08-29 - 09-07 Croton Point Park - Pre Rally

With terrific weather, I left Junius Ponds in Phelps, NY at 9:30 and arrived at Croton Point Park six hours later...on one tank of fuel! I did stop in Cold Spring and topped it off to take advantage of a great price. $3.25/gal diesel on the Thruway vs. $3.05 in Cold Spring. I'm now set for my next long trip to New Hampshire and Maine later in the month.

So, I extend 

Winnie on site 35

greetings from CPP, once again. This is my third stay so far this season with two more before I call it a "season." With new County park rules, RVers will only be able to stay two weeks at a time and after two weeks out can return. There are wide sweeping renovations, rules and rates going into effect once this camping season is over. Everyone must vacate by October 31st. With the Hudson Islander's second rally of the year here at CPP (09/07 to 09/14), I booked the week before to enjoy the two weeks. My next blog will be devoted to that rally. After that, it's up to NH and ME.

So fortunate to have Caddy with me to do all
the running around. Cadillacs cannot be towed
except on a flatbed.

The week has amazingly turned into "catch up" week. Returning home (all of twelve miles away), I caught up with laundry and mail. Another THANK YOU to neighbor, Diane W, for taking care of my mail and watering my "monster" Croton plant. When I entered my apartment, it was so nice to enjoy a smile of relief that both those minor necessities were taken care of. Another big THANK YOU goes to RV neighbors, Vicki/George, for watching my Caddy while I spent the past week in Phelps, NY. Because of them, I was able to arrive here at CPP and hop in my car with everything I needed to cart back home and take care of business. 

The weather so far has been overcast and threatening. Thunder finally rolled in around 4:00 pm as predicted but a few drops just wet things. The bigger concern will be for later in the week as tropical storm Ida flows northeastward and is predicted to dump a few inches on us. Along with the excessive rain came the tornado watch for a large swath including Westchester County. With that, in came chairs and the awning.

With all that I had to squeeze in my first evening here at CPP, I solved my dinner problem the first night with a trip to the Paradise in Verplanck, NY where "customers become family." It has been weeks since I've enjoyed a good slice or three of pizza. And as far as I'm concerned, the Paradise is the best around. Established in 1947, Joseph and Victor have since taken over since the passing of their parents. It's not every restaurant where the guy who makes the pizza brings it out and serves it to you. Being quite busy, I'm sure had a lot to do with that but I stilled enjoyed Victor's greeting and small talk.

Wednesday was an all-day soaking. At 6 pm, a tornado watch was
issued until 1 am and that set the stage for the perfect "getting cozy
with a good book."

One of my rainy day activities was to find a use for one of my two TVs. Through Bluetooth, I connected my laptop through a Roku device to the 28" HDTV. Next I'll figure out why I have to look up at the TV when the screen is straight ahead in front of me. Oh, don't think I didn't try using the antenna once upon a time and picked up seven TV stations. A nano-second peek at what's available once again helped me decide I'd rather have root canal. Of course, Roku has a ton of free TV movies from providers like Netflix, Sling, Hulu and Vudu. Sherlock Holmes got me started but had to give up because I couldn't understand anything being spoken at the rate they spoke. Get more info at ROKU TV.

Being a frequent visitor here at our County Park, my interest was piqued when I came across a "tour" by JCharles in March of 2021. Found on YouTube, I thought I'd share it with you. A 20 minute tour of the County Park by JCharles in March of 2021.

Some of my readers my have picked up on the fact that I enjoy food; photographing it as well as eating it. One evening, after the storm, I traveled down to Sakura Garden in Hastings for a long awaited sushi treat.

The chill in the air began to intrude near the
end of our meal but the setting was comfortable.
Radiant heating as well as an outdoor propane
patio heater will extend his outdoor dining 
experiences further into the fall.  His canvas enclosures
for the patio has allowed outdoor dining with
temperatures as
low as 18°

On another evening, after visiting my mother in Fishkill during the afternoon, I met my daughter, Marybeth, and together drove further north beyond Poughkeepsie to Hyde Park, NY, where I enjoyed another long awaited culinary treat, a steak dinner...filet mignon and a (twice) baked potato to be exact. Well, Joseph's Italian Steakhouse more than filled the bill. The perfect pairing was a glass of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo from Italy. Owner, Joseph, who knew Marybeth, visited our table often to be sure all was well. Do take the time and review the mouth-watering dinner menu and wonderful choices of cocktails.

An 8 oz filet with a twice baked potato.
The too al dente (raw) string beans were eaten
for their  "healthy" attributes.

And as soon as it began, blink, blink, it's over. Beginning tomorrow by drips and drabs, members of Hudson Islands will descend into CPP for our second rally held at this location. My next shared blog will document the goings on. I'm looking forward to the anticipated "crowd." Fifteen RVs housing twenty seven people will enjoy the camaraderie, food, conversation and campfire get-togethers. Looking forward also to sharing it with you and reading your comments below. Stay tuned.