Breezy Leaves & Sleep Hollow

Day 28

October 5, 2010

Albany didn’t see our taillights until nearly noon today.  Big grey clouds kept the sun from making much of a show and intermittent rain drizzles swept through the day, but we were not deterred.  Right off the bat we found the Hudson AAA.  Right next to it was the Cookie Factory with fresh apple cider donuts.  Equipped with yet another map and four crunchy, donuts covered in cinnamon and sugar we ventured forth.

The fall colors depend on so many factors:  the variety of the tree, soil, sun and water conditions, wind, so many things to consider.  Our route today took us 150 miles which got us out of New York State and into northern Massachusetts and ending in southern Vermont.

The lack of sun muted the colors but not the grandeur of these sweeping hardwood forested hills.  We’d round a corner and see a sweep of autumn brushed up along the hillside and down into the valleys.  Roadside streams lined in yellows, browns, and reds followed along beside us.  Nature’s pallet paints this autumn color wheel onto the layers of this landscape in ways no artist can reproduce.  Just 10 days ago we were seeing the occasional flare of yellow or red.  Today it is the occasional steadfast colors of the evergreens and blues that stand alone.  In sections the canopy has been swept clean of their highest leaves while colors blaze below.  The stripped leaves drift across the highway and carpet the forest floor.  We enjoy the drive.

Stopping in Brattleboro, Vermont for dinner we find Thai food.  We’re learning to just park along the ‘main street’ of any town and get out and walk.  We’re usually ready for the exercise and find good local food at the same time.  YumGum – a delicious Thai salad with beef in a spicy citrus saucy salad dressing over lettuce, chunky cucumbers,  thick slices of tomatoes and scallions.  Yum-m-m

We programmed the GPS for our B&B and headed off.  We should have known better by now.  The GPS often takes us way out of the way when we least want it to.  Tonight we drove through some dark and lonely woods.  The road gradually downgraded from two lane – to one and a half lane, to one lane.  From paved, to gravel to dirt.  Darker and narrower, the wind blew those leaves across the path as we drove up hill and down around corners and bends.  I thought the headless horseman of Sleepy Hallow was going to ride out of the forest and hold us hostage at any moment.  The GPS said it was only four miles, but it was a thirty minute four miles and it brought us right out onto the road it had initially diverted us from.  A few more miles along the path in the dark and stormy night and we arrived.  This B& B may date back to the 1800s but they’ve updated the bathroom with a Jacuzzi . Jack and I both took a long soak.  Z-z-z-z-z-