We were in St. Johnsbury this noon to meet cousins visiting from Massachusetts. We had lunch at Anthony's. They had a special of chicken pie which the cousins had, but that was a bit more than either Fred or I wanted. Fred had blueberry pancakes and I had a western sandwich. Everything was good and we had a nice visit. Andy and Steph brought another cousin of ours that, until a couple years ago, I never knew existed. Fran's great grandmother was our great grandfather's sister. She is a lovely lady and it was very nice meeting her. We spent a couple hours over lunch, and as we were leaving, I realized Dean and Elsie Finney were there, too. I worked for Dean at the local radio station when it was WTWN decades ago, and have known Elsie for an equally long time. They are both well and it was good to see them.

Today was St. Johnsbury's day to host Fall Foliage. Unfortunately, it rained most of the day. There were tents and a few people milling about with umbrellas, but I'm sure the count would be down due to the weather. These pictures are of the farmers' market at the south end of Main Street. There were other things going on on Main Street, but there seemed to be very few people at the Welcome Center on Railroad Square, and even Anthony's wasn't unusually busy.

We made a quick stop at Price Chopper on the way home and that was busier than usual. Of course, we aren't often there on a Sunday afternoon, so perhaps that's normal.

The rain was pretty steady, and it is tonight, too. It doesn't look promising for tomorrow, Walden's day to host the leaf peeper crowd, and Tuesday, Cabot's day to host, doesn't look much better. If our visitors don't mind the cool damp weather, it does make for some really nice photo opportunities, though. The colors pop when it's wet, but you miss the crunch and crackle of dry leaves underfoot. We have a hike to Nichol's Ledge on the schedule for Tuesday in Cabot, but if it's raining, that won't happen. The trail is steep and too muddy when it's wet. The hay ride to the sugar woods wouldn't be great if it's raining, either, but we'll have to wait and see what Tuesday brings.

There are still plenty of things to do indoors - we noticed a special rate at the movie theater in St. J. - and most places have great meals, teas, museums, etc., that will warm visitors up and pass the time during showers. And after the rain, everything is fresh and clean. We are just glad it isn't cold and there's no snow expected. It's not unusual to have a little snow sometime during the first weeks of October, and in this year of unusual weather patterns, we count our blessings and hope for the best.