Kingston is a small village. One can visit the four corners of this village within an hour’s walk. Actually, it’s way too small to be a place somehow related to a KING.

I have no car (and am not in a hurry to buy one), so a village of this size is just right for me to explore. I’d like to see what lie at the borders of Kingston. Just hope they are interesting enough to be shared with visitors of this blog.

My first journey goes to the west, which is the direction to Princeton. Everyday I travel the branch of Route 27 west of Kingston by bus, so I know more about this direction than the other three. It would be a good starting point.

If one comes from Princeton to Kingston, one first sees a sign demarcating the border of the village. Then one travels up a steep slope to enter the area with higher density of buildings. I would consider the end of the slope to be the true beginning of the village of Kingston. If this definition holds, then the western boundary of Kingston is marked by a cemetery.

A land in the west where people peacefully rest. The location of this cemetery unwittingly corresponds with the Buddhist wisdom. That’s good.

There’s nothing more to say about a cemetery besides that western people seems to be more comfortable with a cemetery in the neighborhood than Asians are.

And this post ends here.

That’s not good. So I decided to head for the “VILLAGE OF KINGSTON” sign, and see what lies between it and the cemetery.

There’s an office building, and then an Italian restaurant. One would expect to find such buildings at the outskirt of a village, nothing special (That said, I can try out the restaurant someday).

Not far from the restaurant, there is a sign that says
“Railroad crossing“.

Railroad? What railroad? I don’t remember hearing the clanking noise of trains during these months. Is it some kind of joke?

No, it’s not.

There was indeed a railroad, one can tell from the remnants of the rail track right in front of the sign. Another sign near by gives a hint of what this is all about.

I’m in the D&R Canal State Park. The railroad, along with the canal, was closed long ago. A canal which was dug was dug, even if not in operation, it can’t be fill up, nor serve as other functions. Probably that’s the reason why a park was established to commemorate the prosperity the canal had brought.

“D&R” stands for “Delaware & Raritan“, the names of the rivers that the canal links. It was completed in 1834. According to the explanation boards,

The D&R Canal operated (……) primarily transporting Pennsylvania coal to New York via mule drawn canalboats. (……) By 1843 mules were substituted by steam powered boats. (……)

Kingston thrived as a canal town and experienced an economic boom in the 19th century. Its location between two major market centers: New York and Philadelphia, and connection to a network of roads, waterways and railways contributed to its growth. (……)

With the closing of the D&R Canal in 1933 and the continuing depression, commercial development in the town declined.

Well, for a “declined” town, today’s Kingston is still in a good shape. A retired king living a graceful life, perhaps.

Although the mules only occupied 10% of the canal’s history, the trail that the mules trudged along remains until this date, and serves as a hiking trail.

Near the entrance of the trail, there is this thing. It’s called a lock, which works as the elevator for a boat. Even today, canals around the world still use similar technology to deal with the difference in height along the canal.

While I was at the entrance of the trail, a family of four parked near by, and started walking down the trail. A jogger went past me, then another jogger in the opposite direction. Farther away, there was a guy walking his dog.

I decided to traverse the trail.

Here, one can’t choose the road not taken, because there’s only one. Unless one wishes to go for a super refreshing swim in the canal on either side of the trail. That would be the road less taken, if not never.

The canal was probably completely frozen during the blizzard, but mostly thawed when I walked the trail.

There is no branch on this trail. If I walk all the way down, I will eventually arrive at the riverside backdoor of Princeton (and beyond). But that would be a very long walk —- a little more than 3 miles!

Along the trail, there is nothing except for trees and water. Occasionally, there are joggers, ducks, and benches. It’s no doubt a boring trail, but speaking from the other perspective, this is a good place to contemplate