The perfunctory New England small town church shot.

 
It did not take us long to find a nice kayaking venue just north of Holyoke. We did about five miles in the Oxbow Pond (actually a river in the shape of the letter C with a small detour into Hubert’s Pond. We spotted a nice Blue Heron and a double-crested Cormorant but little else until we spotted a pair of Bald Eagles soaring overhead. About a half hour later the eagles returned but this time there were three of them. Fifty years without ever seeing a Bald Eagle and I have now seen four in the last two weeks. I was able to get a photograph that was good enough to confirm the species but nothing worthy of posting. After returning to our put in point, Jeanine pulled out and I continued out onto the Connecticut River for another couple of miles. The wind induced chop was rather heavy so I kept close to shore.

 
Despite the cool overnight temperatures, Jeanine and I were almost too warm in our tandem sleeping bag. We broke camp and headed south in search of a kayaking destination. We stopped in Florence for a great breakfast at a diner which featured a 5 egg omelette (which we split) and a strawberry covered Belgian waffle.

 
Before settling in for the night we climbed the fire tower for a magnificent vista which included the states of Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire.

 
We enjoyed dinner at Amanouz Cafe a Morocan restaurant in Northampton before heading to the Daughters of the American Revolution State Park in Goshen where we made camp for the evening. We zipped our sleeping bags together for a very cozy coccoon.

 
We also discovered a Swedish Weaving school which Jeanine would very much like to enroll in with Maya next summer.

 
We traversed the Bridge of Flowers which is lined on both sides with exotic specimens of plant life. Rather than tear down this old trolley bridge, local gardners have created a 400 foot linear garden across the Deerfield River which has become a major toursit attraction.

 
After descending from the cliffs, we drove into Shelburne Falls for lunch and to enjoy this delightful little town. Here we watch as a women prepares to blow a glass vase.

 
Click on the photo for a higher resolution of the view we enjoyed from the ledge.

 
The view from High Ledge was spectacular and etirely worth the thirty minute climb. Jeanine captures me photographing from the edge.

 
Next we hiked up to a place called High Ledge which overlooks the Shelburne Falls Valley. On the trail Jeanine pauses to pick apples from a tree along the path. The search for a perfect apple would eventually find Jeanine climbing up into the tree. Eventually she settled on three apples which would be consumed later on our journey.

 
Our first stop was at Turners Falls where we got out to stretch our legs a little. This is the dam which diverts water into the canal providing a source of power for the mills which line the river.

 
Today Jeanine and I loaded up the kayaks and hit the road for a two day fall foliage weekend get away to celebrate our wedding anniversary (actually October 6th). We headed towards western Massachusetts with a loose plan to take in the southern Berkshires and the Quabbin Reservoir.

 
My parents arrived earlier in the day. They have generously offered to look after the kids while Jeanine and I get away for a long weekend in celebration of our 18th wedding anniversary.