A December to Remember

Knowing I would be traveling with Jim, my decorating for Christmas was put to a minimum. The tree a must, and stockings hung, I packed my suitcase: hello Seattle! here we come! Our dear friends Steve and Teresa took us to a Dickens play the first afternoon. The theatre was intimate with circular seating so every seat was a great one. A wonderful time and we will always remember it.

Afterwards we met up with our other friends Mike and Lynette and had dinner at McCormicks and Schmidts in Belleview. We finished a great dinner just in time to see the Snowflake Lane activites just outside. The cool air and smiling faces made everyone jolly!

The guys with the "snow queen"

We jumped into the car and rode over to the botanical gardens that were all decorated for the holidays. It was a beautiful end to a fantastic day. Good memories we shared with others!

We flew home from Washington State and repacked as Jim was taking me to New York City for Christmas! Went to see the Rockettes in the Christmas Spectacular Show and later trucked up and down the city streets to find the famous Macy window displays. We explored all of Central Park from one end to another. Got our walking in I'd say! We met up with Jim's sister Diane and her daughter Sharai. Below Grand Central Station, there were many shops and tons of places to stay warm and have lunch. Had wonderful sandwiches with soup. Later that evening we all met to go to church at a Hillsong Outreach. Sharai heard about this famous hot chocolate made at a place called Max Brenners....mmmm you have to experience it to believe it! Manhattan

Rockerfeller Center

From our room

Macys

Central Park

Sharai and Diane

Grand Central

Below Grand Central

Max Brenners hot chocolate

New Orleans Came home and repacked for Jims annual Christmas dinner weekend in New Orleans. The Big Easy....we stayed at the Hilton on the Riverwalk. After we settled into our room, we headed outdoors trying to see as much in the short 2 days. Horse-drawn carriages, local eateries decorated for the holidays and of course Community Coffee! A hot cup of joe to wrap my cold fingers around in the cold weather put warmth in my heart! Explored the French Market for local goods and strolled the Riverwalk on the Mighty Mississippi. We lunched at the Cafe Maspero and visited old hotels for Christmas "eye candy." That night we dined at Mortons Steakhouse and the 2nd night we dined at Emerils. Wonderful times shared with wonderful people. Cheryl, Maria and me

French Market

The Riverwalk

My pirate

Emerils

Thanks for taking the time to share in our memories of fun and treasured times. I hope you will do the same with your loved ones!

Resplendant Autumn in Maine

My blog may be a little long this time, but Maine is one of my favorite places to "stay awhile." Rocky edged coastline meets granite mountains, beckoning me to set afoot and explore pine forests to boulder strewn beaches....
Our first few days were spent at Bar Harbor Regency Holiday Inn. We were welcomed with a Nor'easter. Good time to try out the waterproof pants so we went to Acadia National Park to explore "Thunder Hole." This is the perfect time during a storm! In all her glory, she boomed and sprayed to the ooohh's and aahhh's of the handful that gathered....

As blustery as it was yesterday, the dawn brought us clear skies and cold temps. We stumbled out of bed and hi-tailed it to Cadillac Mountain to see the sun rise. How romantic...except we shared it with about 200 people! Man was it cold up there! God was showing off His handiwork, another reminder of His greatness and also goodness....

Brrrrr - 37 without a windchill factor, but of course the wind was blowing! Look at my hair!

We headed to our favorite place in town: Hearthside B&B. We spent the next 4 nites here. Settled in our room named "Emily Dickinson" with a fireplace nestled with 2 wingback chairs for cozy reading. Loved it! Thanks Barry and Susan for going the extra mile in the details!

We unpacked and headed out to Acadia NP. We wanted to enjoy the colors of fall, so we went to Eagle Lake and took the path around it. 5.8 miles of splender to leave a sparkle in your eye!

This is the "bar" that you can walk across at low tide. Hence the name: Bar Harbor. A small island at the other end is owned by the National Park. Watch the tide chart as when the tide comes in, it is really fast!

Another place to walk/hike is right outside of the town of Bar Harbor, The Great Meadow Loop.

The Great Meadow...

Long Pond is a new placed we explored in Acadia NP. A flat 2 miles on the west side of the pond which connects to Mansell Mtn. This hike cuts thru some of the nicest woods found on the island. We came down the Perpendicular Trail. What a feat to build. About 4 miles today.

Lunch!

Perpendicular Trail! Next time lets go up first!

We took a few hikes this day to make a whole day of autumn leaf peeping. We hiked on the Triad and revisited the North and South Bubbles. Just a few fun shots, gee no one was around!

He was at it again! No success!

We drove to Rockport, MA., with our dear friends Mike and Lynette to site see from the car, as it was freezing! We always enjoy our time with them. They are loving and generous souls and great to pal around with. Love you! Well, onward to Salem!

Salem, Massachusetts pleasantly surprised me. This town was beautiful, quaint cottages and nice views of the ocean. Was founded in 1626 originally named Naumkeag. 3 years later renamed to Salem, a corruption of the Hebrew word Shalom. Beat that.

Funny, we are both holding our hands in the same way...mmmm...

Oh the commercialism! Temps in the 50's and Dunkin Donuts a few steps away....

Deep in thought..."The burying ground" is the oldest cemetery in Salem that has headstones dating back to the 1600's. The young, the old, left you wondering.....

Wispy winds, blowing leaves,

The sun shining, we in long sleeves.

Autumn blows in on the great northwind,

Swirling fall leaves, chilling our skin.

Apples are picked, the cider so sweet,

Please give me autumn, over that summer heat!

Susan C.

Correction

If you have tried to click the link for trails I posted it incorrect.

It is www.traillink.com

Happy trails!

Birthday Ride

Today is my birthday and I wanted to ride a different trail in Florida. So we ended up on the Withlacoochee State Trail! In 1989 CSX Transportation sold 46 miles to the State to establish this trail. It is 46 miles in length, (no we did not ride it all) generally flat as it runs thru small towns, ranches and natural areas. The air was dry and a perfect day for this ride.

You can find Florida trails by counties at: www.trailink.com. Great website! We will visit other trails in the future. I rate this one a great trail! We did total up a sum of 34 miles under our belt today. 10 miles before lunch, and the rest afterwards.

A deversion off the trail to the river.

Yes an Iced Coffee topped off the end of the ride! www.floridagreenwaysandtrails.com

The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets. Psalm 50:1.