The greatest gift one can give is thanksgiving. In giving gifts, we give what we can spare, but in giving thanks we give ourselves. BR. DAVID STEINDL-RAST
I give thanks consistently for our family and for the times we get to spend together; for the craziness that ensues; and for our camp where there is space for it all to play out!
A week sped by spending as much time as possible with our Dutch family and their friends Bert and Jantina. They all stayed out in Liberty experiencing “that camp life” and we got together either there or here in Belfast.
Luckily the beautiful Autumn colors were prolonged due to warm, dry weather and they were able to see Stevens Pond and the surrounding countryside in a full blaze of oranges, reds, purples, and yellows. Some canoe paddling was achieved – even a dunking!!! Wood was cut and split and Agnita and I took a lovely hike on Haystack Mountain.
We picked delicious Empire and Macoun apples at Hope Apple Orchard and several pies ensued.
Views from Mount Battie and visit to the Farnsworth in Rockland.
We joined Bert and Jantina for lobster at Young’s on a raining Wednesday evening, but even indoors the ambiance and lobster was great! Likewise at 3Tides. Pizza in the pergola was a perfect evening!
And then the week was over …… much too quickly!
My friend, Sherry, and I signed up for this afternoon class at Waterfall Arts. I had an ancient damask table cloth that I tore in to six serviettes and a narrow table cloth/runner. We had lots of fun experimenting with rubber bands, marbles, CDs, and more.
A terrific little city break in Montreal to meet up with Irene from Toronto. A great AirBnB apartment in south west Montreal and very convenient to metro and downtown.
May 17 was Montreal’s 375th birthday and we were treated to free metro transport! We visited the impressively huge Jean Talon market and Old Montreal.
Subway sights….
Despite the blistering heat (totally unexpected after all the cold weather!) we spent an enjoyable day at the botanical gardens. In another week or so we would have been wowed by the peonies, but I will be wowed by my own in the garden at home!!!
Santa came and brought lots of reasons for excitement in the McPherran household…
A quick hop into the Big Apple for a well executed tour (by our friend, Sue) of some highlights – the American Indian museum, housed in the former Customs House, a walk along Wall Street, lunch at an Indian restaurant in lower east side, exhibits at the New York Public Library, Bryant Park and a virtual reality experience at a Facebook demo lounge, and the cream on top – the Broadway show “Jersey Boys”! What a day!
Lady Justice and the Manhattan skyline from Guttenberg, NJ.
Fancy subway cars!
Grand Central & Lower Manhattan
The magnificent public library (research)
On the streets…
Shop windows, Christmas lights and experiencing VR!
Jersey Boys and total number of steps walked!! = 9.5 miles!!!
We started the day with an 11 a.m. Christmas Chamber Music concert at the Staatstheater, but actually held in the elegant foyer.
The afternoon we were in the Rheingau and Eltville for a walk through town and along the Rhein.
And ended the day and vacation at Gutschaenke Langehof in Rauenthal.
More wandering the streets of Wiesbaden with our friend, Sue, who flew in for the weekend!
A ride up to Neroberg to see the Russian Chapel.
Relaxing few hours spent at the Thermal Bad
An evening out on the town to see the shop windows, lights of the Weihnachtsmarkt, and a few songs at der Eimer!!
Henk and Agnita’s visit wouldn’t be complete without blueberry pancakes and a trip to 3Tides!
Only spent Wednesday evening until early Saturday morning, but we packed in quite a bit. The botanical gardens, IKEA (naturally!), a walk on the boardwalk at the Beaches, Queen Street, and Roncesvalles. It was all great!
These photos do not do justice to the scope of the collection and the cacophony of tooting horns, carnival music and much more that meet you at Bryant’s Stove and Music Museum in Thorndike. The stacks of piano rolls are nothing compared to the implements varying from tiny hand crank models to elaborate calliopes. We were lucky enough to have the master mind and mechanical genius, Joe Bryant, give us a tour and share his stories of this unique collection.
East coast or west coast? I am fascinated by trying to determine how people figure out which they prefer. Both have pros and cons, of course.
So we drove from Fort Pierce to Port Charlotte by way of Rte 70 via Okeechobe and Arcadia. It is absolutely unnecessary to turn the steering wheel a degree, and one could possibly believe that you’d been transported to Texas or Oklahoma! It has a very strong western feel with lots of cattle and horses grazing in pastures, and cowboy hats, jeans and boots are the common attire.
I immediately fell in love with our Airbnb rented loft in Port Charlotte where we stayed for three nights.
We made a little trip up to Osprey to meet up with friends for lunch at Casey Key Fish House which was lovely – sitting outside on the deck at the water’s edge.
Viewing the sunset at Port Charlotte Beach Park.
A long walk on Punta Gorda’s Harbor Walk.
A couple of hours at the beach on the Gulf.
Why don’t we come here more often???