We spent the day tied to a face dock in Kingston NY in deference to the weather forecasts of possibly intense thunderstorms. It also gave us a chance to meet a long time follower of this blog. And I do mean long time as in almost from the beginning. It turns out there are a few people out there who are nearly as far off of the reservation as I am when it comes to assessing the human family. He took us to dinner last night. Today we visited the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, home of a fantastic collection of antique airplanes, many still flyable. I have read about the place often but have never been in this part of the country with the opportunity to stop by. It was a lot of fun even if aviation isn't a regular part of my world anymore.
On the way there, we ran into a thunderstorm dumping so much rain that we had to pull off the road for a few minutes, along with pretty much everyone else. Fortunately, the rain cleared and we got to see several of the antiques take to the air. I have flown my share of antique airplanes. Many a time someone would come up and make the statement, “We sure don't build 'em like that anymore.” That is absolutely true, and I know why. Pretty as they are, most of them are ugly excuses for flying machines once they climb away from Mother Earth. The flying characteristics would never pass modern day expectations for stability and ease of handling. The original engines were temperamental and unreliable. Indeed, one of the airplanes that was supposed to be a part of today's show didn't make it into the sky at all. They couldn't get it started.
In addition to treating us to dinner, providing transportation to the Aerodrome, and offering hours of enjoyable conversation, Phil allowed us to have some boat bits shipped to his house. He then made a special trip to the marina to drop them off. It was a really special visit.
Tomorrow the plan for tomorrow is to pop over to a nearby marina to fill up the gas tanks, empty out the holding tank, and continue to follow the river in the general direction of Canada. The weather looks pretty good, so more miles under the keel.
Deb:
We've spent way more time on the dock this trip than we planned or hoped, and out of all the docks that we've stayed on, this one ranks at the very top. Of course I realize that a good part of the pleasantness was the fact that we spent most of our time here with a good friend, but the actual logistics of the dock are fantastic. The Hudson River Maritime Museum has a face dock that will accommodate 3 cruising boats in a very protected creek. It’s a floating dock with power and water, both of which are in excellent condition. The bathrooms and showers are without any question the nicest we’ve had yet and are just a few steps away. The Instacart driver was able to pull right up to the boat, which was great since we were doing a pretty major provisioning run. The Dockmaster, Jim, was incredibly helpful both before and after docking.
The town itself is a cute eclectic little collection of small shops and restaurants on a hill reminiscent of Pittsburgh where we were born. Phil treated us to dinner at Gratziano’s Downtown Cafe, a tiny little place with one cook who turns out the most amazing food. The next morning, we went to Half Moon Rondout Cafe Coffee and Donuts where JT makes your donut to order, producing the most incredible apple cider donuts I’ve ever eaten. We spent some time talking with him—he’s a 32-year vet of the gulf wars who came back to his home town and started the donut shop. His sense of humor was wonderful—when we first came in he told Tim that his expression was way too serious for being in a donut shop. He’s the kind of person that brings happiness wherever he is, a rare commodity especially in a long-time veteran who has seen nightmarish stuff.
I can’t say enough good about this place. It’s been a very restorative two days for me after all the stress of the last year. Thanks Phil for helping to make it that way.
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