Fortnight saga

Active Elders 1 and 2 write...Two weeks have sped by.  All the time we've been surrounded by spectacular Fall Foliage - in the gardens, the Arboretum, at Five Rivers and alongside all the roads in the Hudson Valley Region.

We have had to work for our pleasures - last week we found that we were the MYSTERY READERS of the week at the Boy's School. We were intrigued by some of the questions we provoked. Do Britons really burn effigies on bonfires!

We have enjoyed some of the marvellous National and State Parks and Nature Reserves in easy reach of here in Albanianaland. This picture shows keen birdwatchers at the Thomson Lake Reserve.

Today we drove down to the Walkway across the Hudson - a restored Railroad Bridge which, when built was the longest truss cantilever in the world. It's now a Trailway for Hikers and Strollers after a massive refurbishment completed last year. In spite of the low cloud and "Scotch Mist" it was an exhilarating experience to walk over the bridge and look down on the wide Hudson, see the FDR road bridge and the Amtrak heading to Albany from NYC.

We made a great discovery - the student run restaurant at the NY Culinary Institute served a superbly cooked meal in an elegant setting - something of a contrast to the Boy's preferred Luncheonette! Students are trained here to work in high end hotels and restaurants throughout the US.

In our downtime we have walked, swum regularly at the Y, played darts on the electronic board, been thrashed at "Albany in a Box" Monopoly by guess-who, been out boasted and out bragged around the supper table, been impressed by Girl's skills on the ice rink and so on!