Stress and the NY Metro area

10/1/09: I left Greenwood Furnace campground in Pennsylvania after breakfast and an easy load up. It was a convenience to load when I was able to park the trailer on a hill and roll the bike in on an incline. The ramp is a little bit steep and any incline is helpful. I passed through all of the farms and roads on the way back out to the highway. It's the horse drawn carts that add a quiet and peaceful air to the setting. I wished I had longer to stay, just so I could spend some time riding the old Beemer back through these roads. It was all too soon that I reached I80 and the path that would take me East to Interstate 84.
I started to sense a change in the traffic conditions as I made my way East on 84. I was within 120 miles of downtown Manhattan, and that was all to close for me. Understand that traveling Interstate 84 to New Canaan, CT. is not the most direct route. And also that this route was chosen only because of the tension involved in driving through the New York metropolitan area I've felt in the past. Granted, I was pulling a trailer and had to pay attention to the engine speed relative to the hills, but there was something about the pace that initiated a gnawing anxiety in me while I drove. Incredibly, the old stress knot just below my right shoulder blade started to ache. Not strange that I hadn't felt that more than once since I'd retired, it had been a daily occurrence when I was working. Though I'm sure I'll be back to this part of the country, I had to ask myself why I had arranged this portion of my trip to include the Northeast at all. I vowed at the time to never return. As I got across the Hudson River and passed into Connecticut, I psyche started transitioning into the scrambling, scurrying mode that allows one to survive this part of the world. Thinking back to the night before, the crackling fire and peace of the wooded campsite in the night got me curious about where I'd really like to be living my life. I was somewhat surprised that I made the trip straight to my friend David's house without a wrong turn. This in no small part to the marvels of geo-positioning systems. When I walked into David's house, he'd been watching the National Parks special that was running on public television. I since seen parts of it, but there's indeed no substitute for being there in person. David and I planned the next day's hike, loaded some equipment and turned in.