Date: 2003-08-14
From: Fishkill, NY.

To: Fishkill, NY.
Miles today: 0.0

Fishkill, NYOnce again Mudbutt and I are playing tourist. We drove around until we found a diner.Diners are very popular in the northeast. The menus are varied and the food is wonderful. The fod would be much better if you could find grits on the menu. But no, grits are replaced by potatos. I just can't get used to eggs and potatos for breakfast. I see a Rotary sign as we are driving around. Although it is a last minute idea, I find the restaurant and drag Mudbutt to yet another meeting. This is the Wappinger Falls Rotary. It is a more casual meeting than we are used to. There is quite a bit of laughter and foolishness thatgoes on. The president graciously gives me a few minutes on the program. There is a fund raising quiz about the Polio Plus program. I hate to leave before the guest speaker, but we have a date with the boat. Jane got off work early today and we got tickets for a cruise down the Hudson River. It was a perfect day to be on the water. There was a nice breeze blowing as we meandered along. The area is rich in history and so many things to see. We could spend a lot of time here, but....we have to cut our blue blazing short and head for Maine. The timing for our visit here is perfect. Jane's mom has been in the hospital for quite sometime.Sarah,Jane's daughter just left for Florida,so Jane needed a respite from the stressors of life. Nothing does a body good like friends and fun times. We had planed to eat on the river one more time. As we got off of the boat, we learned that most of the north east states had lost electricity. Of course, being this close to New York City everyones first thoughts were of 9/11, and terrorism. All of the traffic lights were out, it was rush hour and the streets quickly became a jam of cars. We made our way back to Jane's apartment. It is funny, Mudbutt and I are totally prepared for a no electricity emergency. We have our headlamps, and our little stoves. We filled some containers up with water and made plans for the evening. The lifeguard here at the complex would not let us swim in the pool. A health issue he said. But he did let us sit at the pools edge and hang out there. A notice hung on the pool building caught my eye. It listed all the things one could not do while in the pool. Some of the words were familiar to me. No urinating, defacating or nose blowing while in the pool. However, one word stumped me "expectorating". I had to ask what the word meant. I sure did not want to do someting in the pool that was against the rules!! We put all of the leftovers out on the table and had a very cold, but nourishing dinner. Leftover pasta made several different ways, a chunk of New York Strip sirloin, cold garlic knots. Truly a meal to remember!! It is so funny to attempt to do something then remember it takes electricity. No phones, no fans, or air conditioning, no cold drink machines, cash registers. No gas for the cars or meals at a restaurant. We are almost totally at a loss of everything we think we need or want when the power goes out. There is no way to get in touch with family to let them know you are alright. No way to get in touch with anyone. It was very errie to watch night fall and the neighborhood become totally black. The nightsky usually lit up so bright in the city, is dark. No phones ringing, unless of course you are one of the few people who still have a regular telephone. Those people are pretty popular, but getting through to someone takes persistance. And then who ever you are calling has to have a regular phone. Some how Mudbutt and I are not as put out by this as most of the people here in the complex. We have grown accustomed to having no electricty. Funny thing though, I have a tankful of gas in my car, and everyone around is running very low. Jane and I spend the evening out on the balony talking. Occasionaly a siren would be screaming in the distance. People would walk through the parking lots with flashlights. One man was overheard to remark if he couldn't watch TV tonight he would just kill himself. I hope he wasn't serious. Tomorrow we hit the trail again. Once again I realize that this trip is not about the miles, but all about the smiles. The things we see along the way. The people we meet. The variety of smells, the towns, the very heartbeat of places, and people. No one wants to complete this hike as bad as we do, but we do not want to miss rich experiences that are along the way. We can't do it all, but we can give it our best shot.