May 31, 2015—Breakneck Ridge, NY
On Saturday, May 30, 5 brave souls from Ellis high school joined 7 intrepid ICO volunteers on a trip we would never forget. The adventure began before we even left the school, when our New Jersey bus driver could not fit down the narrow street to the school and faced the challenge of those squiggly lines on the map. He triumphed, however, and we loaded our trays of orzo onto the bus and headed off to breakneck ridge. We then began a steep ascent, scaling the cliff face with ease in boat shoes (little did we realize our students are secretly Spider-Man and his entourage, claiming they were 'only here for the view'). Jasper the dog had the hardest time of it but he maintained a brave face too. The students kindly helped each other and us older folks when gravity became our foe, and we all breathed a sigh of relief when it was time to descend. The fabulous five investigated the ruins of an abandoned town and snapped photographs like film was going out of style as we meandered back down the mountain. The hum of gentle snoring was the only sound to be heard on the ride home.