Well, Rhinebeck has come and gone. On Friday, I was so very excited about it this year, as I had a carload of friends who were going to come with me, and I was eager to meet up with bloggers I read. There were going to be gorgeous yarns and alpacas to pet, and bunnies to see,and it was all going to be enormous fun! I had my digital camera, and I was PREPARED this year.

Cut quickly to Monday, and the after effects. Hah. Prepared my hiney.

Nothing could have prepared me for the crowds on Saturday. Was it my imagination, or did it seem more crowded this year? Cause I certainly felt like it was as I tried to move through the barns. Clautrophobic I am not, but I was struggling to see anything in some places.

Then, my utter lack of PREPAREDNESS meant that I had not communicated well with certain bloggers about meeting them, as in suggesting a time and a place, PLUS, I had neglected to read that there was a group meeting outside Building E at 1:00pm. Sorry Vicki! I would have loved to have met up with you and Ann and Cara again this year. Alas.

My carload of friends dwindled down to one lucky soul, and we did have a wonderful time driving down from Boston. It was windy on the way there, but the sun would come out and we would have glorious views of fall colors. That was nice. We talked about our strategy for "shopping" and we laughed and joked, but there was no singing as I'm sure there was in other carloads going to Rhinebeck. Ahem.

We didn't get to the festival until 11am due to someone's alarm not going off. This same someone was actually woken up by her cat, with a loving claw to the boob. Not a great way to wake up. But it does get one (me) out of bed quickly. (Cat is still alive and very much not at all concerned about his bad behavior.)

I attempted to remain calm, telling myself that there would still be some good yarn left at 11. My first stop is was to go to Greta Dise's booth for her Pot Luck Yarn. I managed to snag a few skeins, but was disappointed to see that a lot of her yarn was gone already. Glad for her, but sad for me.

Then I headed to Vaughn Smith's booth. I love his bowls and mugs.
I managed to score a couple of bowls and a new mug and I told myself they were Christmas presents for someone, but they may just be Christmas presents for me.

My friend found some lovely handspun and hand dyed cashmere blend yarn and she was ecstatic. She also bought a sheep mug and suddenly, we were done! 3.5 hours driving, 20 minutes shopping. Ah, well, that's how it goes.

We proceeded to walk through the barns and tents and buildings, we stood in line for over an hour for a chicken pot pie, and we shopped some more. The entire time, I kept my eyes peeled for bloggers, but alas, couldn't see anyone I recognized.

Where are the pictures, you might ask. Didn't Mary say she had her camera with her?
Indeed, I did take my camera, as well as extra batteries, and my friend had hers with her as well. However. She took two quick pictures and her memory card was full. And apparently my camera is broken, as it would not turn on. Even with fresh batteries.
So, no pics of the crowds, the animals, the wine slings, or the fall foliage. Grrr.

To sum up, I went to Rhinebeck, was late getting there, and was confounded by the crowds. I wasn't able to find anyone, and I couldn't take any pictures. Lest I sound too whiny, I did get some lovely yarn to make a wrap with, and I did have a great time bonding with my friend. It was a glorious October day. It was a good trip. But not the great trip I had hoped for.

Now to start mapping my strategy and planning for next year.