Staycation Faves

It's Friday and almost everyone around here has today off due to Independence Day tomorrow here in the USA.  Dave and I have been on our "staycation" all week and we've had some really nice times with many blessings.

I'm going to share FIVE of our FAVES from the past week and then link up over at Susanne's site to read what others are thankful for this week. Come join in!  If you don't have a blog, just leave a comment in the comment section!

FIVE FAVES

• BLOOMS!  This past week the flowers appeared from the seeds that I planted back in mid-April.  These are cosmos I think, and something else but I honestly can't remember what else is growing.  It was from a package of seeds I received on sale and I also have some in a front flower pot in my front yard garden as well as some in a smaller pot for a deck table.  This pic didn't come out very well, even with using a color tool.  The flowers are a bright pink and now since this pic was taken on Sunday, this box has 3 pink blooms.  They're growing very well! I'm thankful for pretty flowers.

• 30th ANNIVERSARY "TRIP":  We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary on Tuesday.  It was a rather strange feeling. When we were newlyweds we had imagined we'd be on an Alaskan cruise or touring London/England.  Then children came and the timing was such that our 2nd (youngest) daughter is still in college.  So last year we thought we'd bike or kayak around PEI and Nova Scotia or possibly head out to Banff National Park.  And then covid happened.  So.  We stayed fairly local (2 counties south-east of our town) and toured the grounds of Lindenwald, the Martin Van Buran homestead where he lived during his presidency and as our NYS governor. He lived here for 21 years and was our 8th president.  There were so many photos we took but I'm sharing just FIVE of our faves.  We couldn't tour the actual house due to covid restrictions but we walked the trails around the estate and had a picnic lunch before the rain came in.  Our lunch consisted of the very same foods and drinks from our first hike we did as an engaged couple back in the fall of 1989!  It was so much fun to celebrate this day and Dave did an awesome job making the lunch, just like he did 31 years ago!  I'm so thankful God has gifted me with this man and that we've leaned on the One that binds us together through the easy times as well as the hard times. Marriage is NOT for the weak, and we've certainly had our struggles but we've also had easy times too.  God is good!

Lindenwald
(named for the linden trees that line the large circular driveway)

Linden trees

the farmland where Martin van Buran had his farm in the 1800s.

Dave on the more rugged part of the trail

Wild day-lilies growing on the side of the trail

• RAIN!  No I do not like the high heat and humidity that has come back to eastern NY this week but....I am  thankful that we've had a week of on-again, off-again rain!  We needed it badly and now our front lawn is looking lush and green again rather than dry and brittle and brown.  We've had a couple of good thunderstorms here and there and I've been thankful to get things done around the house during these rainy days.

• HONEST MECHANIC:  We are most thankful for our car mechanic, Ernie.  Claire's Nissan Sentra (I bought it new in 2007 and used it until 2 years ago when I gifted it to her for college) needed some work on Wednesday (tire rotation, trans flush).  Well, he discovered this week that she does NOT need the transmission flush until next spring (although a chain oil-changing company told her it was vital...thank God she knew enough to say No and checked with us) but that her muffler was about to fall off and the catalytic converter was cracked!  He replaced the entire muffler system and rotated the tires and gave us a very fair price.  He said he'll do the trans flush next spring after looking up the specifications for this particular car.  We're thankful this 13 year old car is still working well for our daughter and we are very thankful for Ernie's honesty.

my 12 yr old niece Mady at the start of the trail up Hopkins Mt
2 July 2020

• MOUNTAIN CLIMB!  On Thursday, my coworker Kathy and I took my niece Mady up to the high peaks region of the Adirondacks and we climbed Hopkins Mountain.  Hopkins is in the Giant Mountain Wilderness Area of the high peaks region.  It is not a high peak as the summit measures at 3183 feet.  (it must be over 4000 ft to be considered a high peak in the Adks).  However, it IS a long, arduous climb.  The trail itself is absolutely gorgeous and flat in many places, along with some switchbacks, which makes the hike manageable; however, for the most part, it is straight up on a very rugged trail.  I was able to complete another waterfalls sighting from the 50 Falls Challenge I'm doing (Mossy Creek Falls as Mossy Creek runs parallel to the trail after about the half mile mark for a good mile).  We hiked 6.4 miles round trip on a very hot and humid day but it was so worth it as you can see from the photos.  This was my first major mountain climb since last August and I can feel it in my knees but I'm so thankful we had this chance to go!  God's creation is just beautiful.

Mossy Brook Cascade

approach to the Hopkins Mt summit

Mady and I on the summit of Hopkins Mt
2 July 2020

Kathy (colleague) on summit of Hopkins Mt

That wraps up my Staycation week.

Dave and I have plans tomorrow morning to kayak in the southern Adirondacks with my sister Hope and her husband Donny.  Whatever you have planned for Independence Day here in the United States, I hope you stay safe and well!