Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
November Daily Photo Challenge
Goodbye, November…..the year is winding down!!! UGH!!!
Here’s how I captured November’s Daily Photo Challenge Topics:
And….now on to December…..here are TWO lists I’ll be working on: The regular daily challenge topic list and one specific to Advent:
October Daily Photo Challenge
Goodbye October!!! I’m a tad late posting this, but here it is…..my interpretation of the Daily Photo Topics for the October Challenge List!
And, now I’m working on November’s topics…..
Bethel Woods Adventure – Oct 2025
The Woodstock Festival happened in 1969 – it was originally supposed to be held in Woodstock, NY – hence the name. But, when the town realized how HUGE it was going to be, they told the organizers that they either had to cancel or find another location. Local farmer Max Yasgur of nearby Bethel, NY stepped up at nearly the last minute and offered his farm….and the rest is history!!! Despite being a budding hippy, at age 13 I was too young to make the pilgrimage to Bethel for the festival…. 😦 I often thought over the years that I missed out on something truly special! So….for my 69th birthday, I finally made it to the 1969 festival site!
My friend, Cathy, and I drove down on Wednesday, spent the day at exploring the site on Thursday, and drove back on Friday (which was my actual birthday). It was a short trip, but we got to do all the basics and had a GREAT time! I originally thought it’d be a type of place that once I’ve done it, I likely wouldn’t return….but, I honestly do think I’ll go back someday. Mainly because we went in late October, so it was pretty cold, and the grounds close as of October 1st, so we missed out on going out onto the festival grounds, which would have been really cool. I picked October to go for two reasons – first I specifically wanted to go for my 69th birthday AND because it was autumn – a great time to go to the Catskills! But, the timing had it’s downfalls….So…..yep – I think I just might try to go back again in warmer weather and experience even more of it all.
The adventure began on Wednesday with the drive down…..I wanted to go via routes 5/20 to take the scenic route – my GPS had a different route in mind. So, we tricked it into going my way — after we got far enough away from the route it wanted me to take, it got the message and we were easily on our way.
Our first stop was breakfast in Canandaigua – about an hour and a half into the drive. We ate at Patty’s Place and had a very nice breakfast.
The county courthouse in Canandaigua has a golden statue on the top of their dome…..it was cool….wish I had gotten a better photo of it.
We drove through lots of quaint little towns and enjoyed the scenery……then, when we took a short detour to drive through Chittenango, my GPS stopped talking to me…..and kept trying to get us to go backwards! What we figured must have happened was that, since it stopped talking to me, we missed a turn just before Cazenovia and it kept “recalculating” and we didn’t notice! But — it all worked out — we had a small map I printed off the internet of an alternate route and we figured it out and got there…..a little later than planned, but we had quite the adventure getting there! (more on my GPS woes at the end of the post)
We checked into the hotel we booked — Best Western in Monticello, NY, which is about 10 miles from Bethel. It was very nice — price was good and the room was comfortable and clean! They put us on the ground floor just around the corner from the lobby and breakfast area. Nice and convenient.
After check-in, we went a couple buildings away to Tilly’s Diner for dinner. It was a 50’s style diner and the food was good — but WAY too much of it! The chicken sandwich and fries Cathy got could have served a small country! I had a breakfast sandwich and home fries – a much smaller portion, but still way more than I could eat. It didn’t take long to fall asleep when we got back to the room!
After a nice breakfast at the hotel, we headed out to begin our Woodstock adventure!
The Bethel Woods Center of the Arts is a non-profit organization that maintains the museum and grounds. They still hold concerts there and have many concerts and other events throughout the year. I knew the museum had several exhibits commemorating both the Woodstock Festival AND other events throughout the sixties, but I was under the impression it was a small – medium sized venue – I was very pleasantly surprised at the size of it! We spent a little over two and a half hours going through the exhibits, watching videos, and listening to amazing music. It was FABULOUS!!! So emotional to walk through that particular period of history…we both had tears during a large portion of the time spent there!
Our first impression was the long drive off Rt 17b to the center. It was a beautiful wooded lane…..and a sign directing drivers to “Please drive peacefully”!!! That was definitely the theme of the rest of the day — Peace and Love!
The Woodstock logo was a guitar with a dove. All over the area were these doves that were hand painted by local artists. we saw several of them, but I only photographed this one on the center property.
The photo on the right is one of six sculptures around the property – a special exhibit using nature and technology to create timeless representations of the human form. They were created by a local artist named Wayner Holbert and are made from Catskill Bluestone – a material that can only be found in eastern Pennsylvania and southern New York and is the bedrock that Bethel Woods is built on.
We loved this window decal message – “Meet Me At Woodstock” with the logo. We hoped to find something with that message on it in the gift store, but they didn’t have anything!!! 😦
The lobby has a ticket counter, a nice cafe, and entrance to the museum and the gift shop.
So many wonderful quotes from the era….this one and the next one were particularly striking to us!
These photos were just a small representation of all the amazing exhibits, videos, and sound bites throughout the museum…..it really was an incredible experience and we probably missed reading or seeing something!!!
After we left the museum we went to the gift shop — I planned to get a refrigerator magnate and “maybe” a t-shirt or sweatshirt…..I left with $113 spent on a hat, t-shirt, and three refrigerator magnates!!! All worth every penny….I only wish I hadn’t talked myself out of looking for a piece of wall art to go with my Beatles wall in my den!!!
Our next goal was to find the “Hippy Muffler Man” – I often will look at the Roadside America website to find quirky things to look for on trips that I have flexibility to get out and explore — you know, the “world’s largest ball of yarn” type things. Well, when I looked for stuff in the Bethel area, the Hippy Muffler Man came up! Muffler Men are found all over the country in various forms and people hunt for them to see how many they can find. Well…..I didn’t know anything about them before this, so this one is the only one I have ever seen. Hahaha The website only said that it was on 17b west of Bethel on the north side before the Island Glen Country Club….it said it is on private property – the Yasgur’s Farm, so access is prohibited without owner’s permission, but is visible from the road. We caught sight of it as we drove past it just past a bunch of trees, so we turned around and went back and were able to get a fairly decent photo.
Then, we went to get a late lunch. A friend who goes down every year told me to be sure to have either breakfast or lunch at the Bethel Market Café. It was just down the road, so we gave it a try. It’s a cute little market that is owned by a mother/daughter team – Tara and Courtney. They sell family made crafts and other local and novelty items in addition to their café — breakfast items, soups, salads, and sandwiches….and baked goods they make fresh daily! Very sweet little place! I had a delicious bowl of split pea soup and a grilled chicken wrap with a coke in an old fashioned bottle — very good!!! We both got some baked goods to take back to the hotel — the pumpkin cranberry bread I bought ended up not getting eaten until I got home on Friday evening and it was still moist and soooooo good!!!
When we were paying for our lunch and baked goods, I noticed a man sitting at a table and thought it might be someone my other friend – Peggy – who goes often told me about. He was talking to someone, so I apologized for interrupting and asked if he was “Duke”. He was, so I told him about Peggy telling me to look for him — he perked up said how special he thinks Peggy is! I asked for a photo and he very happily said yes — we had a nice little chat. It would have been nice to sit down and talk with him. He’s a local legend — Duke Devlin – he came to Bethel from Texas in 1969 as a young hippy to attend the festival and never left…..he said, why leave, it’s not over, yet!!! hahaha Now, he is an ambassador for Woodstock and the center and does motivational talks and tours and stuff like that. He was so sweet!!! I hope I get to see him again if I go back!!!
After lunch we took a drive through downtown Monticello — nice little town! If I go back, I might spend some time exploring the shops and stuff there! Then, we went back to the hotel to put our feet up and relax before dinner and our evening activity.
When we were driving on 17b between Monticello and Bethel, we noticed a little restaurant called “The Woodstock Way Groovy Eatery”! It looked and sounded cute, so while we were relaxing at the hotel, we Googled it and decided to try it for dinner. We weren’t that hungry after lunch, so we opted for a light dinner — Cathy just got a bowl of beef barley soup and I got the same soup with a soft pretzel. A nice dinner. They were setting up for karaoke and it looked like fun, but we had tickets to an event back at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, so we couldn’t stay. There was only one other couple there for dinner, but when we drove by later, it looked like they had a nice size crowd for karaoke!!! The inside was cute, but out back there was a beautiful view of the woods and a stream…..they have outdoor seating and I can imagine that it would be so nice to eat out there in warmer weather to enjoy the view!
We had tickets to the evening event at the Bethel Center for the Arts — “Peace, Love, and Pumpkins”! It is about a 30-45 minute paved walk through the gardens on the property that is all decorated for Halloween and is open certain evenings each week during October. It was very nice — lots of work went into it, for sure!!! It was a cold night, but walking helped make it not feel as cold and it didn’t rain despite the forecast predicting it would! So it was a nice walk – happy to have a few places to sit and catch our breath and give our legs a rest, though…..it was a long walk. We really enjoyed it, though…..cool creations all along the path!
This bus was full of skeleton passengers…..I took the photo with my iPhone and if I had used a fancy camera and tried to get a “foggy” effect, I couldn’t have gotten a better result!!! 🙂
This is about 400 carved and lit pumpkins placed around the stadium seats facing the concert stage – the pumpkins were carved by the center staff. It’s not a good photo, but it was really quite pretty in person!!!
At the end of the path was a cute skeleton band performing for the crowd!!! So fun!
Our Bethel adventure came to an end……we got up Friday morning, had breakfast in the hotel and took our time getting on the road. We didn’t want to take the route the GPS wanted us to, so we “tricked” it again to go the way we wanted and it was a very nice ride with pretty scenery through the countryside of the southern tier. We stopped for a late lunch at the Oak Leaf Café in Penn Yan —- it was an Amish market with a café that served sandwiches, soups, and salads…..Cathy got a panini and I got the special butternut squash soup and 1/2 a BLT —- WOW – that soup was the best thing I ate the entire trip…..and the best I’ve had in a LONG time!!! sooooo good!!!
So – that’s that! We got home safe and sound and totally exhausted! It was an awesome three days exploring and checking stuff off my bucket list and spending time with a dear friend…..so nice to share experiences like this with her. Even the times we got “off track” were fun and took us places we’d never been before and saw things we wouldn’t have seen if we had stayed on the planned route! Who could argue with that???
So — about my GPS woes……I was frustrated that it stopped talking to me — what’s the point if you have to constantly look at the screen to follow the directions??? I tried a few things to get it working again – logged off and back on…..shut down my phone and turned it back on…..checked all the settings – everything was set the way it should be……checked other functions that talk and they were working perfectly fine!!! Could not figure out what was wrong and why it worked and then didn’t work and never came back!!! So, Saturday morning, I Googled “why my maps app stopped talking” and it told me to do all the things I already did — so, I did them again and they still didn’t solve the problem! Then, just as I was about to give up and drive to Rochester to the AT&T store to see if they could figure it out, I noticed a small speaker icon on the side and clicked on it and it was turned off!!! UGH!!! I turned it back on and it is now working perfectly!!! I must have accidentally hit it at some point when I was adding a stop to the route just before it stopped talking! I can’t believe it was that simple and that we used it for most of the trip without the audio directions!!! LOL But — we made it work and all was fine…..just a little frustrating.
I’m so glad we planned this birthday adventure and that Cathy went with me…..I will cherish the memories of this trip for a very long time! I’ve kicked off my 69th run around the sun in a wonderful way!!!
October 15 Mystery Tour
I went on another First Choice Travel Mystery Tour!!! Woo Hoo!!! I do love day trips where I pay good money to get on a bus in the morning and the only thing I know about where I’m going is that I won’t be more than four hours away, what time we’re leaving and getting back, and that we’ll have a great lunch!!! FUN!!! LOL
This one was a little different from others I’ve been on (can’t speak for ones from before I got hooked on them) in a couple ways…..First: that part about not being more than four hours away is usually a serious estimate – I’ve been to Pennsylvania, the southern tier, the finger lakes, um….you get the idea — this time we were no more than one hour from my home!!! Second: we usually make 3-4 stops, including lunch — this trip had SIX stops, including lunch!!! It was a busy day, but being a closer trip meant less drive time and more opportunities for additional things to do. It was a LOT to cram into a day, but it was a pleasant pace and kept us engaged. It was nice!
I feel the need to expand on the “no more than one hour from my house”…..it might imply that we went to places I’m totally familiar with or at least have been to before! But, that would be an incorrect assumption! Out of the six mini adventures throughout the day, there was only one — the last one — that I actually knew about or have been to! I won’t spoil the ending to this post by saying WHAT that place was, but I will say that even though I’ve been there before, it was a limited experience and the tour was an extensive look at the organization and I learned a lot!
There were several people on the bus that I have traveled with before…..it’s so comforting to know that I can usually count on seeing many of my new travel buddies on these trips and reminiscing about previous trips we shared and how we met.
We boarded the bus about 7:30 am for an 8:00 departure time. The amazing Kathy Hamm was our tour manager….she always makes every trip, regardless of how long or short it is, so very special and seem absolutely seemless.
Our driver was Marty…..he has driven us on Mystery Tours before, so was familiar to many of us and such a sweetheart. The bus was just slightly less than full…only a couple empty seats (including the one next to me….pros and cons with that……more room to spread out, but no opportunity to get to know a seat-mate!!!).
The weather forecast leading up to the days before the 15th looked like it would be sunny, but cold — high in the high 40s / low 50s…..then, that day, it looked like it might be slightly warmer (mid-50s), but cloudy! By mid-morning, this was our sky and it turned out to be a lovely day!!! Chilly, yes…..but quite nice!
We headed east on the Thruway and soon arrived at our first stop. It was a very nice change to stopping at a thruway rest area or mega convenience store for our morning coffee/bio break — while they are always nice and meant to just give us a break on the way to our first “adventure” stop, this was different and, like I said, a nice change!
ADVENTURE # 1:
Six Sprouts Farm Market – Avon, NY
As we were driving through the Avon country side, I discovered that there is a Barilla pasta plant in Avon….I typically choose Barilla as my first choice brand for pasta….unless the store is out of the particular type of pasta in the Barilla, which results in me picking an alternative…..so, I was happy to see it is actually a local product!
ADVENTURE # 2:
Barn Quilt Trail – LeRoy, NY
After our morning coffee break at Six Sprouts, we drove to LeRoy and picked up the municipal historian – Lynn – who got on board with us to guide a tour of the Barn Quilt Trail of LeRoy. There are over 100 hand-painted barn quilts along four trails in and around LeRoy…..I’ll include their website at the end of this post to visit for more information.
Lynn directed Marty around the area. She pointed out many of the area barn quilts (some were on roads she couldn’t take the bus down) and told us tons of great information about LeRoy history and general facts, barn quilts, and other interesting tidbits. I didn’t know that LeRoy had a Barn Quilt Trail or a lot of the historical info she shared with us.
She took us to the Donald Woodward Airport – the home of four barn quilts and told us about the history of the airport – including the fact that it used to house a fleet of airplanes, including one of Amelia Earhart’s planes – located there for about a year. The airport is now owned by the Village of LeRoy. It was difficult to get photos of many of the barn quilts we saw – some on the sides of buildings or behind trees – we could see them, but photos weren’t always possible. But — here are some of the ones I was able to capture:
The one on the left commemorates the Lehigh Valley Railroad that used to be a big deal in LeRoy and the one on the right is called “Carpenter’s Square” and is made from wood strips rather than just a painted design pattern.
Some other interesting things I photographed during our drive around Leroy:
The window glare makes this hard to see, but it is a huge tree in the front yard of someone’s home that is HOLLOW!!! In the photo on the right, you can see the hole on the left side of the tree that you can actually walk into to stand inside the tree!!! Very cool!!! As we were stopped in front of the house so Lynn could explain it to us, the person who lives there was standing in her driveway watching us – probably wondering what a tour bus found so interesting about her home! hahaha
Lynn also took us by an old steam shovel that is an artifact of the railroad – she told us all about it’s history. I was on the wrong side of the bus to get a photo during our tour, but as luck would have it, I happened past it before and took a photo without knowing anything about it other than what the info plaque said:
Oooppssie……early on the tour, Lynn accidentally spoiled the lunch surprise….she was talking to Marty about maneuvering through the trail so that the bus would end up on the way to Caledonia for lunch…..she was on the microphone at the time!!! The entire bus erupted with “oh, we’re going to Caledonia for lunch” and she realized she gave away the next secret!!! hahaha!!! After that, she referred to the next stop as “the town that will not be named”…..but, it was too late…..the cat was out of the bag! Oh well….it was a minor goof and didn’t expose any other secrets!
Lynn also summarized the entire day very nicely by saying, “The day isn’t worth it unless you learn something” — we learned a lot at most of the stops!
ADVENTURE # 3:
Lunch at Caledonia Village Inn – Caledonia, NY
Lunch was at the Caledonia Village Inn….a lovely restaurant that put out a wonderful buffet for us. We were served coffee/tea, etc. and warm fresh bread at the table and then we went through the buffet – salad, carrots roasted with ginger (and something?), broccoli & peas medley, potato casserole, mushroom ravioli, salmon, and chicken with cheese cake for dessert – all very good!
I got to sit with three friends I met on our South Dakota trip last September (they were ones I ate most of my meals with on that trip) — we were able to catch up over lunch — none of us happened to be on any other trips together until this one! What a wonderful treat!!!
ADVENTURE # 4:
Northwoods Alpaca Farm – Bergen, NY
After lunch, we drove for a little bit out into the country-side. As we were driving along, I saw a sign for an Alpaca Farm and I thought – “oh that would be a great place to stop at”, but we kept driving!!! boo hoo!!! Then, Marty turned around and went back…..apparently, he came up on the sign too late to turn in, so had to find a place to safely turn back…..imagine my excitement when we pulled in to Northwoods Alpaca Farm!!! Give me time with friendly critters and I’m a happy camper…..the highlight of my day!!!
The owners told us a little about their farm and raising alpacas and they gave us bags of food to feed the gorgeous creatures!!! I was so happy feeding them and watching them. Of course, there was also a really sweet gift shop with all kinds of products made from alpaca wool. Several people bought socks and other cool stuff…..I got a pretty stuffed alpaca to put with my other stuffed animals that I’ve picked up at special places or were given to me by special people over the years! ❤
I could have gone home happy as a clam after that stop…..but……
ADVENTURE # 5:
Pully’s Farm Market – LeRoy, NY
Our next stop had even MORE critters……and cool shopping! Pully’s Farm Market had fresh farm produce and other goodies…..and a pen full of the cutest goats!!! After a quick wander through the market, I went outside for photos and to visit with the goats!!!
I made friends with this cutie — he hopped up onto the fence to get nice and close, so I rubbed his face and gave him a good scratch behind his ears…..he seemed to enjoy it!!! 🙂
Then his friend came to get some of the same treatment…..I happily obliged!!!
ADVENTURE # 6:
GoArt, Batavia, NY
Our final stop was one I was familiar with….sort of…..I went to GoArt in Batavia when my talented nephew, Bryan, was showing some of his art they were featuring. But, I never went beyond the rooms his art was in and I didn’t really know that much about it. So, this was a nice way to expand my experience there! We got a little tour, a talk about the organization and the ghosts that are suspected to roam the halls of the building, and they served us some delicious pastry and beverages. It was a very nice end to the day!
Here’s some photos I took around the gallery:
We were told that when they brought in this old player piano, they discovered it had a spirit attached to it! Apparently, they have mediums investigating the spirits frequently and offer late night haunted history tours!!! That might be cool!!!
What is left of the wonderful pastries we were served!!! ❤
As I walked through the gallery, I was disappointed that I didn’t see any of my nephews work…..but, then, I was talking to a friend and she pointed to a piece on the wall saying how much she liked it…..I looked and instantly knew it was Bryan’s work…..I’d seen photos of the piece, but that was the first time I saw it up close and personal!!! Of course, I then told everyone close to me that it was created by my handsome and talented nephew!!! Proud Auntie moment, for sure!!! This is it – artist: Bryan Wright – medium: metal work!!!
I didn’t notice the exact time, but we got back to our cars about 6:00-ish. It was a long, full, wonderful day!!! Highlights for me — all the amazing critters and sharing lunch with friends from our South Dakota trip (and bragging on my nephew at GoArt!)!!! I got home totally exhausted — the day wore me out — but, I had a fabulous time and can’t wait for the next one in December!!! Thank you, Kathy and Marty for a fantastic day and thank you to the girls at First Choice Travel for putting together yet another great Mystery Tour — I don’t know how you do it, but I’m glad you do!!!
And, I’ll close with a couple links for you to get more information:
The link to the LeRoy Barn Quilt website: http://www.LeRoyBarnQuilt.org
The link to GoArt’s website: https://goart.org/
September Daily Photo Challenge
Goodbye, September!!!
This is how I interpreted all the September Daily Photo Challenge Topics:
And, now on to October…..
2025 Mackinac, Michigan Adventure
September 15-20, 2025
The trip was a Diamond Tours trip that was managed and escorted by First Choice Travel in Batavia, NY with the most amazing team of Kathy (tour manager) and Rachel (driver) on a purple Zona Tours bus!!!
This is the trip that almost didn’t happen!!! First – I put down my deposit and booked it last year as soon as First Choice Travel in Batavia put out their 2025 escorted tours list…this was a trip I had wanted to do for some time – a bucket list item, for sure! I was in the area when my brother and sister-in-law took our cross country motor home trip – we crossed the Mackinac Bridge and did a few things around that area – mostly in St. Ignace, but we did not take the ferry to Mackinac Island and I’ve always wanted to do that! Then, my back started giving me trouble – a lot of trouble – and I canceled my reservation early this year for fear that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy traveling with severe back pain. But, with the advice of a few friends, I rebooked on it and paid the final payment and convinced myself it would be fine — I’ll do what I need to do to go and enjoy it! I was really looking forward to it…..and then, the evening before I was to board the bus, I pulled a muscle in the back of my knee — my “good” knee! I could barely put weight on it….I wondered if I should cancel…..but, iced it and elevated it and slept on it and it felt much better in the morning….until our lunch stop about 5 hours into the drive….and I was seriously considering finding a way to just leave the group and head back home! But…..I iced it again that night and baby’d it for a couple days and it was much better…..I made it!!! The trip was amazing and I had a wonderful time!
I wasn’t sure how to pack for this trip…..in the week or so leading up to time to pack, I was watching the weather and it looked like we were in for mid-60s with potential rain on the day we would be on Mackinac Island! Then, it looked like it might get into the low 70s with that rain possibility hanging on…..so I packed long sleeves – a few heavy ones and a few lighter weight ones, a rain coat and a warmer jacket – just in case. As it turned out, we had AMAZING weather! It was 70s-80s every day and NO rain!!! Most of the stuff I packed was too warm for the weather, but it was all good! I take that back — on Friday morning, it was rather cool – low 60s, so I got to wear the jacket I brought for something other than a blanket on the bus! hahaha But, even that day warmed up as the day progressed!
So…..just a little preface, here…..you may have seen the name of places in this area spelled “Mackinac” and “Mackinaw”…..well, even in the area itself, you see it spelled both ways — Mackinac Island, Mackinac Bridge, Mackinaw City…..etc! But — no matter how it is spelled, it is ALL pronounced “Mackinaw”……if you’re heard saying “Mackinac”, they know instantly that you’re a tourist and “not from around here”! hahaha
Monday, September 15th –
Theme of the day: “Be kinder than necessary”!
Sticker: a Smiley Face! (cause what’s better than starting the day with a smiley face?)
(I’ll explain this “theme & sticker” stuff in just a little bit….)
Our group of 49 + our tour manager and driver equaled 51 on the bus…if I heard the count correctly! It was a great group of folks to travel with…..first, our tour manager, Kathy, is always amazing – I’ve traveled with her many times on day trips and overnighters, as well as one other longer trip – the 2024 South Dakota Adventure….then, we were very fortunate to get Rachel as our driver – she was also our driver for the South Dakota trip and is awesome – I actually had a dream Sunday night that she was our driver and was so excited to see that she WAS!!!….there were also several on the bus that were on the South Dakota trip, as well as some of the other shorter trips I’ve taken with First Choice Travel….and those that were first timers quickly became friends, as well. I’ve really come to love bus trips!!!
Our Bus….yes, it’s purple!!! How awesome is that???
Tour manager, Kathy and driver, Rachel…..
….this was actually taken during our South Dakota Adventure…..because I neglected to get a decent photo of them together on this trip!!! UGH…where was my brain???!!!
Me – all excited after I got in my seat and the others were boarding the bus! I sat in the third row on the driver’s side…..woo hoo!!!
We pulled out of Batavia about 8:00 am and started on the drive to Michigan. I mentioned the “theme” and “sticker” before – here’s the explanation: Each day, Kathy started us off with the “theme of the day” and a sticker to put on our name tag to remind us of it! Most of the “themes” were actually quotes that I wasn’t fast enough to write out completely, but I made note of the important parts of each one so I could be sure the gist was conveyed! She does these cool little things all along the way to make things special and fun!!!
As I mentioned a bit ago, Monday’s theme of the day was: “Be kinder than necessary” and the sticker was a smiley face!
After a mid-morning rest stop (not sure where we were for that), we stopped for lunch at Culver’s in Avon, OH — I was a happy camper! We stopped at Culver’s a couple times on the SD trip…..it’s a great “fast food on steroids” place! Wonderful and diverse selection of food – famous for their “butter burgers”. I was hoping we’d get to stop there at least once on this trip and BAM – we did!!! I had the pork loin sandwich with onion rings and a vanilla milk shake – YUMMY!!! (It was this stop that I stepped up on a curb and that muscle in the back of my knee that I pulled the night before gave out on me and I thought I might not be able to go on….but, I did!)
After another short rest stop (somewhere along the way), we stopped for dinner at Bob Evens just down the street from the hotel we were staying at for our first night en route! I wasn’t very hungry…..so I just ordered the 1/2 salad and soup combo — I love their Wild Fire Chicken Salad and got the chicken noodle soup to go with it…..and, no, those are NOT all my biscuits – two were mine, but the others belonged to my table mates! hehehe! It was all delicious, but more than I could eat – I’m glad I didn’t order a whole salad cause I only ate about 1/2 of the 1/2 salad I did get!!! The poor staff at Bob Evens had their hands full — they had some kind of a major power/internet outage and had to do all the tickets and run credit cards by hand! But, they were good sports, handled it well (considering), and it all got done and we were full and on our way! BRAVO to them!!!
We arrived at the hotel in Flint, Michigan at about 7:30-ish. The Holiday Inn Express was a very nice hotel – clean and comfortable and a nice selection of breakfast items to get us started on day two of our adventure – my bagel and banana were just what I needed to get me going! I do have to mention, though, that the trend for hotels to update their beds to these super thick mattresses on high pedestals is not so good for us short folks! I had a bit of a struggle getting in bed – especially with a sore knee – but, I did it and the mattress and pillows were like sleeping on clouds and I got an amazing night’s sleep!!!
Tuesday, September 16th –
Theme of the day: “Honoring Our Veterans”!
Sticker: an American Flag!
Kathy had any veterans raise their hands and explained that the flag also represents our activity for the day – a Colonial landmark taking us back to the 1770’s!
We had a wonderful day – the weather was PERFECT!!! After breakfast we drove from Flint, MI to Mackinaw City, MI…..stopping for lunch at Culver’s in Gaylord, MI on the way – this time I had the butter burger and a Pepsi. We also had a nice treat — a couple of our fellow travelers brought a bunch of Premier Honey Crisp apples to share with us from Ledge Rock Farms in Medina! They were sooooo good and really hit the spot as our mid-morning snack!!!
We arrived at our first activity – Colonial Michilimackinac (I dare you to try to say THAT three times fast) about 2:00 pm. The local Diamond Tours rep, Robert, got on the bus to greet us and tell us what we would be doing – first the self guided tour of Fort Mackinac and then a drive through of downtown Mackinaw City.
When I entered the Visitor’s Center with my walker, one of the staff asked me if I wanted to use one of their complimentary electric scooters to make my experience more enjoyable! So, yep, I used one – and it made all the difference in the world! I was able to see everything in the large complex of buildings and exhibits without putting any strain on my knees or my back! They were wonderful!!!
Colonial Michilimackinac is an amazing place – an historic British fort from 1775 – well, a replica because the British burned the original one down when they were done with it! We spent a couple hours or so wandering around checking everything out and even got to see a cannon get fired out over Lake Michigan!!!
Once we got off the bus, we got some nice views of the Mackinac Bridge – it goes over the Straits of Mackinac that separate Lake Huron to the right and Lake Michigan to the left. Stunning!
Then, we went through the Visitor’s Center and on to the complex that made up Fort Mackinac.
We got to see the guys fire a cannon out into Lake Michigan!!! That was cool — the guy standing on the right side of the photo above narrated the activity and explained all about how cannons work and what kind we were looking at. Here’s a video I took – you may want to turn your volume up…..it is kinda hard to hear him:
Then, we took a drive around Main St, Mackinaw City before we went to dinner – we were scheduled to spend more time there later in the week, so no need to get out and look around. Here are a few photos taken through the bus window:
We had dinner at Audie’s Restaurant in Mackinaw City. They had a small buffet with three entrees to choose from, a vegetable medley, and roasted potatoes….along with a nice salad and rolls that were already on our tables. All the entrees had cheese in them (unfortunately, I’m allergic to cheese), so I couldn’t eat any of them…..BUT….the waiter was very kind to change my salad to one without cheese and I took a helping of the vegetable medley and roasted potatoes and I ended up with PLENTY to eat and it was all VERY good – I was stuffed!!! I’m sure if I had asked, the waiter would also have arranged for a non-cheesy entrée, but I didn’t want to bother him – he had his hands full! 🙂 And, I was plenty full — we were also served a delicious carrot cake for dessert…which would have been awesome even if that’s all I had!!!
Our destination hotel – the one we stayed at for the next three nights – was the Comfort Inn in Sault Sainte Marie. The common areas of the hotel were a bit dated and in need of some TLC, but the rooms were very nice – comfortable and clean – and the breakfast offering had a nice variety and everything was very good! The staff were all so nice….I had a little issue with my card key and they fixed it right away and while I was there, I mentioned how high the bed was (yep – another one I was going to have to struggle to get in) thinking there wasn’t anything they could do about it, but…..they actually brought a step stool up for me to use while we stayed there – they said I actually wasn’t the first person to need one!!! WOW!!! That was amazing….I was definitely a happy camper!!! I offered to take it up myself cause she was busy and she insisted on delivering it to the room and by the time I got back up there, it was already waiting for me!!!
When we got to the hotel, there was a little “drama” going on with another bus that pulled in before us…..I’ll only say that they weren’t very happy and I was sad that they didn’t have a “Kathy” to bring joy to their experience and I noticed their name tags didn’t have little fun stickers on them…..and…..I’ll bet no one started their adventure with the theme “Be kinder than necessary”!!! And, that right there may be the root of all that! 😦
The lobby was very comfortable, too…..I went down on the second night to sit on the couch and read and just get out of the room for a bit – there was a nice ottoman to put my feet up and a pillow for my back. A few others from our group were down there playing games, too.
Oh – and I forgot to mention – on our way to Sault Sainte Marie, we saw a herd of BISON!!! We found out later that it was probably a Bison Farm, but it was still kinda thrilling to see them!!!
Wednesday, September 17th –
Theme of the day: “…there are good ships and bad ships…..
but the best ships are friendships”!
Sticker: a Ship! (because we were going on a little cruise later in the day)
We left the hotel after breakfast at about 9:30 to go to the Soo Locks Visitor’s Center in Sault Sainte Marie. We had time to look around the Visitor’s Center and to go up on the observation platform to look at the locks. BONUS — there was a huge freighter in the lock and we got to see it leave!
There was a lovely water fountain that I found in the lower park…..I sat there quite a while just relaxing and listening to the water!
No Swimming??? Man, they really know how to spoil a girl’s fun, huh?
We also had time to wander around the downtown area before we had to get on the bus to go to our cruise through the locks. A few of us found a wonderful place for lunch – “Oh! Crepe and Coffee”!
I had the “King Crepe” – inspired by Elvis! It was a huge crepe (once it was folded into a triangle, it was the size of a large slice of pizza) with peanut butter, bananas, and bacon…I thought, oh that sounds like fun, so I ordered it thinking maybe I’d eat a little bit and toss the rest, but it was absolutely delicious!!! I ate the whole thing!!! And Loved It!!!
I wandered around downtown….it was full of quaint shops and things to see….I also got (on a spirited recommendation from Kathy) a bag of popcorn form a shop called “Cultured Pop” that was Himalayan Sea Salt flavored — I was full from my crepe, so I kept it for when I got back to my room later in the evening.
The purpose of the Soo Locks is to maneuver ships through the 21 foot change in elevation between Lake Huron and Lake Superior. We were able to take a cruise down the St. Marys River and through the Soo Locks – first on the Canadian side of the river and then back through the US side of the river. I’ve been on a cruise through the Erie Canal locks and they operate much the same, but are quite a bit bigger!!! It was impressive and fun! We cruised across the international boarder line to the Canadian side of the river, pulled into the lock, the gates closed, the water rose to the next elevation, and the gates opened so we could proceed on to the rest of our cruise…..then, we did it in reverse on the way back, but this time through the US lock! Very cool!!!
More photos from the cruise along St. Marys River:
These are piles of coal and other minerals used to make steel at one of the largest steel manufacturers – it’s on the Canadian side of the river. It was so cool to see the materials and parts of the facility!!!
The white stuff on this pile of fine material for steel manufacturing is actually feathers from birds that rest on the warm surface. Our boat captain told the story of how he often gets asked if the feathers create a problem for the manufacturing process, so he once asked the workers and they told him that it is a closely guarded secret that the feathers are incorporated into some of the steel to make “feather weight steel” that is much lighter than regular steel……yeah, it was a joke…..a funny one that got a lot of groans! hahaha
At the end of our cruise, the captain took us around the back and side of this behemoth sized ship that was headed to the locks….that was a nice little thrill!
After our cruise, we made a stop at the Kewadin Sault Casino Hotel. We didn’t have much time there and I’m not really a gambler, per se…..so I took the time to relax a bit while some of the others took advantage of the casino and some also just sat and relaxed. I did do a little wandering to see the beautiful facility — lots of stunning artwork!!!
Our dinner that evening was at Franks’ Place in Sault Sainte Marie — we had a delicious buffet and stuffed ourselves, yet again!
Thursday, September 18th –
Theme of the day: “…taken back in time to a simpler life….”!
Sticker: a Horse! (to remind us of our horse & buggy ride)
On Thursday, we took the ferry from St. Ignace to Mackinac Island — the main event of the adventure and my personal bucket list item!!! Mackinac Island is a step back in time. It was named the second National Park after Yellowstone – it was a National Park for 20 years until it was gifted to the state of Michigan where it has operated as a State Park ever since. There are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island – only horses, carriages, and bicycles (although, there are some motorized vehicles for emergency use and snowmobiles are allowed in the winter). It is an absolutely lovely island full of quaint shops, restaurants, and fun things to see and do. It is also home to the Grand Hotel – a huge and very elite (expensive) hotel.
Kathy greeting us as we got on the bus…..every morning, she had a big smile and free hugs – she got us off on the right foot each and every day!!!
This is the ticket office for the ferry…..we met Oakley – the office dog! What a sweetheart! It was quite foggy that morning, so visibility on the ferry wasn’t good…..so, I didn’t push my knee to climb the steps to the top level. We passed an old ship replica in the harbor as we pulled out on the ferry. As I sat on the lower level, I was sitting right at the water level…..the ferry moved right along and created quite the wake!!!
The first thing we did was take the narrated horse and buggy tour around the island. It actually consisted of three different carriages – one took us to the half way point, another took us to some of the key spots, and then another took us back where we could either get off at the Grand Hotel (we would be on our own to get back to the downtown area) or we could take it all the way back downtown. I didn’t get off at the Grand Hotel…..I wanted to have more time downtown before we had to get back on the ferry.
This (and the next close up one) is the souvenir photo of the carriage I rode on….I’m on this side in the second row (the first yellow dot row).
Our first narrator was a little difficult to understand – I believe he said he was from Hungary or somewhere in that area of the world, but he was still very entertaining and informative. Our second narrator was easier to understand and was very funny, as well – I enjoyed them both.
I had quite the view on both the narrated sections of the tour…..hahaha! Of course, I did have a better view when I looked out the sides! {wink} The “fun” part was when two of the horses in the three horse team both decided it was time to get rid of their breakfast during the tour……pew!!! Like my Mom used to say after we moved out to the country when I was little…..”Mmmmm, fresh country air!!!”
The Grand Hotel — I have a better photo from the water on the ferry ride back to the main land!
There is a frequent “turtle” theme throughout the island — Mackinac was originally named Michilimackinac by the Native Americans on the island, which means “Great Turtle” and shortened to Mackinac later.
We stopped mid-way at a building that had some shops and snacks – like warm homemade donuts!
Continuing on…..we stopped at Arch Rock……a stunning view!!!
Skull Cave
Named because of the legend that someone once hid in there only to wake up to find he was surrounded by skulls and bones!!! eeewww
This is a National Cemetery on the island.
There was a LOT of wooded areas…..it surprised me to see so much woodland…..although, I’m not sure why I was surprised!
Back downtown…..I did a bit of wandering around…..sampling fudge from the umpteen fudge shops on the island…..shopping…..and enjoying an amazing day – the fog lifted just after we got off the ferry and the sun warmed up the day by noon-ish, so I could remove my raincoat and enjoy the sun better!
The sun was shining so bright, I was just taking “blind” photos of the downtown area and when I looked after, I see that I captured Kathy in one of them!!! 🙂
The Michigan Cherry Chocolate fudge won my heart (it was a creamy, smooth fudge with huge chunks of cherries all through it)…..I bought a 1/2 slice and restrained myself from buying any more…..although every single sample I tried was incredible!!! (one of the guides said that if you have a small taste sample from every shop on the island, you’ll have eaten a pound or more of fudge!!! I believe it!)
I didn’t JUST eat fudge samples…..I did find a really great place to have lunch! I strolled down Main St looking at menus in windows till I saw one that piqued my interest….Horn’s Gaslight Bar! It was a lovely old-time looking bar with a very appetizing menu…..I had the beef sliders (three small delicious hamburgers with grilled onions and bacon) and asked for the soup of the day instead of french fries – it was chicken & dumpling soup and it was incredible – full of veggies and chicken and dumplings in a thick, creamy broth!!! It was an awesome lunch!!! I sat there on their purple chairs enjoying the music and reading my book while I ate — a great time!
Some more photos from my stroll around downtown Mackinac Island…..that first one on the left is a UPS delivery carriage…..even UPS and Amazon make deliveries using only a horse drawn carriage – it’s a fun sight to see!
These pics were taken at the ferry dock…..the one on the right is of the water with cool looking plants coming up from the bottom of the harbor.
On the return ferry, the sun was out and it was gorgeous, so I climbed the steps to the upper level to get some photos:
The Grand Hotel from the ferry!!!
That’s our driver, Rachel, behind me to the right….she’s beside one of the guys from our bus, Roger!
Hey guys! I didn’t know I got you in my selfie till later! hehehe
For our last night in the area, we went to The Driftwood Restaurant right across the street from where we took the ferry. They gave us a menu with a few nice choices – including a Pastie – a meat pie with beef, potatoes, and rutabaga with gravy – a local dish the area is famous for. I would have tried it, but I had one when I was in the St. Ignace area several years ago and I wasn’t really impressed – it was OK and I’m glad I tried it, but didn’t feel the need to do it again! hehehe I chose the shrimp basket with french fries, instead…..and it was very good!!! We also each had a salad and a piece of chocolate cake for dessert.
Friday, September 19th –
Theme of the day: “A lighthouse beam is steadfast and steady….maybe we can be the lighthouse in someone else’s storm…”!
Sticker: a Lighthouse!
Bet you could guess from the daily theme, that we visited a lighthouse on Friday!!! We had a step on guide – John – who went all over with us that morning. He was wonderful…..relayed all kinds of great information.
This was the day that it was quite cold in the morning – low 60s – and I had to wear my jacket! It did warm up nicely as the day progressed, but I can safely use the word “brisk” to describe the morning!
Our first stop that morning was the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse…..it was very interesting and yielded more wonderful views of the Mackinac Bridge! They would allow up to 10 from our bus to climb the lighthouse — we got 10 volunteers to take the 60-some steps, then climb a straight ladder, and then climb through a hole to get to the top…..they said the views were stunning! I’ll take their word for it! hahaha
We also got to listen to a talk about the history of the fog horns at the lighthouse and a demonstration of how the fog horns sounded…..here’s the video I took of the entire presentation….you might want to be sure your volume is turned up so you can hear all the interesting information presented:
After we left the lighthouse, we had time to wander, shop, and have lunch on our own at Mackinaw Crossings in downtown Mackinac City. This was the area we just drove through after the cruise through the Soo Locks and didn’t stop because we were going to have more time to see it all later in the week — this was now later in the week!
Kathy told us she had a mystery surprise in store for us for later and that dinner would be “light”, so we might want to make lunch our big meal of the day. I walked along the Main St and found a Pancake house for lunch – I thought some eggs, toast, and bacon sounded really good to me! But, when I looked at the menu, I saw they had blueberry pancakes with whole blueberries inside — not just the blueberry pie filling sauce you usually get with blueberry pancakes…..my mouth watered just thinking about them! So, that’s what I had…..and they didn’t disappoint! So good!!! And the bacon was awesome, too…..I didn’t come close to finishing all the food they gave me and I was STUFFED!!!
The restaurant looks empty in this photo, but there were a few other tables with people behind me as I took it…..I was about half way back and there was a long buffet to the right of where I was sitting.
I enjoyed strolling around the Main Street….
Mackinaw Crossings was cool, too….a small village/mall within the Main St area full of shops! I bought a sweatshirt in Mackinaw Outfitters – a huge store with tons of stuff at great prices!!! (I also got a sweatshirt on Mackinac Island, too)
This was our last day in the Mackinac area……we spent time in Mackinac City, Mackinac Island, St. Ignace, Sault Sainte Marie, and the Soo Locks…..now it was time to head back to Flint for our final hotel stay of the trip! But…..Kathy promised us a surprise bonus stop….something NOT on the itinerary…..something she and the local Diamond Tours rep – Robert – were working to see if they could make it happen!
We were DELIGHTED to find out that we were going to do a drive through of Frankenmuth – AKA “Michigan’s Little Bavaria”! It would have been nice to stop there and wander around, but Kathy had other plans for us, so we did the drive through so that we could at least “see” the famous Frankenmuth community…..(we didn’t have time to stop to explore there AND do the special surprise).
And, then…..we had TWO HOURS to explore Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland – the world’s largest Christmas shop!!! This was instead of the 1.5 hour dinner stop that was planned on the itinerary…..a trade off we could all live with most gladly!!! Bronner’s had a little cafe with hotdogs, sandwiches, and other things to have for a light dinner and we all had a good lunch, so YEAH…..we were all very, very happy!!!
The photos I took of the outside as we were leaving aren’t that impressive — the lights were on, but it wasn’t quite dark enough for them to really shine in the photos, but you get the idea…..the entire property was outlined and filled with lights and Christmas scenes…gorgeous!!!
I left thinking that I just might need to put up my Christmas tree when I got home!!! I didn’t…..yet…..but, I did give it strong consideration while I was filled to the brim with the Christmas Spirit!!! 🙂
I bought two new angels for my collection from Bronner’s…..love them both!!! I tend to be partial to “faceless” angels…..
We were just about 30 minutes from our final hotel — the same Holiday Inn Express in Flint, MI that we stayed at on our first night. This time I had a room with two queen beds…..it was just as comfortable and nice as it was that first night! Of the two hotels, this one was my favorite — the mattress and pillows in this one were far more like being on a cloud….not that the other hotel wasn’t comfortable – it definitely was…..it’s just that this one was just that bit more!
Saturday, September 20th –
Theme of the day: “There’s no place like home”!
Sticker: a Piggy (to remind us of Kathy ❤ )
Our last day was a travel day……the long drive back home to Batavia! A couple rest stops and lunch at a travel plaza in Vickey, OH that had three options for lunch – Burger King, Sbarro Pizza, or Panda Express – I and several others chose Panda Express – it was a good choice! We all agreed to forego the dinner stop that was just an hour or so away from our final destination so that we could get there by about 6:30 instead of 7:45…..we were ready to get home!!!
We got to Batavia and said our goodbyes to all our great travel friends! Although I have absolutely no idea why (I literally ate my weight in food over the past 6 days), I was hungry when I finished unloading all my stuff off the bus and into my car, so I had dinner at Town & Country Restaurant in Batavia before I headed home to Albion.
So….another amazing adventure in the record books! We saw so much and did so many wonderful things! And, as we passed by Lake Erie on the way home I realized that over the past six days, we were on or near all of the Great Lakes, except Ontario…..we were literally on Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior and drove by with views of Lake Erie! We visited five different towns, went over two major bridges (multiple times), cruised on a river and through locks that moved us across a 21 foot elevation change over two different lakes, saw a lighthouse, were on an island, watched a cannon be shot and heard a fog horn blow, rode ona ferry, sampled tons of homemade fudge, and I even had two horses poop right in front of me!
If that’s not an awesome trip, I have no idea what would qualify as one!!!
So, what’s next??? I have two mystery day trips booked later this year……then, next year, I’ve put a deposit on three pretty incredible sounding adventures! I’ll be sure to write all about them and I hope you’ll come back to read my thoughts!
Check out First Choice Travel’s web site
for their complete list of planned escorted tours:
https://1stchoicetravel.com/
August Daily Photo Challenge
Here we are closing out another month of Daily Photo Challenge Topics! I’ll just get on with it…..
The August Topic List:
And…..the photos:
That’s all…..
And, here’s the September Topic List:
A Lovely Saturday Adventure
Olcott Beach is a lovely little lake side village just north of Newfane, NY on Lake Ontario. It has a small amusement area with rides and games for kids, a boardwalk with small shops, and several nice places to eat. I used to make sure to take the trip there a few times every summer, but haven’t made it down in quite some time — definitely not last year or this year (until now) and I’m thinking maybe only once the year before last. Sad…..I do enjoy it.
So, today, my friend Cathy and I decided to take a drive to Olcott! We got there a little before noon, which is when most of the shops open for the day. So, we strolled around browsing the few shops that were open and then sat on the boardwalk looking out over the water and talking until the rest of the village started to wake up!
Just after 12:00, we looked in a couple other shops and then headed over to a new restaurant that opened up earlier this year – the Olcott Lobster Co. They have a really nice set up there…..reminiscent of a seafood shack on any beach along the Atlantic coast…..just a bit inland on the shore of Lake Ontario!!! 😉 You get in line and order/pay at the counter and then pick a seat out on their deck areas and the wait staff bring it out to you when it’s ready. They have a nice selection of lobster rolls and other choices for prices that are reasonable for what you get.
Cathy and I both got the Connecticut Rolls — warm lobster with butter and homemade chips seasoned with Old Bay Seasoning. A beautiful day to sit outside enjoying the weather and a nice lunch!
We had planned to stop by Bye’s popcorn stand on the way out of Olcott, but the line was WA-A-A-A-A-Y too long, so we kept driving! We decided to head over to Lockport to treat ourselves to some dessert at Lake Effect Ice Cream. We got to Lockport and parked on the bridge that goes over the locks beside the ice cream place. As we got out of the car, we looked over the railing and discovered that we were just in time to witness two cool activities: 1) a tour boat going through the locks and 2) a group of folks getting their photos taken at the Lock Tenders Tribute Memorial. So, we stood there looking down while all this took place…..it was cool!!!
The Lock Tenders Tribute Memorial is a life-sized reenactment sculpture of an 1897 photo of 12 Lockport Lock Tenders and a little girl (the little girl was the daughter of one of the lock tenders in the photo) taken by photographer Frank B. Clench. The sculpture, by artist Susan Geissler of Youngstown, NY, commemorates the photo reenactment as well as a statue of the photographer taking the iconic photo! Here is the original photo found on the internet:
Looking down on the life-size statues of the Lock Tenders Tribute Memorial (minus the statue of the photographer standing just out of the shot.
Here is the group of folks who were gathering to get their photo taken among the statues…..
We were excited to see a tour boat coming up the canal approaching the first of the locks at Lockport. Cathy and I took this same tour quite a few years ago and actually rode through the locks — what a thrill that was! But, seeing this boat go through the process from above today was also pretty cool!!!
The locks take boats through multiple stages to lower them easily along the varying elevations that the historic Erie Canal flows. Each section either drains or fills to lower or raise a boat before lock doors are opened to allow the boat to proceed to the next elevation. In Lockport, there are two modern locks along side the original five locks built in the mid-1800s. These locks are just a sample of the many engineering marvels of the Erie Canal.
Watch as the following photos take this boat full of fascinated tourists through just one of the Lockport locks – lowering it from one elevation to the next:
Then, we walked across the courtyard to Lake Effect Ice Cream for our final treat of the day…..I’ve had Lake Effect ice cream (they make their own) at a few events over the years, but I’ve never actually been to their shop — it’s famous around here and I’ve heard people rave about their amazing ice cream many, many times…..and now, I can finally say that I’ve been there and experienced it for myself!!!
The sign in the window says “It’s never too cold for ice cream”…..a VERY true statement, for sure!!!
Choices, choices, choices……how would you ever read every single one of these many, many choices and then choose just one…..????!!!!! I finally narrowed my choices down to loganberry, something with Paula’s Donuts in it, and salted caramel……
My final decision was the salted caramel with hot fudge sauce and Cathy chose TWO flavors – raspberry and strawberry…..I had severe “order envy” when I saw she had two flavors and I didn’t think of doing that!!! UGH!!! But…..all was so very delicious!!!
On the drive home, we both agreed that it was a wonderful way to spend a lovely Saturday and that we were both ready for a nap!!! hehehe!!!
July Daily Photo Challenge
Goodbye, July……It’s been a brutal summer — long super hot and dry spells and August (typically the hottest month of summer) has just begun!
To get our minds off the heat…..here’s my July Daily Photo Challenge Topics!
I did miss three days this month – Unexpected Color, Hidden Gem, and Chasing Light….but, the rest of the photos I used in response to each topic are shown here:
That’s a wrap!
And, here are the August topics:
2025 Sight & Sound Adventure – Noah
Over the last couple of days – July 18-19 – I enjoyed an overnight adventure to Lancaster, PA to see this year’s Sight and Sound Theater production of “Noah”. I could just simply say it was an incredibly amazing experience and close out this post and be done. But, you know me….that will absolutely not do at all! hahaha
I’ve been to Sight and Sound a few times, now – I have seen their productions of “Moses” in 2014, “Jesus” in 2018, “David” in 2022, “The Miracle of Christmas” in 2023, “Daniel” in 2024, and now “Noah” in 2025! I was booked to see “Queen Esther” in 2020, but it was canceled due to the Covid epidemic. Sight and Sound Theater is a spectacular 2000 seat, state-of-the art facility in Lancaster, PA. They bring the stories of the Bible to life – quite literally! The audience is surrounded by the sets, actors, and live animals as they act out each story – you truly feel like you are a part of the story as it unfolds all around you and reaches so deep into your emotions that you can’t help but be immersed in it all. They typically perform one story each year throughout the year to the total amazement of sell-out crowds. They also have a theater in Branson, MO, but I have never been to that one….maybe someday.
So – enough with the background…..let’s get on with this trip!!! Like I said, this trip was on July 18-19. First Choice Travel put the trip together and did an awesome job.
This is our bus – it was taken in the parking lot of the hotel we stayed at in Lancaster – more on that later! It was a sold-out booking, so that means we had 50-something people on the bus. It was a great group – several that I have traveled with on other First Choice Travel adventures and some that were new to their bookings. I sat with Ann – I’ve met her on several other adventures, but this is the first time I’ve really gotten to know her — sitting with someone for a 5 or so hour drive gives you that opportunity! I have to also mention that I was amazed by one of my fellow travelers……there was a lady that was celebrating her 100th birthday…..she was awesome — she had more energy than most of us! I just hope I’m still able to travel, let alone as energetically as she is, when I’m 100! God Bless her!!! There was also a family of three – dad, mom, and daughter, who had just flew back from a vacation in Japan late the night before and got up early to meet the bus and start another adventure — WOW — I would have been a zombie, but they were champs and made the most of the two day trip!
This is me with our driver, Marty, and First Choice Travel tour manager, Kathy Hamm! They both did an amazing job of seeing that we got there and back safely, stayed on schedule, and had a great time throughout the trip!
Kathy’s sign set the tone for the trip!
So – we left Batavia at 8:00 am on the 18th…..stopped at a Love’s rest stop / convenience store in Bath, NY and then stopped for lunch at Wegmans in Williamsport, PA. That Wegmans has an awesome food court with ample seating, so it’s perfect for a bus load of hungry travelers looking for a break from sitting! 😉
The bus looks empty, but it was early in the loading process – they assign seats based on the order of booking, so since I booked as soon as the date was announced last year, I was in the window seat in the second row on the door side of the bus – WOO HOO!!! I realize the other photo doesn’t “look” very appetizing – it’s not the best food photo I’ve ever taken….in fact, it just might win the prize for the WORST food photo I’ve ever taken, but it was DELICIOUS!!! I had chicken strips, potato wedges, and tomato soup (with crackers) during our stop at Wegmans and it was the perfect lunch!
We arrived at our hotel – Country Inn of Lancaster – about 3:00. We had enough time to check in and “flush and brush” as our fearless leader, Kathy likes to call it before heading out for dinner.
They have fresh popped popcorn in the lobby — since we were about to go to dinner, I didn’t want any when we arrived, but I knew they wouldn’t have it when we got back to the room after the show, so I grabbed a bag to put in my room for later!
Dinner was at the Plain and Fancy Restaurant in Bird in Hand, PA. We’ve been there for other trips to the area and I knew what to expect…..and, man, it did NOT disappoint!!! Our group had a private room with several long tables meant to enhance the sociability aspect that a family style dinner should encourage! We sat down with rolls, coleslaw, iced tea, water, and lemonade already on the table. It didn’t take long for the platters to start being passed…..fried chicken, ham, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, brown-butter noodles, salad, green beans……the platters were piled high, but when they were empty, another platter replaced it! We ate and ate and ate and the food was sooooooo good!!! Then…..they brought the dessert – cinnamon cake and oatmeal coconut pie!
I was too busy eating to remember to get good photos of the platters FULL of food! My favorite was the perfectly breaded and cooked fried chicken! YUM! But it was all fabulous!
They rolled us out to the bus on big wheel barrels (just kidding….sort of) so that we could get to the 7:00 pm showing of “Noah” at Sight and Sound on time.
View from the bus window as we drove along the driveway entrance to the Sight and Sound Theater…..it is a really spectacular sight!
We had GREAT seats —- section 102, rows M, N, and O — I was in row N….these seats were on the floor about center stage and about mid-way back in the section. VERY NICE!!!
This is from my seat looking at the stage…..WOW – did I say they were GREAT seats??? This is the last photo I was able to take…..as soon as the show began, photography, recording, and streaming was strictly prohibited, so you’ll have to rely on my commentary to imagine the show….which, of course, is impossible because it is totally indescribable!!!
The biblical story tells how Noah received a message from God that He planned to bring on a massive flood to destroy the earth and eliminate the hatred and sin that was rampant across the land. The Lord told Noah that he could save his family and pairs of every animal if he followed his instructions to the letter to build an Ark. Per the specific instructions, the ark was to be made of cypress wood and be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. It should have rooms and be coated inside and out with pitch. It had to include a roof and only one door on its side. It was to have three decks to accommodate the animals and Noah’s family. Noah was also instructed to bring two of every kind of animal, male and female, into the ark to preserve their species and to gather enough food for himself, his family, and the animals, but he wasn’t told how long they would need to survive on the ark.
After receiving skepticism and ridicule from friends and those in the nearby village, he solicited the help and materials he needed to get started. He ran into many roadblocks and attempts to sabotage his efforts over the next few decades, but he did it!!! The final scene prior to intermission showed the outside of the finished ark and the animals beginning to arrive in pairs to board the ark – all while the rains were beginning!
Every production at Sight and Sound involves live animals on stage and going up and down the aisles. I’m always amazed that the animals know exactly where they are supposed to go! Well…..this production went way above and beyond in this aspect!!! It was so incredible to see ducks and sheep and goats and pigs and more just running across the stage or down the aisles up onto the stage without getting distracted or veer off course – they just ran right into the ark without a single human guiding them – like they knew exactly what to do! Then there were bigger animals that were brought in by the actors – horses, camels, cows, llamas, and more! There were even “people” dressing in ape suits that were a riot to watch!!! It was awesome! After the excitement of seeing all the animals arrive and take their place inside the ark, we had a chance to get up and stretch our legs.
THEN…..after intermission, the house lights went down and the stage lights came on and we found ourselves inside the ark!!! ALL AROUND US – on the stage ahead and both sides of the theater – all around us (I know I already said that, but it needs to be stressed – we were literally inside the ark) – were the three levels of many, many rooms with each pair of animal in their own rooms!!! Some real live animals, some animatronics that I defy you to tell were not real live animals. The following photo (from the Sight and Sound Facebook page) shows just the part that was on the stage —- again, it continued around both sides of the auditorium!
Photo credit: Sight and Sound Facebook page
The following scenes showed Noah’s family experiencing the rains for 40 days and 40 nights and then the time it took for the flood waters to recede and the earth to dry……they began to worry that they were running out of food and would not survive, but kept faith in God’s plan. After 371 days from boarding the ark to opening the door to leave, they released the animals and came out to hear God’s instruction to be fruitful and refill the earth and his promise to never bring on such a flood again.
The emotions and the excitement and the tears…..it was a another wonderful experience and chance to learn more about one of the most famous stories of the bible. If you are able to arrange it, you really should plan to go to Lancaster to see this show!!! It is the 30th anniversary of the first time they put on this particular story. I kept hearing about it and was so very happy I had a chance to finally see it! It’s up there in my top favorites —- of course, ALL shows are spectacular — so I really can’t rank them, per se! And, Moses is still my favorite – just slightly eeking out the rest – I’m not sure if it is because it was my first experience at Sight and Sound (that first experience was overwhelming) or if the show was any more impressive, but it holds the top spot, regardless of the reason. All the others are a very close and totally equal tie for second place – each with their own very special “BAM” moment that made them reach out and grab my heart (with Noah, it was the scenes right before and after intermission – BAM-BAM), with Daniel ever so slightly in third place — not that it was any less impressive or spectacular, but I just wasn’t as totally engulfed in it as the others.
We got back at the hotel about 10:00…..totally wired and totally exhausted at the same time!
The hotel has the typical “grab and go” breakfast off their lobby, which I’m sure is fine, but our group arrangement was to go across the parking lot to their restaurant for a hot full buffet breakfast included in our package and it was wonderful! We were the only bus group that morning so we had the 7:30 time slot and had the room and buffet to ourselves.
While I was waiting for our 7:30 am breakfast time, I noticed this squirrel having HIS breakfast…..what a cutie!
After breakfast, we got back on the bus to start Day Two of our adventure! We picked up a step-on guide – a local woman named Sally who rode around the area with us for the next three and a half hours. She told Marty were to go and pointed out local points of interest and told us all about the Amish culture and stories. It was fascinating and she was amazing…..very knowledgeable and entertaining and was able to answer all our questions. We drove all around the countryside and pulled off on the side of the road when she had stories that she wanted to focus on longer. Here are a few photos from the bus window — excuse the glare on the glass:
Many of the area Amish have “Cottage Industry” jobs – side hustles – to make extra money. This family serves chicken barbeques every Saturday.
We passed several one-room school houses — the Amish send their children to school beginning at age 6 in first grade and their formal school career ends with the eighth grade – they go to the school closest to their home. Each one-room school house has a teacher who serves all the grades represented by the ages of the students in her classroom. They attend for the state mandated number of days and to meet the state criteria for education beyond the eighth grade, the state recognizes vocational work on their farms and businesses.
The Amish don’t want their photos taken – it is against their religion (I heard on a previous trip that they actually believe that photos steal their souls). We were told that we could take photos from a distance or if their faces could not be seen, otherwise, we were asked to honor their beliefs and refrain from taking any up close photos.
I didn’t get a photo, but right there in the midst of the Amish countryside, we passed a house on a corner with several young adults in skimpy bikinis and swim trunks laying in the sun and kids in bathing suits playing with a water slide thingy……several of us laughed out loud and said practically in unison: “they certainly aren’t Amish!!!” hahaha
We made two stops where we got off the bus….the first was a market that sells THE most awesome fresh hot pretzels…..the dough is so flaky and soft and delicious and they dip them in melted butter! YUM…..and so decadent!!!
They are HUGE and 3 for $8…..
The market also had a petting zoo with some of the most adorable animals, lots of crafts, baked goods, homemade cheese, ice cream, a working bee hive, and so much more!
I made friends with the little guy on the left…..such a sweetheart!!!
I didn’t buy much on this trip, but I did get this adorable angel made with a wooden spoon – I collect angels and have a “thing” for wooden spoons, so it caught my eye. It is now hanging in my kitchen! I also picked up these two refrigerator magnets…..all purchased at this market.
And, then there was this sweetie who came for a pretzel (or maybe some ice cream) with his family!!!
There was one of these scooters there —- we saw them all over the area! Apparently, some bishops don’t allow bicycles to be used by the Amish families within their groups, so they have these scooters that are bicycles without pedals – it looks like quite the workout, but also a great alternative to no bicycles!
We came up on this guy using one of the scooters (pedal-less bicycles) to transport a fence gate — it was a hoot to watch, but a pretty smart way to get something that big from one place to the next!!!
Our second stop was at a quilt shop — they also had animals, ice cream, baked goods, and crafts.
How cute is this little family!!!???
They also had a litter of puppies…..so cute!!! I had a hard time not taking one home with me….until I heard the lady tell someone they were $895 each!!!
Our last stop of the day was at Kitchen Kettle Village — a village of shops. We were there about an hour and a half to have lunch and shop. It was a beautiful day — not too hot, slightly breezy, and perfect for walking around to shop or just sit and people watch!
There is a couple options for lunch — when I’ve been there before, I ate at the cafeteria style diner that has wonderful soups, salads, and sandwiches…..but, I was still full from breakfast and that humongous pretzel, so I opted for a root beer float at the homemade ice cream stand. In fact, since it was on the small side and tasted so refreshing and delicious, I ended up having TWO root beer floats before I had to get back on the bus!!! 😉 YUMMY!!!
About 2:00 pm, we started the long drive back home! We made two short stops – one at the same Wegmans in Williamsport, PA for dinner and the last at the same Love’s rest stop in Bath, NY.
I wasn’t able to get a good shot of these, but this is a display representing little league baseball players in Williamsport, PA – home of the National Little League Hall of Fame!!! The street corner these can be found on is styled to look like a baseball diamond! Too cool!!!
Here’s one final “window” shot taken somewhere along the drive home…..Lord knows where it is, but it looked so calming and peaceful to me that I had to get the photo!
So — another great adventure in the history books…..thanks to First Choice Travel, Kathy Hamm, and Marty for putting it together and making it a great adventure!
Next year, Sight and Sound is doing “Joshua”….we’ll see if I am able to make it down for this performance!
My next adventure will be to Mackinac Island on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan later this fall. Looking forward to it! And, there are two more Mystery Tours later this year that I’ll be doing……check back to see how they all go!
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