Climbed Mt. Beacon

This past Sunday,my 16 year old grandson and I climbed Mt. Beacon (officially called Beacon Mountain) on the banks of the Hudson River in Beacon, New York.  The top of this mountain is 1,531 feet above sea level.  With the trees just starting to bloom, I was able to see further into the woods.  I listened and watched for any bird I might see.  However, we only heard two birds and they were nowhere to be seen.  The trail that we chose is a dirt and gravel road used for maintenance.  The locals call it the "fire road."  The topology varied from level to steep and leveling off again, and so forth up to the top.  This is considered the easiest approach to the top.  On the way up, we passed the reservoir, which supplies the City of Beacon with its water.  The photo above shows the Hudson River with Dennings Point (in Beacon) on the eastern side of the river and Newburgh, NY on the western bank.





As we started to leave, my grandson told me about the monument commemorating the Signal Fires used on Mt. Beacon during the American Revolution.  We found it on the edge of the mountain behind an old fenced-in communication tower.  The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) erected a monument at the site in 1901 and repaired it in 1929.

As I wrote above, we only heard two birds, but high on the mountaintop were two butterflies.  One lit on a rock enabling me to photograph it.

The mountain was the site of an incline railway.  For years there has been talk about rebuilding it.  Also, in the 1920s and 1930s, there was a hotel, restaurant and a casino near the top.  I told my grandson that I would definitely like to see what remains of the buildings.  We'll do that on my next climb.

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What a Week (Continued)

Well, I flew to New York on my $328 round trip ticket. The Delta flight was uneventful and pleasant. The personnel were helpful, friendly and efficient.. The trip went to Detroit and then, on to Newburgh, NY. The only drawback was that the seat was near the rear. As we prepared to take off, the young woman sitting in the middle seat in my row said, "Sorry, Ladies" to me and the woman sitting on the aisle. Then she opened a bag with a box enclosed. As she opened her box, there was an "In and Out" cheeseburger neatly packaged with french fries. It certainly looked inviting. The aroma was enticing. She then offered us a french fry, which I declined. Just then, the flight attendant came along and remarked, "In and Out, I want one." Again, the young woman offered her a french fry. Except for pleasant conversation, that was pretty much the highlight of the first leg of the trip. After landing in Detroit, I had 38 minutes to make the next flight. Being near the rear slowed the exodus from the plane as passengers remove their carry-on luggage. When I finally reached the building, I discovered that I was in Terminal A and had to rush to Terminal C for my next flight. A fast walk and half a run had me arrive as almost everyone else had already boarded.  No way was I missing this flight. A small price for a cheap flight. Also, Delta served a Bischoff cookie that was out of this world. Except for breaking apart when you opened the package, they really nailed it with the taste.

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Travel Costs

Next month I will be visiting New York for my fourteen year old granddaughter’s Confirmation.  I plan to stay long enough to celebrate my youngest granddaughter’s first birthday.

Many people remark that they don’t understand how I can fly to the East Coast so frequently.  Actually, I visit there about two to three times a year.  Since I have children and grandchildren on both the East and West Coasts, I make it my business to see them all as much as possible.

The website, Wikipedia, states, “San Diego has on average 146 sunny days and 117 partly cloudy days a year. “  To avail myself of this good weather (no ice, no snow), I live in San Diego, California.  Thus, I unfortunately forgo the children’s birthdays, concerts, moving up ceremonies, and this year, my eldest grandson’s graduation from high school....sounds heartless, doesn’t it?  But I believe it’s better to have a grandma in good health, than not.

So far, I have been able to visit at least twice a year.  In order to accomplish this, I comb the Internet for good airline prices.  This year I joined Airfarewatchdog (http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/).  There was no fee to join.  However, this website is usually for someone who can pounce on the opportunity and buy immediately, or someone who has very fluid travel plans.  Since I plan my visits around an event in the family, it hasn’t proved useful to me.  I usually check out:
Cheapoair ( http://www.cheapoair.com/),
Orbitz ( http://www.orbitz.com ),
Travelocity ( http://www.travelocity.com ), and
Expedia ( http://www.expedia.com ), as well as the airlines’ websites.
Over the years, I’ve used them all.  And, I select flights with the most reasonable cost; that is, the most reasonable cost in my estimation.  I have never, so far, encountered any problems using these services. Though sometimes I have to fly into JFK, Albany, or North White Plains to get the lowest price.  My quest is to keep my ticket cost under $300.  My daughter in Queens, NY would love it if I flew into LaGuardia Airport (near her home), but flights into that airport are usually much more expensive.   Earlier this year, I used Southwest.  For an extra $10, you can get a “priority” number for boarding.  On Southwest, this is important since this airline doesn’t assign seats.  It was worth the $10.

Also, it pays to enlist help from people who are adept at finding good fares.  My daughters always notify their Queens NY sister when they are looking for flights because she is very good at it.  She has helped me a number of times.  Though in all fairness, my other daughters are getting much more adept at it. 

This time I picked Expedia because it advertised a $266 fare from San Diego to Newburgh, NY (an airport usually out of my price range).   After taxes, the complete cost is $328.80.  I’ll let you know how I make out.

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