A long day. The plan was to hit these three and call it a day. But then I ran for the exit in New Jersey. Made it as far as Binghamton, NY and stopped there with memories of America East Women’s Basketball. Not likely to make it back for the January 16th game with Maine. Too late for the Bearcats’ win over Siena yesterday.

I woke up in the road condo today with it raining and gray. Thought it might be a gloomy drive but by 8:00 the sun was out. I was back on US 20 for a while and then down Rte 7 to Kent, CT and a surprise wooden bridge. Bonus. From Kent it was off to Haverstraw to check that box. Little did I know how much there was to see. Anybody familiar?

Haverstraw was where Benedict Arnold betrayed the defenses of West Point to the British at what was later known as the Treason House. The house is long gone, but there is a nice plaque. Directly across the river, and just visible in the picture on the right, is Sing Sing prison.

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I will freely admit that I did zero due diligence on Hackensack or Glen Rock. I went, I saw, I ran. I couldn’t even look the camera in the eye in Hackensack. Check them off. I have updated both the Cities and the States tabs on the main menu. I took Route 17 up through the Catskills for another great piece of North East terrain.

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Which gets us to the song of the day. I was bound and determined to choose something more up beat to begin a virtuous feedback loop. Then Lana Del Rey, Video Games came up on the playlist. As that scholarly source Wikipedia observes, “Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia”. Buzz kill. Fortunately I’ve now had supper and a couple of beers. Back on plan. Last time we saw Marcia Ball was at the Time Out Pub in Rockland, Maine.