Fabulous Fall Foliage

What a beautiful weekend! It's been quite chilly, especially in the mornings when the temps have been down in the 30s and we've seen quite a bit of frost already. But this weekend was in the mid to upper 70s and sunny.

Saturday we had a bash here to celebrate Kim's college graduation. She now has a Bachelor degree in Business Administration. Her major was Management. She did most of her classes while working full time, so it took her a few extra years, but the hard work paid off and I can now say I am the proud mother of a college graduate.

Before the main group of guests arrived, we had a little tiny celebration for my birthday, since I won't be here on "the day". Mike wanted to give me my gift early, so I could familiarize myself with it, and take it with me when I leave on Thursday to go to RHINEBECK! OMG can it really be less than 3 days til I leave???

I got this for my birthday. I took the above photo (and those below) with it yesterday afternoon. I have a lot to learn about how it works. Right now I'm shooting mostly on automatic. Whew, those 12.2 megapixels blow me away! 

Do you know about Geocaching? I had heard about it several years ago and thought it would be so much fun, a nice family activity, and a way to get some fresh air and exercise as well as seeing some sites we might never have seen otherwise. The whole "digital treasure hunt" idea just sounded exciting! We didn't have a GPS at the time, and just recently got one. We created our account, found some nearby caches on the website, and off we went! We have found 7 of the 8 caches that we searched for over the past 2 weekends (that 8th one we've looked for 3 times and still haven't found it. It is very nearby our home so we will keep trying!) What a blast. We took advantage of the above-average temperatures yesterday and went to a nearby Metropark for a hike and to scope out a few more "treasures". Some of them are "micro" size and often difficult to find (size, terrain, and difficulty of each cache are listed on the website) Here are a few pix of Jake with a micro (in his left hand in the first picture--click for a bigger look-see) and 2 bigger caches, which are usually filled with toys or other small items for you to trade with, as well as a log book that you sign with your Geocaching name and the date. Micros are usually tiny little tubes with a piece of paper rolled up in them. You have to bring your own pen for those, and no treasures are inside to trade.

These are the 3 caches we found yesterday. Once you get to the coordinates, you never know where it might be... even up in a tree! 

If you have a handheld GPS, or have the capability on your cell phone, check out this fun activity! I just wish we had started this at the beginning of the summer instead of now, when winter will soon cut off the fun. We could have hunted outside of our local area as we traveled during our vacations.

One of the caches we found yesterday had a Geocoin in it. Geocoins and Travel Bugs have registration numbers are trackable on the website. Whoever places them in the cache wants someone to take them out and move them to another cache. Sometimes they are supposed to move to a certain destination. The one we found came from WA and wanted to move as far east as possible before heading back to the west coast. I plan on taking it with me and dropping it in a cache somewhere in Ontario or NY on my way to Rhinebeck.

Speaking of Rhinebeck....my plans have changed a bit. My dear, generous friend Christine, who was going to pick me up from the airport and whisk me a way to WEBS on Thursday (and take me to NYC on Friday, and accompany me to Rhinebeck, and provide me with bed and breakfast while there) is suddenly having medical issues and will not be able to do any of these things for or with me this weekend. I am sad, and worried, and hoping she will have a full recovery without too much more pain and suffering. FEEL BETTER CHRISTINE!

SO.... I have canceled my flights, and will now be going by car with my friends Tamara and Linda (members of my knitting group for several years). Tam has so generously let me squeeze into her room since there was not a bed to be found in the Rhinebeck area at this short notice. THANKS TAM.  I have to admit I would prefer to not be in a car for all of those hours there and back, but at this point am very happy to have that option.

So there will not be a trip to WEBS or a trip to NYC this weekend, but....we will stop at Niagara Falls on our way east, and Friday will be spent moseying around, taking pictures of what I hope will be some beautiful fall colors, and some scenery I haven't seen since my last time in NY which was oh....about 30 years ago! Tam loves photography, and has a camera that is very similar to mine, so I'm hoping she can give me some pointers as we are out and about taking pictures that day. 

The trip is changed, but except for my constant concern for Christine, will be just as much fun, I'm sure. The time in the car will give me an opportunity to finish my sweater if I haven't done so by then. I'm on my way up the sleeves right now. I may be seaming and blocking in the hotel room Thursday night or Friday, but here's hoping my Hot Cocoa Jacket will make its debut on Saturday (MY BIRTHDAY!) at Rhinebeck. 

Hope to see you there!