Rhinebeck!

Rhinebeck was a blast this year, just as it was last year. It was also thoroughly, utterly exhausting…but still worth it. We took off Friday afternoon, after I’d finished my tutoring shift at the Writing Center. Our (5 hour long) drive down to the Hudson River Valley region was made a bit less pleasant by the constant rain and fog:

There’s so much gorgeous scenery on the way there, but we couldn’t see any of it, thanks to the fog. But by the next day, things had cleared up considerably. Like last year, I was using my cane, but since I now have a camera with a strap I can wear around my neck, it was much easier to get photos than it was last year. I met so many awesome friends at the Ravelry Meetup that afternoon…it was like the Internet had come to life!

Of course, despite taking more pictures than last year, I still missed getting photos with everyone! I’m especially sad to have neglected to get a picture of Andrea, who test knit the maple leaf cardigan pattern for me. I so wish I’d gotten a picture of the two of us showing off our matching yokes! The pattern, by the way, is ever so close to being ready to publish. It’ll be out by the end of the month, and if you’d like, you can add it to your Ravelry queue already, right here:

After thoroughly wearing ourselves out at the festival, we took a break in our hotel room before venturing out to the Ravelry Party. I don’t have any pictures from the party, because I didn’t even bother to bring my camera. I’m pretty happy with that decision, given how much time we spent waiting for buses on either end of the party, which was only made worse by the fact that my collapsible cane decided to collapse at a rather inconvenient time – while I was leaning on it in line for the bus after the party. So I collapsed too, and got some nice muddy pants to show for my time spent sitting on the ground while waiting (3 busses filled up before we made it to the front of the line, so it was quite a wait!). I’d definitely hit my wall well before that, too…it was a rough night, towards the end there. So I’m glad I didn’t have much to carry, even though it means no pictures!

But AT the party, I had a great time getting to chat with several friends I’d never met in person before (among them, Lolly and Mandy, and several others I know I’m forgetting!), which was so, so fun. Even though the party pushed me pretty well past my limit (I was completely non-functional thanks to pain and fatigue the next day), I’m still so glad I had a chance to hang out with such awesome people.

Well, that just about covers our Rhinebeck trip this year. I’ll post again soon about the one and only thing I purchased at Rhinebeck.

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