Mission Accomplished

5 Jun 2019

The objective of this trip was to bring a car back to Craig and Annie; they could use a second car and we had an extra. Yesterday, Craig got all the legal stuff done and, with a little help from Clara and Henry, our 2005 Rav4 became an official New York resident:

Kingston

We wanted to get out of Craig and Annie’s hair the day after they returned, to give them some Grandma- and Granddad-free time to re-connect with Clara and Henry. Craig suggested we drive to Kingston, about 90 minutes north, with a stop at a “rails-to-trails” bridge across the Hudson. Since they now have two cars (see above), off we went.

The bridge across the Hudson was surprising. We figured there might be a dozen people there, but no; the place was crowded with folks. The bridge, formerly a railroad bridge, is the longest and tallest walking trail bridge in the world. It provided a beautiful view of the Hudson River.

*The view from the walking bridge. The bridge you see down-river is a freeway.*

After walking across the bridge and back - along with hundreds of folks walking, running, strolling, sauntering, riding bicycles/scooters/a unicyle (yes!) - we headed to Kingston, about twenty minutes north. We found the restaurant Craig recommended and had an excellent lunch. Then we walked around town and were gob-smacked at what we saw. This town (about 22,000 folks) has many beautiful buildings: commercial, residential, governmental and churches. We just loved it.

First, four historic buildings, occupying the four corners of an intersection; the last picture explains their connection.

*Yep, these four buildings are the four corners of an intersection and all of them were built before the American Revolution.*

Now, a random collection of buildings we saw on a short walk around one area of Kingston:

I could get into politics if I could find a group with the right idea about where to meet:

And one last eye-opener: the cemetery at the Dutch Reformed Church of Kingston. The flags, placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution for Memorial Day, mark the graves of men who served in the Revolutionary Army. There are seventy in this cemetery alone.

We loved Kingston and plan to return for a few days sometime.

Although we’ve come to Elmsford many times over the last five years, this was the first time we’ve had a chance to get out and see how beautiful this area is, and how history pokes its head up all the time. We’re already planning some trips to see and absorb this country.