Travels in Pennsylvania - Vacation Week 2

We spent the last long weekend of our vacation visiting family in Pennsylvania.  Photos from our get-togethers are posted elsewhere. These photos are the more scenic ones of the trip into the Pittsburgh area and some long walks in local parks.

Color on the Ohio Turnpike

I'm always happy when we get to the Cleveland area where the hills are prominent.

Our favorite B&B in PA <wink>

The first walk of the weekend with sister Christy and her husband Matt: 

Easy walking here

Wetlands for dealing with acid mine runoff

Boyce ski area - it was busy last winter

One of Pittsburgh's 446 bridges

Note the reflection of the building across the street on the left of this one

Brother Keith's house

On a Pennsylvania ridge

Our Sunday walk:

Map of Duff Park

We did NOT take this trail, preferring a more leisurely walk.

Turtle Creek runs through the park

Trees cling to the rocky hillside

Lots of Sycamore trees in the park

Sycamores have bark that sheds and fuzzy fruits

Lots of moss

One of the bridges across the creek

A tangle of vines

Another view of Turtle Creek

A ledge that's crumbling

Tree with a "back pack" - not sure what the strange growth is called

Too soon it was time for the drive back to Michigan for our flight out of Detroit Metro.

Driving through Western Pennsyvania farm country

A lot of the color on our drive was orange
- but the construction didn't slow us down much.

Crossing the bridge near Toledo

Almost home - waiting for a BART train at the airport in San Francisco

Travels in Michigan - Vacation Week 2

We returned to the Chelsea area for our second week of vacation.  Highlights there included a visit with my UM PALS group (no photo, too busy catching up on what's been happening with everyone), a walk to visit the Bushel Basket Farmers market, and a trip to the Eddy Discovery Center followed by a walk to Crooked Lake in the Waterloo Recreation Area.

We enjoyed some great Fall weather. Perfect for capturing more of the color. The photos were all taken with my iPhone 3.

On the way to the market

On the Farmers Market grounds

Love those Maples

Sandhill Crane display at the Eddy Discovery Center

Collection of polished rocks - all can be found in Michigan

Map of the Waterloo State Recreation Area - it's big!

On the trail in Waterloo

Erick & Jane wait for me to catch up

Berries awaiting the birds

Crooked Lake, late morning

Crooked Lake

Time to head for Pennsylvania.  Going south on M-52 to pick up the Ohio Turnpike.

Farm country

A typical sight

Soybean fields

And corn fields

Maize & Blue <wink>

Got to be one of the smallest turnpike toll stations

Fall Travels in Michigan - Vacation Week 1

Erick and I decided that October would be a good time for a trip back Michigan to visit family and friends.  A chance to see the leaves changing color was another draw. Unsurprisingly, this post will have lots of photos (iPhone 3G) of the Fall color.

We were treated to color all around where we stayed.

Our home away from home - Comfort Inn in Chelsea

Burning bush is a favorite

We enjoyed Thursday dinner back in our old neighborhood with friends Emily and Scott. 

On Friday I visited with my longtime (we don't say old) friend Jane.  We managed to work in walks in three different parks with lunch in the middle.

Joel, Jane and Keeshonds Cindy and Hans

Site of our first walk - Dolph Park

 

One of the "Sister Lakes" in Ann Arbor's Dolph Park

Next, the University of Michigan's Arboretum.  Always a favorite spot.

Jane dwarfed by a blazing maple

Color on the ground, too

We topped off the afternoon with a walk on a newly constructed trail that runs from Dexter, Michigan to the Hudson Mills Metro Park.  The whole trail is 7.5 miles, but we only walked a piece of it.

Dexter's Friendly Troll along the Border2Border Trail

Saturday we headed north to visit Erick's folks in Tustin, Michigan.

When we stopped in Chelsea at the Plaid Melon for breakfast,
we ran into the charming family that bought our house on Fen Ridge!

Overcast skies can make for some intense color

We passed wind farms around Mt. Pleasant

In Tustin, we stayed with Erick's brother Larry and his wife Linda, and visited with other family members and friends.

Diamond Lake toward evening from the Erickson homestead

A frosty morning on Diamond Lake

A different perspective on Diamond Lake

Walking for exercise

Birches along a pond

An afternoon drive packed with color

Our return to Chelsea from Tustin gave us a chance to visit with our friends Carol and John in Okemos.  We got to meet Nellie, the 9 month old Golden Retriever and see the house that they helped their son, daughter-in-law and year old twins get ready to move into.

Carol always has lovely plantings around the house

John and Nellie

A visit to the renovated house on a rainy evening

Every yard needs these <wink>

Geese on the lagoon; some about to land in the distance