Installment #3

Oh boy, so much more to cover.   I don't know if I can get in all in one more post.  We shall see.

Off to Watkins Glen....I love nature so of course I was happy to climb the trail.   But first we stopped for lunch at the Stonecat in Hector, NY.  I love little, one of a kind, places where they have neat things on the menu.   We also stopped at a little eclectic artisan co-op for some shopping.  High priced but fun to look and what a view.  

Now to Watkins Glen.   I am truly a water person and it amazes the power of water to cut through rock and erode away the mountain.    I know water can be damaging from floods but to me water soothes my soul......being in it, looking at it, hearing it......

These stairs lead to the first bridge.

 The view from the bridge.

The photo doesn't give justice to the stairway at all.    Steps as far a you can see.

 This is Minnehaha Falls.

 At the bottom of the falls, the water has eroded the rock in the shape of a heart.  Mine is not the best pix.  I didn't want to lean out too far and have an oopsie with myself or my camera!

Just another view of the years of erosion from the water cutting is way through.

 Popular photo stop....

 You actually walk behind the falls to get to the other side of the gorge.

Next stop, that suspension bridge.

Getting slippery and crowded.   Camera away the rest of the walk.

 We deserved a stop at Mr. Twistee's for ice cream after that climb....

Now I don't want you to think DD#1 was a crafting slacker.    She just finished Drawn Threads', Butterfly Garden.    Poor baby....the fabric was cut crooked so she ended with barely an inch to spare at the bottom right corner.   This is totally salvageable for framing!    We got this.
Then she pulled this piece out to work on.   I don't know the designer or name of the pattern but I can tell you the entire pattern is in German.  She is stitching it for her bike riding hubby.

As for me, I finished up this little one from Cottage Needleworks.   I did change it up a bit.   I removed "July" from the top center and added more fireworks with some krenik to dazzle up the fireworks.   And I eliminated the top and bottom gingerbread from the pattern.   While cute,  removing the top and bottom part of the design gives it a more primitive look which suits my style better.   Not sure how I am going to finish this piece and the Uncle Sam piece.    

Now as if my daughters' were not already wonderful.......real fireworks started outside our window.   They told me they paid extra for the light show just to celebrate my birthday.   What a pair!

 Just sitting in the dark, watching the fireworks from our window in our p.j'.s, sipping sangria, spending time with my daughters, best way to spend a Friday night.

One more installment and then I will be done......thanks all for sitting through the new millenniums version of your aunt's vacation slide show!