Along the same lines as the post right before this one (and an earlier post), this is a video of the wooden covered bridge located in Woodstock, VT.
I was standing on the bridge with Laura and I decided to take a short video. It’s not the greatest, but it does give you a good picture of how nice it is up there. Nice and quiet, that is.
Here, take a look…
Laura and I cruised up to Woodstock again this weekend. I told her that I wanted to go hiking up that big mountain everyone climbs. I am not sure the name of it, because we never actually got to it.
We drove into town with the best of intentions. When we got somewhat closer to the action, we noticed a whole bunch of traffic. I guess it was leaf peeper Sunday. I can’t make fun of them because we were there too. One thing it did do was to make us sure that we don’t want to move to Woodstock. I think when you move to a town, you want it all to yourselves. Not you entirely, but you and the people who live there. Woodstock is a town that people visit, that’s for sure.
We parked out of the way a little bit, in the health food store parking lot. Then, we walked up to Joshua’s Cafe. I was really hungry. I love the food at Joshua’s. It’s different and it’s good. The only problem is that the place was packed. Laura and I had to wait upstairs and drink some Guinness while we waited. That was rough. The reason it was rough is because it was out of the bottle and it cost $9. Even the girl behind the counter had a pained look on her face.
We ate and walked around a little bit. Then we left. We have been there so many times before, I am not sure it holds its luster.
Here is a photo of the soon-to-form drum circle. It started at 4PM, but we were gone before then.
I am getting a little sick and tired of traveling through little towns that are desperate for income. You see the strangest people walking the sidewalks along with a whole row of stores on main street that are ready to close down. It’s almost like no one in the area has a good idea. Who the heck knows.
So, with that in mind, I have been on a little hunt. Where are Laura and I going to spend the next chunk of life? I think we have narrowed it down to either Woodstock, NY or Red Hook, NY. Both of those town are beautiful. We have been to Woodstock quite a bit lately and found it very relaxing. It is off the beaten path a bit though. I have been thinking of something a little closer to the middle…you know, near Massachusetts, Kingston and the Catskills. Two towns close to the middle are Red Hook and Rhinebeck, NY.
Here is what I like about these two towns -
1. Nice proximity to the Berkshires, Kingston, the Catskills and Albany
2. Close to the Hudson River
3.Close to Bard College
4. Nice history of both towns
5. Nice culture
6. Clean people
So, after thinking all these things, we decided to jump in the car yesterday to go for a ride. We drove up Rt.209 and crossed the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge. Our first order of business was to visit this campground that my family camped at when we were kids. It is called Interlake RV Park. After traveling through the woods for a while and getting kind of lost, I asked for directions, twice. We passed the coolest place. It is called Omega Institute. Check it out. It was nice to see something buried way back in the woods that was thriving. The parking lot was full. We kept on driving and finally found the campground. I talked to the lady in the office and she let us look around. The reason I remember this campground is because when we went on a boat ride in their lake, a snake slithered out from under the seat. We had just gotten out of the boat, so we were lucky.
I have to say, this campground was thriving too. It was a pretty nice place, very well kept and clean. The only thing that bugged me is that the individual camp sites were kind of close together. Also, there seemed to be a lot of permanent RVs. Otherwise, it was nice.
After that, we headed down Rt.19 and some other roads into Rhinebeck. I visited Rhinebeck a while ago, but really didn’t get a good look at it. We came in from the West, so I got a better look at it this time. I had no idea how nice it really is. I didn’t get any really nice pictures, but I did get a few.
The picture above is the sign of the Beekman Arms Inn. This was a really nice place. Who knows…maybe one day we will stay there. Ok, put this town on the “move to” list.
We drove North on Rt.9G out of town towards Red Hook. We drove through Red Hook and found that very nice as well. That went on the “move to” list too. It is a small town and a little more quiet, so I like it. It is also closer to the bridge and Bard College. That is good. Since it is less crowded, I think there might be more potential for that town. I can mold it into what I want.
The last thing I wanted to see was Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson. I was telling Laura that I find it amazing that I have lived in this area for such a long time and have never seen this school. I have heard that it is nice and I wanted to see for myself. Soooo, yeah, Bard College is really nice. There were little tours going on for the new students. Either that or students looking at colleges. I guess this is the time of year they do this stuff. The people looked very nice, even a little hippy-ish. I like that too. We drove through campus to see the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. They have all sorts of shows there, which I will be bringing Laura to in a few months.
The end of the day was coming and we had some shopping to do on the other side of the river, so we headed out. During our drive back across the bridge, I handed the camera to Laura to see if she could get any good shots of the Catskill Mountians. That is a real perk…that view. Some of them were blurry because we were moving, but one came out the best. There was also the coolest little airport right off the highway on the Kingston side of the bridge. It’s called the Kingston-Ulster Airport and is for small aircraft.
We did our shopping and headed home to look on realtor.com. I will keep you informed. It may take a few years.
I took the day off yesterday to visit Cooperstown, NY with Laura. I woke up to discover that I really didn’t want to be in the car for all that long, so we decided to go up to the Catskill Mountains for a day trip.
We started out by driving up Rt.209 through Ellenville. Then, we made a left on to Rt.3 in Kerhonkson all the way up past the Ashokan Reservoir. I wanted to show Laura the New York State DEC on Rt.28a. We pulled into the park like thing next to the DEC and I grabbed a photo…
That was pretty cool. I think the hippies from Woodstock come down here with their kids to walk around.
Ok, we continued on our way. One of the main reasons for this trip was to go up to visit the fruit and veggie stand up on Rt.32. We go up there every year and stock up good. The eatin’ in nice after that…
Since it wasn’t really harvest season all that much, we just picked up corn, green beans, tomatoes (which are really good) and some other things. Oh, by the way, the fruit stand is called Story Farms Home Grown Produce. I am thinking they are located in Catskill, NY. If you make a left while heading up Rt.32, you can go up to Hunter Mountain.
Every time we drive around in this area, Laura always starts talking about her past with the Catskill Game Farm. She used to up there with her grandparents and pet the animals. Well, she wanted to show me what it was all about. She knew they already closed down, but still wanted me to see it.
It’s true…the Catskill Game Farm is closed down. It was quite depressing to look at the place. The parking lots were barren and not a soul was in sight, except for the girl who was tailgating me all the way up the road. At least Laura got to show me what the thing was about. It kind of reminded me of Binghamton’s Ross Park Zoo.
On the way back, we found a shortcut down Rt.33 into Woodstock. Of course we had to visit there. We are considering a move to that area in the future and are doing a little driving around to get used to it. It was pretty nice just hanging around.
Back in the day, I would’ve just driven through town and went home. These days, I am stopping and sitting around like a lazy fool. Laura was looking for a birthday present for her mother. It’s coming up fast. We even had lunch at Joshua’s Cafe in Woodstock. That was nice. We had a good vegetarian lunch.
Right after lunch, we walked up a few shops into Woodstock Wines and Liquors. I like to get crazy wine from that place. I think this time we got honey berry and rasberry wine. I don’t remember, but I know it was fruit wine. I got a blueberry wine from there last time I was visiting and it was really tasty.
The last part of our day was a bit of a mission. I wanted to cruise over to Phoenicia, NY. I am all about checking out campgrounds to possibly stay at in the future. The campground is called Phoenicia Black Bear Campground. Every time I passed by in the past, I always thought it was really cute. I just had to walk inside this time.
We took Rt.212 and then Rt.40 into Phoenicia and took a look around. This campground is situated really nicely right on the shore of the Esopus River and is across the street from Town Tinker Tube Rental. People like to float down the Esopus.
Well, I took a little stroll inside the campground and thought it was really cute. One thing I did notice was the smell of septic. I also noticed a few kind of “permanent campers” scattered around. I saw the flex pipe coming out of the sides of the campers. This is for the septic, I think. That kind of turned me off. They did have really nice tent sites right on the side of the river though.
I walked back to the car, where Laura was and decided to drive through, just to see how big it was. We got in and made a quick left and then another quick left and realized that we were on the way out. Ok, not that big. Laura also noticed the septic smell and we crossed that campground off our list.
Overall, we had a really good day driving through the Catskills.
Till next time…
Wow, what a long day! If you read my previous posts about Stephanie and James’ visit, you know what the heck I am talking about.
As I mentioned before, we got a little lost on the way to our destination, but it was worth it. As we were driving to Woodstock, we happened to get a few glimpses of Ashokan Reservoir. When we first saw it, I think I said, “What the…?” It’s is a very neat place. The pass right by the New York State DEC. Their little area kind of reminded me of Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The landscape, not the music. HAHA.
Anyway, I am going to keep this quick, but I just wanted to post a few photos. If you are in the area, stop by and take a break. You can also click the link above to get all the details about this cool reservoir.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, my sister, her son and I visited Woodstock, NY on Tuesday. We had a few adventures on the way there, but when we did finally make it, we had a great day.
First, let me give you a little background on where exactly Woodstock is. Ummm, it’s a little SouthWest of Albany, NY and West of Kingston, NY. It is right on the Southern border of the Catskill State Park and tucked to the SouthEast of Hunter Mountain and to the East of Phoenicia, NY. It is North of the Ashokan Reservoir.
Now, I know that I just threw a bunch of places and links in there, but I did that on purpose…I wanted you to be able to click around to see how cool of an area this is. It really is…but that’s just the location. Just wait until you see the town.
This is the Woodstock Library.
This is the Woodstock Town Hall.
Since we visited town on a Tuesday, the masses of tourists weren’t there. Most of the shops were open, so we were lucky to get some bagels and something to drink. There are tons of little shops throughout town…
…and a good number of art galleries…
Have you ever been to one of those towns were there is absolutely no rush? When we were in the bagel shop, a woman was baby talking to James. She looked up at Stephanie and said, “Hey, it’s better than working, right?”
So Woodstock is full of art and cool people. But what about the nature? Yeah…that too. There is a river that runs right through town. It’s called Tannery Brook. It has some nice waterfalls and is very clear.
Overall, this town is a bit out of the way for the average person, but no one ever said we were very average. That’s why Laura and I have been having short little conversations about how nice it would be to live in Woodstock, NY (hint, hint).
One of the benefits of my daytime employment is perks. I earned a trip to Vermont, which I took with Laura. We stayed at the Silas Griffith Inn, in Danby VT. We stayed for 2 nights, which is not my style. On vacations, I usually show up and go home. People laugh about that…so this was a long trip for me. Lately, I have been learning that it usually takes about 3 days for me to unwind, so I have been trying to extend my trips. I worry that if I unwind too much, I might not want to come home.
We drove North in the dark of night into Vermont and made our way through Bennington. We continued on Rt.7 when we noticed fewer and fewer lights. It’s like we were heading into absolute nothing. We saw signs for Danby coming up in only a few miles and began to worry. There was nothing out here…how can there be a bed and breakfast? We finally got into Danby and it was pretty much a little one road town. Up on the hill to our left was the Silas Griffith Inn. We went in to meet the most personable people. After chatting for a while, we headed into Rutland for some sushi. We had a good dinner and headed back to the inn. Luckily, we had the pick of the inn because there was only one couple there. We had the biggest room in the house…Silas’ room. The next morning, we were delighted to see the most perfect weather we could’ve asked for. It was about 40 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.
The inn offered great places to sit and think…
I immediately began to unwind and forget about the world. Vermont has a unique characteristic about it…the silence. If you need to get away, Vermont is a great place to go. Stress slides off you. If you live in a very busy place like NYC or LA, this will take some getting used to, but give it a chance. We ate our breakfast and walked around the grounds a bit. I couldn’t remember the last time I walked through a field. It kind of made me think about what the heck I was turning into if I hadn’t walked through grass in years.
We really didn’t have any plans for the day but heard that Killington and Woodstock were nice places to go…so off we went.
We drove North through Rutland and made our way to Killington. We made a right into the area where people party for weeks at a time. Since it was early in the season, there weren’t too many people around. I saw a little road that went into an area with lots of Hemlocks and cabins. We pulled in that road and stopped for a few pictures at a small stream…
Then, we continued to head towards the mountains. There are a few there that make up “Killington.”
Since there was some snow on the summits of the mountains, there were some lifts open.
After taking a ride through the area and stopping in some lodges, we headed out towards Woodstock. I pictured some little town like all the rest. Main Street, etc… On the way towards Woodstock, we stopped at a Vermont mall. This was basically a barn type building with a cluster of small stores inside…a food store, art gallery, etc… We purchased some wine, syrup (of course) and some ROCK CANDY!!! When was the last time you had rock candy?
By the way, who takes better pictures than me? I didn’t think so…
We made our way into Woodstock and were pretty surprised. This town is extremely inviting and VERY clean. It is the epitome of the quintessential Vermont town. Notice how there are no ugly thick black wires hanging of the sidewalks and roads? Hmmm, there’s an idea. I have always wondered why every town doesn’t do that, but no, they have far too many excuses.
We walked around for quite a bit in the peace of Woodstock. There were people just strolling around, looking in windows. It reminded me so much of when I was a kid walking home from school on an Autumn day. I would get bored and sit on the side of the road or climb a tree. It sounds strange, but that was the pace of this place and it seemed like you could do those types of things. We popped in a few stores and went in a coffee house to get some coffee. Then, we made our way down a small trail to sit at the side of a river that ran through town.
There were a few unique items on the sidewalk meant for tourists like us…
One thing that really impressed us was the quality of the condition of the older homes in the area. Woodstock definitely has some money. I think the last time I looked, there were about 2 houses for sale in this market.
Lastly, as it started getting darker, we walked across the town’s covered bridge. Of course, it was in great shape. We hung out for a while looking at a field downstream. I was very temped to walk down there to take a nap. Man, this place was relaxing.
So, Woodstock Vermont makes its place to the top of our list for great towns in America to visit!
PS - Ya ever wonder what it would be like to live in Vermont? C’mon, we all have had that dream once or twice…or just to walk to your mailbox in the Autumn. It’s so simple…
So here is another catch up entry. As you can see, I have quite a few. It’s not that I don’t have enough going on these days, it’s just that I have this folder full of pictures looking at me every time I get on the computer. And then, of course, there is that nagging feeling like there is someone out there who enjoys reading these things. I hope so, because I really enjoy writing them.
So here were go…Woodstock, NY…home of the great “Radio Woodstock,” errr, ummm, WDST? (great music) Anyway, yes, so we LOVE to go to Woodstock, even if it just a drive-through on our way south from somewhere north. The village is not large, only a few dense roads and a bunch of country ones. The reason we love it is…well, take a look. I have always wondered what this guy does for money. He probably won the lottery.
Now, I have been to some pretty cool towns in my day (Ithaca, NY), but none quite like this. When we arrived, Laura and I planned to walk around a bit and go into some of the shops and then maybe later on go to lunch. There were TONS of people in town that day. I remember the sidewalks were so full. Everyone was pretty cool and, shall I say, environmentally friendly. Yes, environmentally friendly. There are lots of great shops that like to sell candles, little books of phrases and incense. There are also a few jewelry vendors on the sidewalks that sell beads, silver, etc…
After we did our moseying, we got to the top of the hill, and bumped into a guy trying to pull people around in some sort of a carriage.
This was pretty amusing to watch because the carriage owner couldn’t keep his feet on the ground. Look closely at the photo. He kept bouncing up and down trying the get the thing down. I’m not sure what I would’ve thought if that was me sitting in there preparing for a ride.
So we were watching this guy, checking out some stores to go into and we hear a noise that sounds strikingly like a drum, and then another drum and then another. We turned around to see a crowd of people gathered around the Village Green for a drum circle.
It was a peaceful demonstration. These guys were going at it. I think the greatest thing was how anyone can join in, all they needed was a drum. We saw this guy who looked like he just got off work from an office wailing away on his drum. He was sweating and wailing. I was pretty excited because I thought this stuff was dead after I graduated college.
We have been back to Woodstock many times throughout the years, but never at Christmas. I heard that the village lights up quite nicely around the holidays. This year we’ll visit, and yes, you will see some photos.
