Mindfulness, Vermont, the Adirondacks and Ithaca

This trip for me is about mindfulness. About being in the moment every moment. One of the major influences in my life is Thich Nhat Hahn. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, a poet, a scholar, and a peace activist. His life long efforts to generate peace and reconciliation moved Martin Luther King, Jr. to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. The basis of his teachings is mindfulness. My favorite quote is "Don't wash the dishes to get them done, wash the dishes to wash the dishes. So i'm working to be mind full in every moment. Every step, every turn of my pedals, every mile of the road, every dish I do, every smile from a stranger and every insect that lands on my head!!

I departed from Portsmouth and headed up to Vermont. I drove across rt 4. to rt 100 which winds up and down through the Green Mountains, a beautiful road and this is where I knew the Astro Van was up for the journey! I arrived in Burlington around 5pm. Burlington is one of my favorite places to hang out. Though like Portsmouth it has lost some of its edge it is still a great place right on the banks of Lake Champlain. I hung out a at the Dobro Tea House where a flamenco style guitarist and his band of friends playing bass, drums, spoons etc... performed. The Tea was $3.50 but it was well worth it. They have Teas from all over the world and the owner is a Howard Rourke man!! In the morning I went for a great bike ride along the lake and down through South Burlington. Then I went on to Church St. and got to hang out with 3 guys in there 8o's talking about the Red Sox, Howard Dean and the state of the City! It was amazing.


Then it was time to jump the 1 hour ferry over to New York. It was beautiful ride and dropped me in Port Kent. I drove through Lake Placid (the home of the 32 and 80 winter Olympics!) and the Adirondacks. I slept in a wonderful parking lot and got up the next morning and headed south west! After a quick stop in Munsville to see if the famous Koonrods was open for lunch (not) I arrived in Ithaca, NY. I picked up a hitchhiker named Rich who was coming from his friends sons funeral. The kid was 17 and overdosed on Nyquil. Really sad and disturbing. Rich gave me a good lay of the land, my first stop was the Ithaca Farmers Market, which was lively and huge. I picked up supplies for dinner and headed out for a bike ride! An up and down ride through the country side into Drysden NY and back. I hung in the commons (an open air market with restaurants, coffee houses, glass shops, and confused citizens wearing yankee paraphanilia. . I went swimming in the Cayuga Lake and made up my first real roadside gourmet dinner of... Eggplant, Garlic, Summer Squash, Onions, Tomatoes, Spinach over fresh salad greens with some Annies Olive Oil and Vinegar dressing!

I woke up this morning on the banks of the lake, spent some time in meditation, practiced on my bass, had some eats and now I sit sipping a peppermint tea enjoying a glorious morning........ Today I will check out some waterfalls and then head west with the eventual next goal to see the Niagra Falls!!

P