Miles: 344
We rode less than a block to Sunny Side Diner where we ate breakfast and rated it as best of the trip. We skirted south around Albany and crossed the river on the Rip Van Winkle Bridge at Catskill NY. The bridge is a massive 5,040' cantilever bridge that was built in 1935. Oddly there is only a toll for eastbound traffic. As we crossed we saw a good amount of construction and learned that the toll booths had been removed earlier in the year and they were still making the necessary adjustments to a cashless system. The old toll house was untouched as was the maintenance house built long after the toll house. We stopped and walked out onto the Hudson River walk and soaked in the view before continuing west on NY23 and NY30. Not long after the bridge we stopped at the Five State Lookout (NY, PA, VT, MA, CT). It was a decent view but nothing all that special. We stopped at the Downsville Covered Bridge which looked newly refurbished and was in operation. It wasn't that great but there was a nice little park where we stopped and stretched our legs. We crossed over into Pennsylvania and headed toward a much anticipated stop for me. Steve had been here previously but I really wanted to see the Starrucca Viaduct. This stone arch bridge was completed in 1848 and is still in operation. It spans 1,040' and was built for a little over $10M in 2022's money. Hard to believe. It was difficult to get a good picture of the viaduct from underneath and we looked for a better spot from nearby Luciana Park but unless you have an aerial view it is tough to get a good pic. Nevertheless I thought it was an excellent stop. Next up was another equally good viaduct; the Tunkhannock in Nicholson PA. This massive concrete bridge or viaduct was completed in 1915 and spans 2,375' over the Tunkhannock creek and is still in operation. We stopped along US11 where there is a formal pull off that provides a pretty good view. We rode US6 for a short time through the town of Tunkhannock and stopped at Nimble Winery and Brewery. We hadn't planned on stopping here but we though we might be able to get a bite to eat but they only had snacks. We moved to PA29 and headed south on our last leg of the day. The roads in this area were really good and we made our last stop at Therapy Brewing which was just outside of Williamsport where we were staying. This would not be an easy to place to find if you didn't know it was there. It is very much a secluded place which makes it all the more interesting. It was established in 2019 but even in recent Google Earth views it still looks like just a farm. The owners were working and serving up the beer when we arrived and they were very nice and seemed to be having a great time working. We sat on the deck and watched the people who were spread out in the chairs they had brought with them. The short drive to Williamsport got us to the hotel around 5:30 and we walked to Boom City Brewing Co. for a beer and really good dinner that wasn't bar food. After dinner we headed back to try to make an early night of it since we had a big day in front of us.