…and then some:

This was morning coffee today. Talk about a great view to get a bunch of work done on our lake retreat!

I’m happy to share that we are getting a big ol’ face lift as part of the transition that’s happening here so watch your screen over the next few weeks for our makeover! I’ve already begun a few little changes you can see at the top page tabs.

Time for a BLR work retreat and meeting of the minds. We have mountains to move and things are rolling!

Eastbound I go, where I will have one of my favorite people greet me, and more to join. There will be music made (surprise on that soon,) fresh food eaten, wine for sipping, hills to run, a dock for sitting, and mornings to wake up and be utterly inspired to get things done.

Today was my last day on what has been a most incredible trip. There couldn’t have been a more perfect way to celebrate hope, freedom and possibility (what Blue Lollipop Road is all about) than taking a trip to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I can’t thank everyone enough for the votes that ended up sending me there! An absolute best grand finale for this 18 days on the road in my loaned Honda.

It’s my last full day before the car return. (Boo!)

I wanted to give a little tour of this amazing 2012 Honda Hybrid Civic that’s been so good to me over the past couple weeks:

It’s a good thing I love this car so much because I sure have spent a lot of time in it stuck in traffic the past few days!

My Civic:

…getting all organized for my transfer to the loaner Civic. Ahhh…the shiny and beautiful hybrid:

It was a bonus to meet the STI crew I’ve been talking to for a while now, and find out they were even nicer and more accommodating in person! They all helped me get the vinyl on the car and looking perfect:

As I am sure you all are very aware of, the Northeast- particularly the Southern parts of Vermont where I have planned to head to to kick off this Honda Adventure has been severely damaged by Hurricane Irene. This means a lot of things, one being there are several road closures, detours and spots that are simply off limits as the enormous clean up is underway. Considering my pre-planned route and meetings go from NJ, through NY and into VT then through NH into ME, I will essentially be attempting to go through the thick of it all. I have been a less planning, more doing kind of girl during my travels over the years, just rolling with what happens on the road, so It’s ironic that I pre-planned some things for this trip, and one of the worst floods in Vermont’s history happens right before I plan to be there.

Over the past couple weeks, I’ve gotten the chance to catch up with some old friends in NY, and of course their adorable kids. Even though most all my peers started having babies years ago, I still find it hard to believe because I feel like we are all kids as of today. How does time pass so quickly? Remember when you were younger and thought someone who was 30 or 40 was like, so totally old? Now we are the “oldies” building families and realizing that “they” were right, years do fly by faster as you get older. All the more reason to enjoy those sweet mischievous moments. Like when you are sitting 2 feet away, but somehow someone still manages to steal the chip bowl:

The BLR-Mobile and I shared quite a view on Sunday night. It was a tad windy and more or less rainy and cloudy with residuals from Hurricane Irene all day until…

…right until the sun was setting.

Just when you think a sunset couldn’t possibly become any more beautiful:

It’s been a while since I went frolicking in the woods and wading through streams and waterfalls, so our plans for yesterday afternoon turned out to be even more fun than I anticipated. I immediately started climbing trees pretending I was in the circus (or dreaming about being 8 years old again) before we were in the woods for 5 minutes:

I’m one of the lucky ones to be in the part of NY thats NOT being hit by rain and wind hurricane weather. In fact, it’s so gorgeous where I am today it’s hard to believe the rest of the east coast is prepped for safety and hunkered down. (Please stay safe everyone that’s in the storms path!) Being thankful we have a perfect sunny and warm Upstate Saturday, we have decided to take extra advantage of it and go for a big ol’ hike and maybe check out a few Finger Lakes Wineries. Off to burn some calories so I can pack on more with my ever building trip “To Nosh At” list.