Today, we had an eleven mile day from East Greenbush, New York into and through Albany, New York. As the state capital, Albany is a beautiful city. It’s an eclectic mix of new and old with government offices, a rambling and interesting university, and all the cultural diversions that one might wish to see in a city.
Crossing the Hudson from Rensselaer, NY into Albany.
Just before crossing into Albany proper, we happened upon a park in Rensselaer, NY where artists had been allowed to decorate the pilings supporting the US Highway 20 bridge that passed over the Hudson and into the state capital. The exhibit looked a little weathered, but it captured my attention, and I just had to walk around a little and look at the murals. That’s no small feat because I’m about the last person who would take an extra step on this journey across the continent. There are enough steps already.
Anyway, this display caught my attention, and I had to walk around. The series of paintings were called Living Walls Albany.
And sometimes you find great art under a bridge - Living Walls - Albany, NY
Today something shifted for me. Things got real. I don’t know how to describe it really. We’ve been at this thing for a little over two weeks, and finally, it seems like we’re making progress. I’m seeing the things that I hoped to see, and I’m meeting the people I hoped to meet when we were in the planning stages of things.
We’ve had the emotional and physical support of so many people along the way. We’ve been offered rides, water, phone numbers if things got too tough and we needed some help, and I even got a five dollar bill from someone “for the cause.” Above an beyond all these things we’ve been offered friendship and camaraderie from complete strangers.
It was a beautiful spring day, and with the art and the river and the good travel all of these gifts that have come our way really started to sink in. The pilgrimage started to really feel real today.
Another reason that things started to feel real is that tomorrow we start a nine day push to Syracuse, NY. My nephew is competing in an Irish Dance competition, and we’ve got to average about fourteen miles a day to make it on time to see him perform. We’ve also got about three days of rain predicted starting day after tomorrow. It’s going to be a real challenge, but I’m optimistic we can make it.
Wish us good luck, and if you can’t wish us good luck at least wish us dry camping.
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