Road Trip to Greenville
This past Saturday I took a trip north to the small town of Greenville, NY. I wanted to shed a little light on this humble town because it holds a special place in my heart. Greenville has been the home to many of my childhood summers and continues to be a safe haven for me in times of turbulence.
I began my journey in Poughkeepsie headed up Route 9G and eventually into Greene County. The farther north I got the more I started to notice a difference from the more densely populated Poughkeepsie. The houses get fewer and farther between, and the hamlets only consisted of one intersection and a post office.
Greenville is one of those intersections. When you arrive from Route 81, you hit the only stop light in town. On the right is 2 Twisted Ladies Ice Cream shop, to the left is the Town Hall and at the opposite corner is the post office and the famous Tommy’s Dogs Truck. More on Tommy’s and 2 Twisted Ladies later.
I made a left turn at this intersection to head down the street where my grandparents live. They bought this middle of nowhere home in 1957, and it has been the place of family memories ever since.
Greenville is located in the Greene County, which is home a several large attractions. Two of such attractions I visited this particular weekend were the Sycamore Golf Course and the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Festival.
Sycamore Golf Course is located in Ravena and was created on an old farm land. The club house is actually the 100-year-old barn that stored hay and livestock. The pulley cranks used to bring goods and hay to higher levels of the barn are still attached to the side of the building. The round of golf I played was special for me because my partners were my old man and his friends from high school. A tradition they started to do annually four years ago.
The Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Festival was held in East Durham, which is even closer to Greenville. This festival is held annually as well but is a bit more well attended than the St. Francis Prep friends reunion. Bikers come from all over the country for three days of partying, trick shows and ACDC cover bands. The town was filled with bikers exchanging compliments on their wheels and experiencing a unique atmosphere that fulfills their interests.
Before I left Greenville to head back home I had to stop at two of my favorite food spots in the world. The first is Tommy’s Dogs. At first glance most people might run, but this is home to the “Matt Dog”: a hot dog with sauerkraut, grilled onions, peppers and spicy mustard. This hot dog will seriously change your life. After picking up and inhaling my “Matt Dog,” I headed over to 2 Twisted Ladies Ice Cream, the perfect treat to top off a great snack. At 2 Twisted Ladies I create my own concoction of Oreo Cookies n Cream ice cream with cookie dough milkshake.
With my belly full, I packed up and hit the road once more. I reminisced the whole drive home about the memories I’ve had in Greenville and hopefully the ones my children will have one day.
