Weekend Wanderings!

This weekend we had the annual art and craft fair in Scituate. It is a wonderful fair in an older town, with hundreds of vendors, artists and crafters. It is nice to have a mix of arts and antiques and a nice place to just walk around and enjoy outdoor shopping.

The bad thing is, it was crowded, there is parking along the outer streets so parking there means walking a mile to get to the fair so we looked for a parking area. We found one right at the edge of the fair and had openings when we came in, but they charged 20.00, ouch.

The big thing I go for is to visit the Doll Maker, she also sells at the antique barn, we visit and I have been getting a mouse for each season. At the shows she has more variety and she was nice enough to hold a few that I really wanted. I also couldn't resist a cute snowman made by the woman next to her, who also makes hand made baskets, Baskets by Claudia. I wish I had gotten more snowmen, I know a few people who would love them and she only charges 12.00 for them, a great deal, I think.

She held the mice for me, the kitty on the pumpkin was another piece I couldn't resist. The snowman was made by Claudia, she makes small items to sell along with her baskets.

Sunday was a rainy day, and I didn't get much done around the house, we were lazy and watched movies from the free preview weekend;)

Today was a beautiful day, a bit windy but that kept the heat away, perfect for a ride in the country and some hiking.

We headed to Connecticut and took the fast way, so we could have more time at our destinations. The first stop was the Natchaug Forest. We enjoyed a walk around part of the pond, but it was rough terrain and rough on the knees, so we didn't get to do the full hike. The views were beautiful and the leaves are just turning enough to give pops of color to the area.

The second stop was down the road to Mansfield Hollow. It is a larger lake so we enjoyed the lake and headed to the dam. The last time we went, we could not find the dam, this time I knew how to get there.

We stopped at the bottom next to the mill and enjoyed the falls. Bean loves water and had to get in and check it out.

This is looking down the river, beautiful colors lined the banks.

We climbed up the stairs to the dam and it was windy as heck, so hard to take photos. This is a view of the mill, I had to lean on the gate to keep from blowing over.

They had an area on the other side to walk and enjoy the river. There was a beach area where Bean could go off leash and enjoy some play time, he was happy. Some beautiful foliage along the pathway.

It was fun re-exploring these places and having the time to stay and enjoy more of the areas. The bad thing was, the colors weren't as vibrant as they predicted for the area. The good thing is, we still have time to explore more places and enjoy the foliage.

We headed home and since we had the time, we took a short detour to the apple orchards. I got a smaller bag so I can get more fresh ones next week, I love eating fresh apples. They were also selling pumpkins and had activities for the kids, maybe we can bring Nick, next time.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and those who were in the storm's path, spared the devastation.

Weekend Wanderings!

We did a lot this weekend, and now I am tired out, but it is a good tired. Saturday we planned on a ride but got a late start, so we decided to check out the art festival in Scituate. The nice thing is, it is also a craft fair and antique market.

It is a beautiful historic town that is on the Scituate reservoir and we had to cross a strip of land to get across the lake. Beautiful views and pops of color among the trees.

One of the reasons I wanted to go was, I had never heard of the festival until a friend liked one of the artists on Facebook. Of course I had to find and visit her booth and I was not disappointed. This is what was left in her booth on the first day, I guess the morning patrons took half of the things, before we got there. I did treat myself to one doll, see the pumpkin man sitting on the shelf, with the wool pants? He now lives with me and he makes me smile:) You can visit her Facebook page, Folk friends and see photos of her booth before the show.

I also found a rug hooking studio and found out, she is Deanne Fitzpatrick's sister. Sharon and her daughter hook together and have a store in Swansea, Massachusetts, called Loop by Loop Studio.

On Sunday we watched Nick. His dad was working on the house, so we took him to church with us. Our church has a back room for mom's with small children and we sat there, so he could play with the other kids and we could try and concentrate on the service, not easy with a hyper grandchild, lol. I call it a service of joy, since that is what Nick brings to me. After we took him home, the guys worked on the house and Nick and I went for a walk by the river.

Today we got out for our ride in Connecticut. We drove down the back roads to Willimantic. It is an old Mill town and as we crossed the bridge, this is what we were greeted with, frogs on both ends. They are sitting on spools to honor the history of the mills and if you follow this Link, you can see the story of the frogs.

We stopped at the old mills to look at the river. There is a bridge that goes across and it is covered with gardens, a beautiful place to just sit and enjoy the views.

After we saw a bit of the town, we headed up to the lakes. I wanted to see the dam, but we took the wrong road and ended up at the boat launch. By then I was tired and hot and had no brain energy to figure out which way to go to get to the larger falls, so we enjoyed walking bean around the launch area. I would definitely want to come back and paddle here.

The next stop was the Natchaug forest area. There is a pond, hiking trails and a beautiful bike trail in the area, but with Bean, we stick to walking. We just enjoyed the immediate area, and the sound of shotguns in the distance did not instill a sense of safety since this is also a hunting area. It was a nice day to just explore and we enjoyed a lot of beautiful towns and scenery and I did stop at a wonderful old graveyard to get photos and a few churches, they will be future design ideas;)

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend and try to explore in your own backyard and surrounding areas, you never know what you will find.