Clang Clang Went the Trolley

I spent the morning with a few cups of coffee doing things that are terribly time consuming, such as booking airline tickets to Nashville, ordering supplies for my business etc. Though they are not horrid jobs, they are just annoying when I have so many other things to do.

Somewhere in the middle of it all, Larry and I went downtown to one of our favorite little cafes, Dolce, and to bring art to Mary Ann at Beckon.

Afterwards we wandered down the street to check out the Bluestone Festival, which was a small festival, but had amazing men cutting, chipping and building with bluestone. The Catskills are loaded with bluestone, and Kingston was the largest exporter of it in the 1800's, shipping tons to New York and other locales. The sidewalks, walls, and foundation of my 1928 home are made with bluestone, and it was fascinating to watch the stone be transformed into sculpture.

I ran into Jonathan, my friend who is a blacksmith, and he needed someone to replace him as flag person for a trip on the trolley ride to Kingston Point Park.

The old trolley runs along the Rondout Creek which flows into the Hudson River, with the trip ending at the site of the old Kingston Point Park.

Built in the late 1800's, the park had a huge gazebo, Ferris wheel, an open dance pavilion where you could buy beer. It was a hub of traffic for the steamboat and the train, and must have been quite the bustling scene of the Victorian Era.

Over the years the park fell into ruin, with little remaining to remind us of its former splendor. But local organizations have done some work on it, and it has a gazebo and a fabulous view.

The trolley ride was beautiful, and at times we were riding along the creek, with water on each side, surround by lily pads and other river vegetation.

I did no flagging, my job was to collect the donations, help kids ring the bell at the intersections, and chat with conductor Dennis.

I smiled with the views, the warm breeze, the childlike fun of a ride on a train. I was mesmerized with the tidbits of history and yearned to have been looking thought the eyes of a bird 100 years ago.... Yet magically I got glimpses into the past, and another fix of the river, and it was good. -patti

Thanks Larry for being the photographer this time!!!!