Dream date

Shawn and I had the perfect date yesterday. Perfect. He took the day off work (well, so did I, I guess). It was a stunning central New York autumn day. We drove through the colors of fall, along Cayuga Lake, until we got to Ithaca, and then on to Robert Treman State Park, which is an uninspiring name for one of the most magical places on earth.



This was the view from the picnic table where we ate our lunch.




It is hard to capture the flavor of the colors with a camera. There were moments when I could hardly breathe from the beauty. Each corner we turned showed afternoon sun, leaves, rock and waterfall in a different way.




Each step of the path was a fantasy... like walking through a fairy tale. I felt as though I should be wearing a wayworn cotton dress with laces up the front.




FDR's DPW built these stone steps. They also built bridges and basins. Doesn't it look like a Tolkienian elf settlement?





Passing waterfall after waterfall, we bathed ourselves in the music of running water, crunching leaves under our feet, light streaming from unexpected western angles, sunspots dancing in the pines, and the smell of damp rocks.

I don't camp. But if I did, I would camp here.