Playing in Poughkeepsie!

I arrived in Poughkeepsie, NY Wednesday afternoon! It wasn’t that far of a drive from Trumbull, CT—and I enjoyed the scenery immensely! I did arrive to my hotel a bit too early for housekeeping to have my room ready, so a quick check on TomTom directed me to the nearest shopping mall. I figured I could get some lunch and walk the mall to stretch my legs.

In other words ----WELCOME to AMERICA---Where all malls are the same, with the same stores in nearly the same layout! However, since it was raining, it was the perfect place to be, and I walked for a bit over an hour…window shopping and listening to my ipod as I went!

At one end of the mall were these lovely kiddie carts:

It’s been a long time since my children were small enough to ride in such strollers----I don’t think I EVER paid money to rent a stroller, it was bring your own, or don’t go! As I walked past though, something caught my eye as funny:

Can you see what this says? “DO NOT PUT CHILD IN BAG?!?” Things that make you go HUH!!!!!!?????? First off….before there even WAS this warning on the stroller, there had to be some crazy mother somewhere who DID put her child in that bag, to even warrant such a warning! What kind of mothers ARE these!? I hope I never find out…but then on second thought, I can imagine a mother with a crying child who is throwing a baby breakdown from WANTING to ride in the bag! Isn’t that the way it goes? They always want what they can’t have.

Also through the mall hung signs that the strollers were not allowed on the escalators. I don’t even want to think of the incidents that made THOSE signs a necessity!

Today’s Nine Patch Split/Bricks in the Barnyard workshop went well! What a great group of ladies….they sewed and sewed and sewed some more. One of the students even went to WORK at 5am, so she could leave at 9am…and only have to consider it a “half-day” away from her job. We Quilters are a tough bunch, and we will do what we have to to make the best use of our “Mental Health” Days!

This class has two parts ---the blocks, which focus on the use of bricks, squares, and half square triangles using the easy angle ruler---and the braid border! The border can be built as leaders & enders while the blocks are in progress and it’s a double win!

These photos show a lot of progress in both areas!

		Nine Patch Split-- Poughkeepsie, NY 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The rain did decide to clear up, and the day dawned bright with sunshine—which left us a couple of hours between the workshop and dinner to go do some exploring!

Donna was my tour guide, and she drove me to the Walkway bridge that spans the Hudson river!

I love this description written by Ian Frazier:

February 28, 2011

Go to Poughkeepsie. By train is probably best. Get off at the station, look up. In one direction is the Mid-Hudson Bridge, a suspension bridge with cars and trucks on it. Not that bridge, the other bridge - look in the opposite direction, north, two hundred and twelve feet in the air. The other bridge is the former Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge, which was the longest cantilevered and truss-span bridge in the world when it was completed, in 1888. In its life, this bridge has been "the only" or "the most" in several categories. Right now, according to Walkway Over the Hudson, the nonprofit organization that recently restored it, it is the longest elevated pedestrian bridge in the world.

This was my first view of the bridge…..it pretty much looks like a sidewalk….with tall railings. Not scary to walk at all!

But the views are spectacular!

This is the view toward the south, the mid Hudson bridge….it was such a lovely afternoon!

My view of Poughkeepsie from the bridge, around the 1/2 way mark. You can’t see it in this picture, but we watched some sculling boats down below…..there were some on either side of the bridge in the water!

Our dinner also gave us a view of the mid Hudson bridge from the patio area—I really enjoyed the views!

This is the view southward from the restaurant patio……I can see why the mighty Hudson has played such an important part in history here!

I’m off to Kingston NY this morning. My time in NY is winding down, and I’ve really had a great time spending the days and evenings well in the care of friendly quilters!