Lest it not be evident to even the most casual observer, the reason I like traveling with Bruce is that every day is like Christmas or Hanukkah. You wake up early to open your presents. With Bruce, the presents are numerous and wonderful. This trip has a number of activities that are “firsts” (although these occur frequently with a BNEA event) and we learned a lot. We met in Albany after a show week and here are the photos and descriptions.
Let me also say that the Albany and upstate New York area is very weird. We were looking for a street in Woodstock and couldn’t find it. We couldn’t find anything in Woodstock. When we stopped for directions, Bruce said to a guy, “Nobody knows anything around here!” The guy said, “Welcome to Woodstock.”
Then we stopped at a Dunkin’ Donuts thinking we could find something to eat. We asked Ashley if she could direct us to a restaurant where we could get a pastrami sandwich. She said, “What’s pastrami?” Needless to say, we laughed, and laughed, and laughed… ! Oh, my god… I’m laughing as I write this!
Each Event is available on it’s link below:
The Albany Government Complex– A view of Albany from the observation deck of Government Center. One of my best photos came from there.
Rhinebeck Aerodrome Air Show and Plane Crash – One of the Top 10 Bruce finds. I was a pilot and this impressed me greatly.
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The Howe Caverns Bruce was disappointed by the cleanliness of the place. He expected it to be dripping with water, oozing with mud and generally more gnarly than it was. We took the last tour and got to walk back in the dark with candle lanterns. I thought it was cool.            
Innisfree Garden We were dodging the rain and by the time we got to this wonderful place, dodging was no longer an option. Getting wet was not a big deal since I had an umbrella and Bruce had a jacket. The garden is a former private estate and it is quite spectacular in its setting.                     
The Woodstock Museum If there is any other reason to hate Time Warner than this museum, I can’t think of it. Oh, don’t get me wrong, the museum is spectacular. It traces the history of the Woodstock Concert which took place 39 years before we arrived at the site. The exhibits are tremendous but the people who run it (with the exception of the young lady who checked us in) are kumquats. (Ask Joe Huston what that means.) The gift shop is exactly what you would expect from Time Warner… a total rip off. What they have is nice but the prices will kill you. Four people we met in the parking lot all agreed that everything in the place was, at a minimum, overpriced by 30%. Needless to say, we didn’t buy anything. Also, you cannot take photos in the museum. That, of course, only applies if you believe in following the rules. Since I don’t, you can see some blurry photos of the inside. Next time, I’ll really screw with them and take really good pictures. (Don’t ever tell me I can’t take a photograph.)           
Adirondack Animal Land This is a nice place if you have kids. We thought it was going to be a Fossil Rim type place but it turned out to be a kid-friendly zoo. It is worth a trip if you are in the area.            
5 Rivers Environmental Center BNEA wouldn’t be BNEA without a place like this. It had some very nice flowers and paths and, of course, bugs. I hate bugs. I tried to get in touch with my inner bug but it was very hard. Great stuffed animals, though. No adventure would be complete without some nice young women on the page. We had four that were mention-worthy. We start with Dana. She was checking us into the Residence Inn Poughkeepsie and her name tag said she was from Schenectady, NY. Bruce asked her how it was pronounced and she did a little demo, telling him that it was “Skin Neck Titty”. We hope Tim and the kids appreciate her because she is one-of-a-kind in our book. You know that someone is special when they not only get a photo but a demonstration picture on the trip website. “Here’s to you, Dana… we really liked meeting and speaking with you.”               
Girls and Women of Upstate New York No adventure would be complete without some nice young women on the page. We had four that were mention-worthy. We start with Dana. She was checking us into the Residence Inn Poughkeepsie and her name tag said she was from Schenectady, NY. Bruce asked her how it was pronounced and she did a little demo, telling him that it was “Skin Neck Titty”. We hope Tim and the kids appreciate her because she is one-of-a-kind in our book. You know that someone is special when they not only get a photo but a demonstration picture on the trip website. “Here’s to you, Dana… we really liked meeting and speaking with you.”     
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