Adventures

My car and I have spent far too much time together lately.  In the past couple weeks I think I've put over 2000 miles on it.  It's probably tired.  I know I am.

Kristin had an interview at Marquette University back on October 12.  Ed and I drove her to Milwaukee on Sunday.  After we checked into our hotel we drove into town.  Milwaukee has a nice waterfront district with shops and restaurants.  We strolled around and ate dinner by the river.

While Kristin was at her interview, Ed and I explored.  We walked around campus and then headed toward Lake Michigan.  We found a park with a lighthouse.   Unfortunately, the lighthouse was closed.  

We then drove through the Whitefish Bay area.  After eating lunch and killing time at a shopping mall, we picked up Kristin and then made the long journey back to Ohio.  We rolled into home about 2:00 am Tuesday morning.

A little over 48 hours later I was on the road again.  This time I journeyed east to New Jersey.

Back in the spring two of my sisters and I decided we wanted to experience the New York Sheep and Wool Festival.  My oldest sister lives in New Jersey.   Her house became the meeting point for me and my sister from Virginia.

On Friday the three of us ventured up to the Hudson River valley.  Our first stop was Poughkeepsie, New York, to stroll the Walkway Across the Hudson.  The Walkway is a retired railroad bridge that spans the Hudson River.  It is over one mile from end to end.  The view was spectacular from the bridge.

On the east side of the bridge we found a cute place for lunch called Lola's.  We couldn't decide if we liked our sandwiches or the side salads better.  All the food was yummy!!

After lunch we walked back across the bridge to the car.  It was absolutely beautiful in every direction.

Once back in the car we crossed the Mid-Hudson Bridge and drove north to Hyde Park.  We walked around the grounds of FDR's home.  We came across this sculpture and wandered what was the significance of it.  A passing Park employee told us that FDR had commissioned an artist to make a sculpture.  Instead of making it out of bronze as FDR had asked, the artist made it out of concrete.  FDR declared it as the ugliest naked woman he had ever seen and never did anything further with it.  It now sits along the treeline, away from the paths that connect the Visitors' Center, Presidential Library and former FDR home.

From FDR's home we drove into Rhinebeck.  We walked around town and then headed to Bard College.  My sister wanted to show my other sister and I where her son had gone to college.  Bard is a small liberal arts college along the eastern shore of the Hudson River.  The main section of the campus includes a formal garden that overlooks the river valley.

On Saturday we spent the day at the festival.

The festival was much larger than I expected.  We got there at 9:00 when the gates opened and left shortly before 5:00, when the show was supposed to end for the day.  There were so many vendors and breeders!!  At the end of the day our feet hurt from all the walking.   I restrained myself from buying too much.  I left with two books, a bag of Lincoln roving and a spool of cobweb-weight cashmere yarn.

After checking out of the hotel on Sunday, we drove back to the Bard College area to visit a park called Poet's Walk.  A trail lead down the hill toward the Hudson.  Again, the scenery did not disappoint.

On the walk back up the hill to the car, it started snowing.  That was where our adventure ended.  We got back in the car and headed south to New Jersey.