The Things They DON'T Teach You in School OR Chasing a River

We finished the Vacation Bible School (VBS) at the Groesbeck church of Christ in Cincinnati Ohio on the 2nd of July.  It went very well.  6 children attended - 4 of which attended because we had passed out 700 invitations to homes around the church's building.  That was nice.  They all had a wonderful time.  Now the members have to step up to the plate and have classes ready for them to attend on Sundays and Wednesdays.

We drove to Lafayette and spend the 4th of July weekend with Neo and her parents.  We parked in Frankfort, at the congregation I preached at for 12 years (they put in an electrical hookup for us).  Neo came and spent the night of the 4th of July with us so she could go to services with us on Sunday morning.  Sunday evening I had the opportunity to preach there.

On Monday we had to take the trekker to get the Driver's Side Rear Ride Height Leveler adjusted.  Now it's working great.  I also had the dreaded and loathed "shot in the eyeball" doctor's appointment on Monday.  That evening Steve (Neo's dad) and I went to see Terminator:Genisys.  It was pretty good.

Tuesday morning we left for Middletown, NY and the sojourn with the church there.  We got as far as Streetsboro, OH on the first night.  We stayed at a KOA there.  We left at 8:30 AM Wednesday morning and got all the way to Middletown, NY by 4:30 PM.  Sweet!

Coming into NY we went over a river.  When we looked it up it was the Delaware River.  LO AND BEHOLD!  I was born in Pennsylvania and was taught that the "Delaware River is the border between Pennsylvania and New Jersey."  Your a kid and you hear what you are told.  You believe what you are told.  It's like I thought it was a line that was between those 2 states and those two states alone: "the Delaware River is the border between Pennsylvania and New Jersey."  Yesterday was the first time I realized that the Delaware River kept going.  I got to looking at the map last night (Wednesday, July 9th) and realized that it is also the border between Pennsylvania and New York State for a ways too.  Then it turns north (and a little east) and splits into the Eastern Branch of the Delaware River and the Western Branch of the Delaware River.  These two branches have their beginning in the Catskill Mountains of New York.  OH COOL!  Since I read the works of Irving Washington as a kid (Rip Van Winkle and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow) which are set in the Catskill Mountains, I've always wanted to visit them.  SOOOO, today was "ROAD TRIP!"

We got in the car and headed for Stamford, NY which is where the Western Branch has it's headwaters.  Along the way we stopped for lunch in Phoenicia, NY.  If you are in the area, Brio's Pizzeria is a great place to eat:  Good Food; Good Portion Size (meaning - BIG).  As we continued to Stamford we saw a sign that pointed to Roxbury, NY which is where the Eastern Branch of the Delaware River has its origin, so we went over to it first.  Having found the Eastern Branch beginnings in a bog near Grand Gorge after about 30 minutes of chasing it down, we headed to Stamford once again.  This one took us about 20 minutes to find the headwaters area.  It was on private property, so we couldn't get in to see it.  We had to settle for the place about 3/10 of a mile away where it emerges into view from River Road.

I know feel infinitely smarter knowing the truth about my beloved "Border River" the Delaware and I've gotten one thing checked off of my "bucket list" - I've seen and driven through the Catskill Mountains.  My only regrets are I didn't see a headless horseman or a bunch of little men bowling.