Talking Travel at Avenue A

We're entering into everyone's favorite time to travel the Northeast - New England in all her glory.

Shorter days with maples and elms on the cusp of turning into a palette of gold, mustard and claret. Crisper temperatures perfect for donning the half price leather parka you bought months ago. And, fresh apple cider donuts and sweet corn on every farmers market food stand.

It's the perfect time to escape to the ocean too. The kids are back at school so the beaches are empty and elegant B&B's are affordable again.

Last night, the girls and me dined on appetizers at the stylish Avenue A on Delaware Ave.

Sound-dampening panels now hang from the ceiling lessening the loud acoustics. Our last minute reservation for 7 chatty gals was accommodated with a handsome waiter (as yummy as the chocolate mousse) and light tunes from Mile's 'Kind of Blue" album. The only caveat was the room temperature - it was downright warm in our corner and that wasn't because we ordered the spicy squid.

Still, over a smorgasbord of crispy Korean pancakes, coconut shrimp and pan fried Yakimandu, we traded our Fall travel plans.

Miriam heads out next week with her hubby to Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island. Nola has her pick of peaks for hiking. With help from GPS, Miho will navigate the back roads of Vermont. Jen already lives in picturesque Humarock, Massachusetts, so she doesn't need to go far. And yours truly, well, yours truly has been invited to South America, Chile to be exact.

I'll be eluding Indian Summer and heading straight to the Los Lagos Region for an international press trip with GoNomad.com. Invitations to new and exciting locations never grows tired and my bags are always packed so I'm ready! As an early precursor to the trip the girls ordered me a tall Chilean bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.

I'll be gone from Sept. 19-30, that's 11 days of deep exploration in the wildlife reserves of Chiloe Island and more. Overnights will be spent at eco-friendly retreats in the Patagonia preserve. Days will be left for sightseeing volcanoes, fjords and the magnificent Chilean Redwood forest. I'm bringing my bathing suit in case I'm brave enough for a dip in the Cahuelmo natural hot springs.

At some point the itinerary promises a stop in the Atacama Desert, the driest desert in the world, 50 times drier than California's Death Valley. As well an extreme hang gliding over the Andes and local gastronomy prepared by world-renown chefs.

Okay, okay, twist my arm, I'll go to Chile even though it disrupts leaf-peeping season in beautiful New England. I'll get over it!

Karen insists I see movies like Motorcycle Diaries and Maria Mittelmann, the organizer of my trip, encourages reads like "Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile" by Sara Wheeler (Memoir) before I get there. This rainy weekend feels like the perfect time to do both.