It was just a gorgeous, gorgeous day. Believe it or not we are on the road by 10 a.m. Foggy in the morning, but it burned off quick. Loaded up, crossed back over the Delaware River to Port Jarvis, New York. Headed north on Highway 97. We followed the river for about 75-100 miles north. Winding roads. Bluffs. Rocks. Heavy Forest. Just beautiful. Sun was out. Really no places to pull over.  Turns are tight, turnouts when they exist (and there are few) usually come up too quick and are gravel with a 4-5 inch drop from the pavement.  Not ideal for the bikes.. Speed limit was marked 55mph most of the way.  We averaged 40-45.  Blind curves and hills preclude (from this weeny) cruising any faster.

One thing I did notice, were all the closed down businesses. Boarded-up restaurants, motels, bowling alleys, and all sorts of other things that were part of family fun and vacation in a different era. Kind of sad. Beautiful country. Even if they were open, most everything we saw that was open, was outdated and hadn’t been kept up or upgraded in years.

The road for the most part, was nice. However on a motorcycle you really feel those portions in need of repair. High spots, low spots, patched potholes all wreak havoc on your steering when you’re moving down the road. Coming through a curve and you can’t see ahead, and all the sudden come on patched road work it will pull your wheel ever so slightly. In a car you don’t feel it as much. On a bike you feel it in the steering and with the wheel moving side to side sometimes.  Just enough to get your attention.The state tries to make up for it by posting signs, ‘Rough Road next 5 miles’.

The Delaware River Valley is absolutely beautiful. We just meandered along the river up to the town of Hancock. They claim the title as gateway to the Catskills.  The East and West branch of the Delaware River come together there and form the main one.  We fueled up in town, took a break and walked around a bit to stretch our legs . From Hancock, we headed east through the Catskills along the East branch of the Delaware. We took several back roads for a few hours and drove through the mountains. Again, absolutely just beautiful. For the most part we had the roads to ourselves.

As we passed through the Catskills, we took a break, refueled  and went on a detour to visit Woodstock. It’s a cute little town. Very artsy-craftsy. Also very crowded. I had to buy something so I settled on a hat. I think the tie-dyed t-shirts while nostalgic probably wouldn’t get worn too much. Inquiring about the actual farm where it was held, apparently it was a ways out of town.  Another time.  We had motorcycles to ride.  The boys, while aware of Woodstock just didn’t ‘feel it’.  The shops in town sure try to cash in on that era though.  48 years later.  Heck I bought a hat!  🙂

We continued to head east and refueled at Saugerties, NY on the Hudson River. We crossed the bridge over the river at Red Hook.  $1.25 per bike toll.  To be honest, I though it was going to be much more.. We plugged in destination for Torrington, Connecticut. As per usual, for places we’ve never been we look for bold print on the maps figuring there’s enough commerce in that town to support some sort of hotel, motels, bars, and or restaurants. I love it when a plan comes together especially at the end of the day.

In my humble opinion, the drive from the river through eastern NY and into CT was the best.  Great little towns.  ‘Goshen – incorp 1739’ just to mention one that comes to mind.  We passed by what had to be a prep school.  The school zone past this place had to be 1/2 mile long.  There was some capital tied up in that place…  Anyway, I remember thinking, driving through the countryside.   I could live here.  And, here.  I could live here too

We rolled into Torrington.  Nice town, however I don’t feel they share quite the beauty and economy of some of the surrounding area.  We found a Days Inn, on Main St.  Two rooms and a highly google rated Italian restaurant right next store that serves drinks.  Dinner was very good.  We commented, that it was the first decent meal we had on this trip.  Portions were huge.  Jon’s (some special) was enough to feed 4-5 people.  No one could finish.  It was 730-8 when we finished and all agreed – – short night.

I got a hold of a friend who lives just south of Hartford.  If all goes well, we will meet him for breakfast tomorrow.  Looking forward to it.  Afterwards, we will wander up towards Vermont, via Connecticut and Massachusetts.  We keep talking about making it to Burlington.  On Lake Champlain.  Nice town.  Its been at least 10 years, if not more since I’ve been there.

At the end of the day, I have a tendency to think – ‘was this a special trip today?  What made it so?’  Obviously the answer is yes..  At times, I take things for granted and have to ‘re-focus’. Time with my sons.  Beautiful day.  Scenery that with its beauty, just keeps rolling past.  Bikes performing flawlessly.  Shared experiences that will endure.  The sheer magnitude of what is going on, good or bad, has a tendency to be classified as routine after a while and gets filed into memory as such.  That is one of the reasons why I started the blog.  It forces me to remember, relive the day. Find those things otherwise forgotten.  I find myself re-reading them over time and reliving.  The big stuff is obvious.  The little stuff makes you smile and opens up all the rest.

A full day.  A good dinner. Great weather on tap for tomorrow.  A chance to see a friend I haven’t seen in a while.  The boys and I are still talking to each other.  I haven’t had to hit the ATM (yet).

Yep, life is good……