Blogs from Hudson Valley, New York, United States, North America

On the day we left New York City to head "upstate", it was hot. Brutally hot. While the mercury may not have been quite as high as Death Valley, any New Yorker knows the humidity and pollution make hot weather in NYC unbearable. We had decided to walk with our luggage (by this point it had expanded to 3 full-size bags plus our two "carry-on" backpacks) to Grand Central to save a few bucks. By the time we got to Grand Central, our aching backs and arms and the beads of sweat pouring off our faces let us know how silly of a decision that was. We collapsed into a heap at a table in the dining concourse of Grand Central. I went upstairs to purchase tickets for Poughkeepsie and then waited patiently in line for ... read more

The Hudson River School Artist and one of America's most important painters, Frederick Church, fashioned Olana in the style of a Moorish castle. Church's family home (and studio) is situated high atop a mountain along the Hudson River between Germantown and the City of Hudson, NY. Our visit to Olana was in the late fall of 2011, but things don't change at Olana. In fact, the housewares, art, books, and souveniers from Frederick Church and family's significant voyages abroad are virtually intact - just as they were when they lived there. The property is part of the New York State Park's system. The paintings, sculpture and furnishings Frederic and Isabel Church acquired over the course of their lives was described by a 19th century guest as, "a museum of fine arts rich in bronzes, paintings, sculptures ... read more

So, it's a little more then a month till I leave. I'm starting to take stock of what I have to do to prepare... Visa? It's on it's way. The Turkish Embassy has my passport as I type, I'm sure diligently looking over my records and (hopefully) seeing that I'm not a threat to their country. Packed yet? Absolutely not. I have no idea where to begin with packing. I'm still not sure if I'm studying in Prague for the Spring semester. I assume I'll figure it out when I get there.... one of the problems with this plan though is that I have no idea what type of stuff to pack. Istanbul is hot. Prague is cold. If I wind up staying in Istanbul then I'll just have lugged a bunch of heavy winter clothes ... read more

August 21 - August 31st As mentioned in the last entry, we had a great time visiting with family at lock 8 on the Erie Canal. We then pushed off from there on August 21st and headed toward Waterford. Made it through the flight of 5 locks which ended the locking through of the Erie Canal. We have only great things to say about all of the lockmasters - they all are very friendly and go out of the way to be helpful and provided very useful information. Got to the Waterford visitor center wall and found a space which was great. Waterford is very “boater friendly” - they have free showers, free wi-fi, grocery store within walking distance and volunteers to let you know what is available in town - really great people. We had ... read more

Just two months after we attended the wedding at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, NY, and just two days after exiting our cruise ship from Canada, we find ourselves once again in the area for another wedding and back onto a boat. About twenty miles north of New Paltz, on the western side of the Hudson River, is the town of Kingston, New York State’s first capital. The drive along the river gave nice scenic views, spotted surprisingly frequently with religious retreats and monasteries, whose impressive stone structures add a historic feel to the area, though perhaps their many gift shops did not. The GPS takes us along an old, infrequently used bridge, which stretches its skinny two lane body across a tributary river. Kingston’s waterfront, called the Rondout, is a nice area to walk ... read more