“But in my heart is the joy of youth for I have learned that the essential things of life are near at hand and happiness is his who but opens his eyes to the beauty which lies before him.” -John Burroughs

I took a day trip to Connecticut this week. It was time for some exploration, one of the areas in my life that needs attention for me to be happy. So off I went heading south on Hwy 7. My first stop was for coffee at a cafe in Sheffield, Massachusetts then over the border to Connecticut to a waterfall at Kent Falls State Park. It was pretty and I enjoyed a leisurely climb up the path to the top.

It happened to be the rare 92 degree day and the sun roof was open and the tunes blaring. My old friend (in thought only), James Taylor, came on singing…

Isn’t it a lovely ride? Sliding down, gliding down, try not to try too hard, it’s just a lovely ride…

And of course, I had to agree with him! I am trying not to try too hard these days. Enjoy the moments and stay present in them is my motto. No need to press for more than comes my way, so much is right before me if I only look.

I meandered along the Housatonic River and I drove over the covered Bull’s Bridge. The area is gorgeous and I enjoyed views of horses peacefully munching grass and rapids along the river.

As I wound around beautiful Lake Waramaug I let my imagination ponder the name, wondering if the shape of the lake looked like Smaug the dragon in the Hobbit series and whether he had a brother named Waramaug. Of course, the name has nothing to do with dragons or hobbits and is the name of a princely Native American Chief.

I stopped for a bit of toes-in-the-sand time at the state beach, and as I was dipping my feet in the water’s edge a snake came undulating by as if on his own tour around the lake.

Then a couple of parental geese marched their fledgling flock up the shore to eat blades of grass.

Peaceful. Well, not the snake, I must admit that snakes make the hair on my arms stick out and my heart beat faster. I retreated to a safe distance while he was in sight. Maybe he was a descendent of my imaginary leviathan Waramaug?

What a day for a daydream, Custom made for a daydreamin’ girl…

But it was a very gorgeous little lake with some beautiful homes to admire along the shore.

As it was past time for lunch, I was near New Preston and tucked into the Nine Main Bakery & Deli. And after all my daydreaming I couldn’t not order the Waramaug sandwich and was it ever delicious. Multi-grain bread, turkey, havarti, sprouts, tomato, cucumber and toasted sunflower seeds! Mmmmmmm….a great find in a tiny town.

Next stop was at Mt Tom State Park to do a little hiking. My body is not quite acclimated to 92 degrees though so I didn’t push myself too far. This was about exploration not heat exhaustion! I did see a butterfly and caterpillar and enjoyed the bird song that was everywhere today.

I drove through Litchfield but didn’t see any place there of interest to me and headed to Goshen and Mohawk State Park. I saw some amazing views of the surrounding Connecticut landscape and just sat and contemplated the beauty of my world.

It is days like this that remind me of the need to get out of my box and look for new things, even if they are around the corner, and full of my own imagination. It is always worth the effort and time. I have recently been introduced to the photos and life lessons of Dewitt Jones, a National Geographic photographer. His Celebrate What’s Right With the World fits snugly into my world view these days. Believing is seeing. If I expect to see beauty it will be there. And it certainly was, in horses, bird song, waterfalls, rivers, a dragon-esque lake, caterpillar, butterfly, snake, geese, green hills and a very good sandwich!