Ellis in New York

[brianvh]

So ellis decides to come up to investigate the Ellenville fly-in (I think the similarity in names was encouraging). but the forecast wasn't looking too good until monday, so decided to drop in on me in New York for an overnight, with dogs.

They rolled in a little before 7 pm saturday, and then we took the dogs for a walk. I was looking forward to this, because near my house is a park that flows down a 150 foot ridge, and in it is a very inviting dog park with a sign posted: "No People unless accompanied by a Dog". So I've been walking past that dog park for months, letting out a sigh 'cause I wasn't allowed in. Well, we got in, and it was great. Ellis pronounced it one of the best dog parks she'd ever been in. I could finally cross that one off my life-list.

Then we went down to central park for an evening ramble. Ellis had read about an outdoor tango party that happened every saturday evening during the summer. We got there at dusk, as the lamps were going on. It was incredibly atmospheric, watching the dancers slink around under the trees by lamplight, to ever changing tango music. New York is cool.

We ended with dinner in a jazz bar on the upper west side, before retiring to my manhattan apartment (I still enjoy the thrill of writing that last sentence).

Sunday we walked the dogs to the Hudson river, then made guacamole for lunch on the road. On the way out we stopped at a quintessential new york grocery to pick up road food - a cheese counter, and a walk-in freezer so large they have jackets hanging at the entrance for customer use. Had a picnic on the Palasades parkway overlooking the Hudson, wondering if Ellenville would be any prettier.

Arrived and registered, went up to look at launch (it was blowing over the back), down for a rather gourmet dinner in town, then stopped in at the LZ to check out the social life. I can't say I was impressed. Ellenville is a victim of its own success: so many pilots come in from out of town on a regular basis, that people don't feel the need to welcome every new face. We sang some Karioke with a portuguese group, but unlike at any other fly-in, they didn't shove drinks in our hands, and never asked our names. Same treatment everywhere else.

I've found that the Ellenville folks are the perhaps the most interesting group of pilots I've met, and are wonderful and very friendly on an individual basis, but with no strong group dynamic like I've seen in our area and in Pennsylvania. it's too bad.

So we decided to camp out on launch, with a beautiful view and plenty of quiet, nobody for the dogs to disturb. It was great.

Next day the wind was cross or over the back, so we hung out a little with a pilot artist (this area attracts artists like flies) who carves incredible sculptures out of the lead of stubby pencils. Boots and castles and chains that requires a magnifying glass to fully appreciate. He makes and sells blown up photos, but can't part with the originals, each of which takes the better part of a year or more to make in his spare time. I bought some postcards that I'll mount as art.

Oh, and Fred Carter was there. \*o*/

We gave up on flying and took a tourist way back; first stopping by a stone church with stained glass windows up in the mountains, then by a cliff launch which is gorgeous but seldom used because there's NO room for error, during and even after launch. We hunted down Sleepy Hollow north of New York, and drove up to the 'castle on the Hudson', an Inn and resturant on top of a hill. Realizing we were on Broadway 20 miles or so outside of new york we decided to attempt driving it's entire length. It started out very interesting while still in the countrified 'burbs, but got dreary once it started running beneath the elevated train line in the Bronx. We bailed to a freeway and were quickly home.

Ellis left, with me worried because she seemed a bit knackered, but she made it home okay, after giving me a wonderful weekend.

Others are welcome, just let me know!