Back on the Road Again
So as I indicated in yesterday’s post, I did make it over to Lake Wallenpaupack yesterday after my afternoon bridge game. Neither my partner nor I played up to our potential, but still, a day spent losing at bridge is better than a day with no bridge at all. The pandemic played heck with bridge clubs all over the world, closing them all down like so many other businesses. We were lucky though, to have a very sophisticated online site, Bridge Base Online, where we were able to continue playing virtually. Recently, bridge clubs have been opening up again for face to face play, but the future of our game is at a scary tipping point right now. More on this later, perhaps.
Lake Wallenpaupack may look like the image below from some vantage and at some time, but not for me.
It was completely clouded over when I departed at about 5:30 PM, with the temperature a balmy 80 °F with low humidity, relatively speaking. Don’t let that fool you. It’s not balmy at all once you start moving and the drier air begins having a pronounced evaporative cooling effect. I don’t have my leather jacket with me right now, but I always do carry a nylon jacket in one of my saddlebags, and it gets frequent use on summer evenings no matter how hot it has been during the day.
I refer most of my remaining commentary to the map below, where I have traced my route (pronounced “root”, remember).
I departed Lake Ariel, the village not the lake proper, on State Road (SR) 590 Eastbound. The terrain is open with gently rolling hills, and the road is comparatively straight and level. After several miles I entered thick forest again as the road became sharply winding with frequent and dramatic elevation changes. I kept expecting to catch sight of the Lake, a big reservoir about 10 miles from end to end, as the boat flies. But as you can see from the map, SR 590 doesn’t come anywhere near the Lake until almost at the northern end, where the road intersects U.S. 6. I made the turn and found SR 507 Southbound, thinking O Boy now I’ll see a lot more. No such luck.
Have I mentioned how thickly forested it is up here? Sometimes you can’t see the trees for the forest, and so it was as I followed the Lake’s Eastern shore Southbound. The road was just far enough away so that I only occasionally got a glimpse — such a very brief glimpse — of the water. It was very frustrating. Every half mile or so there would be a road leading down to the shore, but I kept going for the moment hoping to come across a big marina or a road that might hug the shoreline. More of the same luck, none.
Eventually I thought I might have passed beyond the southern tip of the reservoir, where it transforms into Wallenpaupack Creek. The Creek is up to 450 ft wide as it flows away from the reservoir, but quite shallow. I realized I could just head on back, but there was plenty of daylight left, if no sunshine, and I had spotted several eateries on the way down SR 507. So I turned around and went back the way I had come.
I finally came to The Dock, a restaurant almost all the way back to U.S. 6. I had plenty of chances to stop and eat before then, but most of those places reminded me of the Deep South, where seemingly bright and well kept facades mask the tarpaper shacks behind them. The Dock looked like a place where upon exiting I might not have to disinfect myself. I mean right after entry, I can’t imagine staying long enough to eat at some of the other places. Still, there were plenty of cars outside them all, so maybe I’m overreacting.
I pulled into the parking lot across the road and found it PACKED with cars, at least a hundred of them. There was nothing else within sight so they all must have been diners. I finally found a slot to park the bike, crossed the road, and entered. There was no line at all, but when I reached the two hostesses at the front and dramatically held up one finger to indicate I would be dining alone, they faintly smiled and sadly shook their heads. We could seat you inside in 45 minutes, but there is nothing available outside at all, I was told. So I looked to the right into the bar area and saw an empty stool. They nodded silently, and I took my seat.
The stool was between a pair of beautiful young women on my left and a handsome, not so young but not decrepit man on my right. I ordered the fish basket, fish and chips with cole slaw, and a club soda with lime. The TV was on the New York Yankees channel, and they were replaying the last two innings of Don Larson’s October 8, 1956 perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series. My food came just as Don struck out the final batter and was mobbed by his teammates.
I don’t know about you, but fish is my favorite food. Can’t get enough of it. Fish and chips is my favorite kind of fish dish. Most restaurants use haddock, which is OK, but the best of them use cod. This one was cod, you can tell before putting the first bite in your mouth. Haddock might be best described as a tartar sauce delivery system, but with cod you don’t need any sauce at all, tartar or cocktail. The fries were hot, super crispy on the outside, and moist and steaming on the inside. Finest Kind. A little catsup (ketchup? Are they pronounced differently?) is de rigueur. I am a cole slaw connoiseur, and theirs I give a B+. There was a little too much watery mayo, and the sweetness was not sufficiently balanced by the vinegar. Eminently edible though. Fine meal.
I saw I was close to U.S. 6, so I continued Northbound, made the turn around to SR 590, and brought it home. I arrived as twilight was fading into dusk. I settled into the living room where my laptop is set up and wrote the biography in my previous post. If you are reading this one I am grateful you made it past that one. As I write these final lines on Sunday it’s approaching 11 AM, and I am going to plan my final excursion before loading the bike back up on the trailer this evening preparatory to my departure tomorrow morning. Then it’s really going to be Back on the Road Again as I head for Tampa and my three weeks in Florida.
I may post an account of today’s activities this evening if I have the time. Otherwise it may be a day or two. Thanks for reading, if there is anyone out there. And Hi April!!! My first follower, HOW EXCITING!
All the best,
On Sunday morning, 08/08 from Lake Ariel the village not the Lake proper.
Rex
