co-op guests

We hosted some amusing guests last night, two 19- or 20-yearolds from Germany who were exchange students in Connecticut and have now, on a return trip to the US, set out to hike all over upstate New York. Thinking they were going to have to sleep in a ditch after arriving on a very much delayed Amtrak train, they were full of gratitude for the comfortable spot we offered. Their plan is to hike for a few days in Letchworth state park, then hoof it on the Finger Lakes Trail to Buffalo/Niagara, hitching parts of the way. (I tried to steer them towards the 'dacks, to no avail.) Ultimately they plan to go see Nova Scotia and hike the Appalacian trail too. I dropped them off in Caledonia this morning. They found us via our hostel listing, and left a nice note in our guestbook:

Hey Ant Hill,
it was great getting to the train station at 12 pm [midnight] and then there is this guy styanding with a sign which has your name on it. And there was a car which could bring you to a place where you could sleep and eat some thing. And all that when you were expecting to just sleep on the streets. But the best thing definitely are the people. They just welcomed us as if we would know each other since years. Keep that attitude. Greetings, Eike and Ben.

They're keeping a travel blog, auf Deutsch of course, at http://myblog.de/memnoch/.

Notes from Putnam Camp

The Farm House and another building

The camp where Bree works is called Putnam Camp. It was begun by some Boston doctors in 18-something who wanted to "rough it" in some way. The camp's claim to fame is that Freud once visited, and his portrait is sprinkled liberally throughout the place. Reportedly he did not enjoy his stay. Carl Jung also visited, simultaneously, but this receives much less attention. The motto of Putnam Camp is "Ille terrarum mihi praeter omnes angulus ridet," which I am told is a line from Horace translating into "This spot smiles at me more than any other."

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