Fall In Upstate New York

A couple weeks ago I took a trip to visit a college friend and her family. Bailey and I hadn’t seen each other since graduation day over 4 years ago, but regularly keep in touch through social media and mailing cards. Since a visit was long overdue, we decided I would do a weekend of Fall In Upstate New York.

An early morning flight out of Omaha and a long layover in Chicago made my first stop of the day a place to purchase an overly large coffee to get me moving. Cute bags and coffee equal my travel essentials.

After Bailey and her children picked me up at the airport, we had to eat some authentic Buffalo wings before making the hour long drive to their house, just off the shores of Lake Ontario. Bailey and her husband, Robert, live next to his family’s farm. When I visited they were in the middle of their apple harvest season.

On Saturday, we did a road trip toward the eastern part of New York. Here a bit more of the trees were starting to change.

God can sure paint a pretty picture.

On Sunday, Bailey drove me to a few more places around her hometown. Including a visit to the farm where she grew up and her brothers now raise pumpkins.

After our trip down memory lane, we grabbed a few groceries. Sunday dinner was going to be by the pond at the orchard to celebrate little Cullen’s first birthday! While Bailey baked up this stunner of a cake for the little cowboy…

I got to play with Cullen!

The Bannister family pond provided the perfect backdrop for a family dinner.

With a hint of fall starting to hit the trees, the reflections in the fading light and the surrounding willow trees were magic.

I kept thinking of the quote from Anne of Green Gables “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers”.

Finally it was time to have the birthday boy blow out his candle!

Monday was my last day for Fall in Upstate New York. All mother nature had planned was rain (it rained 3 out of the 4 days I was there). Thankfully, I have an amazing friend who would gladly go out in the pouring rain to fetch me a couple bags full of freshly picked apples!

Since my flight out of Buffalo wasn’t until late afternoon, we decided to visit Niagara Falls before making our way to the airport. We made a couple stops along the way to look at the lake and the Niagara River.

The rain had let up from earlier in the day, but the weather was misty and grey. At least it provided a neutral background for the pretty fall foliage.

Our final stop was the beautiful Niagara Falls.

I had such an amazing time with this crew. A huge thank you to Bailey, Robert, Charlotte, Cullen, and the whole Bannister family for making me feel so welcomed!

Until next time!