I felt like I needed a warm up after not publishing in my usual form for the last few weeks so the below post is a bit different than the usual essay. It’s geared toward people living in NYC, which I know a lot of you don’t, so proceed at your own volition. Back to regular programming next week and I have some bigger pieces brewing. Would love to hear your thoughts on this more inherently bloggy style! If it was helpful and you liked it, please let me know.
A few weeks ago we took a little trip upstate to celebrate my birthday. October is an elite month, especially in the Northeastern United States and so it always feels like a good time to get out of the city and see the changing foliage and also celebrate my aliveness. We wanted to try and do this without a car and so after much research we landed on two nights in Beacon, NY. The deciding factors included proximity to Storm King Art Center, Dia: Beacon and a town with a walkable main street. The plan was to spend time outside, see some cool art, and enjoy the bounty of the Hudson Valley in the form of delicious meals. I will tell you what worked well and also what I would do differently next time.
Beacon
I would return to Beacon to experience the museum Dia: Beacon again, but I would only do it as a day trip. The train gets you there in just under 90 minutes from Grand Central and it’s about a 15 minute walk to the museum. There are some peaceful outdoor grounds and the best museum cafe I’ve ever been to run by Homespun Foods (which is one of the better restaurants in Beacon so we were told but it was closed the whole time we were there). Get off the train, recoup from your travels in the museum cafe and then spend a few hours meandering through the three levels of the museum. There is an entire floor devoted to massive Richard Serra sculptures. It’s really a magnificent space with something for everyone.
The town of Beacon itself is cute but after one day of walking around and with the knowledge that another day in Beacon looms before you… I wouldn’t recommend staying more than one night. The vibe is local hippie who needed to get out of the city but didn’t want to go too far. Dia: Beacon much like the town itself is only open Friday-Monday. We were there Wednesday-Friday and so almost everything was closed. We walked past restaurants that seemed cute with signs that said they wouldn’t be open until Friday at 11 AM after we would already be gone. Beacon is the perfect day trip from NYC and you don’t need to stay overnight.
Storm King
Storm King is a 20-30 minute Uber ride from Beacon making it the closest stop off the Metro North. We had planned to just meander in Beacon on Day 1 and do Storm King on Day 2 but because of rain we changed the plan and headed straight from the train station to Storm King. I was worried it wouldn’t be enough time to fully enjoy the park but we had the most beautiful October day— sunny and 70s and our 1:30 PM arrival to the park left us with about 4 hours to explore. I don’t think we saw the whole thing but we certainly got our fill.
We lazed about like cats in the sun by the three legged Buddha, did a headstand underneath a huge metal sculpture that if you laid underneath and watched it for long enough you could see it moving subtly in the wind. There was also a really incredible indoor/outdoor exhibit by Kenyan artist, Wangechi Mutu, that came as a pleasant surprise.
We thought about renting bikes but at $30/each for just two hours it seemed like a lot and we were carrying our overnight bags (no coat check at SK) and it seemed like too much to carry around. So we passed on the bikes and we’re so happy we did. Walking without a plan was perfect. Storm King is 15/10. A perfect place. We will definitely go back in the Spring and probably again next Fall. Look at this perfect tree.
I would rent a car for my inevitable return to Storm King and maybe stay overnight in Kingston or something if I wanted to do an overnight. The cost of taking an Uber to and from Beacon to SK are competitive with renting a car. Then you don’t have to carry your bags around the park and you’re not a hostage to one place.
Back to Beacon
The bed and breakfast we stayed at had a cute exterior and that was about it. Amazing what a fresh coat of paint can lead one to believe! Keeping the no car thing in mind had led us to select a B&B that boasted an excellent location within walking distance to everything Beacon had to offer. I won’t drag it specifically but it was sort of all of the things you fear a B&B could be despite tons of glowing reviews. Uncomfortable, weird, and depressing lol. Nevertheless we persisted. After attempting to walk around Beacon and hope that the town would charm us, the closed storefronts left much to be desired. Over a really solid hot chocolate at Hakan, a project from a former city chocolatier turned Hudson Valley-ite we realized that we could rent a Zip Car and the world could once again be our oyster.
We picked up sandwiches from the local health food store that should not be allowed to be sold and made our way to a red Honda Civic that stank of cigarettes. The car opened but we couldn’t find the keys. I googled “where to find keys in zipcar” and apparently if it is a “push to turn on” vehicle the keys are hidden somewhere inside of it and you don’t need them to drive. Concerning… I voiced my fear that if we drove to Hyde Park and turned the car off maybe we wouldn’t be able to turn it on again and we’d be stuck an hour away from where we were staying but we took the chance. It worked out.
The Roosevelts & Rhinebeck
We took a detour to Hyde Park Antiques which was a delightful emporium of old treasures that were quite well curated and pleasant to peruse. While I wouldn’t call the prices cheap, it wasn’t as expensive as I was expecting for being minutes from the Roosevelt mansion. We meandered for a while and surprisingly didn’t walk out with anything. There were some cool larger pieces and of course tons of knick knacks.
We made it to the Roosevelt mansion minutes before the last entrance and sadly the house tour (I am not a guided tour person but it’s the only way to be let into the house) was sold out for the day but there were still tickets for the presidential library. I hesitated as I wasn’t in the mood to read a ton of tiny placards but C decided we should try it and so we did. It was awesome! So interesting and thoughtfully curated. They recreated a living room from the 1940s that you could sit down at the dining table and pick a fireside chat to listen to. Choices included the introduction of social security, the news that we were a nation at war after having been attacked at Pearl Harbor amongst others.
If you don’t want to hear about FDR skip to the next paragraph. FDR was the first president to create a presidential library after his (4!) terms. He was the longest serving president saving us from the Great Depression when he took office in 1933 and introduced programs like the WPA, grants to fund art and culture, and the New Deal. In the ‘40s he led us to victory in WWII and shortly after introduced the GI bill allowing many men to attend college and set themselves up for a better life after their military service. He even began the Manhattan Project, which while I’m not celebrating the invention of the atomic bomb, I didn’t realize he was the one to green light the research funding upon learning that other nations were developing bombs.
The actual study where he conducted important stately affairs is fully intact on display. It was an extremely engaging refresher of history and actually made me feel slightly hopeful for the future. We then walked the grounds with majestic views of the Hudson River and saw the exterior of the home that he not only grew up in but also grew old in. Would highly recommend this unique piece of American history.
After our surprise dopamine hit that was the FDR presidential library, we drove 20 minutes North up to Rhinebeck where we felt much more at home. It was a touch more cosmopolitan than Beacon and we found an excellent restaurant called The Amsterdam where we enjoyed a nice meal of roast duck breast and seasonal vegetables. It felt homey and cosy, just what we needed. Across the street was an inn called the Beekman Arms which looked incredibly cool and old. Like Revolutionary War old. We just took a look inside but when we researched it as a possible future place to stay we found horrible reviews; people said it was all smoke in mirrors and actually a downtrodden, overpriced place to stay. Have a beer in their low-ceilinged pub but don’t stay there is what we learned.
In summary, Dia: Beacon is the perfect day trip from NYC and can be done without a car. Storm King is also a great day trip but I would rent a car and next time we want to stay overnight it would be in Kingston, Rhinebeck or Hudson. Hyde Park and anything having to do with the Roosevelts are well worth a visit. I’d like to come back and check out the house tour and also the Vanderbilt mansion which is nearby.
Some Prices for Two People:
Round trip subway ride from Brooklyn to Grand Central Terminal: $11.00
Round trip off peak ride from GCT to Beacon: $70
Storm King admission: $50
Uber to and from Storm to King to Beacon: $80
Dia: Beacon admission: $40
Cafe at Dia: We had a full lunch for two, coffees and other beverages so we probably spent about $75 including our tip? Not cheap but well worth it.
Roosevelt Presidential Library: $20
Zipcar: $125 … we had to get a membership which we have to remember to cancel. The one cool thing about Zipcar is that gas is included in your ride and there’s a preloaded Visa that you can fill it up with as needed. I think the car is almost guaranteed to boast a stench of cigarettes. :)
Total: $471 for two people to enjoy the above activities and for transportation.
This is not including our B&B which was about $400 total for two nights. Also didn’t include most of the food we ate because I don’t have the receipts and we also prioritize eating at the good spots which can get pricy but its not necessary to do.
Should I do more of these kinds of how to’s or stick to contemplative essays?
Thanks for reading and I’d love to hear your suggestions on where to go in the Hudson Valley!
xx
Lula