ACCORD and KINGSTON , NEW YORK

Thursday, May 29, 2008 - We left Thousand Trails Hershey Preserve in Lebanon, Pennsylvania to Rondout Valley Resort in Accord, New York where we planned to stay for seven nights. This park has a lot of speed bumps and a one-lane wooden bridge to navigate. The park is very treed. We had quite a time getting into the site assigned to us because of low-lying tree limbs. Around 4:00 pm, Ray began the process of removing the Gold Wing from the truck bed. A strap broke and caused the bike to flip over to its side or actually upside down. We had a lot of people come to help discuss who we should contact to get the bike off the truck without further damage. The first truck that came was a flatbed and without a lift. Then someone asked a local owner of a towing service to come out and he was not only the owner but he owned a $35,000 chopper. He was very considerate and wanted to be sure the bike did not get damaged any further than it already was. We had a whole lot of spectators and help. Friday, May 30 - Ray rode the bike to Albany NY Honda dealership to get an estimate of the damages. Over $4000 to replace everything new. He is working with State Farm to get the adjuster to view the bike, probably at our next stop near Lake George. KINGSTON, NEW YORK - First Capital of New York State Saturday, May 31 - We found out that the showers would be more likely in the afternoon, so we left early to drive to Historic Kingston to check out the area. There four areas of Kingston that have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places; one that we visited is the Stockade District and the Rondout-West Strand District.

Kingston has one of the oldest neighborhoods in America. In 1658, a group of 60-70 European settlers living along the Esopus Creek moved from the lowlands to the bluff above. Board by board, they took their barns and houses down, carted them uphill and rebuilt them behind a 14-foot high wall built 1,200’ x 1,300’ in three weeks from tree trunks pounded into the ground. Namely “the stockade”. They were ordered to move for their safety by the Colonial Governor, Peter Stuyvesant, who selected the site because its height on three sides afforded natural protection.

Twenty-one Pre-Revolutionary War houses still stand within the Stockade area. These stone houses are unique to Kingston and the surrounding area and are found nowhere else in North America. Today, they are still used as homes and offices, a testament to their sturdiness and timeless design. Simple limestone and mortar houses built with materials hauled right from the fields. The streets of the original village remain laid out just as they were in 1658. We ate lunch on the waterfront at a 19th-century waterfront building that was at the center of controversy earlier this year during renovations by craftspeople working nearly around the clock and it finally opened as a restaurant in 2004. Steel House Restaurant specializes in Pastas, Panini’s, Scaloppini’s & Parmesans. It is located on the Rondout River that flows into the Hudson River a few miles away. The food was great, as well as the service and we enjoyed the interior of this renovated 1900's steel manufacturing warehouse.This is an old waterfront with eclectic looking boats and tugboats. It also has an element of bad neighborhoods nearby. We saw a scrap metal dump right on the river and spoke to a local that indicated a wealthy investor had purchased all the land there and would be making it into a waterfront worthy of the tourist trade. We also saw this eclectic, painted tug boat live-aboard that brought a smile as we took its picture. However, there was also the humorous as seen in the Music shop with replicas of the “King” Elvis and Marilyn Monroe at Broadway Joe’s. This steamboat wheel is original and sits inside the museum and Visitors’ Center, built in 1927 and also contains the largest collection of John Vanderlyn paintings, drawings and papers in the country.

STREET VIEW OF SENATE HOUSE

REAR VIEW OF SENATE HOUSE -

Following the adoption of the State Constitution in 1777, thousands of New Yorkers risked their lives, property, and families to support a rebellious government. Kingston became the state’s first capital, and merchant Abraham van Gaasbeek’s home became the meeting place for the state’s Senate.

At the 1676 Senate House State Historic Site on May 31, this year, there was a reenactment of James Madison visiting Kingston to honor the memory of the first Governor of New York, George Clinton. May 1812, Clinton was a Revolutionary War hero and former vice president to Thomas Jefferson. Governor Clinton’s grave site is in the churchyard of the Old Dutch Reformed Church at the corner of Main and Wall Streets, Kingston NY. We have Governor Clinton to thank for the adoption of the Bill of Rights. Clinton refused to sign off on the fledgling republic’s Constitution until such an addition was inserted. Original Kitchen and dining area inside the Senate House - The Henry Sleight House, at 3 Crown Street, is a beautiful example of Dutch Colonial and English Colonial building styles, was built prior to 1695 on a triangular lot within the stockade district. Burned by the British along with the rest of the Stockade, the house was later rebuilt and occupied by Village President Hendricus (Henry) Sleight. Like many of the other buildings within the Stockade District, the Sleight House has been used for many different purposes, but by 1900, the Sleight House had fallen into neglect and was in danger of being demolished. The Wiltwich Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution saved the building from destruction, and paid for the complete restoration of the building's interior and exterior

Sunday, June 1 - We took a drive to see the Catskills. Rt. 55 northwest and other side roads. We saw the Merriman Dam of the Rondout Reservoir and pumping station for the water supply to the City of New York.

We passed through the town of Neversink 1798 circa. The second oldest town in Sullivan County, Neversink is a family-oriented town that has the distinction of being a "dry town". Neversink has the added benefit of a guaranteed pristine environment. Being the local access to the Catskill Park System, part of the New York State Park System, Neversink affords residents and visitors numerous recreational activities including hiking, biking, hunting, fishing and camping. For over 125 years, Neversink has been the home of the "Little World's Fair" sponsored each year in August by the Neversink Agricultural Society. Grahamsville Rural Cemetery 1874. The Grahamsville Historic District is located along both sides of NY 55 just east of that hamlet in the Town of Neversink in Sullivan County, New York, USA. Its church is across the road from Tri-Valley Central School. In 1979 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Five buildings are located on its 20 acres. The centerpiece of the district is the Grahamsville Reformed Church, which dates originally to the 1840s. In 1874 it was expanded and a cemetery was added. An 1847 boarding house, also within the district, now serves as a gallery for a local artist. Covered bridge 10’ tall over a running creek Frost Valley is 5,000 acres of pure pleasure for hikers, bikers, etc. Historical Forstmann Castle on 2,000 acres built in 1871. Forstmann Castle (now an Inn) on Oliverea/Frost Valley Road in Big Indian, NY. The Castle features 11 private rooms each with two twin beds. Bathroom accommodations are shared, and the building also contains a parlor, a dining room, a sun room and a music room. We Winissook Club on a lake and a deep grade and Ray shifted to lower gear. It was 60 degrees at 2,700 ft. elevation. There is a 2.5-hour nature hike up 3,140' Overlook Mountain in the Town of Woodstock that lies within the borders of Catskill Park. The first non-indigenous settler arrived around 1770. The Town of Woodstock was established in 1787. The town has long been a mecca for artists, musicians, and writers, even before the music festival made the name "Woodstock" famous. The town has a separate "Artist's Cemetery". Film and art festivals attract big names, and hundreds of musicians have come to Woodstock to record. The list below contains the names of significant celebs who actually lived (or still currently live) in the town. Jennifer Connelly - actress, for several years during her childhood Ethan Hawke - actor Piper Laurie - actress Lee Marvin - actor Sylvia Miles - actress Uma Thurman - actress, for several years during her childhood. Still seen frequently in Woodstock, to visit her parents including Robert Thurman. Chevy Chase - actor Howard Koch - screenwriter who wrote 1938 radio drama The War of the Worlds and won Academy Award for Casablanca Milton Glaser - graphic designer (creator of the ‘I Love New York’ logo) Jimi Hendrix- guitarist/singer/songwriter

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