Belated posting

About a month ago Kate and I headed up to Schenectady NY to visit with her mom and Aunt. We had a handful of pictures that were taken so I thought I'd post some of them and supply a brief narrative.


En route to New York we finally found a reason to stop at the Pizza Hut in Framingham which is lost in time. It still looks essentially like the old dining restaurants of my youth, although the interior is more circa 1990s then the darker decor of the Pizza Huts of the 1970s and 80s. Most Pizza Huts, at least in New England have either closed up shop or have been redefined as fast food and take out as opposed to the sit down dining experiences I remember. I was pleased to see that the Book-It promotion is still going on today. I enjoyed many a free personal pan pizza as a wee lad.



After the long drive I had no trouble catching some Z's. The ape on top of the head rest is one of Kate's childhood stuffed animals "Coco".
On Saturday Kate and I went to John Boyd Thacher State Park and did some hiking and exploring. Kate's mom thoughtfully printed out directions for us and some descriptions of the park. Our first impression of the park wasn't the best because we parked the car in a lot for a fee, and we were greeted with what appeared to be a large public pool in disrepair, and a large picnic area that did not seem to have many patrons. Once we found our way over to the ledges that are the show piece of the reserve, the park redeemed itself. We hiked the "Indian Ladder Trail" which takes you to the base of the impressive escarpment. The photos were taken along the trail. The last picture is of a red spotted newt that we came upon hiding beneath some ledge.


After enjoying the park and the great weather we headed back into town and had a nice dinner with Kate's Mom, Donna, and her Aunt Nancy.