Stockbridge, MA, and Mystic, CT

Okay, People --  We're back for more vacation pics.  Aren't you excited?   Well, I'm not going to say much so you can  just scroll through quickly  IF YOU'RE INTERESTED ~~~

We left off at the end of the White Mountain Foliage Trails in Western New Hampshire and now we've crossed into Vermont.  We meandered a bit into the state and headed south to wind up in Stockbridge, MA, in the Berkshires.  (I love saying that - sounds like we've got money and I'm name-dropping.  Cue - Robin Leach on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous").   We did see alot of money walking around.... The Berkshires - a lovely area in western Massachusetts.  Lovely foliage, lovely little towns with beautiful cottage and New England homes.  We're here for the Norman Rockwell Museum and Studio tour!  

OK,  Now we're in Stockbridge at the clock tower...

SWEEEEEEET little eatery between these buildings!  We had the most delicious MAPLE BUTTERNUT SQUASH BISQUE!  Another First for us both!  It was Delish!  I believe it's now on our Thanksgiving menu at our Thanksgiving!

This beautiful place is now a lovely (expensive) Inn.  Norman Rockwell, they told us, used to rent rooms on the right end of this establishment (I believe).  We also saw a long panoramic painting that he did of the buildings in the little town to Stockbridge.  They are mostly all lined up on one side of the street.  The other side is lined with homes, churches, etc., some of which have been turned into a very few store fronts.

In one of the galleries the walls were covered with magazine covers from the Saturday Evening Post - it was So cool to see them all together!!!  There were some that I'd never seen.  Rockwell  started illustrating at a very young age!

His bicycle...

Rockwell's studio - he actually had several in different locations, but this was his last one.  

This was his view from the studio.  Think I could paint better if I had a view like this!!!

Hope some of his inspiration will rub off on me!!!!

This old house was also on the Museum property - it was over a hundred years old and it was being used as an administration building.  Can't you imagine this as a neat haunted house at Halloween???

Leaving Stockbridge, we headed down to the coast of Connecticut and arrived at Hammonsassett Beach.  Another little piece of ocean and Long Island Sound awaited us.  There was cold wind blowing off the water - we didn't stay too long, but we did meet a really nice lady named Pat that gave us some really nice tips about the area.  We did a little walking up and down...

Now we have arrived at Mystic, CT.  This little town must be neglected in advertisement.  We found it charming and delightful.  Neat as a pin harbor, immaculate New England homes and tree lined streets.  It was beautiful!  The harbor was full of boats both new and historic and there were also renovations going on  on a schooner named the Morgan in the shipyard.  Tony and I went aboard to check it out.  It was kind of dark, so my pictures didn't turn out so good.  I know people were shorter back then, but I think even those guys must have had to duck to go below deck!  I'll just let you look at Mystic here and not bore you with too many details...  If you ever have a chance to go - this was one of my favorite stops!

Thanks for hanging with me!  Sorry this post is so long - it was hard to select photos!  Next stop - Cape Cod!  See you next time, and for Pete's sake...

Keep your dress down!

We Interrupt This Program...

Sorry for the hiatus in my New England trip, but ....

WHAT'S UP WITH THIS???

Got a couple of girls that are moulting and everybody is off with the shorter days.  This is egg is about an inch long and perfectly formed. 

Guess I have a slacker in the group...

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program.

The White Mountains of New Hampshire

The next leg of our journey took us west from Maine along the foliage trails of New Hampshire and on into Vermont.  Route 302 was a perfect smallish highway to wander through the White Mountains National Forest.  You could drive around the whole mountain range, but we followed the southern route and saw plenty of peaks and valleys, small villages and towns and LOTS OF COLOR!  Have a look ....

Above - ski slopes!

After we got on into Vermont (and snacking on some goody-licious whoopie pies that Vee gave us) we meandered through the country-side avoiding major highways.  We found this sweet little farm stand. 

It was SO cute - I talked to the owner, and she told me that they have apple and pear orchards, and they grow all their own produce.  It was just exactly what I'd love to do someday.  Their produce looked great, too!  Below - they had this cute little red shed in the midst of their apple orchards.  Isn't it great?

I do believe Vermont had some of the most brilliant reds and oranges that we encountered on our trip!

There are so many little churches in New England - each one picture postcard perfect!  And so ends another day of trekking through New England.  We got out several times to walk around and even drove by the HUGE Yankee Candle place - an all-season shopping place. I really wanted to stop but we really needed to get on down the road.  Didn't know where we were staying yet that night.  We did like we did in Cali last year - rented a car and just winged it!  (or wung it - whichever...)  Just drove til we got to a place we wanted to stop and stayed there.  It's fun being spontaneous and not having a schedule you have to keep!

Thanks for following along!  More next time - Stockbridge, W. Mass in the Berkshires!

On to Portland!

Next stop on our whirlwind swing through New England --  Portland, Maine.  We traveled up the coast from Boston on through the very tip of New Hampshire and on into Maine.  One of my art buddies is from New Hampshire and knew the area well.  She lives in my hometown now and we paint together.  Sorry, I digress....  Anyway, she had told me that we needed to stop at Nubble  Light, or Cape Neddick Lighthouse.  We deliberately made a stop there to see the lighthouse.  SO glad we did!

Here is as far north as I've ever been, and it was windy and bone-chilling cold!!!  And it was October!   The little town of Cape Neddick or York was almost deserted.  You could really tell it's a summer town with all the cute little cottages and seaside flair~~~~

  

On to our next stop!!!  Now, let me set this up... A secret bloggie friend and I had decided that we should meet up on our trip through New England.  My dear friend chose a lovely place for lunch for Tony and I and   for her and her husband.  I won't tell you where because we like being secretive that way, but it was absolutely PERFECT - a lovely little New England town with churches, cottage homes, and the eatery was located ON the lake!

Oh yeah - and TONS of antique places all along the way throughout New England!!! I tell you what, my daughter and I decided that we should rent us an 18-wheeler and drive up there and make us a HAUL of antiques & junk to bring back home to Texas!

CA-YUTE little Inn below...

Behind the cafe, a beautiful lake - it was kinda foggy and misty, but it was still great!!!

I'll just let you look...

Isn't this a sweet place to eat???  It was so good.  I had a real live Reuben Sandwich - complete with sour kraut!  That's a rare thing in Texas and let me tell ya - I've got a hankerin' for another'n.  Wonder where I could get a real genuine Reuben around here?

Had to get a pic of this little house right next door to the cafe.  I love yellow cottage-style houses - my house is this color.  This looks so cozy~~~

Another shot of the lake - wouldn't you just LOVE to live here!

Now, you wanna know who my bloggie friend is that met up with me???

VEE  ~~~  THAT'S WHO!

Vee, from A Haven for Vee

She and I have been buddies for about 4 years now.  She was one of my first blog friends and has been attentive and faithful to check on me and stay in touch.  If you know her, you know that she's a real sweetheart, a dear Christian woman, wife, mother and Nonni.   Now I get to love her smile, too!  I lost count of how many hugs we gave each other.  Her husband, John, is a dear man - He's so FUNNY!  He and Tony, my husband, really enjoyed visiting with each other, too - together, they solved all the nation's problems and mysteries of the universe.  

I dearly would have loved to spend the whole day with them and I hope they'll get to visit us here in Texas someday!  Vee & John, are you listening???  

I must gush for a minute... Vee is exactly the person she is on her blog - that's the person that became my dear blog friend, and just meeting in the flesh sealed the deal!  You get to know someone online and you fall in love with that personality, that spirit, the essence of that online friend, and so when I met her in person, all I wanted to do was just give her a huge  hug!  So good meeting you, Vee, at last!

She came bearing gifts, too - a beautiful handmade-by-Vee table runner that is perfect for my kitchen - she picked out fabric with apples on it - it's perfect!  My kitchen clock has apples on it and I'm phasing out the pink stuff and bringing in more RED.  I now am the proud owner of one of her hand-stitched-with-love sewing needle keepers, too!  I have a card of needles that belonged to my Nanny, and they are now lovingly protected in the felt-lined interior.  A cute magnet for my fridge that she made, too!  And a couple of items that were totally New England - a balsam filled pillow with a Lobster on the front (smells SOOO good) and TWO HUGE CHOCOLATE WHOOPIE PIES!  Yum!  My new favorite dessert!  Thank you, thank you, thank you, VEE!  Promise to do a post about these little gifts and show you pictures!

Well, I guess I'll end here for now...  spending the night somewhere in Maine!  Next on our agenda, we head west into the White Mountains of New Hampshire!  Absolutely gorgeous!

Keep yer dress down!

Stay Faithful!

Yes, I am sad and disheartened today like many of you.  I don't know what's going to happen and the human side of me fears for my children and grandchildren's futures.  America is not the place that it once was.  It is not the nation based on the love and fear of the Almighty God that was founded by our forefathers.  It's not the people here now that came here, fought and died for our inalienable rights.  One thing will never change --- that things WILL change.  They never stay the same.  And so we are off to another four years in a downward spiral, in my opinion, to the demise of our great nation.

After 8 years of this administration, is that a long enough timespan to change forever the way of the United States of America?  Is it time enough for people to forget the way it used to be?  When people had morals, and faith and Christian values and cared about their fellow man.  When people stood up for what is right and not for "if it feels good, do it".  When people listened and adhered to the teachings of the Word of God about homosexuality.  Before people thought they had a "right" to choose whether to kill the unborn and go on about their business.

I am amazed how scientists can find a one-cell organism on Mars and call it LIFE, and turn right around and say that a fetus does NOT constitute LIFE and provide a way for us to expel the offending unborn human being from our bodies because it's inconvenient.  Explain that one to me, will ya?  If memory serves me correctly, as a nation, we've killed about 55 million unborn babies to date and more are being aborted even as we speak.

Dear Lord in heaven, Forgive us we pray.  May we STILL turn to you and may it not be too late for you to Bless America.

Regardless - I am filled with hope for our future. I trust that God has a plan and that He knows best.  I will mourn, and then I will go on with life, loving those in my life, trusting in the Lord, and I will continue to pray for our president as he leads our country.  He needs our prayers.  Desperately - every single day.  He has a very difficult job and I sure wouldn't want to be in his shoes.

One thing I know.  I am His child.  He is my Heavenly Father.  No matter if the world comes to an end, it is well with my soul.  I hope and pray that you all are, too, my friends.