Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
Visiting my daughter Sarah and grandson Charlie a few days ago, Juana, Charlotte and I take advantage of the splendid day we are presented with and travel to a local wildlife sanctuary in Ipswich. The first thing I spot is an artistically stacked wood pile that has a massive branch cutting through it. I don’t […]
On an unusually sunny and warm afternoon in the mid-50s F, Juana and I make our way down to New Haven harbor to kill some time. The mostly rocky shoreline has few people and action except for an elderly man feeding the birds with great bursts of bread crumbs. It is low tide, and a […]
After a short day of 30-plus miles we roll into the Amtrak train station around noon with a total of 410 miles under our shoes after 8 days. It is amazing! The day starts under a thick haze from fires on the West coast that persists the entire morning. We bicycle through the grounds of […]
I have never thought of Ted and I looking particularity needy, but I am beginning to have second thoughts. Around noon yesterday, we wind up in Amsterdam looking for lunch. But as it turns out any restaurant near the trail is closed. “Do you know of any places we can get lunch?” I ask a […]
We leave our motel early to get a hardy breakfast at the Village Restaurant in Canajoharie. Neither of us are disappointed and we fuel up for a shorter 44 mile ride to Schenectady. Canajoharie is a lovely town with wonderful architecture and buildings. An abandoned Beech-Nut factory that used to make baby foods (and is […]
After a delightful breakfast discussion with some fellow travelers, Ted and I leave yet again on a rainy, cloudy morning. Today’s slog of 65 miles to Canajoharie is our longest trip yet and with rain expected for most of the day, we expect to get wet. Approaching the Mohawk River, the trail is nicely paved […]
“Would you guys like to come in out of the rain?” she asks unlocking the front door of the Three Pines. “The stove isn’t on but we could rustle up some sandwiches for you.” Ted and I go from despair to elation. We’ve been on the Erie Canal trail all morning and are drenched from […]
It’s a cool and rainy morning in Syracuse as we look to bike 48 miles to Rome. Unlike our circuitous entrance to Syracuse through a maze of back roads, our exit couldn’t be simpler, safer or nicer. A new bike trail has been built on Erie Boulevard (on top of a filled in section of […]
Ted and I are throughly spoiled this morning at the Laura Hubbell B&B as Holly’s breakfast was exceptional. We don’t want to go. But onward to Syracuse 52 miles away we must travel and with full bellies and extra blueberry scones in my saddlebag, we leave on a cloudy morning with a brisk, cooling breeze. […]
We leave upscale Bushnells’s Basin on a cool and bright morning. The sun is glistening in the sky reflecting off the canal while mallards swim in the water and nest on the shore. We are well aware, however, that this idyllic start will become a hot and sweaty slog in the late afternoon as we […]