Each fall, I get together with my friend and former work mentor for an extended weekend of talk, travel and fun. Ten years ago, she retired to a small town in Tennessee equidistant between Nashville and Knoxville. Depending on where we are headed, I fly into one of these airports, she picks me up and…
Final Days in Vermont
Friday, our last full day in Vermont, dawned overcast and drizzly but with the promise of clearer skies and sunshine later in the afternoon. We were ready to hike in the Green Mountains regardless of weather. Fortified with another inn breakfast of blueberry pancakes and scones, we packed our raincoats, filled our water bottles and…
Rainy Day Pivot – Vermont
We woke to the steady drum of raindrops on the roof. The forecast was for all day rain, the continuous precipitation that comes from low cloud cover, not exactly great weather for hiking and enjoying expansive mountain views. So we pivoted and decided to drive to Hildene, the summer home of Robert and Mary Lincoln,…
Deerhill Hill, Vermont
The drive from Lake George to our inn in Vermont is just over 50 miles as the crow flies but twice that distance via road. Traversing mostly two lane county roads, we wound around hills and across streams occasionally passing through small hamlets. Ahead in the distance, we see the Green Mountains, the state’s namesake;…
Unplanned Lake George
Leaving Tupper Lake mid afternoon, we planned to drive two hours due east to our inn in West Dover, Vermont. Midway, we stopped for gas near Glenn Falls, New York and heard the familiar beep of emails loading as we entered an area with data reception. Perusing messages while my husband pumped gas, I opened an…
Dodging Raindrops – Adirondacks
Started the day with another amazing breakfast at Trail’s End B&B – today’s menu was Belgian pecan waffles, fruit, cherry scones and turkey bacon savored to the accompaniment of Billie Holiday’s expressive vocals playing over the breakfast room’s state of the art sound system. Fueled with plenty of carbs and a baggie of the freshly…
Lake Placid Afternoon
After an energizing hike to Owl Lookout, we drove towards the nearby village of Lake Placid, planning to explore and have dinner. A couple miles out of town, we saw the tower of a multi-storied ski jump, looming above the trees. Part of the Olympic Ski Jumping Complex, this jump and its slightly shorter sibling…
Hiking the Adirondacks
Marooned at home by hip surgery and the pandemic, I yearned for a change of scenery; to get away from the neatly manicured lawns and well-tended flowerbeds of suburbia and into the great outdoors. I was four weeks post surgery, able to walk comfortably and my birthday was coming up, so we started making plans. …
COVID Mini Staycation
Between the shelter at home restrictions and hip surgery, I was confined to my house and back deck for weeks and desperately needed a change of scenery. So one hot, sunny Saturday afternoon in August, we packed a picnic and drove to Port Huron to enjoy the waterfront and watch the freighters on the St….
Hluhluwe-Umfolozi
On the last day of our trip, we hired a local guide to take us game viewing in the nearby national game park – Hluhluwe-Imfolozi. This 240,000 acre park established in 1895 is the oldest game preserve in Africa. Recognized for its conservation efforts, it has the largest population of white rhinos in the world. …