Travels with haRVy

Yesterday was a mix of pleasure and pain.

We spent most of the day driving through the Catskills on Route 28, which normally would be a very pretty drive. And sections of it were lovely. Unfortunately, the damage created by the rain brought on by Tropical Storm Irene literally devastated other areas, including several small towns.

We were not prepared for the scenes we witnessed, since the media that we had seen didn’t even mention how hard hit this area had been. Rivers crested their banks carrying sheets of asphalt from parking lots, rocks, huge trees, and debris onto main streets to crash into and through homes and commercial buildings alike. In some cases, even the buildings were washed down river.

That was a bridge into Phoenicia

Yep, that road slipped into the river

So far, we’ve only heard of one fatality, which is very hard to believe after witnessing how much was wiped out. All we could see was what was visible from the main road as the National Guard, Fire Departments, and Rescue Squads were keeping everyone off the town roads so they could continue cleaning up. We did see some people salvaging what they could, while others hugged each other or just sat on what was left of their porches crying. It was difficult to keep our own eyes dry thinking about what they must be going through.

Interesting business combination in Delhi

After we had passed the worst of it, we stopped for lunch in Delhi. If you are ever through that way, we would highly recommend the Crossroads Cafe. Very fresh, wholesome food that is reasonably priced and cheerfully served. Who can ask for more than that, right? It was Farmer’s Market day so we perused the goods purchasing some maple syrup, peaches, raspberries, and a big loaf of wheat sour dough bread to augment tonight’s dinner being hosted by MaryEllen’s sister Kathy.

We finally arrived in Auburn about 6 o’clock where we enjoyed the aforementioned pasta & salad dinner in an outdoor country gathering of MaryEllen’s family members. We then parked haRVy on the shore of Lake Owasco at her brother Dave’s house.

Last night some wild thunderstorms roared through, but today has been quite lovely with partly sunnys skies and pleasant breezes. Five us went for a very nice hike in a wooded area nearby.

Tomorrow we will head a couple of hours west for WestyFest IV, a gathering of owners of Westfalia Sprinters like ours. We are looking forward to seeing how others are using and customizing these unique vehicles.

Crossing the Hudson River at High Tide

After leaving home at the crack of noon…we spent the afternoon trying to get through the area around Albany that had been ravaged by Tropical Storm Irene. We tried to avoid the traffic congestion caused by the closing of sections of the Thruway by going south a bit and then west on smaller roads just north of the Catskills (NOT a goood idea it turns out), but after hitting several deadends due to flooding (seriously folks, we saw cars washed downstream and restaurants full of mud) we wound up at a KOA campground on the eastern edge of the Catskills that is open (unlike several others we called) but without water or electricity (no problem for us). It is in a nice, quiet setting with lots of trees and a small fishing pond. Needless to say there are very few other campers here.

Skylight view

Where are all the campers?

This afternoon a highway worker at one of the deadends told us we could get through on Route 28, so that’s what we’ll do tomorrow. Heading to Auburn to visit with MaryEllen who is out from SoCal to see her siblings.

Yesterday we toured the charming village of Castine on foot and bicycles and the surrounding waters by boat with our gracious hosts. We had a very pleasant visit with old friends we had not seen for several years.

This morning we headed out on to the road again. Sadly, we have just one more night “away.” We picked up some wild blueberries at one of the many roadside stands and had a picnic lunch overlooking Camden Harbor before settling into a cozy campsite at Bradbury Mountain State Park near Freeport (no, we are not going to LL Bean). looking forward to a quiet evening under the pines before the last 3.5 hour drive.

Yesterday we spent the morning watching the Small Reach Regatta participants launch their Beautiful, mostly home built traditional boats. The event requires the boats be row able as well as sailable (no motors allowed). It was quite a scene that Al enjoyed shooting video of. Once they were all in the water we reluctantly packed up our kayaks and bikes and prepared to leave our little idyllic campsite.

We had just a one hour drive to Castine, so we decided to take in a bit more local scenery at Marlboro Beach on Raccoon Cove. We decided to treat ourselves to lunch out in Ellsworth, the obvious commercial center of the area. With the help of my “Healthy Highways” book, we found a wonderful little health food store where we enjoyed fresh spring rolls and chicken-mango wraps, both with lots of crispy fresh veggies…yumm, what a treat, especially since I didn’t have to prepare them!

We arrived at Lauri and Doug’s house around 4 o’clock, allowing us over an hour to get settled into our new camp site in their driveway while they were out sailboat racing. Later we enjoyed a cocktail at Dennett’s Wharf before heading over to their friend Bev’s lovely seaside and sunset facing home for a lobster feed. Mother Nature provided a beautiful show while stimulating conversation with the diverse group of guests ensued.

Mother Nature gifted me with the most glorious weather today. I can’t even fully describe how perfect it is. Blue skies with white puffy clouds, warm sunshine, cool breezes, calm water…simply spectacular.

I am equally grateful for my loving husband who is providing for my every desire today, beginning with cooking up a delicious breakfast of perfect over-easy eggs on whole wheat raisin toast, fresh fruit, and good strong coffee.

Later this morning we paddled the kayaks along the coast to a lovely spot for our picnic lunch.

We don’t want to leave our beautiful campsite so dinner won’t be anything too special, but I am happy to be so totally relaxed and soaking in the natural beauty all around us.