August 12, Newark to Abby Park in Lyons (only 7.2 milesL)

I don’t know if it was that I had overdone yesterday or if I was just feeling old but by the time we came to Abbey Park in Lyons I was not feeling like continuing to an indefinite destination perhaps another 15 miles away. While getting out of the boat it was confirmed to me that it was a wise decision. I needed rest and we needed to find a place to sleep.

Abbey Park was a nice place with lots of shade from big trees and a rest room. The latter is not often provided at these places. But to hot, tired vagabonds in a small open boat traveling along a long ditch with steep rock walls or a jungle of inhospitable vegetation along its shores, they are looked at with almost as much reverence as ice cream stands!

Our new friend, Melissa Hoffman, answered my call and was there in short order to take me back to the Widewater Park in Newark where we had met her. It was a short trip and we were grateful for her availability in an area where there were no people from Habitat affiliates to help us out.

We drove to Waterloo, NY where we had reserved a room at the Microtel.  I saw a restaurant next door called Abigail’s. We walked over to it after my shower and asked for a table outside. On looking at the chairs which had puddles of water on them and were filthy as well and sniffing the dumpster which occupied part of the view from their back deck, I changed my mind and we went inside. I ordered fried scallops and Heather “Chicken Harriet”.  I had to run to the car to get my sweater because our table was in the draft from an open door. I had to pass the open dumpster behind the kitchen entrance and practically choked from the smell of rotten garbage. Returning I took my first bite of a scallop and got a strong taste of something I don’t want to describe. It was too late to spit it out but I could not bring myself to put anything else in my mouth. I tried a bite of Heather’s chicken but I had lost my appetite completely.  The very nice waitress who was not to be blamed for the quality of the food got a generous tip after deleting my meal from the bill. I don’t think the health inspector had been to visit this place in a long time.

I went back to the room and, needless to say, did not feel like writing and fell into bed.