Potsdam, NY (USA)

[woke up around 0700 - I packed and planned for a hike at Loon Lake (southeast of town) - drove back west on US-11 to get breakfast (McDonalds at 0835), and then a little bit farther (to Brushton) to get gas (0900) - I was just about to head south into ADK when Eileen called and said there was a chance for us to get together - after talking for awhile, I drove all the way back to Potsdam - I found her close to the Village Diner and we walked around town for about an hour, doing errands - at this point, she told me she would probably be too busy to do anything else until Sunday - I was not happy and told her I didn't know if I would still be in town by then... - I drove south (via NY-56), without a plan, until I reached Higley Flow State Park (1200) - decided to stay there for several hours - it turned out to be a good idea: there were almost 14 miles of cross country skiing trails that were good for hiking - at the end of the day, when I was tired and ready to call it an afternoon, I encountered a band playing along the lake front - people were singing, karaoke-style, and others were swimming in the river - the sun felt great and there was a pleasant breeze - I heard lots of French-speaking tourists - perhaps the worst part of the day, though, was when my cell phone picked up several frantic voicemails from Alexandria - I didn't even have the heart to respond to those for several more hours - I also got one from Eileen, telling me she wanted to make things work before I left town - I ended up texting with her and then made a phone call in which we figured out (again) that she couldn't meet until Sunday (for lunch) - I still wasn't sure I should stay (thinking that maybe I should go home) - I was torn for several hours - the final decision came only after I talked to Nicky - I figured out that everything was OK, so I decided to stay in the area - drove back to Potsdam - my hike hadn't been as long as I wanted, so I walked around the track at the high school to get in some more miles - later, I started looking for a hotel (most too expensive or no vacancy) - decided I'd need to leave Potsdam and made a rough plan to go to Masena - I picked up takeout at A1 Oriental Kitchen (1830) and then drove north on NY-56 - I stumbled across a small motel on the edge of Potsdam (Northern Family Hotel) and stopped to see if they had vacancy - ended up getting the last available room (1850) - watched the running of the Belmont Stakes - witnessed "American Pharaoh" win the Triple Crown!!!) with all the guests - drank a free beer (from the hotel stash - all left behind by previous guests!) while I read my book out on the huge lawn in front of the hotel - the weather was even better in the evening (late sunset, clear, great temperatures) - there were two fire pits that nearly every guest was clustered around - a group of Canadians (from Cornwall) invited me to join them around 2030 and I ended up spending nearly three hours with them, talking about sports, politics, weather, travel, etc. - it was all great - by the time the fire died down, I realized the temperatures were in the 30s (!!!) and that I should get in my hotel room to get warm again - fell asleep easily (2345)]