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Hudson Valley Living

Hiking at Bash Bish Falls

Posted on September 13, 2018by Carol

Hellooo! I’m trying to catch up on posts. Lots going on to share! Let’s start with last week, Labor Day. One of the things I really wanted to do this summer was head up to Bash Bish Falls for a hike. With no plans last Monday, that’s exactly what we did!

We decided to go in the morning because it was going to be really hot. That plan worked out well because it wasn’t terribly crowded by the time we got to the falls, but it was getting busy as we were heading back down to the car.

The State Park straddles New York and Massachusetts (my two favorite states, obviously!). I had to get a pic of the kids at the border!

The falls themselves are absolutely beautiful! Photos don’t really show how stunning the scenery is. When you get to the top of the trail, there’s an overlook with a rail, and then there are steps so you can get to the bottom.

We hiked from the New York side, which is a little longer than from the Mass. side from what I understand, however, it’s not as steep. It was a really easy hike and I’d love to go back in the fall when the leaves are changing colors.

Little bit of trivia: In October 2009, AOL Travel named Bash Bish Falls as one of the “Most Dangerous Tourist Attractions” in the U.S. and in 2010 AOL Travel again named it one of the ten “most dangerous travel” destinations this time in the world! It would be pretty easy to slip and fall on the rocks, I suppose, but when we were there I never really considered the area dangerous. There have been 25 deaths there, come to find out and there is a fascinating and eerie legend!

Nevertheless, it is just one more reason to love living where I do. The natural beauty here in the Hudson Valley and Berkshires is amazing!

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Hudson Valley Living
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- This & That

Snow Day

Posted on December 10, 2013by Carol

You’d think that after living in the Northeast for my entire life, that snow would be boring by this point. But you know what? That first real snowfall is still so exciting and beautiful and I just stare and think about how magnificent nature is.

I really am so lucky to live in the most gorgeous part of the country.

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Travel

Lake George in the Off Season

Posted on November 12, 2012by Carol

Yesterday we took the boys to Albany ComicCon — a smaller, much more manageable comic book show than the big one in the city. Laura came too, and was a real trooper, braving the crowd all in the hopes of seeing Spider-Man (which she did!). Afterwards, we surprised the kids with a little sidetrack before going home, though. We figured since there is no school today in honor of Veteran’s Day, we’d spend a little extra time together as a family.

We usually go to Lake George at the end of the season (on Labor Day), but this time of year it is really the off-season. It was so weird seeing all the stores emptied and locked with “See you in the Spring!” signs hanging in doors and windows. Even the McDonald’s in town was closed! But some stuff was open, and really all I wanted to do was walk around the lake so I didn’t care much about the shops. It was an absolutely gorgeous day to be up in the Adirondacks. Mid 60s in early November? Why yes! I’ll take it! It was such a relaxing way to spend the afternoon.

A co-worker told me about The Mystery Spot, something that was in her kids’ book Weird New York. We’ve been to Lake George so many times — I can’t believe I’d never heard of this, even though I have walked over this spot on every trip! (Though Drew tells me we discovered it on our first vacation there when we were still dating — but I can’t remember!) If you stand in the middle of this circle and talk or even whisper, there is this weird reverberation.

“Local Indian legend says that it was the spot that an ancient god called Katchalototail had appeared at a long time ago and since then his wisdom still echoes around the lake.”

It’s not exactly an echo, but definitely some bizarre sonic anomaly. We all got a kick out of it! Definitely try it if you’re up there.

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This & That

What a Week

Posted on October 19, 2012by Carol

Well, I had every intention of writing a few blog posts this week, but… it just didn’t happen. So instead I’ll give you a quick recap. It was such a weird week here. Hopefully things will get back on track next week.

I’d planned to tell you all about the Lewis Black show Drew took me to for an early birthday present. It was so great! His mom watched the kids and we went into the city last Saturday night. Times Square was ridiculous. I know that it’s the place most tourists like to see, and I try to keep that in mind, but I don’t have the patience for it anymore, LOL… Nevertheless, it makes for a cool picture.

Then it was over to the Richard Rogers Theatre!

I loved the eclectic mix that comprises Lewis Black’s fan base. From young to old, it ran the gamut! The show itself was very funny and included topical bits (including spouting off about the VP debate) that were just right on target. Love him!

But when we got back home Sunday night, after the trip to the Botanical Garden and ComicCon, we quickly realized that something wasn’t right with our cat. To make a long, heartbreaking story short, we made the difficult decision to put her to sleep on Tuesday. Her bloodwork came back with very bad news, and considering her age… well, she was just not well at all. I do love this photo I took of her, not long before we talked again to the vet. I’d spread out a tablecloth to take photos of a recipe I plan on posting, and as soon as I carried the bowl back to the counter, she plopped down to watch the world outside.

Drew had her for 15 years, and I’ve been with him for 14 of those. She definitely had personality, and she is missed. I keep thinking that I hear her coming through the cat door. So sad!

It was a hard week.

But the weekend is here. We don’t really have anything going on, so that’s nice. After all our driving around last weekend, I’m looking forward to just hanging out at home.

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Hudson Valley Living

Samuel Morse House (Locust Grove)

Posted on May 8, 2012April 14, 2017by Carol

Last week Jake’s 4th grade class went on a field trip to the Samuel Morse House (Locust Grove) in Poughkeepsie, and I was lucky to get chosen as a chaperone. I honestly had no idea that the man who created the Morse Code lived right here in the Hudson Valley, but yes he did. He had a brownstone in the city and his country home up here. The locale is easy enough to get to, and it’s kind of wild because you turn off of busy Rte. 9 and you’re instantly transported back to the 1800s!

Most of the day was spent in a classroom at the facility where the students learned about electromagnets, Morse Code (obviously), and simple machines. At the end of the day we got to walk around the grounds a bit, and that’s when I snapped these quick photos. The kids even got to see a real-life application of pulleys — one of the simple machines they’d just studied — when the group leader showed how they would haul up the hay bales back in the 1800s.

We also spent some time in the gallery, viewing the paintings of Samuel Morse and marvelling at old telegraphic historical items. It was a really cool trip and I definitely want to go back on a warmer, non-rainy day. Anyone can park for free, spend time in the visitors’ center, walk around the gorgeous garden, have a picnic, and enjoy the view. Check it out if you’re spending time in the Hudson Valley!

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Family
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- Travel

i ♥ new york (especially during the holidays)

Posted on December 6, 2011by Carol

Last week, the kids had two half-days of school to allow for parent-teacher conferences in the afternoon. We decided to keep them out of school on one of those days (I know, I know…) in order to take them into New York City for the day. This would be Noah’s first visit there! When Jake was in 1st grade we took him to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, so of course we had to do the same for Noah.

We kept it a secret from them, as we are known to do. Poor Jake was stressing out because normally I’d be rushing him out the door to get to morning Math Club on time and he couldn’t understand why we weren’t in the car. So Drew just told them we had something else in mind.

First they thought they were spending the day with Grandma because we pulled into her driveway. But when we simply dropped off Laura and headed to the train station, they began to seriously wonder what was up! Both guys were so super excited when they found out what our plans were! Noah has been wanting to go on a train ride for such a long time 🙂

When we got into Grand Central, the first thing we did was show them the ceiling and Drew explained how when he was in high school, it was so black he never even knew the constellations were painted on it. Then, when we were engaged and he was working in the city, they were doing the restoration and he said how unbelievable it was to watch the transformation. Next up was the Whispering Wall — always so cool, no matter how many times you’ve done it!

Normally we would have walked up to Times Square, but it was pouring rain, so we took the subway. The boys had a blast at Toys R Us and couldn’t believe that there was a ferris wheel inside. I think this was the first time I’ve ever been on an indoor ferris wheel!

We looked at the Lego section at least 25 times.

And Noah was in “Hot Wheels Heaven” as he put it!

We let the boys pick out a small Lego set and also got them one of these Myachi things someone was demo’ing (think: Hacky Sack for your hands). When we left the rain had let up so we grabbed a hot dog on the street and started walking up to Rockefeller Center. (I only wish I’d had the common sense to wear some sensible womens wide shoes instead of my heeled boots, but that’s the price we pay for beauty, LOL!).

I’ll continue tomorrow with Part 2 of our day in the city!

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