One Night in Princeton -- I Could Write Ten Pages About This

Travis and I went to the Shawangunk Mountains of New York for another training trip. The climbing was great. And driving by New York City was an exciting thing. We almost stopped on the way back. But Manhattan was a little out of the way, and we were fatigued from an all-day climbing session.

We went to Princeton instead. Princeton, New Jersey. It was right on the way. We got there around eleven o'clock on a Saturday night. We unpacked the folding bikes (Travis always keeps bikes in the car) and we set out to explore the campus.

It was a great night to see Princeton. College kids were walking around. I was going out of my mind overhearing conversations. We biked around, stopped to listen, rode up and down some cool ledges and ramps and hills, and at one point I said, "I could write ten pages about this night."

It's true. I really could. But not right now. We saw hemlock trees and heard the silly talk of young passersby. We finished the coffee we had and then got more coffee. We kept biking. The buildings were all lit up. All the old stone buildings and the lights reminded us of Loyola in Baltimore, another campus that was good for cruising.

One highlight for me was this moment that happened by this fountain. I had been mostly observing everything that was going on. My camera hand wasn't quite as active as it often is. Anyway, we were by this fountain when I got the idea for a photo. I told Travis to ride by slowly. I knew how to set my camera, and I got the shot on the first take. Here it is, a combination of the fountain lights and Travis on his bike and the Princeton night: