October 3, 2009 — A bus trip starting at the Rochester Town Hall, on a rainy day, didn't promise much excitement, but what a unique experience this turned out to be!
We were going to the Grand Opening celebration of The Walkway over the Hudson State Historic Park, one of the main events of the 2009 Quadricentennial Commemoration. The Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge — the longest in the world when it debuted in 1889 — it's now the longest bridge in the world dedicated to walkers and bikers. With amazing views from 212 feet above the Hudson, it's a brilliant new park in the sky connecting east and west, and past with present...
Being among the first to walk on the bridge — while representing the Town of Rochester — was probably the purest form of being involved and enjoying a tourist attraction at the same time; we've been part of something so special that words can hardly describe it. Actually, the word most often heard was: Awesome!
With different towns' delegations leaving from both ends of the old Poukeepsie-Highland bridge, our continuous meeting of other people from various towns was thrilling... A superb opportunity to identify and re-discover many towns from the Mid-Hudson Valley... Just ahead of us, dear neighbors from Hurley, Ellenville and Wawarsing...
The whole atmosphere created an amazing sense of identity, belonging, cooperation and pride. It felt like being on cloud nine!
I wish this becomes an annual event, well advertised to the entire world: The Annual "Walkway over the Hudson" Parade!
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