A tourist-y morning

We live in a gorgeously scenic area, and every now and then we welcome the chance to “play tourist” for a day or a few hours. Friends from Florida were visiting over the weekend and didn’t have to leave until Monday afternoon, so Mr. T took that morning off from work and we went off on a tourist-y jaunt with our friends.


First we went out for breakfast at a fun cafe´with a wonderful view. I had been here before, but my hubby had not, so it was a treat for him as well as for our friends. The breakfast was yummy. We all had eggs, homefries and blueberry pancakes with different meats. I had ham, my friend had bacon and the men had sausage. And bottomless cups of coffee! We enjoyed a leisurely meal and great fellowship.

Then we did a little shopping and sightseeing. Our area is surrounded by many lakes, and we visited several during the morning, plus did a little walking and visited some quaint shops and a covered bridge. The most fascinating shop we went in had all vintage items -- from cast iron to fine china and everything in between. We all saw things we remembered from our childhoods, as well as items we still use. I saw a Dutch oven just like the one I inherited from my grandmother -- and still use probably every week -- for sale for $65!

In another shop I bought some of my favorite scents of Yankee Candles in the sampler size, and a new “car jar” for the car. This shop also had the Lang pocket calendars reduced to $2, and I purchased one of those as well. In a bookstore, I found some terrific books on sale to purchase ahead for Christmas.

We all enjoyed the scenic ride home, and stopped at a covered bridge en route to take pictures. Magenta-colored wild roses and deep blue wild iris added even more beauty and color to the scene. Our friends asked us if we didn’t get used to all of this beauty and begin to take it for granted. As we thought about their question, we realized that we really don’t. Winter here is beautiful in its way, but long and cold and really rather monochromatic. Spring is my least favorite season in New England, being muddy and -- to my mind anyway -- rather ugly. But summer and fall -- now, those are our truly beautiful seasons, and I don’t believe we ever become used to that. We seem to enjoy them afresh each year, and give glory to God for the incredible beauty of His creation.

“Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite.” ~ Psalm 147:5