Connecticut to Rhode Island

While in Putnam, Connecticut we heard reference to a great biker place called Bentley’s Saloon in Arundel, Maine. The next morning our plan was to ride through the northern corner of Rhode Island and then head for Bentley’s for lunch. We entered Rhode Island on highway 44 and took a photo at the state sign. We didn’t see much of Rhode Island…by the time we put on our brakes to stop again we realized we had left the state already! We found ourselves in Massachusetts pretty quick that morning and decided to ride the 495 around Boston. On the 495 we noticed many signs advertising tax free alcohol. There were no more than a couple miles between each package store along the highway. Later we found out that alcohol was cheaper in Massachusetts than Maine due to taxes.

New York and Connecticut

Brad and Bill stayed in Ellicottville Thursday evening and rode through the Southern Tier of New York all day Friday. The roads were twisty and curvy through the mountains. The mountain sides were green and refreshing. Small farms were spread though-out the ride. Some houses had little signs to sell molasses, eggs and even baby piglets! We saw an old cannon with a stack of cannon balls in front of one house-some neat little villages. We stopped for lunch at a Greek restaurant in a town called Apalachin off highway 17. Bill tried some Greek food-some hamburger wrapped in grape leaves. It was pretty good!

It rained most of the day on Friday. We had an exhilarating ride through the Catskill Mountains, crossed the Hudson River and stopped at Poughkeepsie for the night. Our challenge was to find a nice hotel. The rain was pouring down so drinking a coke and asking for directions seemed like a good thing to do. We stopped at Gentlemen Jim’s Restaurant and Pub to get directions. We walked in the bar side wearing our rain gear and dripping wet. There was standing room only and no two barstools together at the bar. This was a popular place. Luckily for us there were two widows eating at the bar who were kind enough to move over to give us room beside them. That was the ice breaker Brad needed. Soon we had so many recommendations to hotels and bars that it was tough to decide which one to select. We ended up at the Grand Hotel and walked, in the rain, down to the Derby Pub. We had a great time sharing stories with some good folks there….one guy could not comprehend that we were really on our bikes riding to anywhere!
Saturday was another wet and rainy day. We rode highway 44 through Connecticut. The roads had many sharp turns covered with mature green trees. The rain got much harder as the day went on. Our feet were wet and the rain had penetrated our rain suits. It was time to stop and dry out! We stopped a small town called Putnam and found the Kings Inn which is a hotel with a Mexican restaurant beside it. We did not take any pictures due to the heavy rain and fog.