Items tagged with 'Hudson Valley'

Exploring the Mid-Hudson Valley

Mid-Hudson Valley composite

By Julie Madsen

The boundary of the Hudson Valley begins in our backyard, and the region spans from Albany to Westchester.

Famous for its natural beauty, dotted with farms, influenced by the arts, and layered with history, the Hudson Valley has a lot to explore. And focusing on the middle section is a good way to approach getting to know the region.

Here are a few ideas.

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Hiking the Mid-Hudson Valley

mid hudson valley hiking composite

By Julie Madsen

The Capital Region is blessed with mountainous surroundings, both the Catskills and the Adirondacks, and places to hike.

But if you're looking to change things up, the Mid-Hudson Valley is less than two hours from Albany. And one area there is particularly rich in good hiking. Over the few miles between Beacon and Cold Spring along the Hudson there are numerous trailheads for hikers at every skill level.

Pack water, snacks, put on a good pair of shoes, and head south!

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Day trip: New Paltz

new paltz composite

By Julie Madsen

An hour in any direction from Albany is bound to bring you somewhere interesting, but heading south down the Thruway to New Paltz has to be my favorite daytrip of all.

I love the funky, alternative vibe and there are so many options no matter what you are looking to do. And the location is almost equidistant between the Capital Region and NYC, so it can be a perfect middle ground meeting spot for friends who live in different cities.

After your first time visiting, you'll surely be planning your second...

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Sculpture parks to explore

sculpture parks composite

By Julie Madsen

You want the arts and the culture that come with a museum, but it's finally getting nice out. Who wants to be cooped up inside in the springtime?

The solution: sculpture parks. You get your arts and culture, you get your fresh air, and hey -- you might just get some exercise while you're at it, too.

Here are a bunch of sculpture parks within a day trip of the Capital Region...

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Day trip: Dia:Beacon

Beacon DiaBeacon composite

The greater Capital Region includes a bunch of interesting museums that span a variety of different topics. And if you're up for going a little bit farther afield, here's another one you might enjoy: Dia:Beacon.

It's just a 90-minute trip south, and the area around it is also worth exploring...

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Quick thoughts on Kingston?

Kingston, New YorkR emails:

So I've found my way into a first date with this awesome lady in Kingston, a town, city or whatever that I know nothing about. And it's tonight! Can you help with any suggestions with what I can do??

Other than the fact that Kingston was the first capital of New York State, we know pretty much nothing about the place.

So, any quick suggestions/tips/thoughts about Kingston for R? Please share!

photo: Michael Miello via Wikipedia

The Hudson Project 2014

hudson project music festival 2014

New this year: The Hudson Project, a big music festival in Saugerties July 11-14. The venue is the property where Woodstock 94 was held.

The initial lineup was released today. Among the headliners: Kendrick Lamar, Bassnectar, Modest Mouse, and The Flaming Lips. The currently released lineup stretches to more than 60 acts. A few of the others: Matt & Kim, Excision, Dr. Dog, Cults, Holy Ghost.

Tickets for the festival go on sale this Friday -- they're $185 to start for 3-day admission, $215 with camping. There are also more expensive camping versions, including a $1658 "glamping" option. The prices go up as the festival approaches.

The promoters behind The Hudson Project are MCP Presents, which had been the promoters for Camp Bisco, which is not happening this year.

Saugerties is 45 miles south of Albany, near Woodstock.

Earlier on AOA: Mountain Jam 2014 lineup (it's June 5-8 this year)

Pete Seeger at SPAC for Farm Aid in 2013

As you've probably heard, Pete Seeger died yesterday. The folk music icon was a Hudson Valley resident, and he spent much of his life as an activist for cleaning up and preserving the Hudson River. A lot of people in this area have memories of Seeger via his many appearances, either seeing him perform or meeting him in person (or both). And he was a frequent presence on WAMC, the regional public radio network.

In a comment earlier today, Tim pointed out this video of Seeger performing at Farm Aid at SPAC last year -- at the age of 94. It includes some nice moments, so we thought we'd post it. Part one, in which he performs "If I Had a Hammer," is above. Part two -- a performance of "This Land is Your Land" with John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews and Neil Young -- is after the jump. Also there: a clip of Seeger performing almost six decades ago.

(Thanks, Tim)

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Hudson River rise

scenic hudson sea level rise map Albany

The areas shaded in tan are "100 year floodplains and low-lying areas" after a sea level rise of 6 feet.

After seeing this National Geographic continent-level map based on projections of sea level rise from melting ice, we were curious how rises in sea level could affect the Hudson Valley.

Wait, the Hudson Valley? Yep, it's tidal all the way up to the Federal Dam at Troy. From a Scenic Hudson report (link added):

Over the past century, sea level on the Hudson has risen about a foot--more precisely about 3.2mm per year--a rate greater than the global average. The best data available indicates that we can expect the Hudson's water levels to continue rising up to six feet by the end of this century, and perhaps that much again during the next century.

To help people get a better understanding on the implications of the rising water levels, Scenic Hudson has posted an interactive "Sea Level Rise Mapper." It's good -- it allows you to zoom in on a specific area to see what areas will be threatened, along with projected numbers for affected acreage and households, for the Hudson Valley from just north of NYC all the way up to Troy.

The short story for this area, based on the Scenic Hudson map: Even with a six-foot rise in sea level, many parts of this area along the river would still be protected from permanent inundation (though those low-lying areas of East Greenbush and Schodack along the train tracks get swallowed up). But the area in potential danger during a large flooding event would increase, covering significant portions of Green Island, Troy, Watervliet, Rensselaer, and downtown Albany.

[via Buzzfeed]

Politics Recent argument from Bruce Gyory, a political consultant here in Albany and adjunct professor of political science at SUNY Albany: Climate change will become "the fundamental factor realigning American politics." [City & State]

Earlier on AOA: Photos of Irene flooding in Troy

map: Scenic Hudson

Trying the "best craft beer in New York State"

peekskill brewery higher standard ipa

By Casey Normile

Have you ever tried a beer and thought to yourself: "This is the best beer around."

Well, this year at TAP NY, they made it official. For the first time, the New York beer festival awarded the Governors' Cup to a brewery for best craft beer in New York State.

The winner: the Peekskill Brewery in Peekskill, for its Higher Standard IPA.

So I obviously had to try the best beer in the state... you know, for journalism.

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Downstate day trip: Hyde Park

downstate daytrip composite

By Casey Normile

Upstate New York is clearly the most interesting part of the state. Clearly. But, begrudgingly, we have to admit that downstate has a lot to offer as well.

One example: our recent destination, Hyde Park -- pleasantly situated on the east side of the Hudson, just north of Poughkeepsie, about an hour-and-a-half drive from Albany on I-87.

The surrounding area is full of food, scenic views, historical sites, and shopping...

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Aboard the Sloop Clearwater for dinner

chefs consortium clearwater composite

By Daniel B.

Most days I don't think about the Hudson River. I don't ponder its historical significance. I don't fret about the health of the fishery. Nor do I long to spend any time on its banks. And I'm not alone.

This is why more than forty years ago, folk singer Pete Seeger decided to build a boat. And not just any boat. His boat would be a 106-foot wooden replica of the ships that traversed the Hudson River 200 years ago. It would be called the sloop Clearwater, and its goal would be to bring people to the river.

The boat itself is stunning. It casts a striking figure on the water with its 108-foot mast and 3,000 square foot mainsail. This vessel would be a stunning museum piece, but it is in active use on the river, sailing as far south as New York City and as far north as Albany. The general public can even buy a ticket for a day sail. Money raised from such activities helps to fund the organization's core objectives of environmental education and advocacy.

Recently the Chefs Consortium, a regional group of local food advocates, organized a dinner for thirty people on board the Clearwater sailing out of Kingston.

So what's it like to eat the Hudson Valley's bounty while sailing on the Hudson?

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Voki Kalfayan: from the Hudson Valley to international clown

Voike Kalfayan --clowning .jpg

Clowning around.

Voki Kalfayan spent four years in a private school in the Hudson Valley, and two years studying at Vassar, before he discovered his life's ambition during an audition for Ringling Bros. Clown College.

Kalfayan never looked back. He's spent 15 years traveling the world as a clown, actor and humorist, and he'll be back in the Capital Region on Wednesday night in Cirque de Soleil's "Quidam" at the TU Center.

He took a few minutes to talk with AOA last week about the myth of Krusty the Clown, the difference between East and West Coast clowns, and the serious business of being funny.

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Pika's Liege Waffles at the Troy Farmers Market

Pikas Liege waffle

Worth getting up early on a Saturday.

A couple of Saturdays ago, on a stroll through the Troy farmer's market, we tried our first Liège waffle. They're made fresh at the market by the people from Pika's Quiche.

This past Saturday, the Liège waffles were calling to us before we opened our eyes.

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The Hudson Valley, Brooklynized

warren street hudson

Warren Street in Hudson.

The NYT's Peter Applebome has a interesting story today about the "Brooklynization of the Hudson Valley, the steady hipness creep with its locavore cuisine, its Williamsburgian bars, its Gyrotonic exercise, feng shui consultants and deep clay art therapy and, most of all, its recent arrivals from New York City."

Prominently featured is the Basilica Hudson, which is co-owned by Melissa Auf der Mauer (yep, the same):

The Basilica is the kind of space and scene that the artist and musician Patti Smith (no stranger to Hudson) had in mind a few months ago when she advised young artists that "New York has closed itself off to the young and the struggling" and that they should find their futures someplace else, like Poughkeepsie.
"A bunch of my friends from Montreal came to visit and they said, 'You told us you moved to a small town, but you didn't tell us you moved to a magic David Lynch town. What is this place?' " Ms. Auf der Maur said. ...
Not long ago, Hudson was notorious for drugs, prostitution and post-industrial torpor. Now, Warren Street, with its antique stores, galleries and hip eateries, is a vision of the Hudson Valley reborn. And it was the scene of perhaps the last great battle between the old industrial Hudson Valley and the new one, when a coalition of interest groups came together to defeat a proposed coal-fired cement plant with a 40-story smokestack capable of producing two million tons of cement a year. Opponents said it would be an environmental disaster that would cut off access to the river and go against everything Hudson was becoming. They made an overwhelming case. But in the housing projects and poor neighborhoods just off Warren Street, strangers in the new landscape, it doesn't seem so clear.

It's easy to snark about this "trend" (we're surprised Gawker hasn't already taken a shot at it) -- but it's been going on for years, especially in places such as Beacon and Cold Spring (we worked on a story about just that during the middle of the last decade). And it seems like every time we're in Hudson now, we overhear someone talking about how they're up from NYC or moved from the City or how some place in Hudson is like some other place -- in the City.

The NYT article does a good job highlighting some of the problems related to the -ization -- specifically, "it takes more than art, farm stands and caffeine to make an economy work." Definitely worth reading -- some of it is applicable the core Capital Region, too.

[via @DanielleSanzone]

Earlier on AOA:
+ 12 hours in Columbia County
+ Etsy to Hudson
+ Albany-NYC: strong potential for high-speed rail? (note Tim's comment)

Hudson Valley Seed Packets

Hudson Valley Seeds - Dragon Tongue

Because winter won't last forever

By Jessica Pasko

The AOA elves are back to help you with your holiday shopping. For the next couple of weeks we'll be bringing you fun, interesting, local gift ideas for the holiday season. Today Jess kicks things off with flowers and veggies from the Hudson Valley Seed Library.

These aren't your -- excuse the pun -- garden-variety Burpee packets. Think varieties like Kaleidoscope carrots, Green Zebra Tomatoes, and Dragon's Tongue Beans.

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Shopaway: a morning in Woodstock

woodstock shopaway composite

A morning (or afternoon) in Woodstock.

By Kaitlin Resler

Just in time for the weekend, with its promises of good weather, a shopaway guide for a morning in Woodstock.

It's one of the quickest day trips from the Capital Region -- even if it's just for dinner or that "get-out-of-town" feeling. And even if you don't leave with bags and bags of goodies, it's the perfect place to wander on a warm spring day.

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Daydreaming of a long weekend...

airbnb coxsackieWe were quite happy to recently come across AirBnB, a site that's "an online marketplace allowing anyone from private residents to commercial properties to rent out their extra space." For two reasons:

  1. We got to feed our desire to gawk at real estate
  2. It allowed us to indulge in a little daydreaming about heading off to the country for a long weekend. For example, at this gorgeous place in Coxsackie (photo on the right).

There aren't a ton of regional properties listed. But there are a handful, many of them in Western MA and the Hudson Valley. And, of course, there's always Montreal...

[via Swiss Miss]

The Scoop

For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

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