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Hey Sailors and Landlubbers!
Where to begin? Get a drink, this may take awhile! Keep in mind that I am just scraping the surface in my descriptions of what is going on, and unfortunately, I find that my words are often inadequate to fully impact you all in the same manner that the days' events rock my little world.
I think I left you when in Catskill, NY. The mast went up without any hitches, no pun intended, but it was murderously hot. Lucky for Bac it was his birthday, because I was close to my miserable point and his humor was escaping me. While the boys were busy sweating body parts off with the crew from Riverview, who were very knowledgeable and efficient, Blossom and I did the chick thing. We ventured down to the mini museum for a look at what life was like back in the forties in this little river front town in the mountains. Some of you may have gone on ski vacations here. "We're spending the holidays in the Catskills...." is something I recall hearing in college a llot from the east coast kids. A farmer's market shared part of the same building and the smell of freshly baked cookies and the brilliant summer colors of fresh picked bouquets lured us to the entrance. We meandered our way through (Blossom now knows most of the population of Catskill) and came back to REAL sailboats with masts standing and not laying on deck, and delicious air conditioning.
Blossom and I ventured up the hill, really up, into town. My students would appreciate my excitement when I found the streets lined with painted cat sculptures just like the pigs in Cincinnati that I shared pictures of when we were working on our painted chair project. Even though I'm not a fan of the cat, these were awesome! Blossom and I took a gazillion pictures. Remnants of the grand days when Catskill was a really bustling vacation spot for everyone from Manhattan are still evident in many of the restored storefronts and homes. At the top of the hill was an art gallery that was featuring an exhibit of local female artists' work. So cool! Again, gazillion pictures and mental notes of projects that I could share with the kids...wait a minute, I'm not teaching now, am I? There is also a life-size wooden sculpture of Rip van Winkle standing in the intersection at the top of the hill! There is a huge Dutch population concentrated in the Catskills. I picked up some of the best California roll that I have ever had at Oscar's Sushi House as a birthday treat for Mr. Bacon...just one more thoughtful food gift for the man who is fading away to nothing. He keeps flexing and giving me his Arnie pose Is the green ink a clue to my bitterness and envy?
Presto's crew came onboard to celebrate the Big 5 - 8 with Jeff, and we enjoyed one of his favorite dinners, fettucinni Alfred with spinach and ham. (Too many more Alfredos on this trip and there may not be anymore b'days!) I even baked a four layer birthday cake and smothered it with the tasty sweet strawberries I picked up at the farmer's market that morning. The little Hispanic boy who sold them to me said he had helped his mother pick them that morning. They could have tasted like tar and I would still have bought them because he was so stinking' cute!
Monday, August 27, we set sail for Kingston, NY. The mountain views continue to have me staring off into space in awe. I'm continually asking Bac, "Who can afford these mansions?" Just incredible. As we are coming to the free dock in front of the Steel House Restaurant, I'll explain the free part later, there is a flock? gaggle? a bunch of ducks swimming toward the boat. Hatch beelines it to the bow. Now these must be experienced ducks as they begin to relentlessly taunt Hatch with their darting and quacking. One duck raises up on her little duck feet and starts to flap her iddy biddy wings and squawks wildly! I swear I heard her say, "Try and get me, sucker!" Hatch went bizurk barking and pacing up one side of deck, down the other! This show of ducky ego put Hatch over the edge, literally! We were about three feet from the dock and Hatch leaps off the boat! On the other side of the dock were more ducks! Without hesitation Hatch dives in!
As Hatch is swimming out into the middle of the river after the ducks who are turning around and sticking their tongues out at him and swimming just out of his reach, I'm jumping off the boat screaming at Hatch to come back and debating whether to drop the bowline to save the dog or tie up the boat! I know this is not spoken like a true doggie mother, but I tied up the boat as I value my own life a bit more. Bac tells me later that he was faced with the same quandary as he leaped off to secure the stern. He was thinking to himself, and this was not the first time, that we should have named the damn dog "Anchor." He whistles for Hatch to come, and finally the mutt realizes that he will never catch the noisy, evil little floaters, so he swims back to the dock. Bac hauls him out in time to help Presto dock, who are both hysterically laughing at the Bacons' antics yet one more time! Jeff and I turn around to see a deck full of people at the Steel House enjoying the Bacon circus, too. Nothing like a little floor show with your lunch!
Kingston reminds me of an old European village with its hills, its many al fresco restaurants and its celebration of the arts. It is the home of the infamous soap box derby which is judged on the artistic design of the car, not how fast it goes or who comes in first. The Welcome Center is a great place to stop in and find out about all of the artful happenings that go on during the year...alway something! The guys' radar went off when they pulled into find PT boats docked on the river. They are privately owned and you can go onboard for a tour. There is also a maritime museum and a trolley museum. I am looking forward to going back and spending more time there.
Oh, the free dock deal was dockage free if you come in and have something to eat. Jeff's immediate reaction after our docking episode was "First round is on me and the beer starts flowing now! Several rounds later, and by the way, John the bartender makes a delicioso frozen mango drink now named the "Manatee," and a return trip for dinner. Let me tell you these guys made out like bandits on this deal...they're no dummies! It was the most expensive dockage of the entire trip so far and that includes multiple night stays in two places!
Still a bit blurry eyed the next morning, we start to make our way to Highland Falls, NY. This is a place that Stan Mathey, who is also heading to Annapolis also and left a couple weeks earlier than we did, highly recommended. "You have to go meet Skeeter." On the way to meet the wizard, I was literally shocked out of my foggy state when we came upon West Point. OMG! Patriotic chills running all up and down my body is the only way I can describe the enormous tingling sensation I experienced when it loomed overhead on the mountain's cliffs, and yet that doesn't do it justice. It's gorgeous, breathtaking, immense, intensely representative of America's strength and pride. And, for you Navy fans, there is a monstrous sign on the roof of the gymnasium that reads, "BEAT NAVY!"
I have been there by land and never realized that THIS SIDE of the campus even existed! You would think an artist would be more observant. Some of the crew team cadets were in skulls practicing up and down the river. Oddly, some were in small sailboats doing the same. The lead boats were camouflage in color (surprised I even saw them, sorry, bad joke....) which sobered the sport of the activity for me. [As a side note, the very first karate tournament I ever participated in was the International Tang Soo Do tournament held at West Point. I was in my extremely nervous state of mind which could explain the lack of focus on my surroundings. In this tournament I was disqualified in my first free sparring competition ever when I didn't pull my punch to the face of my young female WP cadet sparring partner. The punch was in retaliation to her side kicking me, literally, UP and out of the ring and over the heads of the other waiting contestants! Imagine my surprise as I sailed through the air with not the greatest of ease. She obviously didn't like that fact that the old lady was tied with her in points Imagine her surprise when the old lady belted her in the face and gave her a black eye!]
We continued around the bend and low and behold is a railroad station, Highland Falls Est.1861. The floating docks were especially floaty with no pilings. There was a leanto-like tent set up directly behind the marina and immediately before the railroad tracks which were directly in front of the station house. Out wobbles Skeeter and I mean this in the kindest way. He has to wear ankle braces because his overweight condition and ill health have left him without much sensation in his feet. This is a man who is so genuinely kind you would give him your own feet if it were feasible. He is a unique native to the area, fifth generation, and his and his family's names appear in the local history book. I would describe him as an adorable gnome and with a "voice like Jerry Lewis, " says Bloom. He was a wealth of information. He told us that the castle nestled high at the top of the mountainside across the Hudson was the one used in filming the Wizard of Oz. The broken pilings off to the north side of the marina were remnants of the original dock where Lincoln himself landed to make his way to West Point.
The lean-to was where he would sit all day; sometimes his wife would join him. It was complete with a padded bench picnic table, lawn chairs, grill, utensil cabinet with shelves, and a boombox. I didn't get to meet his wife, but Bac said she was a sweetheart, too. In order to use the rest room facilities, you had to first learn how to hang ten on the floating docks when you jumped off your boat. Skeeter would sit with his marine radio and yell at the boaters on the river to slow down and not make a wake. The barges and tugboats, however, were not as eager to comply. After negotiating the docks, you had to literally cross over the railroad tracks to the rest room building! This wouldn't have been a big deal, but they were very active tracks! Blossom was tempted to put her ear to the track to listen and feel the vibration for oncoming trains like she did when she was a kid, but thought better of it. These trains were so close that they vibrated the boats when they went by! You think Harbor North has trains? You haven't lived until you hear the steel wheels squeal against the metal tracks and watch the sparks fly onto the rocky burm! One would think that the dog who is scared of thunder and fireworks might go completely bonkers with a continuous obnoxious noise speeding by within feet of him, right? We had to keep the stupido on a leash because he loved walking right on the tracks with his nose to the ground! He was oblivious to the trains and didn't even flinch or look up when the train came by! ........anyone want a dog?
I finished our future son-in-law's scrapbook of "Beth Before Eric" and Skeeter insisted on taking me to the post office so I could mail it off and then to the grocery store. Driving through town he greeted everyone on the street. His car's locks were dice that he had drilled and epoxied onto the lock's stem. He told me he used to visit Atlantic City a lot, but now only really travels to his son's in VA. His son works for the CIA, but Skeeter doesn't know what he does. "He has top clearance all the way to the White House. Everything is "T o p S e c r e t." He isn't allowed to share with me what he does. But, that's okay because he's a good son and works very hard." I had to turn away and look out the window for a second to avoid embarrassing myself by dripping tears on his pristine upholstery.
After hugs and kisses good-bye, we motored out of the marina out onto the river the next morning. We could hear Skeeter broadcasting to the powerboats speeding up the river to please "slow down" because there were two sailboats leaving Highland Falls and heading southbound. "No Wake!" If it was a choice to go to this marina verses one with better accommodations, it would be like choosing real Coke vs. Diet Coke for me. We plan on stopping at Highland Falls on our way back just to see Skeeter because all the plush aesthetics anywhere could not replace sharing time with him. It was the real thing.
More to come! Keep in touch,
Sandy |
