A "Short" Weekend

 

It's been hard keeping my composure as of late.  Although I am slowly recovering from the theft of my wallet and the loss of my backpack (with old Chromebook and assorted supplies), I do not yet feel back to normal, due to GI-Tract issues I'll soon be seeing a doctor about.  (My internist told me to contact a specialist, and I'll be dealing with triage procedures next week.) So, with the exception of my health, most of the other issues are being managed to my satisfaction.

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On Friday, RQS came to Croton.  Our plans were to do some leaf peeping before the last of the leaves fell to the ground.  Unfortunately, most of the leaves were already on the ground when we started our Saturday excursion.  However, this wasn't so bad, as it was a day I could get out in the world as Marian and show RQS some of the vistas that can only be experienced in the Hudson Valley.

We started our trip by crossing the Hudson and taking side roads through Harriman State Park.  There were a lot of great views to be captured, but there were too many people following us for me to stop for her to take snapshots.  Once out of the park, we headed North towards Walden, where we made the mistake of pulling into a Dunkin Donuts, where the help totally ignored us for several minutes.  After a reasonable amount of time, I took RQS by the hand and exited the shop to get a snack at the hotdog/ice cream stand next door.  Going there for food was almost as bad as stopping at DD's, as we had reactions to food that tasted excessively greasy.  We will never stop there again.  At that point, I felt it was time to go home, and we crossed the Hudson to take in the views from Fahnstock State Park.  At least, this time, RQS could get some photos.  

Finally, we returned to Croton with a quick stop at the dam, where she got some nice pictures.  Although the park was supposed to close at 5:30 pm, there was no way they would be able to clear out all of the people there before the sun set.  It was too nice a day in October for anyone to rush home, as this would likely be the last nice day we'll get until Spring.

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Sunday came, and we did nothing all day.  So I won't talk much about that.  But I was supposed to receive 2 shipments from Amazon that never came.  They were delayed until Monday, and weren't delivered until RQS got home.  As I said, I'm still replacing things I lost when I misplaced my backpack at Croton-Harmon station.  Hopefully, though I doubt it, MNRR lost and found will have the backpack the next time I go into NYC by train.

It's been a long time since I've seen this friend.

 

For the life of me, I can't seem to find a picture of me with RO at a formerly local Italian Restaurant.  This may be just as well for now.  But it would have been nice to give my readers an idea to why I wanted her as a friend, and not as a lover.

We haven't seen each other in years, as the pandemic got in the way of us getting together.  Now that she's living in the Poconos full time, we can't make a quick decision to get together after work.  After a little bit of planning, we set today for our get together; and I chose the restaurant at a mid way point for both of us.

I didn't get moving until noon, and took my time getting ready to get showered, made up and dressed. It was a good thing that I left a little wiggle room in my departure time, as traffic could be unpredictable when dealing with the Bear Mountain Bridge.  Today, it was just that, as it took forever to get to the bridge.  But once I reached Seven Lakes Drive, it was a pleasant drive through Harriman State Park to get to Sloatsburg.  And from there, it was a hop, skip and a jump to NJ 287 which took me to Parsippany.  

In the past, the trip from Mahwah to Parsippany would take forever, as Route 287 had not been built between Boonton and Mahwah.  Since the route was completed, it was a 30 minute drive to reach my final destination from the NY/NJ state line.  Not knowing that RO would be on time, I brought along a book that I could read if she got stuck in traffic.  Luckily, she reached the restaurant at the same time as I did.

RO knows me as Marian, even though she has seen me as Mario a couple of times.  It is much easier for her to think of me as Marian, and that's the way I arrived at the restaurant.  Our talked flowed like water, and both of us enjoyed some of the best Italian food I've ever been served.  (I had the Lasagna, and it was an 11 on a scale of 10!)  All too soon, it was time to go home, and I took the overland route instead of going through the park.

Hopefully, we'll be able to get together much sooner than last time.  Until then, we'll keep in touch.  It'll be nice if RO & Husband gets the chance to meet RQS and I for dinner one day....