Weekend Wanderings: Part two

On Sunday we went for another Drive in Connecticut and into Massachusetts. There are so many scenic roads and old towns, you never tire of exploring. This time we went on a familiar route to revisit some places we had been to before. I was hoping to catch the foliage before it was gone, but most areas in the upper areas, was already fading away.

We started with a stop at a North Grosvenordale Pond to enjoy the views and go for a walk. The foliage was turning nicely here and watching the kayakers, makes me want to come back next year to paddle on the pond, which continues on into rivers.

We walked along the pathway and enjoyed a good hike, views of a hidden pond and found this old fireplace from a home, long forgotten.

Our destination was Southbridge, a town just below Sturbridge Village. The town was fun to explore and we enjoyed views of the dams and waterfalls around the old mills.

You can't help but see Spires from all the old churches in the area. You can't walk a block without running into one. I wish we could have gone in this Catholic church, I can imagine how beautiful it is inside.

This one was across the street, as well as a Dunkin Donuts and we were due for a coffee refill. So while Bill was getting coffee I was able to get a shot of this church. Just love the architecture of the old churches.

And while I was waiting I spotted a fun house across the street. Talk about bright colors and the birds seemed to enjoy making it their home.

As we headed down the road, I spotted this church. It was massive and this is just the front, and it had signs for no trespassing, so I couldn't walk around to the back.

Our final destination was the graveyard. I had gotten some beautiful shots last year with the foliage and I wanted to try it with my new camera. Unfortunately, the foliage had faded but it was fun walking around and looking at the gravestones.

On the way home I had planned a different route but we took so long in town, that it started to rain on the way back, so that was the end of our exploring. It was getting late and we were getting tired and hungry;)

Yesterday I went to our old town, Wickford, to take photos of the church. There was a little color, but we have not gotten full foliage here and it is spotty, so not sure if we will get a full array before it is gone. No matter what, the church grounds are always beautiful and peaceful.

Today I tried my video on the camera. Bean likes to do flips and funny things when I throw the balls, but of course he would not cooperate and it is hard to throw well, while holding a camera. I put them in the computer to view them and guess who decided to hop up and watch them, lol. Izzy heard the birds in the background, she still doesn't get that they are not in the computer. I hope you enjoyed my photos and maybe you can explore your own areas, and always fun to get lost in the backroads of america.

Vacation?

I am sure a lot of you go through the same thing, wether you stay home or go away, we seem to need a vacation from a vacation;) This week was no difference, I think I am officially exhausted, but then again, tomorrow is another day and one more nice day before the rain comes in on Sunday.

Tuesday I decided to go for a ride up the Connecticut river and if we had time, over to Graig Castle in   Meriden Ct. We went along the coast to save time and then up a scenic road to enjoy the views and towns along the river.

Our final stop before we headed across to Meriden was Eagle Landing to take a break and give Bean some play time. I love the views from this side of the river, and a large park to walk around with access to the shore.

On the other side, a view of the swing bridge and opera house.

We finally got to Castle Graig, it is 976 feet high and the tower is 32 feet, so you can see for miles in all directions, in Connecticut.

We walked a bit on the trails that followed the cliffs, great views from every point.

Wednesday I needed a break, it took me awhile to decide what to do if anything and it was warmer, so we headed to the beach for a few hours. I think this was the most relaxing day, just sitting, swimming and walking along the beach. You can visit my You Tube page to see videos I took from our trips, including me getting thrown backwards by a wave;)

One way to amuse myself was to throw corn chips and watch the seagulls fight over them. The bad thing is, you end up with way too many feathered friends and half of them are flying over your head, luckily no accidents happened.

Thursday I decided I was going to brave a long drive and traffic and go to Woods Hole Massachusetts. We went through Newport and I picked back roads so it wasn't too bad until we had to connect with highways to get back on a back road.

I have been going all day and night and no time to really plan a day, so we just go and see what we can see, but I could not find anything once we got to Woods Hole and there was no parking and no beaches that weren't private and I just gave up and headed back up the coast.

We did find a wonderful town on the way down, called Mattapoisett. There are a lot of small towns and seaports all along the coast, so maybe we will visit some another time and explore the areas. We enjoyed views of the islands off of the coast and Bean got a treat from the Harbor Master, who wanted to pet him and give him a biscuit.

After we left Woods Hole we looked for a place to stop and relax. I had my phone map and each park I saw, was either private or impossible to get to. We finally found the perfect beach in West Falmouth called Old Silver Beach. Lots of sandy beach and shallow water, so Bean and I got to have some play time together.

The rest of the ride home was traffic, since we were hitting the shift changes and everyone trying to get home or out of the area so by the time we got to RI, the sun was setting and no where to park for a nice view and too late to head to the lighthouse. We caught a nice view as we crossed the Newport Bridge, minus the dirty window.

Today was a rest day, I wanted to stay closer to home and just enjoy some beach time and a hike. Yes that is rest to me, lol. But, we ended up walking the entire length of the beach, the regular walk around the trails and added on a new trail, so we hiked over 7 miles, way too much for me and now I am ready to crash.

Today my son sent a photo of Alex, they made it home safely, so we will probably be visiting them tomorrow. Can't wait to give my sweet grand boys some hugs and love. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

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Weekend Wanderings!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. We had beautiful weather and were able to get out and enjoy the foliage.

We drove into Connecticut and got off in the town of Putnum. It was a beautiful old town with some beautiful graveyards. I love looking at the old stones but we had a long day ahead, so just enjoyed a short stop to take some photos.

This tree was gorgeous, love how it stood out among the gravestones.

We didn't go too far when I saw this gate to another old graveyard. Someday I would like to go back to this town and take photos of the gravestones and explore the area.

This is the area behind the arch, the trees and fallen leaves, made a stunning view.

It was a nice ride up to Massachusetts, we followed the river and found some great places to kayak and bike, in the future. We went through a lot of old towns with old mills and when we got into Sturbridge, we found an indoor flea market and there was a beautiful waterfall near the parking lot.

I got a beam of light in this photo, it has rainbow colors in it, so I like to think that it is a little bit of heaven, shining down on us.

We do stop a lot and one area we found with a boat launch, had beautiful views and it was a great place to get out with Bean. We also found an area with a dam and a beautiful blue heron, but he flew away before I could get a shot.

The last place we stopped was in the Bigelow forest, they had beautiful trails to walk on and a beautiful pond to paddle on, this will be a place, we come back to. The view is from the picnic area.

Sunday was church and then a drive to do some shopping and a ride along the coastline. The local farm had a new hay sculpture, isn't she fun.

The day ended at Point Judith fishing area. They are still repairing the parking lot from Sandy, but it is larger now, so more parking and the perfect place to relax and enjoy the views. This is a panoramic shot, a fun way to get more of the scenery.

I also wanted to let you know about a beautiful free pattern from Deborah O'Hare of Quilt Routes. Deborah does beautiful art quilts and also sells some of her patterns so you can make your own art quilts. Today she is offering a free pattern by signing up for her newsletter. Her work will inspire you to create your own pieces, so visit her website and you can receive a free pattern, just for signing up.