Debi and I decided to spend last weekend in NYC. She was working in Manhattan on Friday, so I hopped on the LIRR to Penn Station. After a quick Subway ride, I was at our Hotel on Canal Street. Debi arrived about an hour later and we decided to check out the Rooftop Lounge, before picking someplace for Dinner. The views up top, were pretty sweet, but we were pretty hungry so we did not stay long. We walked a handful of blocks to the Black Tap for a delicious dinner! We made it back to the hotel in time to catch the sun setting across the Hudson.

Saturday morning we headed across the East River for a “Big Onion Walking Tour” of Brooklyn Heights. It was very hot and humid but we both thoroughly enjoyed the tour. It is a beautiful neighborhood with a ton of interesting history. This is the third Big Onion Tour, I have taken, and I highly recommend them, as a great way to explore and learn about different places in NYC.

We subwayed back to Manhattan and decided on lunch at Torch and Crown, a “Beer Hall’ style place that was a quick walk from the Hotel. It was an excellent choice as both the food and beer were delicious.

After lunch, we rested for awhile at the Hotel before walking south and west to the City Winery, located right on the Hudson. We met a couple of friends from home there, and while we enjoyed their company and the beautiful location, it was very crowded and difficult to avoid being in the sun. We also, may have been the oldest people there! We had covered a lot of ground in sweltering heat and were pretty exhausted, so we did not stay long.

The next morning we decided to make an early exit and return home, where the Pool sounded like the perfect end to a great weekend, and it was!

Monday morning, my buddy Jim Cribbins floated the idea of going to a Yankees game on either Tuesday or Wednesday. It was short notice, but hey I’m retired, so why not! Wednesday morning, I drove into Forest Hills to meet up with Jim, so we could make the trek up to the Bronx. It was just about perfect weather, especially for a Day Game. The Yankees clubbed a couple of Home Runs with men on base and came away with a nice win. I had not seen Jim, since our Ski Trip to Gore back in February, so this was a great way for us to catch a game and catch up with each other! We even hung out, back at his place for awhile, before I headed home. This was the third game we have gone to together, in the past year. It isn’t the baseball that makes the day, it is the company. I hope we can go again, real soon.

We began our 4th of July Holiday Weekend, with an early departure Saturday morning. I did not anticipate traffic on Long Island at 7am, but was worried about north of Albany by 10am. There were progressively, more people on the road, the farther north we got, but we never really slowed down too much and were in North Creek by 11:30. After spending so many days up there in the winter, I had not been back up to the Condo, since March. It felt great to be back there! And there was the bonus of getting to spend the weekend with Jon and Diana, who were already there.

Sunday morning we had an 8am reservation for two “Rail Bikes” from the “Revolution Rail Company”, right down in the village of North Creek. This was everyone’s first “Rail Biking” experience. I think we would all agree, it was terrific!. You basically pedal your way along 7 miles of railroad , most of which is alongside the Hudson River. The weather was great and the scenery, even better!

We opted to go to lunch at Beck’s Tavern, which I have only been to, with snow on the ground. It turns out that it may be even better in the summer! We had an awesome lunch and then spent a couple of hours outside on the lawn, listening to some local bands. Lots of good vibes!

Great Food and Great Vibes. Always at Beck’s Tavern!

The next morning we drove about thirty minutes north, to Goodnow Mountain, for what would be a little more than a four mile roundtrip hike to the Fire Tower at the summit, and then back down. Once again, we were blessed with wonderful weather and though none of us have been hiking much lately, I thought we kept a pretty good pace. The top of the Fire Tower was not open but you could still climb up, almost to the very top. The views of the lakes, valleys and High Peaks are incredible! It felt great to be back hiking in the woods!

We grilled up some burgers back at the Condo, before Jon and Diana got on the road back to Rochester. It was a nice ending to what was a great visit with them.

As always, it was sad watching them drive off. We don’t get to spend time together, too often and that kind of stinks. But we had a great weekend with them, and are thankful for that.

Debi and I opted for the additional night in the country, in part hoping for a smoother ride home. The extra night was great and it was hard to leave the place after such a good time. The ride home was another story. We ended up hitting more traffic than normal on what turned out to be close to five hours on the road. Be that as it may, it did not but a damper on the memories of a super weekend.