Day 11 - New England always a good idea

New England in the fall. Always a good idea. Of course, I had chosen this period particularly for the fall foilage, because that is one of the main reasons for traveling to New England, but in fact we got mostly summer instead. Not a true thoroughbred Indian Summer, but rather the start of what will undoubtedly be a beautiful colorful autumn. Of course nature cannot be directed and you will never know in advance when the cold nights will start that are necessary to get the discoloration going. And where the benchmark used to be that the peak was at the end of September or early October, it has become more uncertain in recent years. Climate change certainly has a hand in this, if you know that we are still recording temperatures of 30 °C in Boston at the end of September. Planning later would be the most logical choice, in October, but then the chance of rain, snow at high altitudes and fog will also increase. And now say yourself, what good is that beautiful painter's palette of colors if you don't see anything in front of your eyes? If this continues, it will become increasingly difficult to plan such a trip in advance. The discoloration also marks the end of the leaf life cycle. Planning later also means that the color splendor might be over its peak and that you can only admire the autumnal and sometimes spooky bare trees on a soft carpet of dry, dead leaves. But even without the fairytale-like color pattern, New England is beautiful in itself. Cozy villages to fall in love with, cute wooden, colored houses and churches with high spiers. Nice, hip cities surrounded by beautiful nature. And then there are the lighthouses along the rugged, rocky coasts. I can stare for hours at the upcoming  waves that break on the rocks with phenomenal power. Martha’s Vineyard is the pinnacle of elegance, not to mention the phenomenal views of endlessly looking forests and the vast ocean. As said, New England is always a good idea.