Final Days in Kingston

As of June 26th, the Erie Canal was still closed.

We can't wait to get back on the river so we can dodge the logs & debris floating downstream!

 

 

 

 

 

 

These folks aren't letting anything keep them from their yearly tradition of swimming the Hudson River from Troy to New York City!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apparently, finding a fire hydrant underneath 7 feet of snow can be a challenge!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A ring of the bell signals that it's "docktail" time!

 

 

 

 

 

The Potluck Gang at the Hudson River Maritime Museum.

 

 

 

 

 

What are the odds that in a gathering with twelve women, three of them would be named Linda?

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walked across this wonderful, turn of the century suspension bridge many times during our two week stay in Kingston.  It looms over Rondout Creek (which should be called a river!) and is a link between Kingston and the . . . . . .

 

. . . . . . . where nothing very exciting seems to happen these days.

 

 

 

 

 

But, 28 years ago it was a completely different story!

 Do you think those girls get together at annual reunions and relive those "glory days"? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Port Ewen uses the venerable tugboat as its' civic symbol of pride.

 

 

This one honors the nearby village of Woodstock!

 

And this one pays tribute to a local drive-in ice cream shop & restaurant!

 

 

 

 

 

This was a "first" for us!

Can you determine in what type of establishment this juke box is located?

 

 

 

 

 

My honey checks out the local Farmer's Market honey.

Those are live bees in that glassed-in honeycomb cabinet!

 

 

 

  

A cute play on words at a Kingston boutique.

 

 

 

 

 

Why is this man smiling?

Because he just had his first taste of Spam!!!

The sad part is that he only lives 50 miles from the production plant & Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota.

 

 

 

 

 

"When Harry Met Sally" was the Saturday night movie feature at Kingston's waterfront park. 

I had never seen a big, inflatable screen before; where have I been???

 

 

 

 

 

Is this a cool-looking high school or what?

Walking around Kingston gives you a real sense of history, tradition and permanence.

 

 

 

 

The old firehouse in uptown Kingston is now a museum.

 

 

 

 

 

The revitalized uptown shops have several unique eateries.

 

 

 

 

 

New York's first Senate met in this simple, Kingston stone house in 1777 to form a new state government.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the third church structure on the site of The Old Dutch Church, founded in 1659.

The earliest preserved gravestone dates to 1710.

There are at least 71 Revolutionary War veterans interred in the churchyard.

 

 

 

 

 

This little tug caught my eye as it chugged up Rondout Creek.

My father's mother was a "Johannsen"!

 

 

 

 

 

Who doesn't admire the graceful lines of a tall, wooden sailing vessel . . . . . .

 

. . . . . . or the coordinated grace of a rowing crew?

 

 

 

 

This is what happens when friends don't tell friends what they intend to wear on their daily walk !

 

 

 

 

 

 

A pleasant walk along the Rondout transports you to another place and time . . . . . .

 

 

. . . . . . where you can be "one with nature" . . . . . .

 

 

. . . . . . and your senses are heightened . . . . . .

 

. . . . . . near a hamlet with a really cool name!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On "The Red Bridge" at Eddyville.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 These huge kilns on the banks of the Rondout date back to the mid 1800's.

 

 

 

 

This 19th century shipping office on the banks of the Rondout was converted into a lovely home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almost a hundred years old, this railroad bridge is still in use today.  Although out of sight upstream from Spiritus, we can hear the trains faintly rumble as they traverse the Rondout.

 

 

    

 

 

 

 And no hike is truly over until the last lick is complete!