Road Trip!

Leaf Peeping, A Cake and a Baby.
It's All in a Weekend's Journey to
Upstate New York
When there's a new baby in the family, everyone wants to meet her. She's little, chubby and cute as all get out. It's been about six months since my niece, Sara, and her husband Dan welcomed their new baby, Celia, and the Aunts were eager to see her.

It's a bit of a haul from New York City to upstate New York, where they live, so it took a while to put the trip together. But last weekend, my sister, Jeanne, Richard and I drove to Syracuse to my sister Susan's house. Susan is Sara's mother and baby Celia's grandmother.

Road Trip!

Jeanne's dog, Fern, came with us.

She doesn't like riding in the car, but she

had her nice, comfy bed in the back.

 We are underway.
An azure sky frames

a hillside of brilliant, autumnal colors along Route 17.

 Nearing Roscoe, New York, home

of the world-famous Roscoe Diner.

 The Roscoe Diner is legendary in our family

as a stop on our trips to visit Grandma Kate in

Tonawanda when we were kids.

 Located in Sullivan County, (The Catskills) The Roscoe Diner
 provides a convenient place to stop.
A scenic view of Route 17
from the Roscoe Diner webcam herel

 Jeanne poses next to a large bear.

Roscoe, situated at the convergence
of Beaver Kill and Willowemoc Creek,
 is the trout fishing capital of

New York State.

We arrive at Susan and Rick's house in Syracuse.

Susan had a lovely cheese plate and wine for us.

Soon Susan and Jeanne were in a game of Scrabble,

a Markel family addiction.

I do not play anymore. I don't like two-letter words.

 Richard and I stayed at a hotel while in Syracuse. 

It was homecoming weekend at Syracuse University.

Let's just say that

there was a lot of ORANGE around.

We Meet the Baby!

 Celia arrives!

Yup, cute as a button.

 Left to Right:

My niece, Sara, Celia, Susan and Jeanne.

 Sara was trying out banana as a new

food for Celia.

She didn't go bananas over it.

 Celia's dad, Dan, Fern, me,

Celia and Susan.

Celia was the cynosure* of all eyes.
*Do you believe I spelled this without spell check?

Of course there were presents.

Jeanne got Celia beautiful nesting blocks

and the classic Madeleine book.

Auntie Carol gave her a velvet party dress.

Let them eat cake!

We could not visit Syracuse without having a fabulous "Shadow" cake from the Geddes Bakery.

 Susan approaches Nirvana in the

form of a good bake.

If you are watching the Great

British Baking Show you will

get this reference.

There it sits -- the "Shadow" cake.

Black and white icing and black and white cake inside.

 Like the Swiss Alps of meringues.

Big Orange cookies for Homecoming.

 Ah....the cake.

 The cake holds together beautifully
for a perfect slice.

 Carol gets to hold the baby.

 Susan and Rick live in a beautiful neighborhood

in Syracuse. There are lots of wonderful houses.

 This is the Adelaide Robineau studio and home.
She was an important American painter, potter
and ceramist in the Arts and Crafts movement.
She also taught at Syracuse University for nine years.

 There are eclectic architectural styles on their street.

 This is Susan and Rick's craftsman-style house.

 Susan's beautiful collection of Fiestaware

found at yard sales.

 Susan's living room with Mission furniture.

 This painting of white tulips hangs over Susan's fireplace.

She inherited it from our mother, Mary.

It was painted by a Sea Cliff artist, Mary Holler.

Susan also has this painting by our grandmother,

Kate Keleher. We lived up the street from
 this house on Littleworth Lane in Sea Cliff.

 After an exhausting day with the Aunts and Grandma and Grandpa,

Celia, Dan and Sara head back to their home in a nearby town.

 Back at Jeanne's house I snap this picture of another

painting by Grandma Kate of

Jeanne's playhouse in Sea Cliff, built by our

father, Sam Markel.

À Bientôt!