A funny thing happened on the way to the...hotel...after the fire museum tour. Apparently, my reputation precedes me, which I hope is good.
On the way back from the chicken barbeque dinner after the fire museum tour, I was driving and noticed a sign that said "Martin Van Buren Historic Site" with an arrow. Now being fond of history in general and Presidential history in particular, I decided to stop and see what this was. (For the folks who don't know who Martin Van Buren is, click here.) So Dad and I pulled into the parking lot - and I saw that both Dan Skivolocke and Darren Bedford had already stopped as their coaches were there. I was in our pickup truck.
So I walked up to the place, called Lindenwald, which was Van Buren's home after his term as President ended. Now this place is in the middle of just about nowhere, probably 20 miles from Albany. Dan and Darren were already walking around. All we could do was walk around the outside, as it was almost dusk and the place was already closed. So I saw it, and started to walk back to my truck.
As I was walking back, the Park Ranger was walking toward me. I assumed she would nicely tell me the place was closed, etc. So she walks up to me and asks, "Are you Steve?" (Now I'm thinking, "how in the heck does she know me, in the middle of upstate New York where I've never been? Was I in trouble or what?") So I answered "yes?" with a question mark at the end.
She said she recognized me from a picture on the PCS website - she's a PCS member and a friend and parishoner of Dan Herrick's. WOW!
So she offered to let us drive the cars up to the road in front of the house for photos (I'll post one tomorrow). She was very nice.
Now what are the chances of being recognized by the Park Ranger at a place you've never been in an area you've never been in, and that she's a PCS member too?!?!? You just never know....
So thanks to PCS member and National Park Ranger Dawn Olsen for being so nice and for making me laugh at the oddity of the situation!
(As more useless trivia, I also learned some cultural history. When Van Buren was President, apparently, folks would ask how things were at his home, in the old town of Kinderhook, NY. "So, Martin, how are things in old Kinderhook?" And he would reply something like "things are good in O.K." And so our term of "OK" was born, thanks to President Martin Van Buren and old Kinderhook, NY.)
On the way back from the chicken barbeque dinner after the fire museum tour, I was driving and noticed a sign that said "Martin Van Buren Historic Site" with an arrow. Now being fond of history in general and Presidential history in particular, I decided to stop and see what this was. (For the folks who don't know who Martin Van Buren is, click here.) So Dad and I pulled into the parking lot - and I saw that both Dan Skivolocke and Darren Bedford had already stopped as their coaches were there. I was in our pickup truck.
So I walked up to the place, called Lindenwald, which was Van Buren's home after his term as President ended. Now this place is in the middle of just about nowhere, probably 20 miles from Albany. Dan and Darren were already walking around. All we could do was walk around the outside, as it was almost dusk and the place was already closed. So I saw it, and started to walk back to my truck.
As I was walking back, the Park Ranger was walking toward me. I assumed she would nicely tell me the place was closed, etc. So she walks up to me and asks, "Are you Steve?" (Now I'm thinking, "how in the heck does she know me, in the middle of upstate New York where I've never been? Was I in trouble or what?") So I answered "yes?" with a question mark at the end.
She said she recognized me from a picture on the PCS website - she's a PCS member and a friend and parishoner of Dan Herrick's. WOW!
So she offered to let us drive the cars up to the road in front of the house for photos (I'll post one tomorrow). She was very nice.
Now what are the chances of being recognized by the Park Ranger at a place you've never been in an area you've never been in, and that she's a PCS member too?!?!? You just never know....
So thanks to PCS member and National Park Ranger Dawn Olsen for being so nice and for making me laugh at the oddity of the situation!
(As more useless trivia, I also learned some cultural history. When Van Buren was President, apparently, folks would ask how things were at his home, in the old town of Kinderhook, NY. "So, Martin, how are things in old Kinderhook?" And he would reply something like "things are good in O.K." And so our term of "OK" was born, thanks to President Martin Van Buren and old Kinderhook, NY.)
