Sunday, October 13, 2013

Back from a Coast to Coast Travel Interlude



I'm going to interrupt my Rocky Mountain National Park posts to tell you why I've been rather quiet the past two weeks, both on this blog and commenting on your blog.  I was traveling! I had a rare break from full-time babysitting of my granddaughter during the week, to take two back to back trips--one to beautiful San Diego, California, and one to upstate New York, where we attended the wedding of our friend's daughter.

California is one of my favorite states to visit--I have written almost 50 posts about this state that you can see under the label: California. When my husband had a business convention to attend in San Diego I was excited to be able to accompany him!  This was my third visit to San Diego--you can see my prior posts about it under this specific label: San Diego.

I think my photo collage tells the story of why I love this city so much. (You can enlarge this photo and all photos on this post by clicking on them once, and then clicking on it again to see it enlarge to full size).  It really is a paradise on earth! It's year-round moderately warm temperature keeps it in bloom, and it's blue skies and Pacific Ocean Bay waters give it an azure glow. It is also a large US Navy base, so there are always carriers and other Navy ships in the bay to see, and I was fortunate enough to see a submarine changing crew out in the bay when I went on a seal boat tour. The city's historic Gaslamp District has some amazing restaurants, and I happily indulged in as much seafood as I could! I also finally heard a free organ concert at Balboa Park that is held every Sunday at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion-- one of the largest outdoor pipe organs in the world!


One of my favorite places to visit in San Diego is Coronado Island, located across the Coronado Bridge, and where the magnificent historic Hotel Del Coronado is located. You can read a prior post I wrote about the hotel at this link. The hotel is celebrating it's 125 anniversary this year! I enjoyed walking along the beach and dipping my feet into the Pacific Ocean again. It is always fun to see the creative sand castle structures that are usually on the beach--there were even some festive sand pumpkins!


I was also able to visit the nearby valley town of Temecula, on a full day wine tasting tour of three different wineries.


After leaving California, my husband and I flew across the country into JFK airport in Queens. We then rented a car and spent the night at my brother and sister-in-law's home on Long Island. The next day we drove upstate New York to Rhinebeck, where we would be attending a wedding weekend.


The further north we drove the more colorful the early autumn foliage became. It was such a  pleasant drive!


We stayed in the historic Delamater Inn in Rhinebeck. The Delamater was erected in 1844 and was designed by one of America's first architects, Alexander Jackson Davis, and is considered one of the finest examples of American Carpenter Gothic.


The Delamater Inn is part of the Beekman Arms Inn-- established in 1766, it is the oldest continuously running inn in America. It once housed Revolutionists George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and Alexander Hamilton. It was here that Aaron Burr and Hamilton exchanged insults that lead to their famous duel and Hamilton's death!  Franklin Delano Roosevelt began every one of his political campaigns from the front porch of the Beekman Arms Inn. You can read more about the history of the inn at this link. Rhinebeck is full of historic buildings, including the Rhinebeck Reformed Church which you can see on the right of the photo collage above. It was established in 1731 by Dutch settlers who formed Dutchess County, New York. They were having an apple pie festival on the weekend we visited, and we bought two pies to bring back to our NYC families.


The town of Rhinebeck is a wonderful destination! It's scenic tree-lined streets and slate sidewalks lead to charming specialty shops on the avenues, and a multitude of Victorian style houses on the surrounding streets


I could not resist taking photos of some of the delightful houses in the town. Each and everyone was well maintained and very appealing!


There were many autumn touches everywhere I looked, and I felt fortunate to be here during one of my favorite seasons.


Of course, the best part of the wedding weekend was the gorgeous wedding my friend's daughter had in nearby Germantown, New York. Her ceremony took place on the banks of the Hudson River on a spectacular autumn afternoon. They had their reception in a large tent on the historic property they rented for the day, with dancing in the refurbished barn space. My friend Rosemary not only made her daughter's dress by hand but all the decorations! Yes, she made these paper chandeliers, the wedding arch and even the linens for the tables.  She is such a marvel!  It was a stunningly gorgeous wedding!


I'm now back home in Colorado, enjoying watching my neighborhood's aspen trees turn their fabulous shades of autumn gold! Unfortunately, I also came home with a bad cold which knocked me out a few days with sinus headaches and a cough. After babysitting all day all I had the energy for was to go to sleep. Thankfully, I'm all better now and will be catching up with you all as much as possible.

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful autumn season, wherever you live!




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58 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Wow, you have been traveling. San Diego is a beautiful place to visit. I love the beach! And the colors in upper state NY are beautiful, what a lovely time to visit for the wedding. Beautiful photos, Pat!

Snap said...

wow wow wow. what a wonderful time you've had. San Diego is wonderful. Up state NY this time of year -- magnificent. Grand time for a wedding. Welcome home to even more color.

ox

Billy Blue Eyes said...

Some wonderful historic places you have, I love the old houses.

ellen b. said...

2 fabulous trips with so much to see and enjoy! Glad you could make both trips. Love the details at the wedding! The autumn colors you captured are just gorgeous...

Lynn said...

Sounds like you had a couple very nice trips Pat, love the fall pics of NY! Sorry to hear you were sick but glad to hear you're feeling better:@)

Margaret said...

Hi Pat :) I enjoyed your delightful post very much! Gorgeous photos and both of your trips amazing! Next week I am flying to Ottawa for a few weeks to visit our daughter and her Eric, hope to see some of this gorgeous fall foliage back east. Fall is my favorite season! Margaret from B.C.

From the Kitchen said...

What a lovely time you've had! We purchased our first home in La Jolla and both boys were born there. That area is very special to us. Obviously autumn is the time for a lovely wedding in New York!

Best,
Bonnie

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Sounds like you did some wonderful traveling! Glad your cold is feeling better,

From the Kitchen said...

P.S. We always had Easter brunch at the Hotel Del. Lovely place and delicious food.

Best,
Bonnie

Sarah said...

Glad you are feeling better now. Travel takes it out of me! I just returned from a week in FL. All I wanted to do yesterday was sleep. '-)
The wedding sounds like an amazing event. What a talented friend the Mother of Bride is. Beautiful couple!
Thanks for the peek at the fall colors. The Hudson River Valley is always a gorgeous place.

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Glad you are better, and I am glad you had a good time. Loved the pics!

xo,

Sheila

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

My, what a trip you've been on. The Deleamater Inn is gorgeous, and I enjoyed all the photos you shared.
We have just come back from a trip up north to stay with our daughter for Thanksgiving and the oranges and reds were missing from the autumn display this year. Mostly golds, yellows and browns.
Judith

Barbara F. said...

What wonderful trips, I am happy that you were back east for a bit to catch some fall. Although it looks pretty in Colorado too. Hope you are feeling better and the cold is all cleared up. Beautiful photos. xo

Old Kitty said...

What amazing journeys!! From the gorgeous beaches of San Diego and sun-drenched, grape filled town of Coronado Island to the stunning and historic and utterly fabulous Rhinebeck and Germantown!

I think your friend should patent these paper chandeliers! They're AMAZING!

Hope you get lots of rest and get better! Take care
x

Vee said...

Gorgeous collages! My favorite was the sampling of homes. Beautiful foliage, lovely wedding....my goodness, the bride is a wisp of a gal. It all sounds so lovely. Very glad that you were able to have this vacation and hope that the cold skedaddles.

Tanna said...

I love San Diego, too, Pat. But, I am very excited to see your post about Rhinebeck. There is a big knitting gathering there that I've considered attending; now, I'm sure I need to put in on my bucket list!! Looks like a town right up my alley. blessings ~ tanna

Sandy said...

Lovely post as usual Pat! I love San Diego too. We visited it twice in the 1980s and unfortunately we haven't been back since. The climate is beautiful and if I could afford to live there I think I would. Now you've been to the West and East coast and back to CO! That's a lot of traveling kiddo.

podso said...

So glad you were able to take these trips. The autumn colors in NY are spectacular! Not so here yet. The wedding looked beautiful, what a lovely dress and decorations! Take care!

Proud Italian Cook said...

Hi Pat, looks like you had an amazing trip! I can never get tired of looking at such beautiful scenery. Your friend is very talented I love those chandeliers and her dress looks so intricate as well. Glad you had a wonderful 2 weeks, now nurse that cold and get better!

Michelle said...

Your travels sound so wonderful to me! I haven't visited Rhinebeck, but this post makes me want to do so!

Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes said...

Oh, such nice trips! It sounds & looks like you had a great time.

The bride is lovely & her mom sounds amazing! Isn't it nice that your daughter is friends with the bride & you friends with her mom!

Glad you feel better too!

Lovella ♥ said...

The best of reasons to be quiet on the home front for awhile. I just think you had the loveliest trip from the foliage to the wine country. That photo of the grapes on the vine is just gorgeous.
Witness a wedding is such a special event when it involves dear friends.
Thanks so much for sharing.

Ola said...

the houses are beatful! and I always liked how Americans deorate it in autumn with all the pumpkins!

Lady of the Manor said...

I loved your post! We visited the Beekman Arms Inn just two weeks ago on our visit to Hyde Park. Rhinebeck is quite a historic and lovely town! Congratulations to the happy couple!!

My name is Riet said...

Wow Pat, that is some trip you made. I have been admiring your photo's. From San Diego to that beautiful wedding. Your friend is an artist to be able to make that beautiful dress and even the chandeliers.Wow, wonderful.
Have a nice week.

Judy said...

I just got out the map to see where Germantown was...not far from where we were in Hyde Park. Your friend is most talented. Beautiful...the gown and the decor!

Glad you've had some time to travel...and enjoy and few of your favorite places. San Diego is the best at this time of year! Beautiful pic's.

Just a little something from Judy said...

I like when you travel, because I feel like I get to travel too, via your well captured pictures. This trip was no exception. How special that you and your husband got to travel together and relax for a while.

The wedding was certainly a lovely occasion and creatively done.

The wine country pictures make me wish to visit it myself.

Thank you so much for sharing your travels with us.

Ciao Chow Linda said...

Not surprising you caught a cold Pat, with all that travel and so many germs curculating on planes. Beautiful places you visited, but I especially loved seeing the fall colors of upstate NY and the lovely wedding shots. I'm headingmto the Catskills this weekend and I hope there's still some color left on the trees.

Kathleen said...

They are way ahead of LI upstate with the colors, we are still summery green! The wedding looks lovely. They were lucky with the weather!
Hope you are feeling better!

My Little Home and Garden said...

You have logged quite a few miles on these travels and have some beautiful photos to show for it.

Beverly said...

Wow, that was an incredible two weeks. Pat, your photos are always breathtaking. You make me feel as if I were there with you.

And, the wedding was magical!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

You've taken some wonderful trips. I love looking at your photos and seeing that pretty Fall color! Enjoy your week my friend! Can't wait to see even more of your photos! Hugs!

SmilingSally said...

Wow, what a super trip you had! I love the wedding decorations.

Thanks for playing.

Happy Blue Monday, Pat.

Lacey R said...

I absolutely LOVE Coronado and San Diego, it's tied with NYC as my most favorite place in the world! Glad you were able to go again. Coronado is so lovely, the beach by the Hotel Del Coronado is phenomenal and it's just a lovely place to be. Upstate New York looks lovely too.

Photo Cache said...

love the victorian architecture.

Jeanne said...

Hello Pat, I have not been on FB and I must go back to your previous posts to catch up with the Rocky Mountain Nat'l. Park I am sorry to say I have not been traveling, just busy.

How wonderful to visit San Diego. Lucky you. Your friend 's daughter's wedding sounds wonderful. How lovely that you were able to go.

I'm sure you are happy to see your grands after two weeks. I do miss mine but they are busy teens and we are so proud of them because they are all such wonderful young adults. They are all achievers and with all the bad things you hear about young people they definitely do not fit that profile. We are blessed. Having a loving family like yours is a self-image benefit to all children.

Happy days are wished for you and yours,
Hugs, Jeanne

Anonymous said...

Your photos are so beautiful! You've really been busy with your travels.

Beppan said...

Wow - what a trip! And so many beautiful photos!
They have everything - colours, views, architecture, happiness.....

Frostbite and Sunburn said...

Lovely pictures - what a beautiful part of the world - I too would have taken a ton of pictures. Stunning autumn colours too. Thanks for sharing.

Arija said...

From one grandmother to another, just letting you know I dropped in and am following your site so it is easier to come back. Haven't had time to read this post yet but it looks great, love the mosaic of the houses. As Gen. McArthur said "I shall return".

Al said...

It sounds (and looks) like a couple of great trips. I'll be on Long Island in a few weeks.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi.... Blogger lost my comment.. GRRR... Anyhow--I basically said that you have really been traveling coast to coast. I remember how much you love SanDiego and CA... But--I was in awe of your New England photos today... wow!!!!! That inn looked incredible and I loved the Fall Colors... Gorgeous!!!

And--you know how much I love the Colorado Aspens. Doesn't get much better than that!!!!

Hugs,
Betsy

Barb said...

Hi Pat, You saw marvelous scenery on both coats. I've been to Coronado Island several times. It sure has grown busier over the years. The last time we were there, we biked from Coronado across the bridge to San Diego and took the ferry back. I really miss all the deciduous trees that you see on the east coast. What a varied palette! My husband and I are both tired from babysitting Sam overnight and today - in fact, Bob's sleeping holding his book right now!

Anonymous said...

I love that wedding style, your friend is really talented! Nearly as much as I adore the autumn colors and smells, my favourite season, absolutely. Thanks for sharing, as always.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

What beautiful views you have seen on your trips- I am jealous!

Jana Iverson Last said...

What gorgeous photos from your trips! Those Victorian houses are so pretty and the those trees dressed in their autumn colors are just beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Looks as if you had a marvellous time! The fall foliage is gorgeous.

aspiritofsimplicity said...

What a beautiful place. I love all the autumn pictures.

Cathy said...

Stunning photos, Pat. Looking at them reminded my why fall is my favorite season. And San Diego is my absolute favorite California city. They have what I would call a perfect climate. I hope to see east coast fall colors someday.

annie said...

Gorgeous fall photos. What a great trip you had!
The wedding gown looks beautiful.

Mary Lou said...

I started blogging again just in time to go on your trip! How wonderful it was! Beautiful photos. I love her wedding dress.

Bonnie said...

The fall foliage is beautiful and ahead of our area.

You were very busy taking so many pictures. The houses are so amazing.

Love your photo collages. You are a seasoned traveler.

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

Wow, you really have been from coast to coast. I would love to visit San Diego one day.

I'm really impressed with the foliage in New York. What a gorgeous place to get married in the fall.
Sam

Marcia Mayne said...

Wow, what a beautiful tour. Very colorful too. Love the Rhinebeck area.
Visiting from Tablescraper.

The Tablescaper said...

Such great fun! So much travelling. You got some awesome shots of Rhinebeck. I was recently there for the Country Living Fair.

Great to have you at Oh the Places I've been!

- The Tablescaper

Roz | La Bella Vita Cucina said...

I'm am SAVING this post for future travel references, Pat. Upstate NY and areas of New England in the fall is on our bucket list. I miss San Diego from the brief time I lived in Orange County, but sadly never visited Coronado Island. Lots of travel ideas here; thanks for sharing Pat! Buon viaggio!

xo
Roz

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Wow you had a couple of wonderful trips there! San Francisco is a marvelously unique city (and while I love Colorado, we must admit that the seafood is quite a bit better in CA ;>)! ... I don't know so much about the other area you visited; wish I did! It looks beautiful and a perfect wedding. And how neat that you got such lovely fall colors. Perfection.

GailO said...

You are capturing the gorgeous autumn colors on both sides of the country at just the right time!

I will have to make it a point to visit Rhinebeck one day soon....looks charming!