Hospitality of Friends - August 8

A hot and non-timed campground shower is a thing of beauty after a stretch of water preserving, hot water-limited dribble showers in the RV!  We began the day indulging in the experience before dealing with a pile of wet clothes, shoes and tablecloth – most of which ended up in a pile awaiting a sunny spot later.

We were headed to NY near Albany where friends from Charleston have a summer lake house.  With Poughkeepsie halfway to our destination, we stopped to grab lunch and enjoy a Hike Across the Hudson on their wonderfully designed and maintained pedestrian bridge park.  With great views of the city, the river and the distant mountains, it was the perfect break midday.

We had a couple of misfires trying to find the Marolda home with the first caused by my mistyping a number in the address into mapquest.  Thankfully we were able to extract ourselves from the random steep and pitted driveway we incorrectly entered!  Our second attempt was at the “right” address from Susanne although she had transposed some numbers!  Finally arriving at the RIGHT location, we were welcomed with open arms and fresh made sangria overlooking the peaceful lake at sunset.

The evening was spent catching up while consuming unending treats.  Susanne had picked up fresh mozzarella made in NYC that morning and we had our first experience of the heavenly, still warm delight.  Dinner was beyond measure with beautiful tuna steaks and grilled shrimp to which we added corn from the farmers market. 

By the end of the meal, we nearly had to roll ourselves out the door to hop in Bill’s schnazzy   I’ve already shared my love of ice cream but this normally chunky, gooey flavor fan turned toward the local specialty of fresh blueberry they had clearly mastered the art of making!   What a heavenly indulgent night!
convertible to get homemade ice cream at a nearby family farm!

Wanting to reciprocate our hosts’ generosity, we offered breakfast ala Moonshadow.  I served up my homemade granola, some farmers market berries and fresh raisin bread and we shared a taste of our world with our friends.  Our exit stretched a little late as we enjoyed the company of the morning before heading out to continue the Moonshadow adventure.