Peter Atkinson and I slept in after last night’s barbecue, eventually making our way to Mount Nittany by mid-morning for a hike in fairly steady rainshowers from the trailhead to the Mike Lynch Overlook and back. It was one of my favorite hikes.

The Mike Lynch Overlook was totally obscured, with the look of a veil of mist and rain having been lowered almost directly in front of us as we peered out onto the imagined view of Penn State’s campus. Along the Mountain’s ridge the rain continued, thick and chilly and spring-like.

Afterwards we ate breakfast at Cafe Lemont, then drove back into State College where we showered and cleaned up, made it to Our Lady of Victory for mass, and closed out the trip with a Corner Room lunch before Peter caught his ride back to New York.

As I was finishing some errands, I walked out onto Allen Street where Ray Cromie was slowly making his way toward College Avenue. We walked slowly together to his destination as we caught up for the first time in at least a year. I met Ray when I was involved with The LION 90.7fm as a Penn State student, when Ray’s “Avant Garde” show took listeners on journeys to strange and wonderful soundscapes.

Still raining as afternoon gave way to evening, I hopped into my rental car and made my way back to Philadelphia.