We did a mini roadtrip to Cooperstown last month and I can safely say that I think we’re all not doing enough little trips. Truly what’s stopping us? They’re always the best. It’s never insanely expensive, but you get to take a break from regular life and go somewhere not far to experience something different and usually great. Some highlights from the trip below!
So the whole trip was basically organized around going to The Baseball Hall of Fame. That’s a normal thing to do, right? Honestly, you could spend hours there. It was incredible. I think I loved the mini exhibit that showcased the most famous fans from over the years, but there’s just so much to see. Would love to own one of those warm-up jackets. LOOK at that stitching (below).
Baby Dog at The Baseball Hall of Fame
Baseball origins
Fan appreciation exhibit
Bury me in this warm-up jacket
We stayed at this small inn (The Lake House) that was built in 1843, which was perfect. Our room itself was tiny, but the place was beautiful. The restaurant there was so good and it felt ancient, but in a good way. And it was right on the water of Canadarago Lake.
Canadarago Lake
Postcard of Canadarago Lake
If there’s mini golf in your small town, I will find it. We played a round at the western-themed Barnyard Swing Mini Golf and there were maybe two elements on the whole course that made it western-themed, which is both funny and exactly as it should be.
Barnyard Swing Mini Golf
Barnyard Swing Mini Golf
Visited the Cooperstown Cheese Factory, which I can’t recommend enough. They offered samples of ALL of the cheeses they sold, with no limit. Why the hell don’t all cheese shops have this policy? They also had this unbelievable cheese-dusted popcorn (that needed to be refrigerated because it was so fresh) that I will forever yearn for.
Cooperstown Cheese Factory
I love old covered bridges, so we drove to see the Hyde Hall covered bridge that was built in 1825 (and is the oldest extant wooden covered bridge in the United States). Some people do drugs, some people get a contact high from seeing dusty old bridges, I don’t make the rules.
Hyde Hall Covered Bridge
Hyde Hall Covered Bridge
Visited Willis Monie Books because I will always gravitate towards chaotic book stores.
We drove past the now abandoned Petrified Creatures Museum (located at 4638 US-20, Richfield Springs, NY 13439), which I would DIE to explore if it weren’t highly illegal.
Can you even call yourself a Julia Roberts fan if you haven’t been to Mystic, Connecticut? I really think not.
Am I a huge JR fan? I mean, I never would have labeled myself as such, but well… I will always rewatch Sleeping With The Enemy if it comes on TV. Same with Pretty Woman. And of course My Best Friend’s Wedding. And she’s adorable in Steel Magnolias. Whoa, am I in love with her?? …I might be??
Regardless, the original plan was to simply go strawberry picking in Connecticut and then my friend Diana and I ended up eating at Mystic Pizza and exploring the small town. And it was lovely!
Mystic Pizza in Mystic, Connecticut
Pizza from Mystic Pizza, Connecticut
It’s such a nice little day trip idea from NYC, whether you like Julia Roberts or not. The pizza place itself was very quaint, the service was great and the food was absolutely just fine! Hahah, I’m not meaning for that to sound harsh at all, it was just very okay. (New York pizza has understandably made me quite a snob.)
They play the movie Mystic Pizza on a loop inside the restaurant, so I can only imagine how hard it is to work here, but it’s still very sweet considering the movie came out in 1988. Sort of insane, really. In a good way.
Mystic Seaport Ale
I’m not a huge beer drinker, but I do love trying whatever local beer is available because that always seems fun to me.
Other than eating here, we really just walked around the main part of the town, past the drawbridge, and into all of the little shops along the way. It was such a nice, relaxing way to spend a Saturday.
(I did watch the movie on Hulu when I got home and it was pretty good! Had I seen it before? Absolutely not a clue. Maybe I’m not JR’s #1 fan after all? This was quite a journey for me.)
I finally went! Visiting Sleepy Hollow has always been a small dream of mine, how could it not be? It’s the Salem of New York. It’s kind of wild that it’s taken this long for me to actually visit. In any case, October is the perfect time to go. Fully recommend. Here’s how we (I went with my great friend Irene) spent the day!
At Grand Central
We met at Grand Central and took a train up to Tarrytown (about $22/per person roundtrip, takes about 35 minutes from NYC). We thought about renting a car for the small trip, but it’s such a walkable area that I figured we’d be fine (I was right). From the Tarrytown train station we walked over to Pretty Funny Vintage, which sells antiques, gifts, souvenirs, jewelry, that sort of thing.
Pretty Funny Vintage in Tarrytown
I didn’t realize how beautiful and old Tarrytown is. Look at the gorgeous the music hall.
Music Hall in Tarrytown
We then headed to Sweet Grass Grill for lunch. The food was good yes, but the service was fantastic. The wait was on the longer side, but that only makes sense since it’s limited seating ‘cause… you know, the world is ending.
Sweet Grass Grill in Tarrytown
After food, we walked to Bella’s Boutique, which had great gifts and postcards for Sleepy Hollow. From there, we stopped into Tarrytown Pastry Chef because I’d heard good things about the Halloween themed cookies.
Tarrytown Pastry Chef
This was the point where we finally entered Sleepy Hollow. Look at this beautiful signage (below), it’s located on the corner of Broadway & Depeyster incase you’re looking for it when you’re in town.
With Irene
We headed onward toward the Headless Horseman sculpture, bridge and monument.
I mean… pretty self-explanatory
The bridge! (Well, *a* bridge… the real one collapsed years ago)
After that we walked near Washington Irving’s grave, but I didn’t really have any urge in entering a cemetery to see a strange man’s grave. Seemed weird at the time and still does. But if that’s your sort of thing, many other people were doing just that. Then we walked through what once was old Sleepy Hollow Village (and is now just a residential street with a woody area) to get to the shoreline.
Forest Liz
She made me do it
Once we got to the shoreline of the Hudson, it’s about a fifteen minute walk to reach the lighthouse (which is fully worth a view, who doesn’t love a lighthouse?) and there’s a lined, easy pathway to get there, too. The lighthouse was erected in the 1880s, which is incredible that it’s still standing, intact and beautiful as ever.
The Hudson shoreline
From here, it’s about a fifteen minute walk to get back to the Tarrytown train station. It was such a nice little day. There are other Halloween themed things to do nearby (The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, Home of the Legend, Philipsburg Manor), but they were either sold out or I’ve done them already, so it felt great to have a casual day roaming. It’s hard to find things to do right now (in the middle of a pandemic) that you can do safely, so it was great that this mini trip actually worked out. We spent 80% of the day outside and when we were indoors, nothing was crowded or felt unsafe in any way. If you’re ever in the New York area and you even kinda love Halloween, you should definitely make your way to Sleepy Hollow.
Once in awhile (or extremely often, depending on your preference), you need to get out of the city. So when I was recently asked by my friend Jenn to accompany her and some friends on a day trip to venture across Long Island, I was eager to come along. What did we do? What DIDN'T we do is the more apt question.
We found a farm where we could pick raspberries & blueberries in Mattituck, which happened to have the largest and loveliest sunflowers I've seen in years.
And, I mean, look at these tomatoes. Are you kidding me with that ripe-ass red? So gorgeous.
We then headed onward to Macari Vineyards to sample some wines, which happened to be accompanied by the finest of truffle cheeses.
To finish the day, we stopped off for food in Oyster Bay. I've only ever heard of Oyster Bay because of that Cole Porter song, but I figured that hearing a place mentioned in a lyric is almost too great a reason to solely visit a town. And the oysters at Canterbury's were fantastic.
The above photo is of the Oyster Bay LIRR station - and it may not look like much, but I can't accurately describe how much I love seeing these older types of train stations. I love the fact that it never got torn down and completely redone. Doesn't it make so much more sense to restore buildings like these? Ugh. Love this old station so much.
Anyway, it was a great day. There are so many different paths you can take once you get off the highway heading to Long Island. I hope to make it to Montauk someday.
