Weekender Archives - Page 6 of 9

Weekender: Rosendale

May 29, 2008 RH

I love Rosendale. It’s the perfect small town. Located within 2 hours of NYC and about 15 minutes from New Paltz, Rosendale is just too adorable for words. Colorful historic rowhouses line the main street, which is set against a backdrop of mountains, bridges and creeks.

All Pros/No Cons

Adirondack Trailways from NYC stops at the tip of town.

Rosendale Cafe is not only a great vegetarian restaurant, but has live music as well. They have the best Japanese miso salad dressing ever! I buy it by the vat to take home with me.

For something a bit more on the fancy schmancy side, hop over to Bywater Bistro.

The Rosendale Movie Theater was still $6 last time I went. It’s a Main Street cinema run by the same family for decades. They show decent films, too.

The Women’s Studio Workshop rents studio space and has classes on photography, paper making, ceramics, etc.

Hiking trails are plentiful, as is water access for kayaking. There used to be a swimming hole in town a few years ago, but it I’m not sure if it’s still accessible to the public.

Where else can you see a performance in an abandoned dolostone mine?

Town of Rosendale

Rosendale Chamber

Rosendale Listings

May 29, 2008 RH

$134,900: 2 BR

$173500: Snyder Estate Carriage House

$204,900: 2BR Farmhouse

$279k: 3BR

Weekender:Stone Ridge

May 15, 2008 RH 5 Comments

Stone Ridge is an Ulster County hamlet located less than 2 hours from NYC. It’s a place where stone houses line the main street and people say hello.

Pros

Easy access to Minnewaska State Park, Sullivan County and Kingston. Stone Ridge sits right on Route 209.

Climb The Gunks, Skydive the Ranch, pick your own apples or hike the rail trail nearby.

Amenities. Stone Ridge is home to an extraordinary supermarket(Emmanuel’s), specialty pet supplies, a well stocked wine shop, a local hardware store, a gym and a post office.

Restaurants. Although I prefer the High Falls “restaurant row”, you can grab a great meal in Stone Ridge too. Check out The French Corner. The French trained chef combines ingredients from his homeland with local Hudson Valley produce.

Enjoy your stay! Stay at the pricey-but-worth-every-penny Inn at Stone Ridge, an 18th century stone mansion or one of the more affordable historic B&B’s in the area.

Cons

NYC bus service only goes to nearby Rosendale or Kingston.

Although the town is walkable, it doesn’t feel very walker friendly. There are sidewalks in most, not all of town and Stone Ridge is very spread out. Some of the shopping is in a strip mall. A very nice strip mall, but a strip mall nonetheless.

The hamlet is more upscale than neighboring towns. Home prices reflect that.

Could use more restaurants! It’s only a few miles to other towns though.

Marbletown
Ulster Tourism

Stone Ridge Listings

May 15, 2008 RH

$265k: Ranch on 5 acres

$299,900: 4 BR

$335k: 2400 sq ft on 2 acres

$395k: 1790 stone house

Weekender: NYC

May 1, 2008 RH

Some of us whom have lived in New York all of our lives never really take the time to fully appreciate it. I don’t look up to take in all of that glorious architecture. I hardly ever go to Broadway shows. Off Bway, maybe once a year. We’ve taken vacations at home before, but it always turns out to be a week of working on the house.

So what if….you’re a New Yorker who wants to experience NYC like a tourist? Get out of your own home, for one! Here’s a list of charming B&B’s. Stay yourself or keep them in mind for those annoying out of town guests when they land on your doorstep.

Abingdon House, W Village
Rooms starting at $129

Victorian Mansion, Harlem
$199 per couple for queen bed suite

Stay The Night, Upper East
Rates start at $75 according to BnB Finder. Couldn’t find them on their site!

Elegant Retreats, Morningside Heights
Starting at $200 Double Occupancy

Country Inn the City, Upper West
Starting at $210, 3 night minimum

Weekender: 10 Day Trips From NYC

April 24, 2008 RH

1. Great Adventure: Went here so many times in my youth. I still love amusement parks….just don’t have time to go anymore. NJ Transit gets you there if you don’t have a car.

2. Cape May: Victorian beach community. There are lots of activities this weekend, including a house tour and wine tasting.

3. Renaissance Faire: Go for the goof! People actually dress up and act all Ren. And I’m not talking about the actors! Probably as geeky as a Star Trek convention.

4. Skydive the Ranch: Get a group of friends together and just do it! You have an instructor strapped to your back. You won’t regret it! Better than sex!

5. Jones Beach: Go for the beach. Stay for the
concerts.

6. Woodbury Commons: Major tourist destination for European travelers. Get on the bus with them to these outdoor premium outlets.

7. Fire Island: The best thing about Fire Island…no cars. Although my gay friends would tell you the best thing is “the scene”.

8. Dia Beacon: How can I forget Dia when I live just up the road? Take Metro North. Spend the day in Beacon. Come say hello!

9. Elephant’s Trunk: A country flea market in Milford, CT. Good deals to be had.

10. Kyuit : The Rockefeller estate in Westchester. Gorgeous mansion, gardens and artwork.

Weekender:Country Condos?

April 17, 2008 RH

2BR in Tivoli: $200k

I never understood why someone would want to live in the country and not have land around them. I’d pass homes close to the road, townhouses and condos and say “WTF”? Well, I’m much older and wiser now and I kind of get it.

Weekend homes are a hassle. The cleaning each time you come and go, the heat and water during the winter. Plowing snow. Garbage removal. Maintenance. It’s a part time job and you don’t really get to relax and enjoy the house if you’re just going for a weekend. At least that was our scenario.

So how about those country condos? Some of them offer amenities that would be too pricey for a single homeowner. Pools, tennis, lakes. No guilt that the home is sitting empty if you don’t use it too often. And let someone else worry about the maintenance!

Are condos the way to go or are the fees too high for a part time place? Plus it’s nowhere near as romantic as a cabin the in the woods.

The Borscht Belt: Then & Now

April 2, 2008 RH 9 Comments

My family did the Catskills well into the 80’s. During the 70’s, they left me at a bungalow colony with my grandmother summer weekdays while all my Goyishe friends were at camp. We had family reunions at the big hotels until that whole generation moved down to Florida.The first year of my marriage (1988), the in-laws were invited to one of these reunions. They’re probably still haunted by the memory of it. Proper Dubliners integrating with a bunch of loud mouth New York Jews for the entire weekend. It wasn’t pretty. My immediate family alone is enough to scare anyone off, but the cousins make us look GOOD!

20 years later, we’re still married and you know what? At least my family realizes they’re nuts. I’d rather wear it on my sleeve than sweep it under a rug.

Anyway, The Borscht Belt….yeah, I’m getting to that! I was all set to do a post on the abandoned hotels, but now it looks as if some of them are reopening.Continue reading The Borscht Belt: Then & Now

Weekend Planning Resources

March 27, 2008 RH

Yeah, I like to travel BIG just as much as anyone. But sometimes an overseas vacation is more stressful than it’s worth. That’s why I’m a huge fan of local travel. Just go. Get out of the city for a few days. No better way to relax. Instead of my usual “Weekender” post, I’ll let you do your own research. Here are some planning resources for ya….

GORP covers the great outdoors. The site lists activities on Long Island, in NJ and Upstate. For those of you who can’t get away, there are resources for biking, kayaking and horseback riding right in the city.

EscapeMaker isn’t greatly informative, but it does cover lots of ground. A nice place to start before narrowing down where it is you want to go.

I Love NY. Who doesn’t?

Discover Long Island here.

And New Jersey here.

Retreats for the highly stressed.

Or follow the culture.

Parent Zone has a nice guide for child friendly weekend trips.

And Blue Sky Dogs is a travel agent. For dogs.

Cyberrentals and VRBO are THE two vacation rental sites. Filter by price, kids, pets, area, etc.

Have fun!

Weekender: Catskill, NY

March 20, 2008 RH 3 Comments

The Village of Catskill has a lot going for it these days. Main Street is looking good with it’s restored historic buildings and revamped storefronts.

As with any upstate town that welcomes weekenders, there’s a great choice of restaurants, cafes, antiques shops and galleries. Catskill also has a movie theater, which is a unique benefit among small towns. The town is totally walkable from one end to the other.

Catskill sits right on the Hudson. In fact, it’s just across from the City of Hudson, that once forgotten/now popular haven for weekenders and antique hunters. Catskill prices reflect the fact that it is less “discovered” and on the wrong side of the Amtrak tracks. The town is near the ski areas and the massive Catskill Park. It’s close to Saugerties, another hopping town of late, which, as reader Priscilla informs me, will be home to the 10th Muddy Cup. See, I told you they are taking over!

Apart from Main Street antiques shops, it’s worth the extra few miles to Coxsackie and Ravena for some bargains. Right along route 9W in Coxsackie is the Lincoln Auction building. There are two inexpensive antiques shops in the front of the building. No phone, no name. Just keep in mind they are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Farther up the road is the Coxsackie Antique Center. It is a huge, multi dealer place. But their prices weren’t good enough for this cheap bitch. The Ravena Flea Market is another huge place filled with mainly junky stuff, but it’s cool junky stuff. Thanks to Jean for tipping me off to these places.

Welcome to Catskill
Greene Tourism
Catskill. org

Catskill Listings

March 20, 2008 RH

Under $100k

Right near Main Street. Agent doesn’t list condition of property but says owner is anxious. Even if it’s a gut job, it may be worth a look for that price.

$112,900: Victorian with details

1800 sf, 4 Br. Looks like a pretty sweet house for the price.

$159,900: Hall

I can’t make out what kind of hall this was. All I know is that it would make a cool loft space. At 3000 sq ft with R2 zoning, it can be a residence, gallery space, B&B or just about anything your little heart desires.

$ 285k: Freestanding Brick

I love this restoration! Check out the painted floors and antique fixtures. Nicely done.

$ 595K: Here’s Johnny!

Is it possible to be in love with a house? This is my dream home. It’s run down and haunted looking, but it’s friggen gorgeous! Unfortunately, it’s been broken up into apartments. There aren’t any interior shots, so who knows if there’s any detail left? It sits on over 2 acres and has other buildings on the property. Taxes are pretty high. This would make an AWE-HAW-SOME B&B! Any readers out there with tons of $ to throw away wanna buy me this house? Just checking.

Upstate Under $100k

March 14, 2008 RH 2 Comments

Who says you can’t afford a second home? Or a first one outside of the city for that matter? Maybe it’s because I want to see you kids realize the dream of home ownership. Or maybe it’s because I want you to suffer old home renovations along with me. Either way, here are some examples of the American Dream for under $100k. Um, TLC needed.

$64,900 in Newburgh

2 Family in need of total rehab. Although this is a shady block, it’s located right off of Broadway. If Newburgh ever does take off, this will be a nice location. There are better Newburgh options out there, but $64,900 for a house located within an hour’s drive of NYC? I couldn’t resist!

$ 84,900 in Ellenville

3 BR single family with tenant. Crappy renovation. Within walking distance to town. Ellenville is a beautiful area, but the village has a ways to go.

$ 85k in Poughkeepise

Now we’re getting somewhere! A home in need of some good lovin’. Looks like it hasn’t been updated in years. Yum, come to mama, baby. 2 Family with freeze damage due to burst pipes. This is in a decent part of town. Poughkeepsie is actually a commuter location as it’s on the Metro North line. It’s over 90 minutes from NYC though.

$ 94,900 in Liberty

4BR, 2230 sq ft on 2.5 acres. Separate cottage on site. Needs work. This is a foreclosure and only cash offers will do. I haven’t been to Liberty in years, but I hear that Sullivan County is becoming quite popular with 2nd home buyers with little money.

$105k in Coxsackie

Ok, so it’s $5000 over budget. But I had to include it because it’s really the best deal of them all. Coxsackie is a lovely weekend area and this home is located right near the Hudson River. It’s ready to move into and isn’t lacking in charm. At the end of the day, who really wants to work on a second home anyway? Other than fools like me and my husband.

Is Muddy Cup The New Starbucks?

March 11, 2008 RH 9 Comments

A sure sign of a gentrified neighborhood is a Starbucks on the corner (every corner). But they are about to overthrown in New York State. You’ve heard it here first. Muddy Cup is breeding faster than Starbucks.

I see from the stats (Certainly not from comments. You’re a bunch of friggen mutes!) that most of our readers are in NYC. If you haven’t ventured north (or to Staten Island) you may never have heard of Muddy Cup.

The first Muddy Cup opened it’s doors in Staten Island in 2001. Partners Jim Svetz and Brian Woodward simply intended to open a neighborhood coffeehouse. Or so they say. They opened the second store in Hudson, NY. The first time I heard of them was when they popped up in Beacon, a couple of blocks from my house. Now, every time I visit an upstate town, there they are! There are 9 Muddy Cups in the towns of New Paltz, Kingston, Albany, Poughkeepsie, Catskill and Schenectady.

Unlike Starbucks, The Muddy Cup chooses areas that are merely on the verge of gentrification. As you can see from the list above, it’s mainly college or “artsy” towns.

The Beaconites I know aren’t crazy about the cafe. They say they don’t like the coffee or decor. Personally, I love the eclectic decor and I think the coffee is fine. Between you and I, I think it’s cool to badmouth Muddy Cup just as you wouldn’t want to admit that you go to Starbucks. Most of the customers at Muddy Cup, Beacon seem to be tourists.

Some of the Muddy Cup cafes are large enough to have live music and performances. Kudos to them for breathing some life into downtrodden parts of town. The Kingston branch is located on Broadway, in the seedy Midtown section.

I’ll take a small mom and pop business over a franchise any day of the week. But why should we start hating when a company becomes successful enough to expand? I’ll partake in the above mediocre coffee when there’s nothing better around, as I do with Starbucks. There’s no use in boycotting when they’ve already put the smaller coffee houses out of business. (That’s a joke. Or is it?)

Chronogram Article

Stan The Junk Man

February 14, 2008 RH 1 Comment

Zaborski Emporium in Kingston is the megastore of salvage. 25,000 square feet of old house parts. You could get lost in that place! No seriously, I get lost in there.

Although Stan has been in the salvage business since 1976, the building on Hoffman Street was completely empty when he purchased it 10 years ago. He managed to fill it up quite nicely in that time. He used to know every piece of inventory, but jokes that he can’t remember now because of his drinking. Yeah, you’d have to be friggen Rain Man to know every artifact in that place!

Stan’s father, Stan, a Brooklyn native, owned a bakery until the early 60’s when supermarkets started to sell baked goods. His business began to suffer. To add insult to injury, the bakery was next door to an auction house. At the end of the day, Stan Sr. would be walking out with $48 compared to the auctioneer’s $15k.

The salvage business actually started with toys. Little Stanley Jr. (That’s present day Stan. Are you still with me?) would bring home toy trains and small objects that they would display for sale at the bakery. Eventually, the toys sold better than the pastries and so a new family business was born.

These days Stan has to be more selective with what he takes in, because apparently, that 25,000 square feet of space is not enough. They get their pieces from other dealers, house clean-outs and people phoning in. Customers include renovators from NYC, CT and MA. They do a decent business with the movie industry. They will only sell outright, no prop rentals. Zaborski furnishings and fixtures have been featured in films such as “American Gangster”, “The Manchurian Candidate”, “Charlotte’s Web” and “Revolutionary Road”.

When I asked if he has seen more business since the whole green building movement took off, he informed me that building salvage was the original green. I agree.

Business had slowed down for Stan during the holiday season this year. But they’re having a good February even with the tanking economy and housing market.

Zaborski Emporium is a family run business. If you’ve ever been, that’s wife Sandy sitting behind the desk in the warm office. And sons Steve and Devlin, who work there, will take over the business when Stan has had enough.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering….that’s brother Gary at the Stan’z on Ulster Avenue.

If you’re planning a visit, call first and dress warm!

Weekender: Saugerties, NY

February 14, 2008 RH 1 Comment

Used to be you went to Saugerties for the antiques. Now it looks like there’s much more happening in that little town east of Woodstock.

I visited Saugerties for the first time in a few years when I met up with Jean for lunch at Miss Lucy’s Kitchen. I had been boycotting Saugerties prior to that. Let’s just say: F*ed up stone countertop from Nelsen’s Supply, small claims court and small town justice. 5 years later, maybe I can even the score now that I have a blogging voice. Don’t use Nelsens! Ah, that feels good.

Anyway, Saugerties. The Hudson River village is just off the NYS Thruway about 2.5 hours north of NYC. I couldn’t find a bus service directly into town so I’m thinking you would have to make your way over from Kingston or Woodstock if you were using public transit.

Saugerties has a great choice of restaurants for both veg and non veg. New World Home Cooking, outside of town, is one of the better restaurants in the entire Hudson Valley. Eclectic fare, casual setting.

You can spend a full day, maybe two exploring the shops in town. The Saugerties Antiques Center is a multi dealer shop with decent prices.

It’s no secret that this area of the Catskills offers great hiking trails and kayaking. FYI, there’s white water in them Saugerties waters as well! And for more tame outdoor adventures, check out Seamon Park, Esopus Creek swimming, the local farmer’s market and pick your own.

While in Saugerties, DO NOT MISS Opus 40. Six acres of natural stone sculpture created by one man. The other major Saugerties landmark is the lighthouse which is also serves as a B&B. Give me one reason anyone would choose to stay somewhere other than the lighthouse? Ok, maybe if it was booked. Seriously, there are some lovely B&B’s in town, but….a lighthouse! Too cool to pass up!

Some of these things are seasonal and may be closed for the winter. In fact, I might give the weekender posts a break until Spring. Any objections? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Discover Saugerties
Hudson Valley Garlic Festival
Lighthouse Keeper’s Logbook

reclaimedhome.com

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