FALL COLOR drive with Carol (and a lot more)

when we got to somewhere near Richfield Springs, we saw a sign for the HOLY TRINITY
MONASTERY.  We stopped and took a few pictures from the outside.

There was a sign saying
women with shorts or even slacks were not permitted entry, but a monk crossed the road and
suggested we go to the gift shop.  We did not find it at first, so we explored a cemetery
and crypts, then another monk pointed us in the right direction.
In the gift shop we met Father Teacan (sp?), who spoke with us for a while and gave each of
us a free booklet.  He invited us to come back (properly dressed) for a tour and even for lunch. 
We have his phone number and I hope to return on Thursday, but Carol is not sure
Then we headed to Caroga Lake, to explore the abandoned SHERMAN'S AMUSEMENT PARK.  There was road contruction
going on and we were escorted past it.

We did find the abandoned park and explored it a bit.............there are only two rides: a carousel
(inside a round building) and the ferris wheel.  I took a lot of pictures of the park

a beautiful carousel resides in this round house!

and of a few places in
the village. 
We decided to continue heading north a bit (mostly to try to find a convenience store
with a rest room.  We saw some GLORIOUS fall foliage on Route 29A

and stopped at a shop that looked interesting
in Stratford, NY.

After that we headed south. We stopped at this place
But it was closed, and then I saw a sign that indicated
am Amish sawmill, so we headed towards that and saw a sign
for a bulk food store.  We stopped at the sawmill to ask
directions to the bulk food store and it turned out it was
right next door.

  I purchased some brown sugar.
We continued driving west on 29 and turned south to get on
28, which took us through the Herkimer diamond area.  We
stopped at the Herkimer Diamond Mine (a tourist attraction)
and went through the museum and the gift shop.

Very interesting
and actually going to the mining area and looking for diamonds
might be a fun activity on a cool day.
We accidentally took a scenic hilly route back towards Carols
place, arriving there shortly after four p.m.