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The Great Swamp
A swamp without the possibility of alligators and water moccasins is a real treat for an ex-pat swamp-rat Louisiana native like myself. If mosquitos are the biggest threat to your adventure, you can relax. Albert Einstein advised us to “look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” A trip through The Great Swamp by…
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Hiking the Housatonic
It is pleasant to have been to a place the way a river went.~Henry David Thoreau I recently “discovered” the Housatonic River by accident and have not been quite the same since. Can’t eat, can’t sleep. WHAT ELSE IS OUT THERE JUST WAITING TO BE DISCOVERED?!? I finally had a pretty good understanding of lower New York and…
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Take a Hike, Ma
Mothers’ Day is the one day of the year when my family will seek adventure with me. I can nag them into it on my birthday sometimes, but that’s so close to Mothers’ Day that they’re usually still in a recovery position (on the couch clutching an electronic device). Hiking is never at the top of their…
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Love Among The Ruins
It’s hard to describe the thrill of finding the Garden of Eden right smack in the middle of Yonkers. You just have to trust me and go find it yourself. The man-made miracle of Samuel Untermyer awaits you, a classic Indo-Persian garden as soothing as a balm in Gilead. I corralled a group of ladies…
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The Storm King
I have met the Storm King, and you don’t wanna mess with him. He guards the gates of Storm King Art Center like the Sphinx from his lawn chair at the bicycle rental kiosk. If you incorrectly answer his riddle for admission, your fate is sealed: expulsion or death. Your choice. I mercifully passed his…
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Where the A.T. Was Born
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,committed citizens can change the world;indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”Margaret Mead Walk with me if you will in an “It’s a Wonderful Life” way to what Upper Westchester County could have been if some of our George Baileys had never lived. New York is a…
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Ridin’ The Rails
I have sustained more injuries loading and unloading my bike into the back of my truckthan from any other activity I’ve undertaken. I regularly jab myself in the ribs with the handle bars, schlonk my hips on the derailer and bite my shins on the pokey pedals as I throw my bike in again and…
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What I Learned at Summer Camp
I have the greatest summer job ever. For six weeks I get to immerse teenagers in the great outdoors. They arrive each morning at the Rye Nature Center for Paddle Adventure Camp and we return them safely each evening, filthy dirty and happy. Sleepy boys and girls of all shapes, sizes and temperaments appear, clutching…
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To The Sea
When I left NYC with my family on the Queen Mary 2, eastbound on a transatlantic crossing, I had my first true understanding of how connected to the sea the city is, a port town in every sense of the word. Police and fireboats hailed our exit, fishing vessels honked and sailors saluted as our…
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Beating the Daily Grind
“Only boring people get bored.” At least this is what I tell my kids when I hear the familiar whine. As says Eloise, my favorite children’s book character, “Getting bored is not allowed. Sometimes I comb my hair with a fork…..Kleenex makes a very good hat.” Or in grownup language: one can never get bored…