Country Cafe, Castile, NY

As I traveled away from Asbury Camp and Retreat Center along Highway 39 and toward the site of the NOMADS Annual Meeting in Hamburg, NY, I passed through a small town named Castile.  It was near noon and I felt I could eat.  Yes, eat once again, not because I was hungry, mind you, but it was the noon hour after all.  Seeing an obvious local eatery and a large parking lot where I could easily maneuver my rig, I pulled in.  The place was small with a few, obviously local, customers enjoying their lunch.  I sat and ordered my traditional iced tea, unsweetened of course.  The server read me the specials of the day and left me to ponder the menu as she fetched my drink.

I elected to have a simple meal, since I was not all that hungry.  I ordered one of the specials: a bowl of chili and a grilled cheese sandwich.  Now, how often do you find something as simple as that on a menu!  The day was cool so I figured chili was appropriate.  I sat in relative silence with barely the din of conversation from a few tables away to keep me company.  I knew only too well the monotony of eating alone, and was rather tired of it.  The server returned more than a few times to check on me and my meal.  How often do you find this kind of service!

 

She asked if the travel trailer parked outside was mine.  I said yes and she proceeded to ask where I lived, where I traveled, and what I did while traveling.  I explained my volunteer work, who I worked for (the Lord and NOMADS), and how much I enjoyed it.  She responded with pleasantries and asked me about dessert.  I declined – yes, I declined dessert, can you believe that?  The server said she would bring my bill and disappeared toward the kitchen.

It seemed like more than a few minutes or so before I saw her near the cash register.  As I stood and prepared to pay, she said with a smile, “Your bill is on the house.”  I probably looked like a fool but I was dumbfounded, finding a loss for words.  She reiterated, “You lunch is free so don’t think of paying.”  Was it that smile?  Yeah, she was a beauty but a little young for me.  Again, my mind could not conjure up any response, let alone an appropriate expression of appreciation.  She continued, “We respect people like you.”  Finally, the words poured forth thanking her and her manager for their generosity.

I felt in total oblivion, as if in a foreign country and did not speak the language.  As I slowly moved toward the door, a grin came to my face.  I walked out onto a wooden porch of sorts and across the gravel lot to my truck, chuckling to myself.  Wow, I thought, did what just happened really happen?  I had never experienced such a nice act of appreciation for anything, much less for what I do – serve the Lord by helping others.  Cool, very cool.

So, if you ever find yourself along Highway 39, passing through the small town of Castile, NY, stop in at Arnie’s and Eddie’s Country Café, 125 S. Main Street, 585-493-3009.  You will certainly find some fine folks there, and good home-style cooking.

Asbury Camp and Retreat Center, Silver Lake, NY

View from the Dining Hall across the spot where a large hotel-type building once stood

Beginning with the NOMADS project in Salem, Maine, I set out on a whirlwind series of back-to-back projects.  The second in this series was at the Asbury Camp and Retreat Center in Silver Lake, New York.  Silver Lake is outside Perry, NY.  A retreating glacier created this eight-mile finger lake some years ago.  It is one of the many finger lakes in the area.  I chose this project because it was on the way to the NOMADS Annual Meeting, to be held in Hamburg, NY, near Buffalo.

As I left Maine, I traveled through some back roads so I could see more of the beautiful country in northern New England.  At one point, I had to turn around because the route took me into Canada, something I did not want to do.  I had heard too many horror stories of the United States border guards practically tearing a trailer apart, strewing contents all over the ground, and leaving the owner to clean it up.  I was told the Canadian border guards were much nicer, but coming back into the U.S. was not a pleasant experience.

I tooled along admiring the scenery and daydreaming, something I often do to pass the time on the road, when I came over a hill and within a short distance was a railroad overpass.  This was not all that unusual except for a sign about fifty feet before it, which simple read, 13’.  Fear struck deep in my stomach at the sudden realization that my trailer measured 12’ 9” tall and here I was on a two-lane back road with no place to turn around, barely able to stop my truck and trailer, and trying to think quickly about my immediate situation.  I recall wondering how accurate was that measurement, how much had the overpass settled over time or had the road settled and increased the distance, could the Lord somehow shrink my trailer to fit just enough to make it through the small opening.  I slowed to a crawl, said a brief but desperate prayer, and waited for the sure sound of my air condition unit being scraped off the top of the trailer.  I sensed a nervous sweat on my forehead as I crept forward, windows down and listening intently.  Not a sound.  No scraping.  Nothing.  “Wow, Lord,” I said aloud.  “Thank you so very much.”  I proceeded on my way, very thankful for the grace of the Lord and His watching out for me.  I reached for my water bottle, knowing that it would not be enough to quench the burning thirst in my throat.  I also realized, oh man, did I need a bathroom!

I traveled due west across New Hampshire, Vermont, and into New York.  It may have been my imagination but it seemed that as soon as I cross the New York state line the drivers suddenly became rude and inconsiderate.  Up to this point, I thought the only people who were naturally rude and obnoxious all lived in Massachusetts.  Hmm, guess some of them migrated into New York.

View of Camp

Entrance to Camp Asbury

The northern part of New York is very beautiful, full of rolling hills and farms.  I found my way to Asbury easily.  As my team leader requested, I called when I was about five minutes out.  I quickly understood why he wanted prior notice.  Asbury is an established camp on the bank of Silver Lake, complete with rustic cabins, dining hall, play areas, and a modern Retreat Center.  It also had narrow, winding paths (I would not call them roads) throughout the facility.  The NOMADS were to park trailers and RVs in a wooded area not entirely accessible.  I wrangled my way through the woods to the small lot set aside for the NOMADS.

I enjoyed the project very much.  Perhaps, some of that is because I had friends working with me that I had worked with in Rhode Island.  Good, fine people, they are.  Most of the NOMADS are like that though, friendly and caring folks.  I met some new friends too, again good, fine people.  The work was satisfying and I learned a lot.

Path or road leading to NOMADS parking area

Home for three weeks

One of my fellow NOMADS, who was a plumber in a prior life, was gracious enough to allow me the opportunity to learn from him.  He was a nice guy and a very good friend and teacher.  He and I were installing double sinks in two bathrooms.  He would work on one as I watched and then he would let me install the other.  Very cool!  In a relatively short time I was able to unlock the eternal mysteries of installing a sink without leaks, broken pipes, or looking like something out of a sci-fi movie.

My first attempt at installing sinks, counter included

Another task, and an opportunity to work with another new NOMADS friend, involved building two canoe racks down near the lake.  I thoroughly enjoyed the time it took to figure out what we wanted to do and then do it.  We laughed, we talked, and we enjoyed the task of building the racks.  In the end, we thought that when the lake freezes over in winter someone could put a sail on one of the racks and go sailing across the ice, or perhaps someone could put a tarp over the rack and go ice fishing.  My friend and I were certain that the racks would outlive us.

Permanent yet mobile racks for six canoes each

I attended the last church service of the season held by the local community of summer residents.  The community held their final service on a dock beside the lake.  It was like just about any other church service except this one was surrounded by beautiful blessings of the Lord – wonderful weather, beautiful scenery, quiet and serene surroundings, and friendly people.

This project was also enjoyable because the team came together as a group of friends.  We enjoyed sitting together in the evening and talking about nothing in particular.  A few of us would go play miniature golf, tour an antique car show, head out for pizza, or simply take a long walk.  This was one of my favorite projects.  It was not the work I did or the things I learned, which were both very nice; it was the people I meet through NOMADS.