hudson valley

It was a cloud morning with light drizzle as we started off our Independence Day with an easy 4.1 mile run along the "rail to trail" loop.

The "rail to trail" is a network of pedestrian and bicycle trails which were developed in place of former railroad tracks. Along the loop, there are two bridges which you cross: the walkway-over-Hudson on the north side and the mid-Hudson bridge on the south side. 

We learned that the walkway-over-the-Hudson was actually the first bridge to link the west and east sides of the Hudson valley! Built in 1889, it was used as a railroad bridge for nearly one hundred years, until there was a massive fire in 1974. After the fire, the city decided to renovate the bridge into a pedestrian bridge, and today it is a mile-long walkway 215 feet above sea level. The views from the walkway are spectacular and running along the walkway surrounded by nature and the trees is pretty much my dream. Below is a photo of the walkway-over-the-Hudson taken from the east side of the mid-Hudson bridge.

During the day, we made our way around some of the towns along the Hudson Valley, including Rhinebeck, Tivoli, Hudson, and Woodstock. Rhinebeck was a quaint town where shops adorned the Main Street intersection a few blocks in each direction. The sidewalks and shops were filled with people enjoying the Fourth of July holiday, despite the gloomy clouds and on-and-off drizzle. We found a really nice furniture shop, Sawkill Furniture, which we loved! Unfortunately each piece of furniture cost no less than $3,000. Yep, even a bench. Really stunning though!

We dropped by Tivoli briefly to catch a glimpse of the Richard Fisher Performing Arts Center at Bard College, designed by Frank Gehry. 

We found ourselves back in Hudson shortly thereafter strolling along and enjoying the shops on Warren Street, and discovered a newly opened eponymously named shop by the talented ceramicist Paula Greifer. Her shop was minimalist in design and Scandinavian in decor, and I fell hard for her pieces immediately. In the back of the shop, was her studio and in the second floor, her personal living space. Does life get any better than this? :) We fell in love with a few of her burnt orange clay planters in the front of the shop and picked up two, one small and one medium. I love taking my time and picking up meaningful pieces from places I love. It's like getting a souvenir :)

After a light dinner at Henry's again, we drove over to the Walkway-over-the-Hudson and walked to the middle of the pedestrian bridge, which was filled with locals who had been tailgating with folding chairs, coolers, and kettle corn. As the skies darkened, the crowds quieted down and the fireworks began shortly after 9:15pm. The fireworks show was not nearly as large or fancy as the Macy's Fourth of July show along the East River, but to be able to see the show at eye level, and see the firework shows displayed across numerous surrounding small towns all around us was a treat.

Happy fourth!