10-13 September 2022, Saturday – Tuesday
10 September 2022, Saturday
Taconic State Park, Hillsdale, NY
Saturday morning, as I am walking down the stairs, in the dark, at our friends’ house in Wilmington, trying to get out of the house and on the road early, I miss the last step and land hard on my right ankle . . . My first thought is “Oh no! Another fracture.” My ankle is very painful, but I am able to put weight on it. We stop at Walgreens to buy a splint while we are getting coffee at Brew Ha Ha next door. O and I decide to go ahead with our plans to drive up to Taconic State Park in New York, our next destination. I will decide later whether I need an x-ray. In Hillsdale (near the park) we meet cousin DL and have tasty beers and cauliflower crust pizzas at Roe Jan Brewery. D’s friends suggest I can get my ankle checked at a small hospital in nearby Great Barrington, Massachusetts. O stays behind to keep Lucy company. Happily the x-rays show no fracture. I am to continue splinting and take it easy. I can walk and go on easy hikes as tolerated.
On our return to Hillsdale O, Lucy and I head back to camp. We will meet D at his apartment for a waffle breakfast tomorrow morning.
11 September 2022, Sunday
After excellent apple waffles at D’s apartment we’re off for a tour of a historic mill. The owner runs a machine shop, an apple cidery, and a sawmill – all using water power. Lucy is not allowed in the building so she and I enjoy the waterfalls, stream and trees while everyone else tours. It is very restful and I can keep weight off my ankle.
On our return to Hillsdale O and I explore some of the shops and then enjoy another beer and dinner at Roe Jan Brewery. Back at camp we deploy the tarp as the forecast is for rain tonight and possible showers tomorrow. It’s a quick job as we hung the main tarp line before going to D’s apartment this morning.
12 September 2022, Monday
Today is the day my best friend from elementary school, whom I haven’t seen in 50 years, is driving up to Hillsdale from her home in Cortlandt, NY to meet O, Lucy and me. It’s a two person 50 year high school reunion. I’ve been looking forward to this meeting and so has she. I recognize P when she pulls up by her curly, now gray (formerly red) hair. We spend several hours catching up and hope to see each other in the future, perhaps when she visits her daughter who lives in Portland, Oregon.
O and I have dinner again with cousin D at the brewery. Tonight a food truck crew takes over the restaurant, cooking German themed food. I try Roe Jan’s pilsner and O has another ESB.
Back at camp we have an uninvited “guest.” Lucy is on her two-leash lead lying on the ground watching O, who is in the van, and me, outside the van. Her food and water is beside the fire pit behind her. All of a sudden I see a very large black and white creature waddling through the brush. A skunk is slowly approaching Lucy from behind. I have visions of all of us being sprayed!
I move cautiously towards the fire pit to pick up Lucy’s food, as I’m pretty sure that’s what precipitated this visit. The skunk watches from the edge of the brush. I quietly unhook Lucy’s leash, hoping she won’t turn and go after the skunk. Luckily, Lucy just wants to move towards the van. She does not even look at the skunk. I put her food in the van and watch as the skunk quietly approaches the fire pit and sniffs around where the food had been. Finding nothing, it waddles on to the next campsite. Whew!
13 September 2022, Tuesday
This morning we have our last breakfast with D – apple pancakes. We are happy to hear that the town council has finally authorized him to proceed with his building project. After breakfast O and I, and Lucy drive to Housatonic, Massachusetts a half hour away, to meet another cousin, P and her husband. It’s always fun to spend time with them. P is a font of information on my family history on Dad’s side. She provides a delicious lunch as we continue our chat about both our family history and O’s. The afternoon passes quickly.
Too soon it is time for O and me to return to camp. We drive through a pouring rain. The rest of the evening we have only on and off drizzle. I play fiddle and journal. O reads. No skunks tonight, just distant owls.