Columbus Day

My husband is interested in the history of Columbus. Laurence found, while doing research, that Columbus was on a voyage that God planted in his heart. The main reason for his journey was to bring Christianity to the natives of the New Land.

Personally, we like Columbus Day because it’s a holiday. When the scent of fall is in the air, I want to flee the city for the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

This year, it was not to be. Instead, we took the Metro-North train ride along the Hudson River to Poughkeepsie. It’s a beautiful ride. Fall color became more apparent the further north we traveled. “Last stop. Last stop. Everyone must get off.” The train station in Poughkeepsie is old and grand, having been designed by the same architect who designed Grand Central where we’d begun our journey.

The brilliant red-orange of maple trees lines the riverfront park, and we went down to the water before climbing back up to a Japanese restaurant to have a bento box and sushi for lunch. How pleasant it was to have Brother Reuben and Sister Bisi walk through the doors and join us!

Afterwards, Reuben went with us along the Riverwalk to where a glass-sided elevator carried us 212 feet above the river to the Walkway Over the Hudson. The world’s longest, elevated pedestrian bridge was a railroad bridge from 1889 to 1974 when a fire severely damaged it. The Walkway opened in 2009 with its amazing views of the Hudson River and of the Hudson Highlands. (And if you look in the right place on a clear day, you’ll see the Catskill Mountains.) Good company and beauty all around, including many shades of oranges, greens, and browns, made for a breathtaking, awe-inspiring walk. We continued a short distance on the Rail Trail on the west end before coming back to the smattering of picnic tables and food trucks. While munching cider donuts, an impromptu trio of Asians stopped and played “Amazing Grace on small instruments that I don’t have a name for.

After hanging out by the river and doing the Walkway a second time, we boarded the train for home. Often when we ride the train there are empty seats; however, this time every seat was filled both coming and going. The return trip stopped at Yankee Stadium, and the noisy fans departed. We continued on to Grand Central where we boarded the 7 train for home.

Laurence and I had the blessing of Columbus Day away from the city while enjoying the fellowship of Reuben and Bisi and of experiencing the beauty of fall in the Hudson Highlands.

Berniece