Catching Up

So I haven't been keeping up with my blog, bad Manny. We have all been very busy. Here are some quick highlights.

I finally finished painting the front stairs. Bridget asked everyone for their opinion on the design and a simple fleur-de-lis pattern won. I'm very happy with the final results, but it took forever. The last step was painting the banister, what a pain!

The Gunk House

Bridget and her colleagues, Mark and Anthony like to get together occasionally for dinner.  This time we decided to go to one of our new favorites, the Gunk House in Clintondale. This was our third trip, but the first time it was warm enough for us to eat out on the deck. Since our last visit they did a lot of landscape work around the house, and I chatted with one of the landscapers as we waited to be seated at the bar.

The food and company was wonderful. As the sun set the bugs came out and we retreated back to the bar for dessert. The men had an aperitif of Apple Jack....wooo! A good way to end the evening.

Anthony, Angela, Lisa, Mark, Bridge and Manny

Sunset over the Gunks

Burger Hill

Bridget and I took a short escape to one of our favorite spots, Burger Hill. Scenic Hudson purchased and preserved this gem for all to enjoy. It is without a doubt, the shortest hike with the best view in the Hudson Valley. We walked up just before sunset with Bailey. A young girl who was admiring the view took our photo and then we had the whole 270 degree panorama to ourselves.

We opened my joke Alaskan beer, Panty Peeler, and watched as the sky put on its show.

The Team

Ashokan High Point in the mist.

My Girl

Just before the sun went down we decided to try Bailey off leash. She was being great, when a nice lady and her 80 pound puppy arrived. After a couple of tense moments, they turned out to be best buddies!

Bailey finds a friend.

God's Art!

Bridget's Birthday

On my wife's birthday she is the Queen, and we do what she wants! After a quiet breakfast she decided on a bikeride, one of her favorite activities. We decided to go to Copake Falls and ride the isolated 4 mile section of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail. We parked  accross the street from the old station which is now a deli. As a 12 year old scout I started coming to Copake Falls to camp. I remember hearing the train whistle late at night and putting pennies on the track to flatten them. As it turned out the rails were soon abandoned.

The trail was cool and mostly quiet. Every once in a while there would be views of Harlem Valley farmland, cool tree lined fills over creeks, or a brief look at Alander Mountain above us.

Bridge at a farm crossing.

101 miles to NYC

We explored the old Copake Iron Works before heading back to the deli for a 'buffalo chicken" sandwich and a Mike's Hard Lemonade. This was probably not a very good choice as the hot sauce didn't sit right in our stomachs.

Copake Iron Works Furnace

A walk to Bash Bish Falls was the answer to our stomach woes. It's one of Bridget's favorite spots and a short three quarter mile walk to falls. I was feeling a bit dead legged after yesterdays hike, but it was worth the effort. The water was running high and the breeze created a nice cooling mist as we enjoyed the view.

Bash Bish Falls

Enjoying the mist.

Hiking with Mo

One of the most formative experiences for me had been my time at Pocantico Hills Day Camp. Only someone who was a camper or staff can truly understand the magic that occurs there. Mo exemplifies everything that camp is! She has been a camper or staff member for over 30 years, and this was her swan song.

I worked the Wilderness program at Pocantico for 14 years and took Mo and her kids on many backpacking and tubing adventures. I caught up with her group at the Mt. Washington State Forest trailhead in MA. It was like I never left camp as I helped kids pack and I lead them down the trail.

After a two mile walk in to our campsite we set up camp and prepared for our hike to Brace Mt. I found Brace accidentally when on a backpacking trip with my buddy John when we were 21. It's the highest mountain in Dutchess County at 2304 feet. It's not tall, but has outstanding views of the Harlem Valley and the Catskill Mountains beyond.

Mo near the top of Brace.

View from Brace of the Harlem Valley.

One of the highlights of the trip for the kids was the two para-gliders who showed up just after we reached the top. They kindly answered our questions about their 40 pound loads. In 15 minutes they were off and gliding in wide arcs across the valley. Amazing!

Preparing to take off.

So Cool!

We changed our route on the way back down to avoid the many small streams and mud created by last weeks heavy thunderstorms. This is the wettest I've ever seen the Taconics in the summer. We reached a final trail junction where I said my goodbyes to Mo and camp. As I walked the last mile and a half in the dark, I reminisced about the many great adventures I had with Pocantico.

I decided to challenge myself on this hike and carried my overnight backpack with all my gear. It was a long time since I carried a full pack 10 miles. I can honestly say I was bushed, but happy....

Thanks for the memories Mo!

James Taylor

Bridget's birthday present was tickets to a James Taylor concert at Bethel Woods. The Bethel Woods Performing Arts Center is located on the same property as the original Woodstock Music Festival in 1969. It's an amazing venue to see a concert. The drive out to the Western Catskill's took us about an hour and forty minutes. It's hard to imagine 400 thousand young people trying to drive here, the traffic must have been insane.

We stopped at the Dancing Cat Saloon for an early lunch of hot wings and bacon cheese burgers. Good beer too!

Bridget with cool cat sculpture behind her.

Beer!

Before the concert we had time to visit the Museum that documented the first Woodstock concert. It was definitely worth checking out. A highlight for me was riding the "hippy bus" theater.

The Hippy Bus

James Taylor was amazing! Our seats were in the lawn area, but we still had a good view of the stage. We sipped a Mike's Hard Lemonade and sat back and enjoyed the music and each others company.

Stage

James!

With my "Only One"!

We had a great time, but leaving was a real nightmare. We sat in the parking lot for over an hour before we got out of the complex. Next time we will be prepared with a stove for tea and some nice desert. Bridget fell asleep on the long ride home. That's ok, I was with my "Only One"!

Busy....

It's been a couple of days since I last posted. Life has been busy but oh so good!

On Sunday we went down the street to what used to be Secor Farm. Since Mr. Secor died last year the farm has been leased and is called "Nick's Farm Market". We're happy it's remaining a farm, Lagrange has enough houses.

Nick's Farm Market

We've made many a fall pilgrimage to Secor Farm to pick pumpkins, but today we were blueberry picking. We spent a leisurely hour picking 10 pounds of berries. We were surprised to find Manny's friend Tim working at the farm. Bridget freezes some of the berries and we just finished last years making a breakfast of blueberry pancakes. Time to restock!

Manny and Tim Picking

Dad with his haul.

Girls ready to pick.