Fall Foliage Drive

Our fall foliage weekend this year wasn't nearly as eventful as last year's outing to PEEC with lots of other Sunnyside families. But the fact of the matter was that circumstances are a bit, ahem, tighter this year. Not a lot of extra cash (or time in Nacho's schedule) for that bit of nature splurging. So we tightened the buckle a bit and decided to take off on our old standby--following Route 7 up from the Merritt Parkway near Wilton, CT--and enjoy a scenic day trip out of the city. This trip started even before we had kids and it was pretty enough that we have repeated parts of it for many of the past 5 years. This time, however, I wanted something newer. I wanted to maybe try a new place for lunch or find a new trail to hike. We did both of those things and followed a slightly more family friendly start (we landed at a nice playground near Wilton to begin) which meant a fresher take on our well worn path. The lunch at Dog Daze Cafe just outside of town was also a real treat with its farm stand charm and classic burger and dogs with all the funky trimmings (roasted cauliflower with truffle oil, anyone?). The weather couldn't have been nicer--it was almost too warm for the layered look I dressed the girls in--and we enjoyed all the great outdoors had to offer. But before I knew it, we were losing daylight and the girls both konked out on our drive past Kent to the waterfalls. Oh well, it wasn't meant to be this time around. Nacho and I jointly agreed it was best to turn back towards home and so we did hoping to make it back without crazy traffic jams on this last night of the holiday weekend. All told, it probably took us about 30 minutes more than usual, which wasn't terrible given the timing. The girls had dinner on the way in and we managed to make it back in time for them to get ready for bed before 8 p.m.  As I look back at the blue waters of Lovers Leap or the burst of orange and yellow leaves around the bend near New Milford, I'm so glad we made the trip up north. It's always way to reset my mood around this time of year and embrace all that fall has to offer, even if the girls didn't fully appreciate their natural surroundings as much as I would hope. Sometimes walking through the woods in relative quiet is enough for me. It was today.