Fall Road Trip

It was a beautiful weekend to be on the road, and I thought I’d share a few photos, and a story about our day in Manchester, VT. It’s one of our favorite places to visit in the fall. The colors aren’t at peak quite yet, but it was still lovely.

We were up early enough to catch the sunrise as we drove from my brother’s in Pleasant Valley, NY to the Taconic Parkway.

Our first stop is always Up For Breakfast. Although I’ve tried a couple other items on the menu, I long ago gave up experimenting and stick with their Morning Glory pancakes—basically carrot cake in pancake form. With real Vermont maple syrup and sausage, it’s a breakfast that can’t be beat.

After breakfast, we walked up to Orvis, a high end sports clothing and fishing equipment store that has its flagship store in Manchester. Their fall displays are always beautiful.

This is a stained glass window on the second floor of the store:

After visiting Orvis, we walked back to the main shopping area, primarily outlets with great prices. Both of us did a bit of shopping, and I was quite pleased with my purchases. (More about that later!)

On our way out of town, after lunch at a great new (to us) Mexican restaurant with local ingredients, we stopped at the Equinox Valley Garden Center. We were charmed to find a group of artists who had set up easels around the garden center.

We struck up a conversation with this lovely lady who had traveled from Florida to attend a six day workshop. Her husband was off taking photographs of the area.

The displays and flowers were gorgeous. I had a great time taking photographs with a new Sony point and shoot I recently purchased for traveling. I got so tired of hauling my DSLR and multiple lenses up mountains this summer that I was determined to get a smaller and lighter camera for travel. I thought I’d buy a mirrorless camera, but when I discovered the lens I wanted cost more than the camera, I reconsidered. The Sony has a long zoom with a set aperture, and I think it’s going to be perfect.

One final photo from the trip. We often stop to take photos at the Tomhannock Reservoir. It’s such a lovely spot right on the highway.

And if you’ve held on for this long, I have a story to restore your faith in human nature. When we got home Monday night, and unpacked the car, I was shocked to discover that one of my bags was missing. It had a sweater and scarf that I purchased at a local store in Manchester. The sweater was on sale, but this is not an outlet store. I was so disappointed, as it was my favorite purchase of the day. Neither Tracy nor I could imagine where we’d lost it. Tuesday morning I called a couple of stores, but no one had seen it.

Finally, I decided I’d call the store where I purchased it and see if I could order another sweater. (I thought I’d pass on replacing the scarf.) When I reached the clerk, she remembered me, and was delighted to hear from me. Someone found my bag, and returned it to the store. The clerk, of course, had no way to contact me, but was willing to send it on to me. Needless to say, I was thrilled, although I still don’t know where we left the bag. She said she’d weigh the package, and call me back with the cost for postage. In just a minute or so, she called and said the manager told her they would send the package at no cost! It arrived yesterday (sent by priority mail), and last night I made a thank you card to send to them.

The card uses another of Papertrey Ink’s “Back and White All Over” papers, and a stamp from a new set called “In the Bag.” I think I’ll be using this design again. Quick and easy, but striking, I think–and in my favorite color scheme:  black, white, and red. 

 

We have a pretty quiet weekend ahead:  lunch and the movies with friends tomorrow and church on Sunday. Hopefully, I’ll get back to my Project Life pages. I got a good start on them a week or so ago, and they are piled up on a table in my studio.