Another trip!

To see more pictures of this trip, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/azwomon/LeafPeepers

OK, so the only time I blog is when I'm on a trip! I guess that's the only time I have some spare time to do this!

With Mesa schools having their first week-long October break ever, it was a perfect chance to come east to see the fall leaves changing! It is also Patrick Vaughn's wedding in Michigan this weekend, so a little road trip was perfect.

Friday, Oct. 9, 2009 - Donna and I left Phoenix at 8:15 a.m. and arrived in Hartford, Connecticut around 5 p.m. Even though we were going to Albany, New York the first day, it was less expensive to fly into Hartford. We got our rental car and headed to Albany, arriving there in the dark, but to a warm welcome from Donna's college friend Colleen -- and her big Golden Retriever, Jake.

Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 - Wanting to see great fall colors, Colleen took us to a state park near Saratoga Springs. We went with Jo, Tara, China and Maya also. It was a beautiful place, and a great trip.

That evening, we went out to dinner with everyone, including another friend of Donna's. It was delicious food and entertaining company!

Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009 - We left Albany to head for Donna's aunt's house near Buffalo. On the way we stopped and took pictures, as well as visited the Women's Rights National Historical Site in Seneca Falls, NY. This is a place I have wanted to visit since reading about Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton from the time I was in junior high. At this site, in 1848, a group of women, and progressive men, got together to draft a declaration of sentiment promoting equal rights for women. It took more than 70 years from then, for women to finally get the vote! The displays at the Visitor Center explain a lot about the struggle for women's equality, and was a good reminder of those days, that I still remember, when girls could not play sports or work in certain jobs. I still remember reading the "Dick and Jane" books, where Dick was doing everything, and Jane was watching him... "Look Jane, see Dick run." Subtle, but effective discrimination, that is now gone.

We also stopped for a few minutes at the Hill Cumorah. It was cold and windy near the monument, and wouldn't you know it -- there was a family there from Arizona, and the wife knew me, since she had grown up in Pima! Small world.

Other stops for us included the coastline of Lake Ontario, and a state park that Donna and her friends used to go to when they wanted a break from school, as well as a trip past SUNY Brockport, where Donna got her degree.


Monday, Oct. 12, 2009 -- After an enjoyable visit Sunday night with Donna's Aunt Pam near Buffalo, Monday morning started with a home-made breakfast made by Pam's granddaughters! We also visited with friends of Donna's mom, and then had ice cream at Antoinette's - a delicious ice cream/candy shop. Then it was across Grand Island, with a stop to drop off Donna's nephew Nick at his house, and head into Canada. Unfortunately, this weekend was Canada's Thanksgiving, so the border crossing took us an hour and a half. We then headed towards Toronto, and eventually arrived at our Shell timeshare near Barrie -- but not without driving a long-time in the dark, and missing a few of our freeway turns. The roads in Canada are great -- but their signs are a bit more confusing than Arizona's.

Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009 -- We had a relaxing day listening to the rain, and then walking some of the paths around the resort once the rain stopped. A quick trip into the nearby village let us buy some groceries for breakfast, lunch and dinner -- and then we had time to download all the gorgeous pictures we have been taking! Now it's off to bed, so we can leave at a decent time in the morning to head back to the USA and Bridgeport, Michigan to visit another friend.

Remember, to see more pictures of this trip, go to
http://picasaweb.google.com/azwomon/LeafPeepers