Now this couldn’t be totally a WTDGAP moment, as my cousin had made this suggestion last-minute.  Nevertheless, we decided to tack on an additional day to our quicktripping to accept a generous invitation made by his friends .  We began our day with one last delicious homemade breakfast before checking out of  Barry Butterfield’s lovely Hudson City Bed and Breakfast. I am never good at saying goodby, but I definitely will be revisiting this wonderful B&B in the future.

We were going to meet my cousin’s friends for lunch at Grazin’ Diner so we had time for some last-minute wandering through Hudson City.  I must say I was very intrigued by the following.  First, a most whimsical bouquet:

Yes, those are flyswatters, never looking so lovely.

Here is a nod to the Baby Boomers who are reading this blog:

This will help you with the image:

One of the great pleasures of exploring a new place is discovering something new and completely different such as this enticing store:

What a find – a treasure trove of oils, vinegars, salts and spices from all over the world.  Each section offered tasting cups as well as small pieces of bread to cleanse the palette.

I couldn’t resist purchasing a collection of multi-colored salts as well as a minibottle of the above aged black cherry balsamic vinegar:

More surprises to come as we met up with my cousin’s friends at Grazin’ Diner:

Fresh eggs of all sizes and colors  – including a duck egg,  gifted by Steven and Rebecca, chef and manager of this marvelous diner.  There was more delicious food to follow as we tucked in on their main lunch offerings.  I was too busy enjoying my juicy special burger plate so didn’t take pictures – but here are a few from Grazin Diner’s website:

Truly mouth-watering.  I was going to also include a shot of  my cousin’s favorite meal of soft shell crab eaten earlier during our stay, but alas, that photo has gone missing.  Sorry cuz, we’ll just have to eat them elsewhere to get another shot.

After lunch we reluctantly said goodby to Hudson City and traveled a bit to where my cousin’s friends have a lovely Cotswold Style cottage.  Once again, Miss Jill, our GPS lady did a standup job of directing us through a maze of intricate, winding country roads  and we were soon at our final destination – and the grounds are breathtaking:

 

As you can see there was a storm quickly approaching, but I did manage a video so you can enjoy the peaceful sounds of this magical place:

I don’t usually include “B” roll, but I  am hoping you find this as funny as I did, as I ran to get into the house before the storm began in earnest:

The storm passed quickly and we tucked in to a light but very scrumptious meal of soups, salad, cheeses, charcuterie  and cornichon  that we had purchased earlier in Hudson City along with some fine wine provided by our hosts:

Post dinner we talked and talked and talked and all being satisfactorily tired, went to bed.

In the pre-dawn hours I was awakened  by a bright light shining through my bedroom window:

Even I need a few hours of sleep so reluctantly after taking a number of photos,  I went back to bed.

The following morning was awash in sunshine and nature enticed me with lots of birds and scenic landscapes to feed my photo jones. .  There was even a cardinal, but he, as his Whitestone relative, escaped my camera’s lens.  However this beautiful woodpecker was more accommodating:

These loons were far off at the other edge of the lake but still offered a pretty picture:

Geese combined their morning swim with a search for breakfast:

Every vantage point offered nature’s beauty:

 

It was difficult to say goodbye to this idyllic place, but hopefully I will get a chance to see it again.

For now, on to other journeys.

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