Summer road trips can be great reminders of what’s all around us. I have family up north in the State of New York
.and when I say up north I do mean north! They are only 15 minutes from the Canadian border and an international bridge located on a Mohawk reservation. I recently made the 10hr and 15min drive during a 3 day weekend. You could drive it in a shorter time by staying on the interstate for most of the trip but oh the things you’d miss!! With a car full of my favorite CDs and my willingness to sing along at the top of my lungs (I had consideration of wildlife and humans and kept the windows closed) I was off and running. From the Taconic Parkwy to Albany then to the AdirondacksTrail the beauty of NY State surrounds you.
The signs for the Trail start when you enter Lake George (my first stop) and I forget until that point how much I love it. From Lake George it’s on to Loon Lake then to Schroon Lake. At this point the crossing moose signs begin, really, and I am quite alert because boy do I want to see a crossing moose
well actually I wanted to see a standing moose, I don’t want one crossing into the front of my car. Alas the moose decided to completely evade me for this trip. As I approach the 6 hr mark I reach Lake Placid my first true stop and a great favorite of mine. Then as if they were tracking me on GPS, my phone begins to ring and my fellow MMCers as well as family call to check to see where I am and if all is well. I assure all that I’m having a great time and will push on after a break. I began posting pictures to facebook so they could see my whereabouts and how lovely each spot is. From Lake Placid I push on to Saranac Lake then to Tupper Lake my final body of water (I like lakes) that leads to Route 53 and the final leg of my trip that leads to family that I’ve missed and can’t wait to see. My family and I pack a lot into my short time with them then it’s off to do the whole thing again
this time enjoying the Adirondacks in the early morning hrs on my way home south. Still no moose, but I did see deer, eagles, beaver and pheasant and have lots of new memories, oh and a picture of a moose crossing sign that gives me the giggles whenever I see it
Northern Exposure anyone?
Did you ever decide at the spur of the moment to do something that in your right mind you would not do? I did. Mine began on a Friday night as my cab stopped in traffic in front of a restaurant with a mechanical bull inside. Earlier I had been thinking of a couple of people close to me who really needed a good hardy laugh. Viola! What better way to do that than to see me ride a mechanical bull. I thought who even does this in NYC any more? Was I having a flash back to the 80’s??? Did I happen to recently watch Urban Cowboy? (I’ve never even seen the movie.) I don’t know but I promptly emailed a select group of friends and invited them to come out and watch me ride the bull in 1 week. As the cab continued to drive and the first response came back with a hearty yes, I admit to thinking that perhaps I might have been just a tad bit hasty on sending that email.
The following Monday at MMC as I began to mention ever so casually my big plan the laughs, expectations and encouragement began. We do embrace thinking out of the box, doing the unexpected and/or trying something new and this certainly fell into that category. I’d hoped someone here must have tried it before me
this is a company of adventurous people
turns out no because, well
it’s crazy. Ever helpful friends gleefully started sending me links to youtube videos that showed people riding (try falling off) mechanical bulls
I cringed a lot! It’s been said you should occasionally try to do something that puts fear into you. I had that covered! When making the reservation I sheepishly checked to see what the line wait usually was for the bull ride
the restaurant assured me that there’s never a line to ride (not the most reassuring thing to hear). The day edged closer and the friend I most wanted to give a laugh was too ill to join us. It gave me pause about the whole idea but I took a deep breath and no problem
I have a video camera. So with a laugh and last push out the door by my colleagues I took that wild ride. I was caught on camera in all my glory. A wild and wooly 1min 16 seconds. I now have quite the little conversation piece that I proceeded to post on facebook, text message…and tweet because why just embarrass yourself on a small scale in this is the era of sharing. A friend said I can strike this off my bucket list. I’m not sure about that but I’m wondering does anyone know where the line for the bungee jumping starts?
