This fall vacation was a true adventure. From the home of my hosts, Read and Lorie Shepherd to so many scenic and historic areas of New York and Vermont, and some quality time spent in bookstores, it was hard to get back on the plane. But a few notes from the road. What I wanted to see there was plenty of - color. Starting with the beautiful pond Lorie created right in here front yard. Lorie and Mother Nature do good work together.

   Then we headed out for our first little hike, discovering it’s really not a good idea to indulge in a 16 ounce combo of hot chocolate and vanilla cappuccino before taking a two mile hike up on Peebles Island, where the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers come together. The scenery exquisite...the nearest ladies room...too far away! But there was one very sobering thing that stood out; when Tropical Storm Irene ripped through the area there was a great deal of damage from flooding, with a few reminders of just how high that water came. But the really cool part was watching boats come through one of the locks. The canal system works just fine.

   Huguenot Street in New Paltz, New York, and the early 18^th century French settlement where we took the time to slowly walk through the burial ground where some headstones had dates going back to the late 1600's and early 1700's that were so faded that they had added metal plates to many so you knew who was there, and many dying so very young. That’s the place where I found a book on Confederate Cooking and a Victorian Vacation cookbook. Two nice little booklets that were a good start, with so much more to come. We also went through the Dubois Fort, which looks like a beautiful, historic home but then you notice the loopholes in the walls, where they could place guns to defend themselves. And can you imagine cooking in this beehive oven? Very little of this structure has been changed over the many years, and when you see the beautiful, wide plank floors, the hand hammered hardware, you can truly appreciate the artistry that went into the building that is now the Visitor's Center.

   Part Two of Trip Tales tomorrow from Kelly’s Kitchen!

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM KELLY’S KITCHEN

What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter - a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue - Henri Matisse