July 18 - Lake Tiorati, Harriman State Park (Day 121 – milepoint 1364.1)

Got an early start and cruised the 5.5 miles to West Mombasha Road where I joined Harmony and the Merry Slav at Pappa’s Deli.

Today’s special: Buy one sub, get the second free!

We each ordered the special and Harmony inquired about the pizza. “It’s 9:30 in the morning,” declared the girl behind the counter, “don’t you guys have any sense of time?”

“Yes ma’am, we do,” replied the Merry Slav, “and right now I am sensing that it is time for us to eat!”

With a feisty East Coast attitude, she informed us that the pizza oven doesn’t get fired up until 5 p.m. and she made us our subs without further fuss. I saved what was left of my second sub for later and got back to hiking.

After an hour or so, I ran into Devin and Small World enjoying a hot afternoon siesta. I plopped down and we shot the breeze for a while before I continued on into Harriman State Park. Hope to see them again soon.

Encountered some Trail Magic from a man named Roger Johnson who lives nearby and works for CampMor. He had a cooler full of soda, apples and oranges, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups…

My plan was to stop at Lake Tiorati Circle for water and then move on but a downpour of rain forced me to seek cover from the lightning. I found a couple of picnic tables under a pavilion and decided to call it a day. “It’s a day!”

As the rain let up, I witnessed the largest, most amazing, colorful, vivid, double rainbow I have ever seen. Big WOW.

A late night swim under a full moon has me feeling relatively clean and comfortable. I get to see my Aunt Dorothy and cousins Billy and Danny tomorrow at Bear Mountain.

Aquaholic