10-6-11 To start off, let me apologize about my Woodstock story, as it is technically inaccurate. I got a history lesson from some of the local folk and was told that the festival was actually held in the, now famous, Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, NY – which is about 70 miles W of Woodstock, NY (and unfortunately, not on our route plans for today). However, I was told that several of the musicians and promoters stayed in Woodstock village and that the iconic farm has now been turned into an attraction with a hefty price of admission for those who want to revisit the 60’s. So now that I have set the record straight, I will continue our story…

We woke up to another beautiful, sunny day. It started out quite cool, but warmed up before we exited the Wal-Mart shopping extravaganza about 2PM. We packed our provisions while still in the parking lot and then stopped to have 2 DELICIOUS , local NY state apples – now THAT is how an apple is supposed to taste! Our phrase of the day came early in our journey on a sign outside a quaint white steeple church, “HEAVEN – Don’t Miss It for the World”. Now, when you stop to think about what that might mean, we all may have a different interpretation from the pastor who may have chosen this for the subject of his next Sunday sermon. To us, it pointed to the higher power of goodness and wholesomeness over some of the worldly temptations and evils that tempt us (see previous post Commitment vs. Conflict).

Dad also remembered that we forgot to finalize our word(s) of the day for 10/5 and we agreed upon Mahwah (an exit sign location that we were sure had some Indian root). A quick Internet search (isn’t that an amazing tool?!? RIP Steve Jobs) revealed (per Wikipedia) “The name Mahwah is derived from the Lenni Lenape word “mawewi” which means “Meeting Place” or “Place Where Paths Meet” – which turns out to be a perfect word for our quest!

So now we are caught up and current on the word(s) of the day (in case anybody out there cares). Driving the back roads is challenging in an RV, we had to turn around twice because the bridge height was too low. But the pay off was riding past many Fall/Halloween displays like a giant cornucopia made out of hay and filled with gourds and pumpkins, wheat shocks decorated with colorful ribbons and floral extravaganzas (mostly Mums this time of year, but, oh, SO MANY colors). Around one corner, we came upon a field of sunflowers, stretching their necks to catch some rays. We saw coal train loaders filling railcars full of the black, sooty “clean energy” while tons of water sprayed over it (assuming to reduce the dust). We could still see the aftermath of the recent Hurricane Irene as the rivers were full of mud and swelling full to their banks and the saturated soil with puddles everywhere, even though we have not seen rain since we arrived. We finished our sightseeing in this area with a 1-mile mild hike to the Saugerties Lighthouse on the banks of the Hudson River (see attached photos). Once back in the RV, we headed for camp between Saratoga Springs and Lake George. We arrived after dark, but hookup was faster and easier (Dad fixed the hose in the Wal-Mart parking lot earlier – he is an amazing man) and we ate our dinner and started planning our adventures for tomorrow…..TBC