May Day

Happy May.

I was happy when the workday was finally over and I could set my sights on a stress-relieving ride on the motorcycle for the late afternoon. But, some how in keeping with the rest of my day, the sun happened to disappear behind clouds, just as I was getting ready to head out. Alright, why not.



As The River Flows

I went up trusty Rte. 47. Over by Mitch's Marina, where the Connecticut river has gotten pretty close to the road.



I made a quick stop at the boat launch by the Calvin Coolidge bridge, to get another, closer look at the near overflow. There's something very calming, and contemplative, about Ol' Man River.



And here's a statement to contemplate. Someone had scrawled something on the lower beams of the Norwottuck rail trail bridge some time ago:



It reads "All Your Base Are Belong To Us"...?

(Update: Thanks to Blogger Rambling VanDog for coming up with the explanation for this cryptic message)

Boogie Nights

On to Northampton and closer to my coffee. I parked by the Haymarket, and walked up to Dunkin' Donuts uneventfully. In the few minutes it took to get the coffee and start back towards the bike, this crowd had appeared, facing down Crackerjack Alley. Several of them were happily snapping pictures and recording video. Huh?



My camera was out and ready before I even got close...Must. Blog. Northampton is an inexhaustible fount of bloggable material. To wit:



The street boogie troop made their way up Main St. until the music faded in the distance. A few minutes later, I saw that they had taken their show on the road. Literally.



I parked myself by Town Hall and supped on the coffee. Peace finally settling about me. For about three minutes. The boogie troop was on the march again:



As soon as they walked/danced by and disappeared, a troop of policemen in uniform suddenly appeared, crossed the street, and disappeared into Crackerjack Alley; where the boogie troop originally emerged. It's a good thing I don't do drugs. The whole scene was a little trippy.





It was late and time to go. Slurping down the remnants of coffee, I was now back to being relaxed. It was a nice refreshing, evening ride back.

I always love this approach to the Mt. Holyoke College area. It's a sudden concentration of light, after several miles of relatively dark road.