Final Stop

The final stop in our aimless trip around the Northeast was the Delaware water gap. We were going to visit Raul and Cindy Mello. We first met Raul over 20 years ago in NYC. He is now an internationally acclaimed opera singer and Cindy works for nasdaq-amex.. We arrived in the small town of Milford before the Mello's since they had gotten caught in some hellish traffic leaving NYC. Terry and I wandered the country roads looking for a scenic spot to stop and have lunch. I saw this VFW and had to stop. I leaned back against a shady tree and started to sketch. Terry took the rental truck and went up the road to shop at an antique shop we had passed. She has gotten good at judging how long it will take me to finish a sketch. when she came back I was just putting down the final washes.
Terry and I ate leftovers from the previous nights dinner at Olive Garden. The pasta tasted even better than it had the night before when I had been too full to enjoy it. While I sketched, I discovered I was sitting right on top of an ant mound. They had started to scramble up my legs. I jumped up and stamped to shake them off. I moved a yard away to do the watercolor washes.
From the brass marker I discovered I was in Pike County New York. This UH-1H Dustoff Helicopter's tail number is 68-15542 and it flew 16 kn0wn medical evacuation sorties for a total of 1,423 flight hours between May of 1969 and February 1970 in the Republic of Vietnam.
The veteran's parking lot started to fill up. Two SUV's emptied its load of teenagers. The boys put on backpacks and then the whole pack marched off into the woods. When I finished this sketch, Terry wanted me to go to go to the antique store which she wanted to continue shopping at. It was a fun shop with tons of fun affordable options, though I didn't pick anything up. I was tempted by a $3 leather monocle holder. But I realized I didn't have a monocle.

Magic Forest

Driving into Lake George New York is like driving down International Drive in Orlando with cool crisp weather. Terry and I were visiting my younger sister Carol and her two daughters . We followed the GPS to Chestnut Street, but none of the four homes matched Carols house number. When I called Carol on the cell, she said she lived on Chestnut Road not street. Her directions brought us a few miles south of town. When we drove past the Magic Forest, I knew I would have to go back. This place is pure tourist kitsch, it had to be sketched. Uncle Sam's face is peeling off and was haphazardly folded back into place. Paul Bunyan was back in the woods and Santa was also keeping vigil in the parking lot. Tourists who entered the lot would pour out of their cars and then snap photos before heading into the park.
The following day was Carol's birthday. Terry and I treated her and her two daughters, Anna and Kirsten to dinner. Carol took half a day off and she walked us around downtown Lake George. This place is booming with tourists everywhere and little parking. There were several haunted houses and plenty of miniature golf courses. Just south of town there was a drive in theater which had a line of cars waiting to get in. The lake itself was gorgeous with a large paddle boat and several beaches. We had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the water. A guitarist was performing cover songs so loud it was impossible to carry on a conversation. The view across the lake made the location spectacular. A small beach right next to the building was crowded with tanning tourists. It would have been nice to stay longer so we could relax and swim, but our packed travel itinerary had us driving south early the next day.

Vanderbilt Mansion

Terry wanted to see some mansions while we were on vacation. Our first stop was the Franklin Delano Roosevelt home in Hyde Park, New York. When we entered the visitors center, we found out a guided tour was $14. Terry then found out that there was a much more opulent mansion just up the road built by the Vanderbilts. Terry wanted to go inside for the tour, so I decided I would use that time to do a sketch of the exterior. I searched desperately for a shady tree with a view.
The mansion is a small place that the Vanderbilts only lived in for six weeks out of the year. The mansion has a grand view of the Hudson River Valley. As Terry's tour group approached the mansion, the park ranger who was leading the tour waved to me and asked, "Are you an artist?" I sighed and shouted back, with some annoyance, "Yes." It turns out Terry had put him up to asking this one question, which I cannot tolerate or stand. She got me again!
Terry said that the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC has more bathrooms than this mansion has rooms. She claimed that staff were well paid, and that when Frederick Vanderbilt died, they were paid in the will. Terry and I walked the property when she came out from the tour. I was amazed that there was a constant stream of tourists crowding into the building. We walked a quarter mile or so to the gardens. Roses were in bloom along with a colorful assortment of wild flowers.

Cold Spring

Terry and I drove up the Hudson River Valley to a small town called Cold Spring. we stopped at a bed and breakfast inn which had beautiful Victorian decorated rooms. The rooms were rather pricey so we walked down Main street to the riverfront. There we found the Hudson House which is right across the street from the waterfront. A small gazebo is located at the foot of a wide cement public pier. A sign indicated that a band would be playing in the band shell so I sat on a wooden bench and started to sketch. After a loud sound check "The Steve Claire Band" started to play, They played a combination of folksy urban rock. A woman in the audience set out a bunch of Hula Hoops and she began to hula to the music. She was good, being able to move the hoop up her arms and around her neck all while moving to the beat of the music. She offered lessons to a friend but the friend moved with a staccato urgency never being able to keep the hoop going for more than a minute. 0thers tried with a bit more success.
Children were playing on the rocks at the rivers edge and families rested on blankets listening to the music. A little boy who had obviously just learned to walk, made his way over to Terry and myself and smiled at us. He then pointed at my boots and started playing with the shoelaces. His father told him not to untie the shoes but he was infatuated and determined. Terry laughed uncontrollably and soon I was laughing as well, though I'm not certain why. I'm not comfortable around children, but they always seem to gravitate to me. This is my own private curse.
The following morning we got up early and had breakfast before walking up Main street. Within a few blocks I sat down and started to sketch the buildings. It was a quiet Monday morning and nothing was open yet. Terry wandered looking in all the store front windows. When the sketch was done we went back down to the waterfront. There we saw the Clearwater which is a replica of a Dutch river sloop. Terry and I met because of the environmental mission of this boat 23 years ago. The sloop silently disappeared behind the concrete pier. As Terry walked away from the pier, she said, "I wish I could memorize this view."