Good Monday Morning!

It's about 66 degrees; blue sky with puffy clouds. There was a brief thunderstorm during the night but - in Waterville, at least - the thunder and lightning weren't severe nor was the precipitation what anyone would call "torrential."

WKTV News Channel 2's Adam Musyt describes today's forecast as "Just Dandy!"

Today: Clouds and sun. A shower or storm or two, especially this afternoon. High 80-85.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Fog after midnight. Low in the upper 50's.
Tuesday: Early morning clouds and fog, otherwise sunny. Cooler with a high in the mid 70's.

And - if you're a Yankee fan - everything's "just dandy" in New York, too!

Yesterday's "Ride in the Country" took longer than we'd planned! We headed eastward, as we said we would, along Route 20, aiming for the community of Sharon Springs where, back in 1988, Mrs. Desany, Mrs. Davis and I had gone to explore the old hotels and "take the waters." (We did plenty of exploring, yesterday, but we did NOT "Take the waters:" it must be an acquired taste!)

We had to make a couple of stops along the way:



Just West of West Winfield, on the South side of Route 20, there's a low meadow filled with purple loosestrife that gives the appearance of a Heavenly-sized can of purple paint having been spilled.



In East Springfield, a tiny "Antique Shop" that always draws a treasure hunters eye was as crammed as ever with items that I'd never wanted but couldn't resist. A sign, however, declared the business closed and the building SOLD: I'll miss it!

And, just across from the "Teepee," we always have to stop and look at the Northward view.



Reaching Sharon Springs, we turned left on Route 10 and began the curvy downhill ride through the famous old Spa.









Several of the smaller old buildings have been nicely refurbished within the last few years, and the American Hotel is a fine example of those efforts and has become a very popular restaurant.
Twenty informative plaques have been placed along Main Street showing 19th century views of structures and providing pertinent historical facts. Even the story behind the plaques is interesting and could be especially so to the Waterville Historical Society!

But to get back to the tour. As recently as twenty years ago, Main Street was crowded in the Summertime.
Yesterday it was deserted except for three elderly couples strolling slowly past the Imperial Baths, reminiscing, perhaps, about those busy years, and aiming toward the Spring.



The lovely "Magnesia Temple" is on private property. We didn't trespass.



We took a rough, ill-maintained roadway to the old, neglected ADLER Hotel remembering that the late Steven Gates used to spend time during the Summers playing the piano, here, in the diningroom and wondering if the building could, in fact, ever be restored.


The Adler and the Imperial Baths are, according to an article on page 4 of the current issue of the "Route 20 Pulse," two of five impressive structures that ARE going to be restored by a group of "investors" from New York who intend to spend approximately $33 million to create an "international health spa" there! That will be fun to watch!!

(Click to enlarge Photographs. E-mail" Homeinthehuddle@AOL.com)