We had a lovely drive to Hudson and the DMV. You cross the Hudson River on my favorite bridge, the Rip Van Winkle bridge. Once we got there, we fed a quarter into the parking meter and joined the lines outside. There were two lines, one for county residents and one for non-residents, like us.
Altogether, we stood outside for about an hour and a half. At one point, I had to go buy something so we could feed more quarters into the meter. I bought a bag of chips which ended up being a godsend on the way home.
Hudson is a charming town with beautiful architecture, and the main drag is lined with antique shops, many of them high-end. I knew that a shop I’d always wanted to visit, The Red Chair on Warren, had relocated from New Hampshire to Hudson about ten years ago. The owner sells a lot of French antiques. I scooted over there (it was just around the corner) and I fell in love. It’s simply beautiful.
I chatted a bit with the owner while I looked around. Since I had limited time, I’m determined to go back again and take my time. But I did spy two café au lait bowls and bought them.
Side note: I saw a display of vintage café au lait bowls on IG that a woman had collected for years and I was so entranced that I saved the photo. A new thing to collect, I thought! The irony here is that I could have purchased a lot of them when I was in Paris, as I saw several each time I was at the flea market. And another visit to Paris is not a possibility for a long while, as we’ve just bought a car. Sigh.
Anyway, I rejoined Don in line, all the while sweating the meter. Right before we were about to go inside to join yet another line, the couple in front of us, who we had been chatting with off and on, overheard us talking about being out of quarters, and one of them went to their car to get us some. And they wouldn’t take a dollar bill in exchange from us. Good people are everywhere.
We encountered one minor snag about the insurance when we got to the window, but the clerk advised me to go to the end of the inside the building line while Don went over to the corner to call our insurance company. Eventually, it was resolved, Don joined me in line, and he got his plates and registration.
We knew we had to get back on the road quickly, whereupon we wolfed down the bag of chips while driving. I dropped Don off at the mechanic’s shop, where they put the license plates on the car, and Don came home with his new car.
We left at 9:30. We got back at 3:00. A long day, but it’s all taken care of now.
Today, we mow.
Stay safe.
Happy Tuesday.
