A lovely day exploring the North Country!

My vacation is nearly at an end.  We decided to busy ourselves today, get out, and explore a bit more.  Many people I know have taken advantage of their free time to enjoy Myrtle Beach or the like.  Lacking the funds (or, in my husband's case, the time), we've stayed in the state, making the most of it.

Today we visited Clayton, NY.  What a lovely village!  The view of the bay was impressive.   It was a cold, rainy, and windy day so we weren't exactly comfortable so near the Thousand Islands.  How marvelous visiting will be on the warmer days!  We stopped at the Thousand Islands Art Center, home of the Handweaving Museum.  They had a lovely exhibit of pieces made by local women.  Hubby was equally entranced and we discussed taking a weaving class together sometime.  We spoke with one of the curators who took our information and promised to send us a catalog of summer classes.  I'm very interested in the natural dying class she told me about!  Truly, the whole Center excites me!   I already feel like my understanding of the fiber arts will increase tenfold thanks to my proximity to these classes!  They even have a center totally devoted to pottery and are willing to rent kilns!  This means I can dapple with porcelain in the future!

After that we went to the Lyric Cafe where we enjoyed vegan chai lattes and quesadillas.  My husband, who has not given up dairy entirely, had cheese with his.  The staff were very accommodating to me.  I basically did not have a quesadilla - I had grilled veggies wrapped in a spinach tortilla.  It was absolutely delicious all the same!  I can't wait to take classes at the Art Center and follow it up with dinner at the cafe! Apparently there is live entertainment on Friday and Saturday evenings.

We headed back to Watertown and decided to visit the Thompson Park Zoo.  It was our first time there and we were not disappointed.  Many people have lamented the absence of more "exotic" specimens, but hubby and I delighted at seeing so many local or semi-local nature spirits - including fishers and wolverines!  My husband was absolutely enamored with them.  To be true, so was I!  I've never seen them in person so it was a real treat to think that they are related to our beloved ferrets! I also loved seeing my spirit guide, the Lynx.  I feel compelled to sponsor them in the near future.  It feels right.  We also saw an albino snapping turtle, various examples of venomous NY snakes, black bears, wolves, mountain lions, bald eagles, snowy owls, ravens, and, some of our favorite buggers, otters!  There were many more as well.  I can't wait to go there again, hopefully with visiting friends and family!

Following that we ran some errands in Watertown.  We've started to prepare for Wellspring.  Gander Mountain was having a sale on camping equipment.  We bought a cooler, a waterproof tarp to put under our tent, a tent repair kit, biodegradable shampoo and soap, eco-friendly insect repellant, and a waterproof bag to carry extra blankets in.  (I've heard Wellspring can get pretty chilly at night!)

We're going to spend the end of the evening with some neighbors.  They've tried inviting us over in the past but we've always been down in Utica.  Today the cards are in our favor and we can actually get to know them.  I hope we don't come across as too weird...  Brighid, Goddess of the bards, grant me eloquence and the knowledge to hold my tongue when needed tonight!  Dagda, Good God, give me humor and acceptance of my self and others!  Now... to wake my husband from his nap...