October 19th, 2010
Bear Mountain, Fall Foliage, Expectations, New York City, Road Trip
My expectations of our ferry trip to Bear Mountain were that we would be traveling on the Hudson, on a calm sunny day, and from left to right you would be seeing colors; oranges, fiery reds, yellows and purples. You know; autumn at its best.
Well, it was freezing, windy and white caps on the Hudson. Oh, well Cindi and I did not care. That’s what happens when you travel. Take it as it comes, right? We just had to take it for 2 1/2 hours up the Hudson and 2 1/2 hours back.
We lined up at Pier 83 and on the Circle Line we went. The boat was packed with a diverse group of people. The young people were already celebrating; afterall, we were all going to an Oktoberfest celebration on Bear Mountain.
I kept thinking, how could I have forgotten my parka? Everybody was practically wearing one, except Cindi and I. We sat outdoors and for some time everyone was pretty quiet.
I started noticing that besides the Circle Line ferry, the only other boats on the Hudson were container ships.
At one point we had only a long hour to wait and so we decided to go inside and get some coffee. We did not last long; too many people; too stuffy and from the bow of the boat every time someone opened the door water would splash in and out with the mops they went.
Finally at a distance we saw Bear Mountain. Not too imposing, though, but I saw my first tree. All they way there the leaves were greener than in Delaware.
Bear Mountain is the flagship of the Palisades Interstate Park System; 45 miles north of NYC, in the Hudson Highlands.
It is accessible by car and bus, or like we did, this time of the year by ferry. It is used primarily during the day. The Bear Mountain Inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places but at present is under renovation.
All kinds of amenities including hiking trails; the first segment of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and a key segment of the Long Path. For more info. please visit www.palisadesparksconservancy.org/parks/5/. Or, call 845-786-2701.
A hike up the mountain; I did not know how the older people were going to do it; slowly they did. We were warned that we needed to be back on the ferry by 3 p.m. sharp or you were staying at Bear Mountain.
We found an art fair first and Cindi was hoping that there was more to that; and yes there was. A big tent with entertainment; the Continentals. Different stations to get beer. The majority of the people got beer steins and that was a good thing because the lines were very long.
Then we made the line for our German fare. I don’t know if it was the long trip, the cold weather, or what, but we got so much food for just the 2 of us; Bratwurst with Sauerkraut, Sauerbraten with pickled beets, Pierogies with caramelized onions and sour cream, stuffed cabbage and more pickled beet salad. We had enough pickled beets to feed an army. We, actually, gave some away. For dessert there was a plate full of cookies, but enough, please.
Then a walk where we found the next tree. Great color. We stopped right in front of Hessian Lake and I could not help but take the picture of Cindi looking for the leaves as the wind pounded her face.
Leaves, anywhere?
Back to the tent to see what was going on and there was dancing and drinking and music by the Continentals.
Soon it was time to hike down the trails to our ferry and the crowd was a little more rowdy; those lacrosse players and those girls were having a great time.
And so for the next 2 1/2 hours we heard:
The more we get together, together, together
The more we get together, the happier we’ll be
‘Cause your friends are my friends and my friends are your friends
The more we get together the happier we’ll be
We bonded with them, knowing personally, one of them. Another one, Bryan talked to us the whole way; about his girlfriend, his very demanding job in the City, his family, and life in general.
We arrived at the pier as the sun was setting. We did have a lot of laughs and got off that ferrry singing:
The more we get together, together, together
The more we get together, the happier we’ll be…..
Cindi and I walked to The Blakely. We needed to walk off some of those carbs. Then off to have Indian food, with Ryan, at Mint. This Indian restaurant is located at 150 East 50th St., tel. 212-644-8888, website www.mintny.com.
We had chicken samosas, chicken tikka masala, chicken curry and lamb nilgiri. Unfortunately, I could not take pictures; this time it did not seem appropriate, but check the website because it has pictures and it is very self explanatory. I had eaten there before and it was just as good.
A walk checking Rockefeller Center and other places completed the evening.
Sunday was gorgeous; the day we needed on Saturday. People were out and about walking for breast cancer or just enjoying a beautiful day in the City.
And for us, it was, on the road again…
Until next time…..talk to you later…..
Tags: Bear Mountain, Circle Line, Fall foliage, Indian Food, Mint, New York, New York City, Palisades Interstate Park System, Pier 83, Rockefeller Center
