If you follow me on other social media sites, you know that I’ve been dealing with a serial polluter in my neighborhood. This person, who has a consistent drink order at Dunkin and an appreciation for breakfast sandwiches with sausage and filet of fish from McDonald’s, has been dumping their garbage on the side of the yellow brick road for months.
I first noticed the fast food waste last fall and since then have trained myself to bring a trash bag with me while walking Jeter. In the past few months, there have been occasions when I have filled up an entire reusable* grocery bag during our amble down the road and to the multiple trash cans in the parking lot alongside the Normanskill.
I’ve had enough and it needs to stop.
Thanks to my detective skills, learned decades ago during my Nancy Drew years, I’ve learned a few things about this human piece of trash.
- The polluter drinks really sweet coffee with lots of cream, sugar and vanilla syrup.
- They frequent the Dunkin just off of Exit 23, generally mid morning or early in the afternoon.
- Sometimes they grab something from Sonic or McDonald’s, to mix things up a bit.
- They always get their order through the drive through window.
- They bank at Broadview credit union.
Because I’m incensed by this person driving down one of the most idyllic roads in Albany and repeatedly throwing their trash out of their vehicle, I’ve visited two Dunkin locations (the first was prior to my finding a receipt for the purchase which indicated the address of the shop where the trash originated) asking employees if they might know the offender.
I’m sure both sets of workers thought I was crazy, but I’m not letting this go. I’m going to find this individual, even if it means staking out the road once the weather warms up and I can plant myself with a book somewhere to observe the traffic.
Yesterday I walked the yellow brick road after having been away for the weekend and collected 2 Dunkin cups, 3 filet of fish containers (maybe they’re observing Lent?!?) and a handful of napkins. This is a road where I regularly forage berries and mushrooms and catch glimpses of deer, foxes, rabbits and eagles.
What in the world makes a person throw garbage out of their vehicle in such a pristine area? Stay tuned because I’m going to get to the bottom of this…
After collecting all the trash prior to my departure, I drove up to Saratoga State Park on Friday afternoon to enjoy a couple of hours of skiing. It was a gorgeous day with bright sunshine and blue skies and I had a wonderful time circling the park and reveling in the late winter conditions. I stuck mainly to the golf course area, which made for a fairly tame adventure, but I left the park more than satisfied with my time spent.
Next stop: KOS Sauna for a 90 minute ($30) sweat session overlooking Saratoga Lake. A friend had mentioned this place recently and I was eager to give it a try and see how the experience compared to my recent time sweating in Chatham. Booking a post ski visit was a genius move, if I do say so myself, and peeling off my ski clothes to immerse myself in the dry heat was a pro move.
It was really great.
The two sauna visits were similar in cleanliness and temperature, but were distinctive in their difference. The KOS sauna was much larger, accommodating up to 15 people simultaneously, and was supported by a full time sauna concierge. There were changing rooms, along with a rooftop deck and reception area with cubbies and limited seating. Just like Chatham, there was an available cold plunge but this icy bath was into a shallow part of Saratoga Lake and required a slow immersion into the knee deep (at this time in the year) water.
Spoiler: I did not go into the lake.
While the Chatham sauna felt intimate and private, (probably a result of the timing of my visit), the Saratoga sauna felt much more social. There were groups of friends who had obviously booked a shared experience and the sauna was at near capacity with pleasant and chatty people. The conversations were not a problem for me, but it definitely is not a silent experience, at least not late in the afternoon on a Friday.
I would definitely revisit either of these saunas – alone or accompanied, because I simply love the heat. Maybe you have other recommendations for me to explore?
After about an hour of reveling in the dry and fragrant with essential oils air, with intermittent moments of fresh, cold air on the adjacent deck, I grabbed a photo of the view from the rooftop deck, pulled my clothes back on and headed to my final destination: North Creek.
I arrived at my friend’s house and joined the festivities for a relaxed and comfortable girls hang. We drank wine, ate good food and shared conversation as the evening passed. The energy was great and I really appreciated the time to get to know the friends of my friend better. Yeah to second homes and easy connections!
Saturday, was another day of cross country skiing, this time at the place where I had originally learned to ski nearly 30 years ago, Garnet Hill. What a gorgeous spot this is! The snow was nicely groomed and plentiful and the sun broke through the clouds to warm our faces and prompt the removal of an extraneous layer of Lycra. We skied for about three hours over trails that included green, blue and a brief black diamond, before wrapping things up and heading to Gore’s Ski Bowl Lodge for a late lunch.
First of all, you should know that we hit things on a stellar, end of February afternoon. I really can’t imagine a more beautiful day to be on that mountain – and I’m not even a downhill skier. The absolute luxury of sitting in this brand new building with a view of an impressively steep run under a bright sun, was mind blowing. The food and drinks we consumed were absolutely fine, but the really memorable part of the meal was the view. Spectacular.
The weekend had begun with me gathering trash and ended with me taking a long delayed shower at home. In between there were hours spent outdoors, and in, with friends and alone. How lucky am I?
As I find my way through this new chapter of life, I will continue gathering and collecting moments and memories – with less trash, I hope.
*There is a now a designated bag that hangs next Jeter’s leashes as a prompt.
DelSo 