Mb and I picked up Bubbles, Sprout, Mountain Man, and Karma on Friday, May 27th near a beautiful lake in New York State. Several times I wanted to jump in this beautiful lake until Sprout made me aware that swimming was prohibited. What a bummer!!!! We also picked up Smudgy Cheeks at Tony’s Deli and we took the opportunity to try a Turkey Sub which was the speciality of the Deli. The food party just started!! Mb looked at her GPS to find out where the closest Chipotle was located in the area. It turned out to be located out of state in Connecticut by about 20 miles. From Chipotle we were on our way to a wedding in Cooperstown, NY where the Baseball Hall of Fame is located. We met up with my father-in-law and my brother-in-law, who was the best man of the wedding. They were staying in a room at a house called the 1819 House, which was reserved for the wedding party. Before we could sleep we needed to stop at Walmart. Bubbles, Mountain Man, Karma, and Smudgy Cheeks needed to get clothes for the wedding and some miscellaneous things needed for backpacking on the trail. We ended that evening with Rodeo Burgers, Whoppers, and a couple of cold beers.
The next day, our father-in-law took us to a breakfast place in downtown Cooperstown, NY called the Doubleday Cafe. The breakfast was nice and big. The interior of the cafe was decorated with pictures of baseball. After breakfast we headed back to the room we shared with Mb, my father-in-law, brother-in-law, and five hikers! I serenaded a couple songs (Country Roads and Volare) on my guitar.
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| Poppa Lip and Bubbles at breakfast |
We left for the wedding ceremony around 2:00 in a Catholic church in downtown Cooperstown. The pastor was hard to understand and he sounded sometimes a little bit rude. After his sermon and ceremony we congratulated the bride and the groom and met at 5:00 o’clock at the Origins Cafe at Carefree Garden for the wedding reception and the wedding party.
I highly recommend this place: http://www.celebrateorigins.com/#about
The Origins Cafe is inside a greenhouse and you can see green peppers growing inside, coffee trees, bananas, and even pineapple. It was hot and humid inside but the food that was served was the best food I ever had tasted at any weddings. The DJ that was contracted for the wedding was really good and it seems that he made his music selection by observing his public. I was surprised to hear a couple Indian pop songs, Latin American songs, and also some Benny Goodman songs.
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| Sprout and Bubbles at the reception |
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| Mountain Man and Karma at the reception |
The next day on Sunday, my father-in-law and my brother-in-law left early. We drove separately in our van and dropped off Smudgy Cheeks at the place where he left the trail. My wife, Sprout, Mountain Man, and Karma went to the REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.)in Yonkers, NY:
I didn’t go to REI because I decided to give the trail a shot. I walked with Bubbles six miles that she had to make up. We were dropped off at Bear Mountain, NY near the Trailside Zoo. Before getting into the Zoo entrance we walked through a park filled with thousand of families picnicking for memorial weekend. Many of the animals were sleeping and invisible but I did see one bear. The weather was a mix of heat with wind but the perfect weather for hiking.
The bridge over the Hudson was amazing and was the easiest part of the hike. After this we went onto the trail and then we had to descend and ascend two different hills. I think the climb was about 400 feet with some rocks and bugs were trying to bugger me at all times. I also saw many caterpillars on the ground and old autumn leaves. A couples times I slipped on the leaves. Luckily, Bubbles loaned me her trekking poles so I didn’t fall. On our way we saw 2 groups of thru hikers that had already had their camp set up. Overall, I can say this was my Appalachian Trail baptism and this was visible (all that sweat on my face!!!!) I start now to understand the magic of the trail and wish to walk more often on the trail in the future.
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