Weekend Wanderings!

Even with the rain, we had a wonderful weekend to get out. We headed into Connecticut just as the rain was ending, so we were able to enjoy a nice ride and visit a few places. I wanted to stop at Mystic Village which has a quilt shop, but it was no longer there. But we were still able to enjoy a walk through town and get a few goodies at the Christmas shop.

One place in Mystic that I love to visit is the Elm Grove Cemetary. I was hoping to see more foliage, but most of the trees had turned. It is still beautiful to drive through though, it is a garden cemetery on the Mystic river, a peaceful place to walk through.

What a beautiful setting for a family plot.

Since we were in the area, we took a drive to Ender's Island, where there is a Catholic retreat center. It was so windy, it was hard to enjoy the views and take photos. I love the buildings on the island, all made of stone, like the church.

There were still flowers in the gardens and views from Block Island to Fisher's Island in New york. In the distance I could see Latimer Reef Lighthouse.

The great thing about being out later is, we were a half hour from sunset so we headed to Napatree Point. What I didn't think about was, the wind. Coming over the dunes, I was hit with blasts of sand and close to the water, the ocean spray, so it was hard to stay still or get good shots. I was able to get a decent one and you can see the waves coming in. It was so beautiful, but hard to enjoy with the sand getting all over my camera.

Sunday was a beautiful day and much warmer, so I decided to hit the beach, while the tide was out. There weren't too many people in the morning, so I found a lot of nice treasures laying on the rocks.

And with the time change, it was still early enough to go for a ride. I needed more apples so we headed to the orchards to buy them from the store.

Along the way I spied this steeple and stopped for a look. The banks of the river were over flowing, so it was hard to get a shot, since we had to stand in the tree line.

We also stopped on the Thames river, where  you can walk out to the old train tracks. Another nice place to go for a stroll.

Since it was getting late, we decided to do a short hike up Lantern Hill. I wanted to see if I could spot the foliage from the first lookout. Of course the views were limited, so we went to the next height and the next, where we had nice views, but still hidden by the tree lines. So our short hike took us up the hill to the top, which was well worth it. The views are spectacular and you can see all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.

The sun was getting closer to the tree line and I really wanted to watch it set, but not from the top. It is a steep climb, so we went down to a lower level to watch it set. Since my photo  had a lot of black space, I added a saying I found on the web. We were able to get down before it got too dark, and my muscles are killing me today, but it was nice to finally get in a real hike.

I hope you all had a nice weekend and your own adventures.

Weekly Wanderings!

This week, Bill had off so we did a lot of driving around and just having fun. One of the things I wanted to do, before the exhibit was gone, was to see the found art exhibit at the aquarium. Artists took items that they found on the beaches and made art pieces from them. There were large ones and smaller ones, and amazing what they did with junk that inconsiderate people threw on the beach or items washed up on shore.

This piece was fun and made from all types of trash, but it became something fun and beautiful.

Inside was a giant Jelly Fish on a coral reef, so much creativity in the use of found items.

And Jellies hanging from the ceilings, as well as a wall of masks. It was fun seeing all the art and we walked around and enjoyed the indoor tanks, but it was so crowded, we didn't stay long.

Another place I have been wanting to see, was in the same area, so we headed to Enders Island, which is a small island in the Mystic Connecticut area. It is home to priests and retreats. It was was cold and barren but still beautiful with it's stone walkways and views of Fisher's Sound. The church would be beautiful to attend a service at, imagine having a retreat here.

With a new year, we did a few new things that we never make time for. One was driving to the lighthouse to watch the sunset. The problem was, I forgot my gloves, so my hands froze and I couldn't move them after sitting out in the cold winds.

Bill was taking photos with his pad, so he caught me taking photos from the cliffs.

And this is the sun setting over the horizon. The colors just got more magnificent as the sun went down, but by then, it was too dark to pick up the colors and my frozen hands couldn't even press the shutter. It was a wonderful way to end the first day of the new year. And to top it off, I went outside that night and caught a flaming meteor as it flew overhead. What a way to start off the New Year. I hope your new year is filled with many joys and blessings.