Every December 1st I am reminded of something my father did for years. He would always call me and simply say
"Hurray, hurray for it is December, the 7th is the day for all to remember". Oh, how I miss that phone call!
"My Covid-19/2020/Isolated birthday" will be one to remember for sure!
Welcome to the 25th edition of the Tales of the Traveling Tote
The Tales of the Traveling Tote is a series of adventures that share where our Mackenzie Childs tote bags have taken us. Four times a year a group of bloggers each write a connected post about the places we have been. We have built incredible friendships through our blogs and we hope you enjoy our tales as much as we do!
Due to Covid-19 our travels have mostly been halted and we have spent a lot of time with only family, so here is how we spent the last few months:
September 2020
Miss Kenzie was hanging out on a pear tree...
...while Miss Tizzy enjoyed the last flowers of summer...
...and Miss Royal took in the local vineyard....
...and the local pumpkin patch....
At the end of the month we rented a VRBO home in Lake Placid for a long weekend with our daughter's family and in-laws
To get there we passed by quite a few lakes in the Adirondack Mountains: Star Lake, Cranberry Lake, Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, Mirror Lake and finally Lake Placid, as well as traveling along the Ausable River:
We made reservations at The Wild Center at Tupper Lake:
There were very few people walking the trails and we enjoyed being high above the trees!
Lake Placid
On top of Whiteface Mountain - one of the trails is called MacKenzie!!
We ate in and avoided all crowds - each family chose a day to prepare meals and I used MacKenzie-Childs paper plates for the dinner John and I prepared!
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OCTOBER
Apple Picking at Beak and Skiff Apple Orchard is a yearly event for us - we weren't there for long as we went early in the morning and left as the crowds were showing up!
October Traveling Tote Zoom Call - it's always fun to catch up with our fun group of bloggers:
Family Cider Day in Williamson, NY
(the "Core of Apple Country")
This was a fun family event where we made apple cider!
I spent a day in Aurora and Skaneateles with another "Toter":
Skaneateles Lake:
NOVEMBER
We visited Heritage Hill Brewery in Pompey:
Someone wanted to EAT my tote!!
The view from here is GORGEOUS!! You can see the city of Syracuse, The Carrier Dome and Onondaga Lake:
The grounds are lovely and it was a perfect fall day to walk around in the fresh air!
My friend Tobey and I drove to Sharon Springs to visit the Beekman 1802 Mercantile and the other little shops in town. We drove up to the Farm and then had lunch in Canajoharie (and did a little more shopping!).
John and I visited a new brewery in Cazenovia and enjoyed a quiet lunch overlooking Cazenovia Lake in the distance. Meiers Creek Brewery opened up at the end of the summer and we will definitely be back in the spring! They have an outdoor patio and it was another beautiful fall day to enjoy the last few days of warm weather!
Here's a little history and folklore from Cazenovia:
In spite of local shutdowns, mask wearing and new rules and regulations, we were lucky to be able to enjoy our community the last 3 months and support a few of our local businesses. We were cautious and visited most places during slow hours and weekdays. I hope you are all staying safe and being responsible.
And NOW for the GIVEAWAY!
Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths
Emily with Miss Courtney Childs@ The French Hutch
Jenna with Miss Coquille @The Painted Apron
Linda P with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda
Rita with Miss Luna C @ Panoply
GIVEAWAY: Sarah with Miss Merri Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul
Jackie and Miss Madi K @ Purple Chocolat Home
Ricki Jill and Countess De Monet @ The Sketchy Reader
Patti with Miss Kenzie @ Pandora's Box YOU ARE HERE!
As we enter the holiday season may you all stay healthy and spend these special times with your family.
Wishing you a Happy Holiday and a Healthy New Year!
I am incredibly impressed and amazed at your travels during this period of COVID, Patti. It's so great that you could go to all these places and not fear the so-called Reaper. Great places, all of them! It makes me long for when we can all return to some sense of normalcy, not having to consider going out when crowds are low or non-existent. Thanks for sharing all your fun!
ReplyDeleteAutumn seems so long ago to me, nice to see the fall colors again! Glad you got out and about for fresh air and adventure. This too shall pass!
ReplyDeleteFor someone who claims she didn't travel, you sure kept your totes busy this Fall Patti! You were able to enjoy so many things close to your own backyard, and share beautiful Fall photos! I love that you spent so much time enjoying the outdoors in seasonal weather, I know snow will be keeping you in the next few months...On to December and more tote adventures!
ReplyDeleteJenna
Love seeing your travels with Miss Kenzie. I can tell you two are BFFs!
ReplyDeleteSuch fun travels Patti. I envy you for getting out and enjoying during the covid. You and your darling totes have visited some awesome places. Love the pumpkin shot! Fun to connect with another toter. Here's to hoping our next tote adventure is covid free.
ReplyDeleteI use to receive similar calls from my Dad and I miss them so much. Patti, you certainly did enjoy the wonderful outdoors for this post. So many beautiful places to enjoy nature and her beauty. It was so lovely here this fall, we did drives around our little part of the world to enjoy the seasonal color. I enjoyed your vacation pics and seeing your part of the world. Happy December sweet friend.......
ReplyDeletePatti, I will have to live vicariously through you because I. Go. Nowhere these days! I am losing my mind, but my house is very clean! ;P
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed seeing the pretty scenery around Lake Placid. I remember when the Olympic Games were hosted there. I've never skied in the Eastern US other than North Carolina. We always ski out west! I would like to try it one day! What a fun place to hike, too.
xo,
RJ
I think you and Miss Tizzy may get the travel award. You have been busy! Your mountain get away looks fun!
ReplyDeleteFun memory from your dad. Sending your birthday wishes as the 7th will indeed be here in a hurry!
Wow Patti, I am amazed at all the places you and your tote visited! I enjoyed looking at the photos and nice that you all do Zoom chats together. Have a nice week!
ReplyDeleteOh Patti, you and all of your lovely ladies went and went and went! What fun you had and I love that you didn't favor one bag over all of the others. You are such fun. I didn't know they had a Williamson, NY! Woohoo!
ReplyDeleteMy parents used to have an apple cider press. Your pictures reminded me of that. Thanks for taking us all over upstate NY!
You did far better than I on getting out to other places! Well done. (I think I'd head with Miss Royal to the Vineyard!)
ReplyDelete