The Rhinebeck Files - Saturday, gettin there

My family kindly granted me a day off Saturday. Then I realized that my knit buddy Phyllis was only available for Sunday. So, what does a girl do when faced with the dilemma of going to Rhinebeck on Saturday or Sunday? She goes both days!

I only live 1 1/2 hours from Dutchess County in New York so I told myself that I could act as scout and go it alone for the first day. The drive would do me good. I'd get to take in the fall foliage and the beautiful mountains in the distance. I'd get to contemplate the seasons. I'd get to think about life and the open road...

I'd also get to think about traffic! Were they all heading for Rhinebeck too?

After about a half hour of open trafficy road, I pop in a tape of a book that I have been too wimpish to read. It is a poignantly painful story called The Bluest Eye. I told myself that I could lose myself in Ruby Dee's masterful performance and that it isn't often that one gets to hear her read you a book. This was a big mistake. Toni Morrison is a master at tugging away the facades that indifference devises to keep us ignorant. Before the book was over, I wanted to turn around, go home and go to sleep. But it was Rhinebeck and I'm a knitting fanatic and this was supposed to be fun, so I drove on.

Then, I came to the proverbial fork in the road -

In my state of depression, the winery sure sounded like a good segue but who would be my designated driver??? I passed it by and then I see this -

Yippee I'm there. And man you should have seen the long line of cars waiting to get into the parking lot.

After I pay my $10 bucks at the 4H gate, I go inside and see that it is buzzing with people - men and women in all of their knitted glory, children... and lots of sheep and llama! In my book induced depressed state of mind, I started feeling sorry for the sheep! The couple of black and white Paul McCartney/Michael Jackson Ebony and Ivory llama got to walk around and meet people. All the other sheep were in pens. This sheepish awareness mind you, was also the result of another book - Dominion by Matthew Scully that I read soooo long ago and I was sure that I had recovered from it - apparently not.

I began browsing trying to put my mind back on track looking for yarn nirvana. I had promised myself that I would be selective and not buy anything that my LYS could provide me a reasonable facsimile with.