The Empire State and The Diamond State

 We left Rhode Island for New York and Rondout Valley Resort in Accord, NY. I know we stayed here back in 2014 but didn't do much sightseeing during the four days we were there. This go round we would have a week.

  I suppose the location of the campground could be considered the Hudson River Valley or the foothills of the Catskills with New Paltz and Poughkeepsie to the east about 45 minutes and Kingston 30 minutes to the north. Really not much around. This is where the great cat food quest begins.

 For the last few years we have been using Chewy. You call them and they deliver the food via FedEx right to the house or the campground on the road. Lately however they have been out of stock of the cat's flavor: Nutro sliced chicken and tuna entree in a savory broth, mmmmm. We finally got a small order delivered but it would not be enough to sustain the finicky feline for long. Thus Doreen would call any pet store in a 30 mile radius, specifically PetSmart, the parent company of Chewy, to see if they had it in stock to fill in when Chewy was out. Most other stores don't carry it. Doreen did some research and even called the manufacturer and found out that particular line was being discontinued. Oh no, the dreaded switching over a cat's regular food. In the interim we would track down every last can of the Nutro sliced chicken and tuna entree in a savory broth in our path.

  With that being said we took a trip to the Kingston PetSmart to scoop up the remaining cans there and then we grabbed some lunch. Another day was spent doing laundry. Not my favorite chore.The two laundry rooms at the campground were all being used. I had to go outside the compound. Luckily I found a laundromat a few miles down the road. 

  We also took a trip through the mountains to Mohonk Preserve on our way to the Walkway over the Hudson State historic park.

  

 Wile E. Coyote, genius?

The Mohonk Preserve Testimonial Gate. What is it? I'm not really sure. The best I can guess is that it the historical entrance to the preserve and the resort that is at the top of the mountain. It was closed for renovations so I couldn't get more information.

The Walkway over the Hudson is a re purposed railroad bridge. 

The river is half a mile wide at this point and bridge spans about a mile and a half.

The Poughkeepsie RR Bridge was the only RR bridge south of Albany and it transported passengers and raw materials from the Midwest to Northeastern industrial centers.

A view downriver of the Mid Hudson Bridge.

You eventually end up in downtown Poughkeepsie on the other side so we just turned around and walked back.

We stopped in New Paltz for a bite to eat.

 Doreen had a fancy salad and I just has some wings. Not photo worthy.

  From New York we made our way to Delaware, also known as the First State or in my opinion, the Flat State. Our destination was Lum's Pond State Park about 45 minutes south-west of Wilmington. I chose a route that would take me down I-476, aka The Blue Route to I-95 and into Delaware. I totally forgot our departure was a Friday which means heavy traffic on all routes heading south out of Philly toward the beaches. A 240 mile trip took about seven hours mired in bumper to bumper traffic the entire length of the Blue Route from the PA Turnpike to 95, and once again on 95. We finally arrived about 5 PM and found our site quickly and proceeded to set up in the sweltering heat.

 Luckily some respite from the scorching sun was provided by large shade trees behind us and to the side. Anytime you can get shade to the south it is an ideal scenario. The only drawback of this site was the blacktop. In most cases you would welcome that- when it rains, leveling the rig, easy to walk over, and general tidiness, but when the mercury is rising past the 90 mark it becomes a heat magnet.

  This would be only a four day stay. I took advantage of the nice trails biking around the lake about half way. 

 We took a ride to Delaware City and Fort Delaware State Park.

A short ferry ride takes you to the Civil War era fort on Pea Island.

 Then a short walk over the boardwalk 

To the tram

Fort Delaware never fired a shot in anger during the war but instead was used as a prisoner of war camp holding thousands of Confederate soldiers and officers.

The interior buildings are three stories high incorporating housing, messes, armory, dispensary, blacksmiths, etc. Everything needed to run the fort. And of course cannons; lots of them.

All three levels with cannon. By my count, seven on each level on at least two of the five sides of the pentagonal fort.

We were too late for the cannon firing demonstration but we did see the musket demonstration.

The island is three feet below sea level so a moat came natural.

We took the return ferry back to Delaware City

and stopped in Crabby Dick's, the only establishment open this Sunday afternoon.

A real dive bar with really bad entertainment. These two were drinking at the bar with some friends and I learned they are in the cement business. They should stick with that.

  Overall not a bad excursion for the day. We returned to the trailer and by that time the sun was blazing. Doreen struggled mightily to get into the trailer but she was very overheated and dehydrated. She needed to take a break with North America's oldest brewery:

Yeah, that's a Yuengling Black & Tan pounder! Sucked it right down.

  Of course we had to ride around in search of cat food. Our search took us into Newark, Delaware, home of the Blue Hens. We scored some Nutro and found a relic of the past:

A 5&10 cent store! Not really. The items for sale were mostly University of Delaware goods and dorm stuff for the college kids. 

  Doreen had a hankering for Maryland Crab Cakes and Delaware would the last chance to get the best ones you will ever have. We found a nondescript place called Two Stones Pub in even more of a nondescript shopping center.

Looks can be deceiving because this was way beyond pub grub. More like a gastro pub. I couldn't believe how good the food was; complex ingredients and flavors. Doreen had the crab cake and I the fish sandwich and mussels for an appetizer. If you are ever in Delaware check them out. They have five locations so there should be one near you in the second smallest state in the union.

  So, that's it for new states this trip. New Jersey got pushed off until next time. I am not going to back track from Delaware to Appalachian to South Jersey back to Scranton. Sometimes you have to tweak your itinerary to fit your mood. Next it is back to PA to Appalachian Campsites in Shartlesville. Until then, happy trails.