Kim and I had to displace my step-sister's daughter from her room last night - man, I hate to do that to a teenager, I know what a refuge a kid's room is to them. Slept real good though, among the frilly pillowcases and teal colored couch. I suppose I'm finally old enough where I can say that and not give a crap who hears it.

After coffee and some pastry, we finished loading the bike, hid the car/trailer amongst the trees, and posed for a couple departure pics. I found out this morning that Pennsylvania just passed their Helmet law recently, so I left mine packed in the trailer. We didn't plan to hit New York til later this afternoon.

From Doylestown, PA, we headed west to a little river town (Delaware River) called Point Pleasant. What a neat little town - in perpetual shade from the steep descent to it's banks, and full of quaint businesses. Kim wanted to recreate this Flowerpot-man back in our garden at home... I made her promise that a picture is all we'd bring back instead.

The "River Road" alongside the Delaware is one of those excellent rides that gets put permanently in my atlas in yellow highlighter as a favorite ride. An old canal runs alongside it with paths carved into the banks where mules used to haul the coal barges to the communities downstream before trains took over that chore. There were dozens of locks along the way - nearly none of them with their guts anymore, just damed up to a specific height to keep the proper levels.

 
This River Road, highway 32 on the map, runs back into Hwy 611 into the town of Easton, where the Lehigh River comes into the Delaware, where Pics 10-12 were taken. Easton is the home of Larry Holmes and there were streets and businesses named after him all over.

611 runs along the river for several miles - up to Delaware Water Gap where we had a late breakfast at the Trails End Cafe'. Was alomost noon actually, but whaddahell. Pic #13 is more as a gag for my daughter who insists on taking a picture of herself from a local telephone booth when she travels . She's got pics from many European countries and I gotta tell ya the phones boothes over there tend towards the funny side.

From here we cut over to another road called The River Road, through the Delaware Water Gap park, and came out on Hwy 209 heading northeast - it was the only logical backroad to take from here, but it was awfully bumpy - to the point where they'd erect flashing lights every few miles warning you of the rough roads. We started to go to Bushkill Falls, but when we pulled in, found it to be a very touristy, pay-per-view place that just doesn't appeal to me... further up the road at Dingmans Ferry we stoppped in to take a short hike to Dingmans Falls.

Pics #15-20 are of the main falls and a side thin-veiled falls on the 1/2 mile trail to it. Was a little steamy to be real pleasant, but a great hike and view of the falls when ya get there - something to do early morning or late afternoon to avoid the heat.

 
Hwy 209 continues up into New York, where we donned the requisite helmets and continued northeast to Ellenville, New York, where we cut west into the Catskills Park. There aren't a whole lot of roads to choose from in the Catskills, but those small ones ya do fins are sweet - this one, pic #21, is of a small pond on Hwy 42 near the Ashoken Reservoir on our way to Woodstock. Along the way, we stop at a little 'burg called Wittenberg, the name of one of my clients back home, so we stopped for a creme soda (Grandma don't sell beer!) at the Wittenberg Store. A few short miles down the road we went back in time 35 years and grabbed a motel room in Woodstock.

 
The Woodstock inn on the Millbrook is a great place to stop - a bit pricey, but a nice spread of breakfast is included and there's a nice swimming hole on property. The whole place was in bloom when we were there and the motel, as well as the entire town, was stuck in 1969 - perpetually. For you youngsters, that was the year of the woodstock festival - not even close to to the town of woodstock, but the town arts council put on the show and the poster had WOODSTOCK as it's top line, so it became known as that forever. Even still, this town is carrying on the traditions. Tye-dye shirts, incense, and flowers everywhere. I had to correct Kim when she said they've reverted back to the 60's - actually, it appears they've never left them.

 
The rest of these pics are of the hotel property and the river alongside it. The weather was perfect - the people friendly and the drugs plentiful....errrr... wait - THAT was the 60's. Get confused in my old age. We went to bed after hours sitting by the river and in the lawnchairs overlooking the gardens, not a rain cloud in site. So I left the jackets strapped to the back of the bike in a black canvas Rev-Pack bag. Shoulda known better!