Keeping dry under the awning in Margaretville

There is life beyond Woodstock on Rt. 28. You’d want to have some appreciation of the country if you’re heading way upstate as the area is more relaxing than exciting. Is that my way of saying this city chick didn’t enjoy her recent visit? Not exactly, but……

You get what you pay for. In this instance, we stayed at a friend’s house for free. We had been there over 13 years ago and it was really lovely. The home belongs to a Brooklyn couple and she hasn’t been upstate in over 3 years due to health issues. When he told us he “didn’t get to clean this week” we thought nothing of it, having 6 cats that pee everywhere but the litterbox. Problem was, he hasn’t cleaned in about 3 years. Dust. Mold smell from basement. Mouse shit. Dead flies on glue strips.

Fine, we’ll just sleep there. Won’t cook. Except, Peekamoose, the closest good dinner restaurant was like 20 miles away in Big Indian and gourmet deli places, not so much. We ended up with deli from the local supermarket. Potato salad and such.

But it’s not all about food. We had planned on long hikes with the dogs and kayak trips and envisioned sitting on the deck overlooking the stream while enjoying a glass of wine.

It rained all weekend. Oh, we hiked. In the pouring rain. The first day we did what would’ve been an extremely pleasant hike at Dry Brook Ridge. The trail winds around a stream and leads to a waterfall. How wonderful on a hot day to be able to cool off in the stream! How horrid on a rainy day to drag your waterlogged legs and feet along the muddy trail.

I wanted an iphone picture by the beautiful waterfall, but that was the moment my dog jumped into the rushing water and I panicked and made my husband go save her.

The following day we hiked the Huckleberry Loop of Drybrook in the rain. The tall trees were pretty and it was a pleasant, slightly uphill walk. The trail would have been fairly easy for me, except I was huffing and puffing and experiencing vertigo from lack of sleep in the moldy house the night before. At least that’s what I think it was from. Perhaps it was late season allergies. Or maybe I’m just out of shape. Or I drank too much wine on the wet deck. Anyway, we only went an hour or so in.

The house was located between the towns of Margaretville and Andes. We hung around Margaretville for a bit and drove through Andes. Both places and Fleischmanns seemed slightly more depressed than the last time I was there. Oh, they were still charming for sure and had it going on, but there were some shuttered restaurants and shops, perhaps due to the economy. This is why I say that you really have to appreciate the natural beauty of the area. Don’t visit solely for the quaint villages or you could be in for a disappointment. There are also a lot of miles between towns, so be prepared to do some heavy driving. Or more driving than you’re used to if you’re from NYC.

Arkville is tiny little surprise of a town. If you blink, you’ll miss it, but the old railroad is a cool feature, as is the Bread and Breakfast diner in a caboose.

We decided to head home a day early. We stopped for lunch at Sweet Sue’s in Phoenicia. It was the best part of the trip. Sweet Sue’s is never a let down. They used to be a little restaurant known for their amazing breakfasts, but now they’ve expanded and seem to be the biggest draw in town (apart from the tubing). I had some kind of pistachio encrusted tofu dish and the husband had a tempeh reuben. We sat outside (The sun was out because we were on our way home) where the dogs were quite welcome.

So, here’s my summary….

Beyond Woodstock: Mt. Tremper, Phoenicia, Big Indian are beautiful with some things to do in bad weather. Beyond Big Indian is breathtakingly gorgeous, but be sure to have a rain plan.