Skinny Atlas

We decided to leave for the weekend, since we had four days.  That is enough to actually feel like a holiday!  So we are here in Syracuse because

• there's a great little outlet mall (so we now have birthday pjs for all the little kidlets)
• oh, and clothes for us too. 
• and one little Christmas gift for a friend. 

We're staying at the Jefferson Clinton hotel, which has been just lovely.  Why?  Because

• they upgraded us, to a suite! 
• Susan, who makes made-to-order omelettes makes them really well
• the two ladies at the front desk are very charming
• they let us stay an extra night in the same upgraded room for the same price
• it's located in the Armory District, where there are also lots of funky restaurants and more beer choices than you can imagine.  My German husband can imagine a lot so he is happy! 

And also, it's within walking distance of the Dinosaur, which makes me think of a writer friend who has a book coming out about a woman who gets a divine nudge to go buy a harley and see where it takes her.  You can pre-order it here. 

The Dinosaur also makes the German husband super happy.  See? 

We are having such a nice time, that we decided to stay a bit longer.  We had read about a lakeside village that was one of our options for the day, but Susan said it's great.  So did the lady who runs the Freedom of Espresso (and makes an awesome latte).  So we went. 

The place is called Skaneateles.  We did spend some time trying to figure out how to pronounce it.  Was it Skan-eat-els?  Skan-e-a-tels? Skane-at-el-es?  Nope.  The locals call it Skin-e-at-las.  

And it's a lovely little spot.  A lakeside village, lots of cute boutique shops, some antique corners, benches to sit on so you can watch the sailboats.  There is a church that has a lovely little corner, on the beach but hidden from the rest, for prayer and meditation. It was lovely. 

The drive there had dozens of wild splashes of these

which just made me miss my mom. Here's a few other pictures of the day