A good trip

I spent most of last week in western NY.  The town I grew up in, Bath New York, is located in the Finger Lake region.  It's wine country, with rolling hills covered with vineyards and deep valleys, often containing a lake.  Keuka is the closest lake to Bath - it's only a few miles away.  The town at the southern end of the Lake, Hammondsport, has some nice shops, including a great fabric store and several antique shops.  My brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Peggy, live in Bath.  I drive up through central Pennsylvania every summer to visit them and get together with some of my high school friends.

It's about a 6 hour drive from Laurel to Bath, but I stop at at least one antique store along the way, so it takes me a bit longer.  The drive is beautiful, up and down hills, with small towns and farm fields along the wayside.  Harrisburg, PA is the only large city along the route.  I've been making this trip for over 40 years, and I still enjoy the scenery.  It's even better in the fall when the trees show off their red and gold colors.  Fall is also the time of year when the Concord grapes are picked.  Concords aren't used to make wine, but they are wonderful for eating.  If I'm up in NY in the fall, I always bring some home with me. 

I had a good visit with Tom and Peggy, as usual.  Tom plays clarinet and he, like me on flute, is trying to regain his skill on the instrument.  Peggy is a former music teacher and still plays piano very well.  She was kind enough to play accompaniments for us, as we struggled through some classical music.  Neither Tom nor I can keep our high notes in tune, so some of the notes were an assault on the ear, but Peggy was kind enough not to fuss about it.  Maybe Tom and I will practice more now and be much better the next time we get together.

I actually didn't buy many antiques on this trip.  One of my favorite stores has closed, which was a disappointment, but I found a new one to substitute.  Truthfully, I have a small house, crowded with antiquities already.  I can hardly fit anything else in.  So I am trying to limit my buying to small items and not too many of them.  I found one great item - an old postage scale.  It is painted red, so of course I had to have it to display in the kitchen/dining room.  I also brought back with me my old bicycle.  Peggy has been using it for many years, but she has recently given up riding it.  It's rusty and doesn't shift properly, but I have no intention of riding it.  It will go somewhere in the back yard as a piece of 'art'.  After all, 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'.  I would love to leave it in the front yard, where it is parked just now, but the Homeowners' Assoc. would not let me do that.  I'm thinking of hanging some potted plants on the bike, but may not do that until next year.  I also bought an old print of a winter scene.  Don't know where I will hang it, come winter, but I'll find a place for it.  I love the old colored prints.

Here are photos of the red postage scale and the print, but not of the bike. When I figure out where it best fits into the landscape, I'll photograph it in place.

FYI:  I was hoping for cooler weather up in NY State, but one day the temps hit 100 degrees on the screened porch!  Needless-to-say, we stayed inside mostly.  No hikes or outdoor activities on this visit!  Peggy and I did some browsing in Hammondsport, but didn't spend much time outside, between stores!  Most stores, but not all, were air-conditioned.  Folks up there didn't used to have air-conditioning in their homes or stores, but many of them now do.  (Even my brother and sister-in-law.)  Blame global warming!