Citizens Bank Park-Home of the Philadelphia Phillies

Many road trips this month....Father's Day at the Home of the World Champion Phildelphia Phillies. The stadium is new and almost every seat in the house is a good one. The surrounding area contains the old Veterans Park Field (former home of the Eagles) and the Eagles new stadium. I avoided getting too close to the Eagles Stadium as I am a Cowboys fan and didn't want any of the Eagles karma to rub off on me. The Phillies played a good game, with stellar pitching by Cole Hamels, but sadly lost to the Baltimore Orioles. This is another road trip I highly suggest, again, everything was affordable and it was a good time.

The Philadelphia Force-Women's Professional Softball League

Sometimes my wandering has nothing to do with hitting the trail, but instead hitting the road. I had the pleasure of going to a Philadelphia Force Professional Softball game this past week. The Philly Force is a women's softball team that competes in the National Professional Softball League. The Force play in their own stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The tickets are affordable ($14.00) and the food is good and cheap (2 hot dogs, soda and fries: $9.00), and the playing is top notch. The women pitch windmill style and the most famous windmill style pitcher, Jennie Finch, happened to be playing for the opposing team, the Chicago Bandits. Jennie Finch is a two time Olympian and an amazing softball player. Although the sky opened up on us, we had a great time and the Force beat the Bandits. If you are interested in meeting the players, you can stay after the game and each player will personally sign whatever you want for free! I encourage everyone to go and check out a game. Go PHILLY!

The Long Path, New Jersey, State Line Lookout to Lamont Doherty

My journey to complete the entire Long Path is going slowly but steadily. I have been doing sections and it becomes time consuming because I always have to double back to get to where I parked my car.

This section began at the State Line Lookout on the Palisades Parkway: You can park your car in the large parking lot and be sure to stop in and browse the visitors center before you begin your trek. The visitors center has bathrooms, food, and some great books and maps. I proceeded north on the aqua blazed long path and was greeted with some tremendous views of the Hudson River and the Tappan Zee Bridge. About one mile into the trek you will come across a randomly placed monument marking the New Jersey-New York border. It was placed their in 1882! After the monument, the trail descends along a fence (there is a huge drop) via stone steps. This part of the trail is very steep, very dangerous and very slippery. Use extreme caution! Stop for a moment to take in the views of the Tappan Zee Bridge, Piermont Marsh and Snedens Landing. After about one mile, the Long Path intersects with the White Blazed Shore Trail. If you have time, head down the Shore Trail. You will be rewarded with a beautiful waterfall and the remnants of Lawrence Garden. Lawrence Garden was designed after a garden in Amalfi, Italy. What remains is interesting to see. Reconnect with the Long Path and after about one half of a mile you will be at Route 9W. By the way, I saw one wild turkey on the the trail.

The Long Path, New Jersey

Rockefeller Lookout to State Park Headquarters...5 miles one way....
Use NY-NJ Trail Conference Map #108: Hudson Palisades Trail
This trek is not the most exciting but it does feature three amazing viewpoints. I started out by parking in the Rockefeller Lookout turnoff on the Palisades Parkway in Englewood New Jersey. The aqua blazes head north and continue through wetlands, grassy knolls and rocky terrain. Be sure to stop at the lookouts along the way which afford you views of the Hudson River, the George Washington Bridge and the beautiful Bronx. There were many deer sleeping in the grassy areas along the way. End at the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police headquarters where they are informative brochures (I've noticed that hikers love free brochures!) and of course, bathrooms. On the way back I opted to take the white blazed shore trail, which is truly beautiful to the red blazed Huyler's Landing Trail which brings you up back up to the Long Path approximately .5 miles north of the Greenwood Sanctuary. I did discover one particular thing on this hike: I run faster from strange looking men holding rocks in their hands then snakes........Remember to always be cautious and aware of your surroundings when hiking alone.

The Dunderberg Spiral Railroad/1777 Trail

Consult the NY-NJ Trail Conference map #119 for this trek. What a beautiful day for hiking! My companion and I decided to celebrate my 41st birthday with a hike. I've trekked this trail before, but I wanted to show Desiree the very cool and very unfinished Dunderberg Spiral Railroad. We began on the Blue Blazed Trail off the Hiker's Turnoff Parking on Route 9W North, just past the Anchor Monument. The railway was the brainchild of Henry J. Mumford, an entrepreneur from Pennsylvania. When Mumford discovered beautiful Dunderberg Mountain and it's tremendous views of the Hudson River in 1870, he decided to build a scenic railway. Work on the railway began in 1890. One of the first parts of the railway that was actually completed is the lower tunnel. Unfortunately, after a recession and a one million dollar loss, work ended on the railway in 1891. But not without a riot by the workers who had worked so hard to blast rocks out of the mountain to lay down train tracks. We proceeded up to the first tunnel and stopped to take some pictures and a rest. Be sure to notice the exquisite stone work on the tunnel. We continued up the blue trail and came upon a second unfinished tunnel. It is literally a large tunnel in the mountainside. Continue past that to three spectacular lookouts on top of the mountain. I'll admit, the view is better in the winter, but we did spot some beautiful hawks up top. Now the fun part, as I was happily turning a corner on the trail, I narrowly missed stepping on a seven foot long black rat snake who was in the middle of the trail. After much hysteria on my part, my companion ran past the snake and we continued on until we hit the 1777 Trail. This was a pleasant trail since it led us downhill after much uphill hiking. We encountered some bullfrogs and a very pretty Eastern Box Turtle on the way down. I highly recommend this hike; there is a lot to explore and the views of the Hudson River are amazing.

Zugibe All Stars v. M.R.I.-Orangetown Recreational Softball

Game 3 of the season and victory was ours in the first match up between the All Stars and M.R.I......The Zugibe All Stars won our first game of the season by playing strong offensively and defensively. The first inning looked bleak....M.R.I. displayed excellent defensive fielding and their pitching was strong, if not strange. It didn't take long for the All Stars bats to catch fire and we tied it up in the fifth. A special shout out to this game's M.V.P., Michelle. We witnessed some stellar offensive playing from Michelle, who went four for four. Special kudos to Dave who pitched a superb game and to Drew for spectacular fielding. Although no one will forget nor forgive the bases loaded strike out by Dunlap, the All Stars scored in the bottom of the sixth and prevailed with the final score 11-9.

Is Blood Thicker Than Water?

So tonight starts the beginning of a new chapter in my life. The search for my biological parents has ended, after 41 years. Tonight, I am boarding a plane, bound for another state, to meet my biological mother and brother for the first time. I consider myself very lucky. As an adoptee, I have heard many the horror stories of biological parents rejecting their own flesh and blood...."I gave you up for a reason, so leave me alone..."

I have mixed feelings about the whole adoption situation. I understand adoption. I understand why individuals relinquish their parental rights. But, I do respect the right to privacy of biological parents. I would have never, and I mean, never, intruded upon either of my biological parents. And honestly, if they rejected me, I would have understood and left them alone. If anyone bothers to read this blog, you may be wondering what I am feeling at this moment. I am extremely calm, but I'm sure when the plane touches down, I'll be feeling all sorts of feelings I have never felt before. I'll keep you posted....