Veni, vidi, vici. I came, I saw, and yes, I’ll say it, I conquered.
My traveling companion, thirteen-year-old Alex and I, rose early on a stunningly bright Saturday morning with plans to take on a Guinness Book World Record. We joined our friend Traci, of GoBigorGoHomeBlog.com, for an attempt at the world’s longest chorus line. Now Traci and her posse in Poughkeepsie do things big; last year, they had no problem conquering the world’s longest line dance, five of the longest minutes dancing the Hokey Pokey. The second attempt at glory didn’t fare so well; we fell 300 people short of the 1,600 needed to break the record.
So we didn’t break the record, but we did get to dance in a chorus line across the Hudson River. With 1,300 exceedingly cheerful New Yorkers, linked together by a common cause and a desire to boogie, gracefully or not.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN_kYUqKbhM[/youtube]
In my case, definitely not gracefully.
Alex and I walked the entire span of the former Poughkeepsie-Highland Bridge, a distance of 6,767 feet (or 1.28 miles) back and forth. Which might not sound like a lot, but this exertion was on top of the chorus line dance. It certainly called for a reward, in the form of cannolis from Little Italy in Poughkeepsie (more on that in another post.)
I deeply appreciated the delicious treat, made even sweeter by a return trip over the pedestrian bridge and the chance to capture scenic photographs of the Hudson Valley.
Plan a Visit to the Walkway Over the Hudson
There are two entrances to the Walkway Over the Hudson, the Highland Entrance and the Poughkeepsie Entrance. Coming from Albany (or New York City,) the Highland Entrance is the easiest to get to, only 1.5 hours by car from Albany. Parking is plentiful, and free.
We walked across the bridge and back, stopping on the Poughkeepsie side to explore Little Italy. Another option is to tackle the Walkway Loop Trail, at 4.5 miles total. And/or you could tack on the paved four miles of the Hudson Valley Rail Trail on the Highland side.
In Highland, you will also find a number of additional parks: Franny Reeese State Park, Bob Shepard Highland Landing Park, Johnson-Ioro Park, Berean Park, and Tony Williams Park. To learn more, visit www.hudsonvalleyrailtrail.net.
Interested in learning more about the Walkway Over the Hudson? Visit www.walkway.org.