Tuesday

A valley sunset lights up the maples in our front yard

The ugly part of fall has finally arrived.   Most of the vibrant yellow, red and orange leaves have blown off the maples and the only colors left are the dull brown of the oaks and the green of the pines.

Last week was really really busy, with a routine Dr.'s appointment, a last minute house showing, an afternoon and dinner with Barb S., and Jesse's visit.    The showing didn't accomplish the desired result - again - but otherwise it was a good week.   The cottage is moving along well, the balcony is on, the windows are all in, cupboards ordered, insulation, electric, plumbing and roofing finished.

The highlight, of course, was Jesse's visit.   He lives in Colorado now so its always a treat when we get to spend time with him.    He was in New York City for a business conference and was able to make the short hop to Rochester on his way home.   I had made a pile of boxes filled with "his childhood" for him to sort through and make decisions about.    Friends and family wanted to see him while he was in town also, so during the course of the weekend we had lunch with Robin and Tom, happy hour with the Pond's and a spaghetti dinner at niece Lisa's home.   His time with us was over much too soon and before we knew it it was Monday morning (5:00 a.m.) and we were dropping him off at the Rochester airport.    The only good thing about him having such an early flight  was that it enabled us to get a good early start on our last Beluga trip of the year.

hard to see the football game Lew.....

Lewis enjoys having some "guy time"....

We were heading for Mt. Eaton, Ohio for a short week's trip and we were all excited to be on the road again.   We took I-86 (the Southern Tier Expressway) west through the Seneca Indian Reservation along the Allegheny River.      The weather was cold but brightly sunny as we pulled away from home, but approaching  the Allegheny River valley we could see a layer of fog hanging over the low lying areas.

The closer we got to it, the lower it hung until we were completely enveloped by a bright, dense fog that made driving difficult.   We had a 7 hour drive (longer than we usually like to do) ahead of us and the visibility wasn't going to make that any shorter.

After a short "detour" on some very narrow and hilly roads in the Amish area of Ohio we arrived at our campsite in Mt. Eaton.    We enjoy this particular campground very much, the sites are paved, the services strong, the grass green, the space between neighbors generous and its in the middle of some of the most beautiful, bucolic scenery in all of Ohio.

Dave tosses the ball for Lew in our site's backyard

sheep graze in the pasture next to us

Dave and Lewis concentrate on cracking pistachio's
at happy hour

It was very warm at post arrival happy hour and we were happy to sit outside and enjoy the last dregs of the day.    We all slept like logs, lovely breezes coming in through our open windows.   Sasha especially enjoyed her night - she managed to procure Dave's extra blanket and dragged it away into the living room before wadding it up and nestling down  comfortably.

We slipped easily back into our old Motorhome routine - eating breakfast and languishing over second cup as if we had no where to go and nothing to do.    Soooo nice.     After lunch at Mrs. Yoder's in New Hope we wandered through  three Amish furniture stores, looking for a dresser with very specific dimensions for the new cottage.

The weather is changing here pretty fast.   The temperatures have plummeted and we drove through very heavy rain after lunch.   We felt sorry for the Amish horses we passed on the road, I don't know how they could see where they were going.

Finger's crossed it doesn't get too cold while we're here. Our front furnace doesn't seem to want to work, the one that services the bedroom/bathroom is fine, but the livingroom/kitchen one is dead to the world as of yesterday....    We have a small electric heater and I'm sure that will keep us toasty, but I really love the sound of the furnace cycling on and off during the night, I know....small pleasures.  With a motorhome, its always something!