Fall Foliage Trip

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We are so excited! For a long time we have wanted to head up to New England, and the chance to see the trees at the peak of their color change is so fun!

I have a birthday coming up this weekend and then next week we will be headed out for 4 days. We are going to spend them exploring small towns and hopefully fun shops, taking tons of photos, and having fun together.

Mom and Dad are also going along. They didn't take a special trip at their 50th anniversary time as July is very hot, so we all decided the fall was the perfect time for a trip. Plus Mom has always wanted to see the trees in Vermont in the fall.

We are going to have such a good time!

The kids are on the mend, but Sarah is having a rough day. She should feel better tomorrow.

The pumpkin scones turned out very well. Emily thinks they could stand to have a bit more pumpkin so I will try to tweak the recipe this week. Here is the recipe as it appears in Tea Time magazine.

Pumpkin Scones

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup canned pumpkin

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. I sprayed my baking pan but you could use parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together the sugar, salt, 2 1/4 cups flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. (I didn't use the nutmeg, I used a bit more cinnamon and allspice.) Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg and pumpkin, and stir until just combined. Add additional flour if necessary, until mixture forms a loose dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut into rounds. Place on prepared baking sheet, and back for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden. Transfer to wire racks to cool slightly; serve warm with Maple Butter. *Note: I didn't use unsalted butter, just a bit less of the salt.

Maple Butter

makes 1/2 cup

1/2 cup salted butter, softened

1/2 cup maple syrup (the real stuff!)

In a medium bowl and using an electric mixer at medium speed, cream together butter and maple syrup. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

I also made my Mock Devonshire Cream. Delish! Here is the recipe.

Mock Devonshire Cream

1 8oz package of cream cheese

1/2 up of sour cream

2 tablespoons of powdered sugar.

Mix the cream cheese and sour cream together. Add the powdered sugar. Mix. Enjoy on scones with jam!

We took my camera to be repaired yesterday, and they had to send it off somewhere so I will have to rely on my girls to take awesome photos of our trip!

Planning this trip has made me think of what other awesome places in our great country there are to visit. Did you see any of Ken Burns new documentary "National Parks" last night? They were showing a lot of Yosemite which is in California. I used to go camping and hiking there - it is simply beautiful!

What trips have you taken that you just loved? What is your favorite place to visit?