My dad’s car is in the shop so he invited us over to their place to celebrate my birthday with a milkshake and sandwich. The weekly special was an Italian Hogie, the same thing Robert Durst shoplifted from Wegmans when he got popped. The bistro at their place was packed so we ate lunch in the library by the fireplace.
It was a beautiful day, warm enough to go without a hat and a clear blue sky. We left my parents’ place and traveled west on the 104 past the ruins of Kodak Park and Ridgemont Plaza and onward, just wandering as is our custom on April 28. We turned right on a small road that surely would have taken us to the lake if we stuck with it but we got on Route 18, the “Roosevelt Highway” and paralleled the shoreline until we got to Lakeside Beach State Park.
The park wasn’t officially open so there was no entry fee and most of it was lawn with concrete slabs scattered about and chainlink nets for something called disc golf. We tried to ignore all that and climbed down the bank to the lake where we found some shotgun shells, golf balls, drug bags and all sorts of tiny plastic trash.
We walked for a few hours and worked up a thirst so we stopped in Oak Orchard and bought a couple of bottles of Guinness from a girl with large peace sign earrings. We drank the beer by a nearby bridge and watched a turtle sun himself. This very sleepy little town was just coming alive for the season with bait shops, boat rentals and sailboat ride places.
We took the Lake Ontario State Parkway back into town and were amazed at how rough the road was. A bit forlorn but still a beautiful highway. Each bridge is slightly different from the next and all faced with stone. Many are in disrepair today. The Parkway was built in the late forties at what was surely an optimistic time, a time when you might just hop in the car on sunny afternoon and take a drive.
Leave a comment