Date: 2004-07-29
From: Ft. Montgomery, N.Y.

To: Greymoor Monastery
Miles today: 7.9

Start Ft. Montgomery, N.Y. Destination Greymoor Monastery These are the reasons I like to stay at Holiday Inn Express: Hot Cinnamon Rolls Hot Tub Hot Cinnamon rolls Hot Tub On site laundry Hot Tub Hot Cinnamon rolls Hot Tub Hot Cinnamon Rolls Hot Tub Friendly, helpful staff Hot Cinnamon Rolls Hot Tub It was after 8:00 when we headed down to breakfast. Even though my heart was broken last night by the "no hot tub" sign, and the desk clerk who could not get off the phone long enough to wait on us, and then she acted like we were interfering with her life, I still held out optimistic hope for a good experience. A hot cinnamon roll can cure anything in my book. Yep! you guessed it. No cinnamon rolls. Tray recall, late truck, it made no difference to me. My morning was almost shot by this revelation. I drowned my sorrow in a bowl of fruit loops. Two bowls in fact. Still, there was the chance to do my laundry. I would have clean clothes and a clean body, all in the same day, at the same time. As usual the three of us combined our clothes, and then I could not get the machine to take my money. I pushed and I pulled on the lever to no avail. Back to the manager, again. "Oh, it is out of order, I told someone to put a sign on it last night." was her response. It was more than I could take. No hot tub, no cinnamon rolls, no clean laundry, no friendly helpful clerk. I had struck out on all counts. Or should I say Holiday Inn struck out.   One saving note, the housekeeping manager did end up washing our clothes for us at no charge, and even refunded the money for the soap. And to think I paid good money to stay there. A taxi shuttled us to the various places we needed to go, the post office, grocery store, the bank. I could not believe it when the bank said they could not cash my traveler¢s checks. Why? Because they are VISA and not American Express. It must have been the look on my face and the tone of my voice when I said, ¢Excuse Me?" That sent the cashier scurrying for a manager. I seem to be seeing managers on a regular basis today. What exactly are banks for? Why do people get travelers checks anyway, except they are safer than money? They save you money I guess. If you can't cash them, you can't spend them. After a phone call to the manager, the cashier cashed my check without further ado. "How would you like that?¢ she asked me. Deadpan, I replied, "In green bills please." After a stop at a deli for a sandwich, I was back on the trail by lunch. I am glad the three of us split the taxi fare. I would have had to pawn my firstborn off. The trail today went through the Trailsides Museum and Zoo. There are animals here that cannot survive out in the wild for various reasons. Standing outside of the bear cage, I was at the lowest point on the trail. I also felt like I was at the low point of my hike. No place to go from here but up. And of course up I went, and up and up and up. This part of the trail is marked by flora and fauna found no place else on the trail. Of course there was no one handy to point out the differences to me. It just looks like trees, and underbrush, plenty of rocks and more rocks. My destination today is the Greymoor Spiritual Life Center. Formerly known as the Greymoor Monestary. Whatever hikers are in residence on the ball field by 4:30 will be fed supper. It took sheer will power for me to stroll in there at 4:28. One of the friars, Bro. Leo passed me and said "Not to worry, he had counted me thanks to my friend Trail Dog." Promptly at 5:15 the hikers started up the hill to the dining hall. Supper was a Beef Teriyaki dish, fresh salad, bread, egg drop soup and Jell-O. We ate until we were ready to pop. Then Bro. Eo offered to give us a tour of the main section. I cannot begin to relay everything I saw or learned. But I learned the difference between a monk and a friar. What the vows are, what their jobs are, and how they live. It sounded all too simple to me. Can life really be that simple? I guess it can. There is the proof right here. The chapels were beautifully ornate, and Bro. Leo answered all of our questions very patiently. Some of the questions I am sure he found humorous. One he chose not to answer. The one about was it hard for them to live here when the nuns were living here also. Whether he heard it or not, there was no response. I smiled thinking how like that age to ask a question like that. It seems like their whole focus is a sexual one. But then our society is a sexually based one now anyway. Let me leave it at that before I get myself into trouble. Bro. Leo let me use a phone to make travel arrangements for tomorrow, and before I knew it, he was volunteering to take me to the train station as opposed to taking a bus to New York City. It seems like to get anyplace north from here; you have to go south to the city. Almost like having to go to Atlanta to get anywhere. There were six AT hikers here tonight. We set up our tents, hammocks, whatever and watch with smiles as a group of young people from an inner city camp set up their tents. Some of them could barely walk, so sore were their feet. I am afraid I will have to break down and see a doctor about this poison sumac I have. It continues to spread and I continue to scratch. I have to sit lopsided now, since it has spread to the southern most sections of my torso. One of the south bounders offers to spray it with some spray he has. I would have to be an acrobat to spray myself, so I bear part of my tush to him and he sprays away. Bless his heart, he says, "On the trail, it is first food, then water, then rest and if any energy is left, one might think about romance." He never even mentioned the fact I was old enough to be his mother! There is a blue moon tonight, and I watch it rise from the safety of my tent. Total miles 7.9