Two enjoyable outings to report today...

The first was an all-day outing to Mohonk Mountain House near New Paltz, NY.  Karen's brother Mark and his wife (and better two thirds, Lydia), and friend Rich.

Mohonk Mountain House 

Biked on carriage roads through the woods for several hours.  Lots of uphill rides (quivering quads!!) and fall colors.  Photos to follow.  Then sandwiches from the deli, at trailside.  Nice view!

Followed up by a quick walk-through of the Mountain House itself!  Amazing what a few stacks of money can buy!!  It started as a rather humble lakeside snack shack in the 1860s, bought up by the Smiley brothers and "added on to" to say the least.  I think Karen got a photo of that...  we'll see.  It's Huuuuuuuge!!  Lots of oak wood work on the inside.  I did inquire just for giggles, and the "most reasonable" room was $5-600 dollars a night, meals included!  We joked about all 5 of us being able to rent a room, and that would maybe fit our budget!  Looked like plenty of people have the ways and means...

Then we went on the "Scramble"!!  This was somebody's twisted idea of fun...  one of those things that ignorance gets you in to, then you go through for whatever reason.  The huge granite cliffs around the lodge had had several landslides, leaving huge piles of boulders on the shore opposite the lodge.  Somebody of sound body and questionable mind had scouted out a maze through the boulders.  It took about an hour or more to get through.  Spray-painted red arrows showed the way, and short wooden ladders or bridges helped us through the tougher spots.  For me, it called to mind the passage where Tom and Becky got lost in the cave, with their candle giving out.  At least we were in broad daylight.  There were times where you had to have a good handhold then haul yourself up to the next boulder, times where you had to bend way down and squeeze under a huge boulder, and times when you just had to stop and admire the view.  The finale was the Lemon Squeeze, a vertical of probably 25 feet, with 2 or 3 short ladders involved, then out onto a table top high above the lodge and lake.

 Rich had the bloody shin to show for the day...

We finished the day off with a delicious pizza in New Paltz.


Last night Karen and I, as well as Karen's younger brother Eric and his partner Francine, played a few songs at an open mic at the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.  This is the church where they filmed the movie Alice's Restaurant many years ago.  What a treat!  A beautiful little lutheran church now owned by Woody Guthrie's son Arlo.

Small tables with candle light have replaced the pews.  Great acoustics!!  A small but appreciative audience.  Karen and I are looking for opportunities to further our experience, and this was a sweet one.  A nice evening...  Mark, Lydia and Rich made the hourlong drive to hear us.  Thanks!!