Day 27: 8/25/09: Queensbury, NY

359 miles: parked in Justin and Amy Sipher's driveway.

Zoey and I were packed and on the road reasonably early. We pulled out of the campground about 7:00 AM. The fog was so thick you could barely see. On top of that, I got behind a couple of school buses. Apparently school has started in Pennsylvania. My original goal was to run the 2 lane roads to Binghamton, and then pick Interstate 88 to Albany and then I87 north to Queensbury. But the visibility was so bad, I headed north as soon as possible to pickup Route 17 in NY. While not technically an Interstate, it might as well be. In fact, I saw signs saying it was the "future Interstate 86." Anyway, the driving was easier.

I got an email on the iphone (I was at a McDonalds getting coffee, not driving) from long time friend Ron Reed saying that if I was going to be the Cortland neighborhood to stop for coffee. Since this trip really is about the journey and not the destination, a detour was not out of the question. At Binghamton, I went north on I81 for an hour and arrived at Ron's house about 10:00. We had a great visit. I first met Ron when he taught biology at Potsdam High School. He now teaches at Cortland High School.

I left Cortland about noon. I81 to Syracuse, then I90 to Fonda. Then 2 lane roads to Saratoga, a quick few miles on I87 and I pulled in Justin's driveway at 3:45. I got huge hugs from Cam and Cody. I haven't seen them in over a month. A little bit of down time, and then we went to Camry's Preschool Graduation. Cam is 5 and will be starting kindergarten in 2 weeks. Kids that age are so full of energy and enthusiasm. If we could just bottle it and dispense it back to them when they are in high school, kind of like a blood bank. It was a fun evening.

No dramatic vistas or science lessons today. Just a wonderful day doing the little things in life, like visiting with friends and spending time with family. Sometimes the little things are the most important.

Later..........