Sunday April 26th through Saturday May 2, 2926

 SUNDAY

First to the refuge to a spot where a tri color bird has been hanging out. 

No luck.  Then to Skaneateles to drive down the west side of the lake to Carpenter Falls.  bit of difficulty  find it, but we stumbled across the OLD New Hope Mill and Country Store.

   And then we found the road that goes to CARPENTER FALLS.  After the falls, which is very beautiful and has a nice boardwalk taking visitors to a spot to see it,

we decided to drive up the other side of the lake to get back to S.   Along the way we found four geocaches.  Had supper at KOSTA'S restaurant, and it was very good.    Played two games of SEQUENCE  and L won both.

Monday: drive to Oneonta took a really long time.   I found a few interesting photo ops and found one geocache.I drove down the east side of Skaneateles Lake hoping to see an old general store that I thought I saw yesterday.  Strange thing is that today I did not see it.  I did see another general store that WELCOMES HUNTERS in New Hope,  and stopped to take a picture. 

I continued driving south and wasted some time and gas before I got on the right track and ended up in Cortland.   This is the only picture I took in Cortland.

I stopped at a BYRNE DAIRY to use their bathroom and picked up a box of crackers and I ate a whole sleeve of them as I was driving.

I saw an interesting old, seemingly abandoned small shop in a Hamlet or Village named North Pitcher.  There is a sign on the side which says THE BUDGET SHOP.

  I stopped to take a couple of pictures and peek in the windows, as I was leaving, a man in a truck stopped and asked if I was family.  I said no and the owner, a man named Mike, died a couple of years ago.  I kept driving and saw an interesting site with ponds and old buildings (South Otselic Fish Culture Station and Rearing Pond Complex) so I stopped to take a picture. 

 I don't remember why I stopped a little bit further down the road, but I parked off to the side of a bank, and went on the geocaching app, which told me I was less than 400 feet from a geocache which I found  quickly and easily. It was in this bell next to the fire station.

I continued on, this time following directions to Oneonta.  And I arrived at Mary's place a few minutes after three p.m.   She helped me get my stuff inside and then I rested and checked email for a while.  I went downstairs at about five p.m. figuring that Mary would be watching THE FIVE, but she was in the kitchen working on putting lasagna together for our supper.

TUESDAY April 29th:   After a shower/shampoo and breakfast, I went into Oneonta to go to WELLNOW (Urgent Care) due to the fact that last night when I looked at the tick bite area it was inflamed.  I was in and out quickly and I was given two antibiotic pills to take (on the spot) and paperwork listing all of the symptoms to watch for in the next few weeks.  I went over to PANERA and got a drink.  They had the pomegranite hibiscus tea that I love.  Shortly after I got back to Mary's house, Carol arrived.  We sat and talked for a while before going to BROOKS for lunch.  Lunch was great!  The chicken was tender and tasty and everything has gone back to how it was before COVID.  Carol wanted to return three bras to J.C. Penneys and she was nervous about going alone because she read something on Facebook about a crime in Oneonta, and the police warning people to be careful and lock their doors.  I offered to go with her.  So, we returned to Mary's house because she had to get her car so she could pick up LADY from Doggie Day Care. I drove Carol and I to J.C. Penneys where she was successful in returning the items and getting partial credit to use towards another purchase.  She found some shoes that she liked and she got them and opened up a J.C. Penney's credit card.  We returned to Mary's house and visited a bit more and took a few pictures  before Carol left.  Mary offered to drive a route that she likes that would avoid Carol going back into Onoenta, so Carol followed her.  After they left, I immediately laid down and took a nap.  When I got up, Mary and I talked and watched FoxNews for a while.  I heated up a slice of lasagna for my supper.  

WEDNESDAY:   I met up with Hildy at the PLAINS and we went in to get Connie.  Connie seemed happy to see me.  We went to Neahwa Park, so Connie could see some dogs and her favorite old tree. and then to Riddell Park where we walked on the main trail a couple of tenths of a mile and then to Denny's for lunch and then to WalMart is Connie could stock up on cookies.  Then we returned to the PLAINS.  A couple with two small dogs was in the dining area, and Connie got to hold one of them for a few minutes. 

THURSDAY:  I showered in the morning.  I read and used the internet while waiting for Mary to do her barn chores and take LADY to Doggie Day Care and for Lucy to arrive.  The three of us set out towards Unadilla arouond ten forty five a.m.  We found the LITTLE PINK HOUSE easily and enjoyed looking around and meeting the owner. 

 Then we went to the FROG POND in Bainbridge, and then back to Unadilla to have lunch at the VILLAGE TABLE which used to be the UNADILLA DINER.  We had a nice lunch, the food was great, but service was slow.  We liked our server, though, he was very nice and very apologetic.  Then we went to a vintage store just down the street, which I really enjoyed.  When we got back to Mary's house, I started my laundry and took a nap. We had leftovers for supper.  We relaxed and watched TV for a while.  

FRIDAY:   I loaded my car up first thing.  I said goodbye to Mary and picked Vera up and we went to Nick's Diner for breakfast.  After drop ping her off, I set out for Auburn, taking my time.  I stopped a few times to use restrooms and/or to purchase food.  In Skaneateles, I put "library in Auburn" into the destination assist in my car and that is where I am now.  I got caught up on some internet stuff, and texted Leslie and then met up with her at STRYKER HOMES.  She helped me get my stuff up to her apartment. Leslie and did not go out this evening.  

SATURDAY:   We went to the MONTEZUMA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE for a guided nature walk.  It was very interesting.  The walk was led by Master Naturalist, Pete Saracino.

We stopped at McDonalds and had BIG MACS with drinks and fries for our lunch.   We rested in the afternoon.  In the evening we went to DEER HAVEN PARK for a two hour pre-season tour.  We had a bit of difficulty getting there, and did not arrive a half hour early, but we got there in time.  THIS TIME (as opposed to last summer when Mary and I took a similar tour and did not see a single white deer) we saw several white deer. 

Leslie had made beef stew in her crockpot, but by the time we got back to her place, it was too late to eat anything that heavy.  She made toast and eggs for our late supper. We played two games of SEQUENCE and she won both.