Welcome back, friends! For this week's autumn rambling, we are making our way around New England, with stops in Pennsylvania's Amish country and the quaint small towns in New Jersey.
October 2017 saw my family on a long journey up the east coast with the goal of visiting parts of New England to admire the autumnal beauty. We made a stop in New Jersey because my mom is from there, and also a stop in Pennsylvania because we'd never seen Amish country before and it just sounded like. Unexpected surprises of such charm and loveliness awaited us in each of these places. So sit back, get comfy, and stay awhile...
let's go on a wee ramble through the Northeast corner of America, shall we?
Our first morning in Maine started off with tea and homemade muffins at a country market on a desolate road. It was very chilly and so hot, steaming tea really hit the stop, and well, the muffins looked so good we just had to get some! You know how that goes {{winks}}
We enjoyed our breakfast on a picnic table outside the market under a canopy of trees boasting of autumn's glories...and planters of mums were scattered around the gardens as well. Even though it was mid to late October during our time up there, it had been a warm autumn and so the colors weren't quite as bold as they usually are. The temperatures also weren't at their norm, however, the further north you got, the colder it became. One night we found ourselves lost on a Vermont highway, not knowing where on earth we were. We ended up at a gas station and little grocery store about 20 minutes from the Canadian border, and boy, was it freezing! The border control folks were in getting hot chocolate...and we could see why!
There is nothing more beautiful than nature early in the morning.
-Van Gogh-
The hills in Vermont were speckled with color here and there, but still mostly lots of green. However, every once in a while we would spot a tree that was on fire with lots of color! That tickled us to bits!
Whilst in Vermont, we visited both of the Vermont Country Store locations...and spent a very long time in each one, particularly the first. They were incredible! So old-fashioned and cozy feeling...they have tons of toys, household gadgets, and more that are from years gone by. My parents recognized many things from their childhood...and that's almost 60 years ago! And, needless to say, we all came away with a few little goodies to bring home...and we still talk about that experience to this day.
With freedom, books, flowers and the moon,
who could not be happy?
-Oscar Wilde-
Our days in Maine were spent mostly just exploring the areas near our hotel and the neighboring town. However, one afternoon, we made our way into the "big" city of Portland...it was here that we saw a huge cruise ship in the port. We visited a quiet little beach and walked through some gift shops in an adorable town. It was sunny and bright and cool...the perfect autumn day.
Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
-Kahil Gibran-
Whilst in New Jersey, we made sure to visit one of our favorite small towns, just down the road from my mom's childhood home (which my Grandpa built with his own two hands!). This town just makes my heart sing...it has all the charm and cuteness that any small town should. And the library was all decked out for Halloween...as you can see in the picture above. It was whilst visiting New Jersey the spring before at Easter that we realized that folks up north sure do know how to get in the spirit of things. They had bunnies and Easter decorations in every window...and sure enough, come autumn, they were all decked out in pumpkins, mums and scarecrows, and plenty of Halloween fun too! Oh, such humbugs where we live! Ha!
In Amish country, we simply enjoyed an afternoon of driving the country roads admiring all the many farms and gardens that the Amish so wonderfully grow. I didn't expect to enjoy this part of the trip as much as I did, but holy cow! It was awesome...we even saw pumpkin patches (pictured above) and Christmas tree fields...something we absolutely positively do not see down where we come from. We loved it so much that we made it the main part of our trip up north this past spring. And guess what?!?! We hope to go back yet again...the peacefulness of that area just speaks to us so much. As well as the ample amount of untouched earth.
Whenever we find ourselves in New Jersey, we must admire the homes...we even have particular favorites which we drive past each time. I know that's probably crazy and weird, but we love the designs of the homes up there so much. Not a whole lot of the cookie-cutter homes that are way too common where we live. And just look how cute they are decorated!
There's no time to be bored in a world as beautiful as this.
Well, my friends, I'll end this ramble with a photo of a gorgeous tree that we spotted in a cemetery, of all places! I forget exactly where this was taken, but just look at that red against the clear, bright blue sky...just lovely!
I hope you enjoyed this little ramble through New England...be sure to come back next Saturday when we'll be visiting a beautiful spot in Arkansas. Until then, I hope you have a marvellous day!