look for “1782 Settlement Farm”.


This is our last night in our lovely condo at Smuggler’s Notch. Tomorrow morning we pack the car, head to Milton to worship service, and then to Albany, New York to spend the night and catch the plane back to Alabama on Monday.



It isn’t over yet, but we can see the end of this wonderful trip fast approaching.

Meet "Joe the Plumber"!

As the leaves fall it looks like a carpet of gold and brown on the green grass.

The Old Round Church in Richmond has 16 sides, and was built in 1812.

Keagan Harsha of WCAX-TV interviews a "Joe the Plumber" impersonator!

You are never too old to play in the colorful leaves.

How could it be Friday already? Time flies when you are having fun.


The weather this morning was cloudy with peeks of sunshine when we got up. By 10:15 we had driven by a bank sign that reported the temperature at 47 degrees, but thankfully there was no wind. We headed south in the state for our drive today, hoping to find more brilliant foliage.

In the northern part of the state near Stowe where we are staying, the fall foliage is spotty at best. However, on our drive today we discovered that the colorful foliage was better on the west side of the Green Mountains. It was still considered “peek” in that area. And, by the time we stopped for lunch the skies had become deep blue and great for photos.


We must be getting a bit brain-weary. At lunch Olen handed the waitress his room key (It is the same size as a credit card!) to pay for our lunch. As you might guess, she came back to our table and insisted on a “real” credit card.


We stopped several times today for interesting views and photos. One stop was to see an old round church building, another stop was to see a huge pumpkin (over 500 pounds?) in the back of a pickup truck. (It doesn’t take much to entertain us!) Another stop was at Moss Glen Falls, and still another at a turnoff from Middlebury Gap road to see something called Texas Falls.



When we arrived at Texas Falls we discovered that the hiking trail was closed and the road to the picnic area washed out. After we read the information posted on the board we learned that they had a major flood in the area August 6, and it would be years before all the damage to the hiking trails in the area will be completely repaired.


As we started to drive out of the parking lot, a TV crew drove up to do a story on how much of the damage had not yet been repaired. They were from WCAX-TV in Burlington, and we later learned that the reporter was a young man named Keagan Harsha, and his videographer, Robin. On a whim, Olen rolled down his car window, stopped the reporter and yelled, “I’m Joe the Plumber, if you want to ask me anything.”


The young man looked a bit puzzled. “Are you serious?” he asked?


We laughed. “No!” Olen told him. “We were just teasing.”


The nice young man smiled back at Olen. “You never know. I have already interviewed two plumbers named Joe this morning.” We all laughed again.


I absolutely HAD to have a photo of this for my blog! He looked like he was a fun-loving type, so I decided to push him a bit.


“I’m going to ask a strange favor. I do a travel blog, and I would love to have a photo of you with my husband to accompany my write-up for today. Would you please pose with him?”


He smiled. “Sure. Let me get my mike so it will look real!”


I hope you all appreciate the accompanying photo. While he had has gear out, he actually interviewed Olen about our travel in the state. We watched Keagan’s report on TV tonight, but he did not include Olen’s interview, so no real claim to fame. However, he was a great sport.

I wonder how many other “Joe the Plumbers” he will interview tomorrow??


On the serious side, this afternoon we learned of the health problems of our friend Benjie. He is in our thoughts and prayers as he is in the hospital undergoing testing and surgery.

Rainy day in Vermont

Great way to start a rainy day. Jack cooked omelets and biscuits for all of us.

Lunch in Montpelier

Yellow leaves

These leaves almost have a pink look as they are a mix of orange and yellow.

When Donna Jo stepped out on the deck this morning, she came back in with the gloomy report, “It is a cold, rainy, dreary day.” She was right, so we got off to a slow start, deciding to do “inside” activities today.


We drove to Montpelier, the state capitol, and went first to the Visitors’ Bureau. Although we have taken several trips to this area with Donna Jo and Jack, we had never spent any time in Montpelier. We decided that the Visitors Bureau would be a good place to start.


The cheerful and knowledgeable lady at the desk began with her usual question, “Where are you visiting from?”


“Alabama.”


“There are many things to see in this area. Have you been to Stowe?”


“Yes, we are staying in a resort near Stowe.”


“There is a wonderful rock quarry in Barre that you really should see. It is not far.”


“We went there and took the tour on one of our previous trips.”


“Then I suggest the Shelburne Museum, located south of Burlington. It is wonderful.”


“Yes, it is wonderful. We have been there, too.”


“Have you taken the tour of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream factory?”


“We love Ben and Jerry’s. Yes, we have been there several times.”


“What about Cabot Creamery? They make excellent cheese and give demonstrations.”


By this time we were getting a bit embarrassed. “Yes, we have been there, too.”


At this point there was a pause. “Would you like to work here?” she asked.


However, we had never toured the Vermont state capitol building, or the Vermont Historical Museum, which were right down the street, so we decided these were good rainy-day activities. We enjoyed both of these activities. The tour of the capitol building was interesting, and the capitol was filled with lovely items. The Vermonters are very trusting people. We walked through no metal detectors, and were told we could take as many photographs as we wanted to take, and we should feel free to stay around after the tour and wander the halls. We sat at the desks in both the Senate and House, went in the Governor's office, and wandered all over the rooms. When we go in the Limestone County Courthouse at home we go through security measures similar to those in the airports, but not at the state capitol building in Vermont!


The Vermont Historical Museum was extremely well-done, and very interesting. By the time we had finished our visit there it was well-past lunch time. We walked on down the street to a bakery and café called “La Brioche”, which is operated by the New England Culinary Institute. The students at the culinary school “practice” on customers at La Brioche. We ate a cup of soup, half a sandwich and a fresh cookie. Very enjoyable on a damp, cool day.


We ended our sightseeing and returned to the condo for a game of “Phase 10” and chili dogs for dinner. (Quite a come-down from the culinary institute!) It is cool enough to have the gas fireplace working tonight. Since there is no remote control, Donna Jo had to get up from the couch, walk all the way across the room, and flip the switch to get it on. This is camping, I guess.



Since this was not a day that was heavy on photography, I have included some photos taken earlier in the trip. Please note that none of the photos on this blog are the “good” shots. Olen has the best photos on his good camera, and he has some wonderful ones, for those of you who are interested in a lengthy viewing when we get home.

A hike up Owl's Head

On top of Owl's Head

Olen sends his photo to the folks at home. What has technology done to us??

Just another beautiful scene.

We stop often for photos. This one is so typical of the area.

Beautiful foliage reflected in Harvey Lake

It was a bit cooler this morning, and partly cloudy, which (for sightseeing purposes) we would like to refer to as “mostly sunny”. Our first “must do” for today was to take a hike up Owl’s Head Mountain in the Groton State Forest.


Although Owl’s Head Mountain rises to a height of only 1958 feet, it is high enough to reward hikers with great views of the area. We drove to the area and discovered that the dirt road leading from the highway to the trailhead was closed…at least to vehicles. Undaunted, we parked on the highway and hiked about ¾ mile to the trailhead. The actual climb from the trailhead to the top of Owl’s Head is only .2 of a mile, but the path rises fairly steeply. We stepped from one rock to the next until we reached the large rocky outcropping on top. We were rewarded by a view of surrounding mountains, valleys and lakes.


Olen (still fascinated by the capabilities of his new Blackberry) asked me to take a photo of him on Owl’s Head. He immediately sat down on a rock and e-mailed it to each of our children. There is nothing like an engineer with a new “gadget”!


In the area of Owl’s Head the red leaves are all gone, but the yellow, orange and brown ones still light up the horizon. When the fall foliage reaches the point where it is “past peak” in color, that expression does not mean that all the leaves have fallen, but that in some portions of that area the colors of the leaves are beginning to fade. A ten-minute drive down the highway in any direction usually rewards the driver with views of “peak” foliage. This was the change we observed as we drove from the area of Owl’s Head to Wells River.


Lunch was in Wells River at the P & H Truck Stop. Even though this name does not bring up mental visions of a culinary delight, it is a well-known eating establishment for Vermont. It has even been written up in “Gourmet” magazine! We feasted on corn chowder, broasted chicken, chicken fried steak, vegetables, huge homemade rolls and slices of mouth-watering homemade pies.


On our return to the condo we drove over country roads with spectacular foliage. (They say that one out of four trees in Vermont is a maple!) We drove through the village of Peacham, the perfect tiny Vermont village, established in 1776, which has experienced few changes since that date.


We are relaxing tonight and thinking of what adventures may be ahead of us tomorrow. We are expecting a little rain in the morning, so it may be a casual day. What a wonderful time we are having.

Working off some of those calories...

This is vacation...coffee and tea cups on the deck!

This is how to start a day!

Riding bicycles on the Stowe Recreational Path

Views along the Path were great. This view is of a local farm with a recently-harvested corn field, colorful hills, and Mount Mansfield in the distance. (Mount Mansfield is the strange-shaped mountain on the extreme left of the photo with the towers on top.)

It is true...you never forget how to ride a bike! Please note: The reason Jane's bike is not in the photo is because it was being used to set the camera on so we could take this photo. We ALL rode bicycles!

Hardly ever do you get the opportuity to have your photo taken riding a bicycle through a covered bridge!

Another beautiful day in Vermont…well, most of the day was beautiful before clouds crept in during the afternoon. We decided to take advantage of the morning sunshine while it was available and try out the Stowe Recreational Path.




The Stowe Recreational Path was completed in 1989. It is a delightful 5.3-mile paved, scenic path for non-motorized vehicles and walkers/joggers, in many ways similar to the Indian Creek Greenway in Madison. The Stowe Recreational Path follows along the West Branch River and winds through forests and meadows, crossing the West River eleven times over arched wooden bridges. The views consist of mountain scenery and pastoral views along with heavily wooded areas. We decided to rent bicycles, and cycled the entire 5.3 miles from the beginning of the path on the outskirts of town to downtown Stowe.




Once in Stowe we parked the bikes and walked around the little village for about an hour before getting back on the bikes to return to our starting point. Those of you who do not have your calculators handy, that totals 10.6 miles all together, so today we worked off some of the calories we collected at the local festivals over the weekend!




After our bicycle ride we returned to the condo for a snack lunch and watched clouds roll into the area. At this point we decided to stay in the condo the rest of the afternoon, play Chickenfoot, and fix a pot of chili for dinner. It was sort of a one-activity day, but extremely enjoyable.

Roasted corn and fall foliage

Roasted corn for lunch! Yum, yum!

Donna Jo and Jack spend a peaceful moment looking at the reflection in the lake near Barnard.

No blue skies today.

Sometimes we have the best experiences when we have no idea where we are!

Still lost, but thoroughly enjoying the scenery!

Today was Columbus Day. It was partly cloudy and overcast, but still unseasonably warm for this area. We had a long day, driving south as far as Norwich, Woodstock, and Quechee. Local TV stations are reporting that the leaves are at “peak” and the colors are said to be the best they have been in the last few years. It is difficult to argue with their evaluation. How thankful we are to be here at this time!


When we drove through Smuggler’s Notch it was like swimming through a sea of yellow leaves. As we drove further we saw more of the red leaves, with orange and brown colors mixed in with the evergreen trees. Just out of Stowe we drove past the Trapp Family Lodge, established by the same Von Trapp family that was immortalized by the movie, “The Sound of Music”.


On to Quechee and a brief stop at an antique mall and then continuing on down the highway to a roadside farm stand called “Fool on the Hill”. There, on a huge open fire, they were roasting ears of corn. What could be better than eating ears of fresh hot corn while standing on a green hillside in the middle of peak foliage season in Vermont?!


For the remainder of the afternoon we drove on winding country roads in the Quechee area, getting lost a couple of times. Even when we had no idea where we were, we managed to discover beautiful scenery, which was the object of the drive in the first place. (Who cares if we got lost? We eventually "got found".) We passed a lovely lake in the village of Barnard and stopped often for photographs of locations so remote that they did not even show up on the road map.


To end our day’s drive we stopped at Dan and Whit’s store in Norwich. Dan and Whit’s is a sprawling old country store selling items of all descriptions. Their motto is, “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it”. There really is something for everyone there. This stop was, indeed, a truly cultural experience (of sorts).



As we began to lose our daylight we headed back to our spacious condo. Roasted corn and Dan and Whit’s in one day…what can we plan for tomorrow that could be better than that?

From the Berkshires to the Green Mountains

Typical rural scene

Some trees are over-achievers during foliage season.

At the Applefest

The rhythm band at the Applefest

Can you believe this group has never been on Letterman's show?

Jack and Donna Jo know how to enjoy a bratwurst!

Today began as a very early morning, and the mist was still in the valleys as we packed the car and headed toward the northern part of Vermont. It was a beautiful drive north on US 7. The sky was clear and blue, and the fall foliage appeared to improve with each mile we drove. The only thing that kept us from stopping hundreds of times to make “just one more” photograph was our effort to arrive at the worship service at the church near Middlebury at a respectable time. The drive was typical New England, even down to the sound of the church bells from the community church as we drove through the village of Brandon. We have been to Vermont several times, but this year the foliage seems to be the best we have ever seen. It is always a gamble to guess which week the foliage will be the best, especially when you have to make reservations months in advance, but this year our timing has been perfect.


Once we arrived at the church in Addison County, we heard a good lesson by Dale Pennock titled, “Come and See”, focusing on how to approach and invite friends to worship services. He had some excellent thoughts.


After the worship service we drove on to Dakin Farms, which is a local farm that sells various foodstuffs by offering free samples of each item in their sales room. We “grazed” through the showroom, tasting samples of different cheeses, summer sausage, pepper jelly, sauces, jams, Vermont crackers…you get the idea. By the time we left Dakin Farms we were not hungry for lunch, so we headed on to the town of South Hero, Vermont. South Hero is located on an island in Lake Champlain, not far from Burlington.


We had read about a festival being held today in South Hero. The festival was an “Applefest”, which sounded good, but you never know what you are getting into when you go to a small-town festival. On a scale of one-to-five, this festival was definitely five stars! First of all, it was extremely well-planned. There were assigned parking areas that were clearly marked, and there was no charge for anything at the festival, except the food. Free fun is always the best kind!


The theme of the festival (as you might have guessed) was to celebrate the apple harvest. Apples in every form were available…by the basketful, in the form of candied apples on a stick, homemade apple pie, apple jelly, etc. The town street (lined with beautiful maple trees) was blocked off for a half-mile or more. No automobiles were permitted, and guests at the festival could either walk the distance or ride in the back of a wagon pulled by a tractor. Some of the wagons had 3-4 musicians on board to entertain the riders. There were several other groups entertaining the crowd here and there along the road. Some of the groups had a little talent, and others were just plain entertaining…like the “rhythm band” group who kept time to recorded music by beating on something that looked like a broom handle with a block of wood, a tambourine, a bell, a cymbal, a bicycle horn and a stuffed animal sitting on the very top. You have to see the pictures to believe it! One enthusiastic rhythm band member even danced with his “broom” during one number. Don’t you just love small town festivals?


There were activities for the children (all free!) like pony rides, dunking booths, petting zoo, races, obstacle courses, and some activity where they used a homemade catapult to launch a rubber ball at the opposing team. It looked like lots of fun.


We left the festival with a bag of Honey Crisp apples (our personal favorite!), two bags of kettle corn, huge oatmeal and chocolate cookies, and a loaf of fresh-from-the-oven bread. Of course while we were there we had consumed bratwurst, hot dogs, and hot apple pie with ice cream. With the items from the Applefest and the items we purchased at Dakin Farms, we should eat well the next few days.


We ended the day at our home-for-the-week near Stowe. This condo is wonderful. We have our own gas fireplace, but today it was much too warm to use it. When she saw the fireplace, Donna Jo asked, “Does it have a remote control?” (No, Donna Jo. You actually have to get up off the couch and flip the switch!) We have three bedrooms, a big kitchen, table for eight, deck that has a spectacular view, and wrap-around windows. We are looking forward to another great week. We just love vacation!

A great day for a festival...or anything else!

Lake Sadawaga

Newfane, Vermont Heritage Festival

Can anyone play "Moonlight in Vermont"?

Some trees are yellow, some are red. All of them are beautiful.

View from Hogback Mountain

On this type of trip, it is not always the ultimate destination of the day that is the most important, but often it is the scenes and adventures along the way that make the best memories. Today was one of those days.


Today’s destination was the Heritage Festival in Newfane, Vermont, so our day-trip plans included another portion of southern Vermont. It was an absolutely gorgeous day…the kind of weather they use when making photos for the Vermont public relations leaflets. There were many more vehicles on the road today…a tribute to the long Columbus Day weekend. Near Whitingham, VT we stopped for a closer look at a memorial to Mormon leader, Joseph Smith. The memorial got minimum attention once we discovered that close by was beautiful Lake Sadawaga, ringed with colorful foliage in the morning sunlight.


Several miles south of Newfane we got caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Fall festivals are extremely popular in this area, and traffic congestion is the norm on the two-lane roads in the area of any festival. Once we arrived in Newfane, the bumper-to-bumper traffic became body-to-body people.


Newfane is such a small village that we wondered how many miles out of town we would have to park, but as luck would have it, someone pulled out of a parking place right beside the courthouse just as we arrived in the area. The festival was held on the village green, in front of the white-steepled community church and the white-steepled courthouse. We ate lunch while at the festival, viewed the craft exhibits and listened to the pinkin’ and grinnin’ from various local performers who used the courthouse steps as a make-shift stage. Every few minutes someone gave his personal rendition of the local favorite, “Moonlight in Vermont”.


Not only were there festivals in several of the towns, but also everywhere we turned there were signs advertising “tag sales”. In the south we call these “garage sales”, but the term “tag sale” gives the thought of selling junk a little higher class. Martha Stewart uses the term “tag sale” from time to time, so I guess her use of the expression helps elevate the status of a tag sale.


We drove to Grafton, stopping for samples at the Grafton Cheese Company. We even made a purchase of some Grafton cheese to much on.


As we headed back toward Massachusetts we drove for several miles along Highway 9 in southern Vermont, which is known as the Molly Stark Trail. The vistas along this highway were beautiful, and we stopped at the highest point on the drive for a get-out-and-look view. (The highest point on the Molly Stark Trail is at Hogback Mountain, making one wonder why such a lofty view would be named for an overweight animal that wallows in the mud. Go figure.) It seemed that every leaf-peeper in all of Vermont had the same idea at that exact time, but we managed to snap a photo or two from Hogback Mountain without another tourist stepping into the picture.


We are back at Hancock tonight. This is our last night in this location. Very early tomorrow morning we pack the car and head for northern Vermont. This has been a great place to stay, but we are looking forward to new adventures in another area. What a great week we have had.

Mount Equinox, tent sale, country store and artist's home

The drive up Mount Equinox was beautiful.

The camera simply can't capture the colors in the leaves as they really are!

Green grass, red barn, old rock wall, yellow tree...smile everyone!

Today was a spectacular day for leaf-peeping! The day was pleasant, clear and sunny. This was the beginning of the Columbus Day weekend, which is a huge holiday in this area. It signifies the end of fall and the tourist season, so the local people here do all they can to squeeze the last tourist dollar out of the visitors. Many towns have pumpkin festivals and other events on Saturday and Sunday, with preparations for these events in high gear on the preceding Friday.


We chose to make our day’s drive a circle that included areas in southern Vermont. As we had predicted, the colors of the leaves in Vermont were much more vibrant than those in Massachusetts. We saw more reds and oranges on the hillsides, and we expressed our appreciation with appropriate “ooohs” and “aaahs”.


We drove to Bennington and on to the Manchester area and to the top of Mount Equinox. Mount Equinox rises to a height of 3852 feet and provides a 360-degree view of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and parts of Canada from the summit. The drive to the top was extremely scenic, but by the time we reached the top we were at an elevation where most of the leaves had already fallen. It was extremely cold on top, and the wind was blowing, making it feel even colder. Since we were dressed for the warmer climate of the areas below the mountain, we decided against doing any hiking on top, and proceeded down the mountain.


While in Manchester we visited the Orvis flagship store and spent time at their annual tent sale (everything at least 75% off!). This event is wisely scheduled for Columbus Day weekend. After a stop for pizza for lunch, we drove on to view other things. Once stop was at Dorset for a visit to H.N. Williams General Store, which has been in operation since 1840…with few updates to the facilities since that time. It was interesting, and although the facilities reflected 1840, the prices reflected 2008!


We drove over country roads past red barns, beautiful farms, green fields and colorful mountains, with numerous stops for photos. We eventually ended up at West Arlington and drove to the home once occupied by the artist, Norman Rockwell. His home is now used as a bed and breakfast called the Inn on Covered Bridge Green, a beautiful home with a spectacular view of a white church building and red covered bridge. The four of us stayed at the Inn on Covered Bridge Green on a previous trip, and enjoyed re-visiting it for a few moments.


It was sundown when we arrived back at the condo for sandwiches and another round of Chickenfoot before retiring. This condo is really nice. They own their own wind-generator, located on the mountain above the building. It is the only privately-owned wind-generator in the country, and supplies 30% of the power for the entire resort, plus power for another attraction nearby. Interesting!


Sometimes we feel guilty having so much fun while the stock market and the country’s financial situation is topsy-turvy. However, there is little we could do about the situation if we were home, and here we avoid a little of the stress. At least the stock market is not open over the weekend. Perhaps Monday will be better.



After all, Scarlett, tomorrow is another day…

Still leaf-peeping!

Leaf-peeping is an art!

'Wish you were here!

So this is art!

Engineer with a new Blackberry!

Yankee Candle cow

472-pound pumpkin

('Not sure how much the models weigh.)

Large Sycamore tree

We have been blessed with lovely weather, in spite of the local forecasters! Wednesday was sunny and clear…perfect for leaf-peeping. We devoted most of the day to driving highway #2 in northern Massachusetts, commonly referred to as the Mohawk Trail. This route follows a trail used by Native Americans to pass between the Connecticut and Hudson Valleys. We stopped at scenic vistas and small towns along the way.

One stop on the drive was at the village of Shelburne Falls. Shelburne Falls boasts of having glacial potholes carved out of rock during the Ice Age. There is also an old trolley bridge that has been transformed into what they refer to as the “Bridge of Flowers”, blooming from spring until late fall. We stopped to view both, and took the walk across the Bridge of Flowers.

We drove south to historic Deerfield where we ate lunch, took a meadow walk, and strolled up and down the 300-year-old tree-lined street viewing homes from the 1700s which they refer to as a “living museum”. For those of you who have been to Williamsburg, VA, Deerfield is similar.

We headed further south to the headquarters of Yankee Candle Company. The company has quite a spread in that area, and of course has every fragrance available in their candle line…for sale, of course. Once we entered the building we were overwhelmed with the blend of scents and found it difficult to tell the difference between one candle and the next one. There was one display where visitors could whiff different fragrances to determine their personality type. Donna Jo took the whiff-test and proudly proclaimed that she was “happy” and “confident”…and then told us she was not sure if it was “confident” or something else. (That convinced the rest of us that “confident” was not a credible evaluation of her personality!) They did have a 472-pound pumpkin on display, which made a great photo opp. Also, they had a “Yankee Candle Cow”, which was someone’s idea of art…or advertisement.

In the little town of Sunderland we stopped to photograph a large sycamore tree which they estimate has been there since 1787. Clouds began to gather as the sun went down, so we retreated to the condo for sandwiches and a game of Chickenfoot. The local forecasters predicted rain for Thursday, but by the 11:00 news they had changed their minds, and announced that the rain would come through during the night and clearing would come by morning.

Thursday morning was foggy and misty, but not raining. We drove to South Williamstown to see the Store at Five Corners, which is the oldest continuously operated store in the nation. It was interesting, but Jack, Donna Jo, Olen and I are experts at country stores, and we did not rate this one too highly, so we headed on to Williamstown to investigate an interesting store called “Where’d You Get That?” (gifts for the curious).

Williamstown is a college town…one of those brick-building-ivy-covered campuses…beautiful to see. They have an interesting art museum on campus that includes early documents from the founding fathers along with art, photography, and some strange eyeball sculptures on the lawn. Quite a combination of items!

After enjoying the “lunch special” at the local Friendly’s restaurant (sandwich, beverage and ice cream sundae!), we elected to take a walk on a rails-to-trails path in the town of Adams. Incidentally, while we walked the trail, Olen used part of the time to check items on his Blackberry. (Mental note: It probably isn’t the best planning to take a retired engineer with a brand new Blackberry on a trip that is supposed to be relaxing!)

Adams boasts of being the birthplace of Susan B. Anthony. On the way back to the condo from Adams we drove through the Windsor State Forest, taking in more lovely foliage.

The foliage in Massachusetts is lovely, but they do not have many of the variety of maple trees that grow in Vermont that produce the red leaves in the fall. We are looking forward to more red foliage once we move to the Vermont area. The weather channel shows the entire state of Vermont at peak foliage this coming weekend!

Fall is a beautiful season!

Olen and Jack by the AT sign

Olen at the top of Tyringham Cobble

Beautiful view from the hike

There is simply nothing like New England in the fall! Even as the stock market goes absolutely crazy and the Presidential candidates toss jabs back and forth across the country, the tranquility of the fall foliage is indeed comforting.

Our flight went well on Sunday evening…if you ignore the fact that Jack left his jacket in the Atlanta airport. We actually arrived in Albany 20 minutes early, but by the time we had claimed our suitcases, secured the rental car, and covered the 38 miles from Albany, NY to Hancock, MA, time passed and it was nearly 1:00 AM before we finally pillowed our heads.

Needless to say, we slept late on Monday and awoke to overcast skies and drizzle. Our first event was to go to the local grocery to purchase food items to take back to the condo. We did a little sightseeing in the area, viewing the foliage through peek-a-boo sunshine during the afternoon. We made one lovely drive through Pittsfield State Forest, but unfortunately at the time it was mostly “boo-sunshine”, and photography was not the best. We returned to the condo and enjoyed chili and a game of Phase Ten.

Tuesday’s weather was beautiful…clear and sunny, but frosty. We went first to Stockbridge, the little Massachusetts village made famous by the well-known Norman Rockwell painting. We had read about a “relatively easy half-hour walk” to the top of Tyringham Cobble(Cobble Loop Trail) for a beautiful view of the area. We arrived in Tyringham, located the trailhead and began the hike through a meadow and up a hillside for a birds’-eye view of the tiny New England village with a red barn and white church building. About half a mile of the Tyringham Cobble trail was part of the Appalachian Trail, which was exciting.

The hike provided other excitement in the form of a three-foot snake that decided to try to share the sunshine in the meadow with the hikers. The other excitement was that we ran into “bear” when we reached the top of the cobble. When we reached the top, there was a local man clearing the trail area with his companion, a beautiful black and white Husky named “Bear”… so we encountered “Bear” while we were on our hike. After an interesting visit with Bear and his human friend, we continued on. It was a great hike, but for the record, the “easy half-hour walk” took us two and a half hours!

We ate lunch at a small-town deli, and made an afternoon stop at McDonalds for ice cream. During the afternoon we drove through country roads to the small village of Lee where we stopped at an outlet center to shop for a while, replacing Jack’s jacket which remained in the “lost and found” bin at the Atlanta airport. On the main street in Lee we stopped to photograph the First Congregational Church building (1857) which boasts of having the tallest wooden frame church steeple in America. (The steeple looks like it is currently under some extensive repair.) We also stopped for gas in Lee, and made note that the gas here is nearly fifty cents per gallon cheaper than it was in Alabama when we left home.

We ate sandwiches in the condo for dinner and prepared to watch as much of the Presidential debates as we could stand. The leaves here are beautiful…the food is great…the company is fantastic. Will someone at home (or somewhere!) please get to work and try to do something to help out the stock market while we are gone??