A Living Magazine - Day 318 - Homecoming - Arlington to Pleasant Valley

I actually slept very well. When I awoke I had the strange sensation of not knowing where I was. Sometimes it is quite hard to keep track. It took a couple of minutes and then I remembered... Arlington, New York. 

I had to get going before it got too light out. So, I did, disassembling the tent as cars drove by. I don't think they saw me, but if they did, who cares. I got over to Starbucks just as it started to rain. I was the first one there when they opened. I was improvising on my travel plan as I went along, not knowing whether I would head out on this day or spent one more night. No matter how hard I tried, I could not locate a better sleep spot on Google Earth. And, as I worked writing, the desire to just keep moving forward overtook me.

Eventually, when the rain let up and the forecast said there would be about a 30% chance of rain, I decided to hit the road. The basic plan was to walk on 44 to Pleasant Valley about six miles north. There was a McDonald's in town and a lot more choices for sleep spots.

I announced my decision and route at Facebook and then began the walk. Almost as soon as I started a light rain began. I tried to walk quickly, but truth be told, not much time is made up for by walking faster.

One thing had occurred to me many times in the last few weeks of dealing with rain. Whenever I saw a "percent chance" of rain, I learned to interpret that as not "chance" but amount of rain. In other works the chance it could occur was unpredictable, but when it did come, there was an amount equal to the percentage listed on the forecast. If they said, "20%" that meant there would be 20% as much rain as a full downpour.

In this way, any percentage meant rain. But I was able to determine whether I could walk or not, by accepting anything under 40%. Such was the case on this day. I was getting pretty wet after the first hour. When I was almost there, a car pulled up on the other side of the road, a I heard a guy say, "Chuck!" The chances that someone around here would know me by my old high school nickname seemed impossible.

But the guy definitely seemed to know who I was. He got out of the car and told me to wait there while he crossed the street. I complied, a bit confused. I also, didn't have any glasses on (I hadn't had glasses since losing them in South Carolina), but as he came into focus I recognized him right away but couldn't recall his name until he told me. It was my old Yarmouth friend, Bruce Hill!

I couldn't believe that he had found me out here in the badlands of America. But, he explained that he'd seen the post I left at Facebook right before heading out of Arlington. He'd even read that I needed a card reader and tried to pick one up at Staples, but they didn't have one. He had been living here in New York for I think he said 17 years! In fact, he works at the IBM facility right behind where my sleep spot was in Poughkeepsie!

It was a true surprise to see him and know that he had made that extra effort to catch up with me. I won't soon forget that. He offered to drive me the last mile to Pleasant Valley, dropping me off at the McDonald's there. It was nice to have a break from the rain and also to have had a short visit with my old friend. I hadn't seen him in around 30 years!

I worked at McDonald's for a good three hours, settling on a sleep spot about a mile up the road, then left to find it...

An old mill site, now a museum and park in Pleasant Valley.

I found the bank by the side of the road and it looked exactly like the Google Street View. When no cars were coming in either direction, I slipped in, up the hill, along and over a stone wall and over to a clear spot. Seemed made for my kind of camping. I was desperate to dry my stuff, and it wasn't raining, so I gave it the old college try...  

Hanging tarp and tent. The fly was on another tree,

but my batteries kept dying in the camera, so I could photograph it. 

Had enough power left after the camera rested to get two more shots...

When everything was as dry as I could get it, I climbed into the tent, and after getting the sleeping bag set, I immediately fell asleep.

Pleasant Valley Sleep Spot.