"Let Us Go, Then, You and I...."

Tonight, we are in Hudson, New York. That is "Hudson" as in Hudson River, and that means that NYC is just down the river from us. One more night on the road! This morning, we had a police escort again, this time making sure we got out of Amsterdam safely. A cruiser in front, and a supervisor behind us until we got onto the canal trail.

Just wanted to reassure you, we are NOT riding with handcuffs on!

We went through Rotterdam, through Holland, through Herkimer, through Schenectady, Albany and Rensselaer, south along the Hudson until we reached Hudson. Lots of hills, lots of narrow roads. And tomorrow, since the roads are still just as narrow, we have door-to-door police escort from Hudson to Fishkill.

In Hudson, we had interviews from three newspapers, plus a television story that appeared on the Albany CBS news. Even bigger events are planned for the next two days, but they will be revealed as they unfold. For tonight, we have a lot of cub scouts and boy scouts staying with us, and they are adoring Ryan and Jonathan, who are inspiring them with notions of what they can do with their own lives as they grow up.

We have grown so accustomed to meeting local, regional and state officers, and getting generous donations from Legion chapters, that it will be hard to stop riding once we reach NYC.

Pat's friend Kit, back in Gearhart, wrote this little dittie for me for my birthday yesterday:  "Oh Donnie boy, the bike, the bike is calling---from bend to bend and down the mountainside. The trip is quickly making you much younger, oh Donnie boy, oh Donnie boy, oh what a ride!"

To that, I add the following:  "I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled....Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?...." 

Stay tuned to find out what else is in store.