Celebrating our Anniversary in Wine Country

On the 8th anniversary of our wedding, we found ourselves in New York's Finger Lakes, near Naples,   which is also known as wine country. We decided to go with that theme for our celebration. We started off with wine tasting at a fun little winery called Imagine Moore. Their wines have names like Truth, Grace, Joy and Gratitude, so we had a little Peace, Love and Harmony to celebrate.

The kids pretending to drink tea in the vineyard with Daddy.

Next we went to Jerome's Vineyards to pick our own Concord grapes. 

We weighed them and happily paid 40 cents per pound! Yum!

We stopped briefly at the ski resort before heading to dinner. 

The Appalachian Trail, Massachusetts

While in Vermont, we made a day trip to Massachusetts to hike at Mount Greylock State Park.

The forest is so dense and brightly colored, I could barely believe my eyes!

We hiked Round Rocks trail which offered great views.

Luckily we had recently been warned not to touch these Hickory Tussock caterpillars!

In 1948 a plane crashed right here on the mountain. These rusted pieces, and the man's grave just a few feet away are all that remains. 

We hiked the Appalachian Trail! Cross that one off the list ;)

But seriously, we discussed returning to hike a larger portion of it maybe for a week or so when the kids are old enough to understand what will be required (hiking all day- every day, sleeping along the trail, eating solely out of the backpack, etc). They would have to have the desire to do this and the ability to actually keep up. If you are unfamiliar with the trail, it is 2,180 miles long, running thru 14 states from Maine to Georgia! 

The view from the peak of Mount Greylock.

Afterwards we warmed up in the Bascom Lodge with some chili and hot chocolate. 

The Veterans War Memorial was unfortunately closed for tours.

A week in Vermont

We arrived in Vermont's southwest corner, right at the peak of autumn colors. We visited the Bennington Battle Monument, which stands 306ft tall and commemorates the Battle of Bennington, a turning point in the Revolutionary War fought on August 16, 1777.

Enjoying their Vermont Apples before the tour begins.

The tour took us up into the monument where the row of windows are near the top.

The view from the top-

You can see Vermont, Massachusetts and New York from here.

Afterwards we continued to explore by walking down colorful Memorial Drive.

We came upon a cemetery next to a historical church.

Robert Frost happens to be buried here, so we visited his grave where he was laid to rest along with his wife and 5 (adult) children.

Then we went back to our campground, which we had mainly to ourself since it closed for the winter on the day we left.