67. Long walk to a latte

Week 67  10/19/16

We have walked all sections of the trail between our house and Jasper Hill Cafe in Holliston many times but never on the same day - until today. The reward at the end (or really the middle, because we walked home also) was a latte. A latte is a treat I only enjoy rarely when visiting Sarasota, but we never got around to it on our recent trip there, so off we went to our local cafe, through the woods.

The entire route takes us from our back door at Chicken Brook Farm, through Idlebrook open space in Medway, then through lands owned by the Betania spiritual retreat and conference center property, the Wennakeening Woods in Holliston, and finally the Holliston stretch of the Upper Charles Rail Trail. The final bit was through Paul's old stomping grounds up the street to the cafe where we were rewarded with our coffee. (and a cookie for Paul, too). The fitbit told us we walked 7 miles after we got home again.

This is where Wennakeening meets the rail trail.

I like this view on the rail trail near the arch bridge where a stone border has a nice effect.

This horse farm has been fixed up nicely with a viewing spot for hikers.

66. Pequot Nation

Week 66  10/21/16

The Pequot Museum has been on our wish list for quite a while. We'd heard how wonderful it is but we were surprised at how large the museum is and how thorough the information about these Native Americans from the dawn of time through present day. We took our time examining the exhibits at the beginning and after 3 hours, ran out of time as the museum closed. We will be back to see the rest, because it was fascinating. Next trip we will also go up the tower viewing spot. Today there is not much visibility so we didn't ride the elevator to the top.

The main attraction of this museum is a village replica. The audio tour was informative and the displays very well done. We learned a lot about dwelling construction, farming techniques, tool making, social issues, adornment, history, hunting and more.

65. Sunny Florida and exciting news

Week 65  10/12/16

It has been a long time since our last trip to Sarasota to see Susy. This trip was different than our usual relaxing visit. We did that too, but we had a mission. Susy is sending family furniture and other items northward for family members and we drove it back in a rented van.

Paul had a golf trip booked for North and South Carolina with a large number of friends, and had expected to rent a car from there to meet me in Sarasota. But Hurricane Matthew spoiled the trip. Paul forfeited the plane ticket to the Myrtle Beach area and grabbed the last ticket on my flight to Sarasota, leaving a few days later. We had a few days to enjoy swimming in the pool, long walks int he nice weather and our ubiquitous mini-golf game at Smugglers Cove Golf with Gaters.  Paul got three holes-in-one but Susy and I think it wasn't fair because he played a few rounds of real golf earlier in the week for practice.  :-)

It took a while to get the items packed securely in the van for the long trip. Some things were fragile.

On the drive back north, we stayed at the 1842 Inn in Macon Georgia. This is an old plantation owner's city house and very beautiful.

This was our room.

Paul enjoying appetizers and a drink on the front veranda.

We enjoyed breakfast in the parlor.

Our travel route was more inland that we would normally want to take, because Route 95 was washed out in some places due to the hurricane. Here we are at a scenic viewpoint in Virginia which was up a steep hill. We're glad we climbed because the view was beautiful. But these trees must have been planted by a landscaper. The brightly colored ones are sugar maples and were not seen in the rest of the scene. We did see an amazing amount of fall color on the drive, though, especially in the Poconos.

Our second day's drive was not fun. I'll just say it took 14 hours and the only places to eat were fast food. We ate at Wendy's twice that day. But we had to make it to northern Virginia. We had a brunch date the next morning in Frederick, Maryland with Ben and his new fiance, Gillian Slovick. They asked if they could be married in our back field next spring. How wonderful and exciting.

64. Stony Brook with special guest

Week 64  10/6/16

Julia came to visit from Colorado. We had a few precious days with her before we had to leave for Florida. She then joined her husband and friends for some pre-Halloween fun and a chance to meet two new babies.

We took Julia to Stony Brook Audubon where we frequently visited when she was little. The day could not have been more beautiful. Here she and Paul stand near the old mill site.

We saw lots of wildlife, including this bird which we watched for a long time. We finally decided it was a Great Blue Heron because of its size, coloring and shape of its head and neck, but we've never seen a Great Blue pose like this, drying its wings, I suppose.

63. Garden in the Woods and Beals Preserve

Week 63  10/3/16

First stop today was Garden in the Woods.We are enjoying our gift membership by visiting this gorgeous place in different seasons. On this visit we hiked the Hop Brook Trail and the Ridge Trail to get a different view. Here are some tiny mushrooms on a log to remind us that we saw many different kinds of mushrooms on this trip. Finally some rain has come after an historic drought, and I think that must have caused the spores to grow.

We have been hearing about the Beals Preserve from Southborough friends so decided to take a look. What a wonderful property this was to add to the open space in that town! We sat on a bench by a pond, wandered through woods, along a reservoir where we could look across and see some big old houses, then past meadowlands. I liked how this birch tree arched over the trail.

62. Wellesley College Presidential Inauguration

Week 62  10/5/16

There have been a few days of lectures and events surrounding the inauguration of Paula Johnson as Wellesley's 14th president. Several special exhibits were on display, including the Greenhouse, the Albright Center and Davis Museum. Paul and I looked at some permanent and special exhibits at the Special Collections in Clapp Library.

Here is Elizabeth Barrett, whose correspondence with Robert Browning is collected here, as well as much of their memorabilia. Wellesley has worked with Baylor University to digitize and make these materials available via computer.

No visit to Wellesley would be complete without a look or walk around Lake Waban. We didn't have time for the whole circuit, but looked at the water from some of the benches.

There were over 1000 alumnae in attendance at the inauguration. Here is Becky's classmate, Laura, at the luncheon.

Inauguration of  a college president is always a big deal - celebration, hope for the future, but there seems to be a special excitement about this president, Paula Johnson. Some people may know her from her top-rated Ted Talk on women's health care. Here is the inauguration tent interior before the procession.

I always enjoy the Yanvalou drum and dance ensemble. Paul took a short video, but I'm having trouble with it here. But YouTube has this from Yanvalou. They had the honor of leading the procession with their drum rhythms and flowing dance moves.

The faculty and representatives from other colleges and universities entered in academic robes.

Alumnae from every class marched in represented by one delegated class member.

Dr Johnson addressing the gathering.

61. Tulley Lake

Week 60  9/17/16

Tulley Lake is a favorite spot of both the Atwoods and the Peltiers. We spent a fun day with my sister and our brother-in-law, canoeing and picnicking.

Lenny got this fabulous lightweight canoe second-hand and it's in great shape.

Two fishermen in the group... There wasn't much action.

We always try to spot turtles and water birds when we go canoeing. We didn't see many birds on this day.

We ate our picnic and Lucy and Lenny's favorite spot. What a beautiful day!

After Tulley Lake, we drove straight to Amherst to see Paul's brother Charlie and our sister-in-law Judy. Our niece Rachel was on an infrequent visit from Russia to see her parents. After visiting friends in various parts of the US, she will move from Moscow to Kiev in the Ukrane. An Amherst friend, Katia, who is originally from Russia, joined us for a Mexican meal.