Fall Colors

 Today I headed east. I woke up and loaded my car. My Hungarian host was a little late so I admired the view of the Catskills, watched the traffic go by, listened to the birds, and picked some grapes growing on the sign for the hotel. I ate grapes while he got breakfast ready. I drank coffee while he told me he got into an argument with the other tenant. When she came to the hotel he asked her if she was vaccinated. She went on a tirade. She wasn't vaccinated, he had no right to question her, she was a citizen, she had her rights, he wasn't wearing a mask, and then she said she saw me without a mask. I was shocked because I never saw her and right now I wasn't wearing a mask. He told her I was vaccinated which is none of her dang business! I ate my oatmeal quickly hoping to get out of there before she came for breakfast. I sat with my back to the door. She came in. He tried to engage her in pleasant conversation but she was not in the mood. I got up to leave with my coffee and my strawberry Greek yogurt and he asked me where I was going. I told him east. We laughed, we joked and I got the heck away from that germy, crab apple of a woman. I crossed the Hudson River Valley on the Rip Van Winkle bridge hoping I would fall asleep for 20 years like he did. I went north into Massachusetts. The Berkshire mountains are also in peak bloom. I have never seen so many beautiful fall colors on trees before in my entire life. I got to Hartford, Connecticut at noon. Driving through downtown Hartford at noon on a Friday is an interesting experience. I wished I had a sign on my car that said, "She is from out of state and most likely lost." I remembered my Minnesota license plates probably do give that message. Now I am eastern Connecticut. I have one last day on my own. Rain is in the forecast so a museum might be in order. On Oct. 31 I have an appointment to go trick or treating. My odometer reads 3100.00 miles. Google says the trip from Duluth to my present location should be between 1300 to 1400 miles. I didn't rack up any miles floating across lake Michigan. Google maps lies.