Last night, on my evening walk I was walking on the bike path past the Bethlehem High School, on the outskirts of the developed area of Delmar, looking across Sunnyside Farm and the rural hinderlands beyond it. I looked across the tall grass, and towards the Heldebergs. I saw the setting sun, with Bennett Hill predominately in the background. I felt like I really missed something.

It’s not an unfamiliar scene. Indeed, it’s a comforting one, I’ve seen for most of my life in the city, looking back through office windows towards the Heldebergs. They are just mountains, farm land, forest, and rural homesteads, something not really that uncommon in Upstate New York. Indeed, get a little ways out of any city in Upstate, and your in one of many vast rural areas of Upstate.

The town I live in is Delmar. I have lived here 5 years, taking the bus downtown every morning to work. I come home on the bus, have dinner, and in the summer months, head down to the park with a book. I walk to the library, the store, and go for delightful evening walks. I rarely use my truck at all on weekdays. It’s kind of nice not having to drive, or fill up the tank on weekdays. I can have a couple of beers after work, and not worry about getting pulled over. I can come home fatigued, and not fear an accident. On weekends I hop in my pickup, go up to woods, to camp, hike, explore.

Yet, I feel something is missing…

I don’t really like living in the city that much. I don’t like the constant noise of traffic, the constraints of city life. While I can always hop in my truck and go places, now that I am in city, I doesn’t happen that much. In city, every place I would want to go – in the hills and mountains always seems so far away.

I guess for now I am content with how things are going. The Adirondacks, the Green Mountains, and the hilltowns remain within a fairly short drive, that I can get to on weekends. I can spend my weekends in the city, and then spend the money where I enjoy it most. But still I am less then happy with current arrangements.