Thursday 28 May 2015,
We left Suffern NY, headed up Route 17, through Monticello on a sunny morning and it took about 4 hours to reach Athens PA. We arrived a few minutes before midday. Relaxed for the rest of the day.

Friday 29 May 2015,
We relaxed all day. Lee went to the hospital where he does volunteer work and Cloudia and Briar went shopping in Binghamton NY.

Saturday 30 May 2015,
At about midday we did the 40 minute journey to Erin NY, Wood Festival and saw the chainsaw carving competitions. It was hot and humid and there was a sudden downpour midway through. The speed chainsaw carving event had just started when we arrived. Competitors have one hour in which to complete their carving. After the event has finished the completed carvings are auctioned off. There are also events for Lumberjacks and Jills, log chopping and axe throwing. It is a family day out for most people with food and drink stalls etc.

The log sawing competitions were serious business. There were events for both men and women and it looked as if  individual points were aggregated for team results. Tape measures were used to locate the correct foot positions prior to the Cross Cut saw event and saws oiled with special oils. The density of the 16" diameter Aspen logs were tested so that no competitors were advantaged over the others. The winners cross-cut saw event took 7 seconds to complete the event.
  In the evening we had thunderstorms.

Sunday 31 May 2015,
At about 12:30pm we set off for the one hour journey to Ithaca, NY. Ithaca is home to both Cornell University and Ithaca College and at the moment is holding it's annual Festival of the Arts. Although there was probably more traditionally based arts events behind doors and in halls, the street stalls and the groups busking made the biggest impact. There were street stalls selling food, jewellery, clothes etc everywhere.

We arrived home just after 4:00pm

Monday 1 June 2015,
It rained most of the night and we woke up to a dull foggy day. It reached a maximum of about 14˚C. Spent most of the day trying to photograph hummingbirds with varying success.

Tuesday 2 June 2015,
It rained much of the night but by morning it was had stopped and the sky was overcast and the temperature about 13˚C. But the rain had cleared away giving the sun a chance to show through.
In the afternoon we drove to Wyalusing which is an area of Pennsylvania that those loyal to Marie Antoinette hoped she might have lived in safety. History tells us she never made it. From there we had a quick look at the Mount Pisgah State Park

Marie Antoinette Lookout overlooking the valley at Wyalusing, PA	Overlooking the valley at Wyalusing from the Marie Antoinette lookout, PA
Overlooking the valley at Wyalusing and the Susquehanna River, PA	Mt. Pisgah State Park, PA

We had to put US$28.77 of petrol in the car at the Dandy Mini mart, East Smithfield just outside Athens, PA  (9.923 gallons @ US$2.899 per gallon).

Wednesday 3 June 2015,
We woke up with thick fog filling the valley below and around the house. It burned away by mid morning leaving us with a warm bright sunny day with a maximum of about 21˚C. Cloudia and Briar went off to Corning to look at the glass museums etc and I finally found a use for "back button" focusing on a DSLR camera. It is by far the easiest way of photographing humming birds. Just before 3:00pm a baby black bear emerged from the woods and fed in the long grass below the balcony for about an hour. I took a few photos of it too.

Thursday 4 June 2015,
A sunny morning with a few clouds about. Today's temperature range is 12-22˚C and a 20% chance of rain. I spent most of the day trying to master taking photos of hummingbirds. They are very small and very fast. Although from time to time they do hover long enough to take a photo. Yesterday I thought I had mastered the art of "back button" focusing and today I discovered that the depth of field with a wide aperture is incredibly small. From the Depth Of Field (DOF) calculator: using a 300mm lens at f/5.6 and the distance to subject 4 metres The total DOP is 60mm. This is very shallow and hardly the wing span of a hummingbird!

While taking a swim in the pond, at the bottom of the garden, this black bear found the overflow pipe and claimed it as his own.

Friday 5 June 2015,
A sunny m

Saturday 6 June 2015,
We drove down towards Towanda to find the covered bridge.
The Knapp's Covered Bridge is a Burr arch truss covered bridge over Brown's Creek in in Burlington Township, Bradford County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was built in 1853 and is 95 feet (29.0 m) long. The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and had a major restoration starting in 2000. Knapp's bridge is named for a local family, and is also known by as the Luther's Mills Covered Bridge (for the nearby village of Luther's Mills) and as the Brown's Creek Covered Bridge. It is one of the most unique covered bridges in Pennsylvania. That’s not just because the natural, grey wood stands in stark contrast to the traditional red color of covered bridges in Pennsylvania or because of the large openings that run the entire length of the bridge. Instead, the most interesting feature of Knapp Covered Bridge is the deep gully that it runs over. In fact, the 30-35 foot drop between the bridge and Browns Creek below makes this the highest covered bridge in Pennsylvania.

We then drove through some of the countryside on our way back to Athens. It seems much more conducive to agriculture than the steeper, more hilly parts of the area.

Sunday 7 June 2015,
Visit to Corning Glass Museum

Monday 8 June 2015,
Went to Corning to pick up yesterday's glassworks. Took photos in Main Street, Waverley, NY and Susquehanna River at Athens, PA

Tuesday 9 June 2015,
Driving to JFK Airport, NY. Trying a new route down Highway 17 onto Highway 6 and  connecting up with the Taconic State Parkway, into NY City. Distance according to Google Maps is 246 miles and should take us 4hrs 22 minutes plus any delays and stoppages.
Our flight leaves JFK Airport at 3:30pm and arrives in San Francisco at 7:08pm (6:35hrs) and our flight to Sydney leaves at 10:25pm arriving in Sydney at 6:35am (15:05hrs.) Thursday. We lose Wednesday going  over the International Date Line. The final leg into Adelaide arrives at 1:15pm (2:10hrs) Thursday.