It’s been a busy week, from Salisbury, MA and an almost-beachfront camping spot, to Worcester for a weekend, and then on the Finger Lakes region of New York. Whew, kind of tires me out just writing that!
Met up with one of my running buds (she runs, I’m on hiatus) and we had a wonderful visit with a seafood lunch and then a wander down the boardwalk.
After 10 days at Salisbury, it was time to move on, but as every RVer knows, the last step of breaking camp is to pay a visit to the dump station. How big was this state park campground? Four dump stations! Usually, there’s one or maybe two. On Sunday when I moved sites, I was fourth in line and there were about 15 RVs waiting their turn. On Friday, I had it all to myself 🙂
Then it was on to Worcester and a weekend full of friends (three, one hosting me), three adorable dogs (hi, Ben, Eve, and Sassy!) and two horses (the ever-young Snowy and the beautiful Celeste). As a stand-in for the selfies I never take with friends (oops, always absent-minded about that!), here’s a lovely photo from Tower Hill outside Worcester where we had a wonderful lunch and walk through their gardens.
Monday, I hitched up Breeze, who had spent the weekend in a rural driveway waiting for my return, and we headed west. After months of choosing “east” when reading road signs, it still feels a bit weird to choose the “west” option now.
I drove the back roads across western Massachusetts, most of which I had never seen despite living in the state for 12 years! Route 9 and Route 20 go through small towns, some struggling and some doing pretty well. Flags, cemeteries, old brick mill buildings, and even a hint of fall color. I’m hoping to see a lot more of that last one in the next few weeks.
It wasn’t the “Welcome to New York” sign that told me I was back in my old stomping grounds, it was catching a glimpse of the Hudson River while crossing over at Castleton. The river always will feel like home to me, and the northerly reaches, like this one, are so beautiful.
Tuesday was the second half of the long slog to the Finger Lakes region: two days of 200 miles (four hours) of driving and I was so ready to be out of the car by the end of it. Beautiful sunsets can make such a haul worthwhile, and the two sunsets I’ve seen so far definitely made me happy. This was tonight’s edition of the show.
I’m bouncing around two campsites and an airbnb with friends while I’m in this region, so except some more gorgeous photos in next week’s update.
Good friends are like stars. You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there.
Christy Evans
Can’t wait for those fall pics! Love the turn from summer to fall. Feels so refreshing and here in the west we can breathe deep again! Goodbye smoke, unless its a nice fire in the fire pit. Happy trails Annie. ♡