New York Hiking

Sal meets quite a few people when he's shopping for fish... to be honest, he meets people everywhere he goes, but that's not the point. When he was buying fish for his tank he started talking to a man that worked there. They somehow landed on the topic of hiking and nearby trails, and that's when the man mentioned of a trail in NY, which ended up being closer than I thought! Sal told me to dress appropriately - for some odd reason, I have a rather tough time picking out clothes to wear according to the weatherl of course it may look hot outside, but I'm never sure if there's wind, or if it's going to get cloudy later, so I always dress like it's winter, despite the sun beaming down on us. This time, I dressed perfect - for the weather and the hiking. Sal packed a cooler with water bottles, and I brought a few healthy snacks: apples, almonds, and bars.

It took no time at all to get to the first lake, but then I realized there were seven lakes. Did we stop at the first stop? Of course not, because we are two people that love to go wherever the wind blows. Seriously, we just kept driving until we found a spot that looked almost surreal, had it not been for the people that were making their own way into the lake whether it was by kayak or foot. Once we were in the woods though, away from everyone... it was just us and nature, and it was as if we were breathing for the first time. The air was crisp and fresh. I felt like the world had melted away from me, and I could take deep, long breaths without smelling anything other than the fresh water, and the rich oxygen that the trees were giving off. While there were trail markers, we wandered off by the lake. As long as we followed the lake we would not get lost, according to Sal.

When we saw the perfect rock, right by the water's edge, we climbed it, and sat admiring the water and just talking. Isn't it great, just to ponder life and all it's wonders. I'm not sure how long we were on that rock, but long enough to figure out you could scream and make silly noises and you could hear the echo throughout the trees. Our voices were all around us, and it was quite magical - for a few minutes anyways.

We hopped off the rock, and kept walking, until we felt as if we had found another lake entirely. We reconvened and decided that it was best to start walking back, following the trail. We took a break beforehand, having a quick snack to refuel. I was in my own world, quite literally; I never even heard two older hikers walking towards us, which nearly scared me half to death! Thankfully, it wasn't a bear, because I don't know how much help I would have been to Sal.

When we were back at the car, we decided to keep following the lakes to see what else we could find. Before we knew it, we were overlooking the beautiful Hudson River. Sometimes, these adventures lead to difficulties, and I find myself asking... "Now how are we going to take a picture of us with this incredible view behind us?!" Fortunately for us, two individuals saw us struggling, and asked if they might take our picture. Perfect, right!? Uh, is that Luke Bryan!?

We still weren't ready to let this day end just yet; just a little ways down the road, and we began to see signs for a trailside zoo! Of course, Sal, being the animal lover that he is, couldn't say no to a zoo. I was all about walking more, and seeing some animals, until I saw that it was free to get in. It only got worse when I noticed that most of these animals were outside, with the highway being right next to them. It's not that the animals didn't seem well taken care of, it's just that sometimes seeing these animals in cages upsets me. I understand some would be extinct if we didn't keep them in zoos, but it just leads to me to think, "what kind of life is that?" I sure wouldn't want to be locked up in a cage, pacing and pacing. I did notice that some of the animals were being moved to bigger habitats though, which is a great thing.

I don't think we could have walked anymore, even if we wanted to. We decided to splurge on dinner and headed to Steak & Shake (if you've never tried their steak burgers or shakes, you're missing out)! Spending the day outside could not have been more perfect, and inexpensive too! Aside from dinner, we didn't open our wallets once! What more could you ask for?