Tag Archives: Exploring Rhinebeck NY

Day One Hundred and Ninety-Eight Visiting Woodstock, NY to see the Lindsey Webster Band concert and exploring the Hudson River towns May 22nd and 23rd, 2021 (Again on July 6th and 7th and July 23rd, 2023)

With classes being over and having the Summer Break ahead of me, I thought it was time to start exploring more of the Hudson River Valley region and continue my walk around the City. Instead of heading deeper Downtown into the Flatiron District, I also decided start exploring more of the West Side and started in Midtown West/Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton (Days One Hundred and Ninety Ninety-Six and Ninety Seven).

In the middle of exploring the neighborhood, I had an opportunity to leave the City and head upstate to see the Lindsey Webster Band perform at the Bearsville Theater on Saturday, May 22nd. I have written about seeing the band perform at the Woodstock Christmas Parade years ago when I used to spend Christmas in Woodstock from 2014-2017. When I saw the band in concert in December of 2014, I had not realized how huge the second album was going to be and a number one hit would come from it. It was nice to see the band in the very beginning when it was getting well known.

Lindsey Webster and her band at the Colony Hotel concert on July 6th, 2023

The entrance to the Bearsville complex

The mascot to the complex

The concert was at the Bearsville Theater at 291 Tinker Street in Woodstock, NY, which again I had not been to since the concert in 2014 and that was a very low key but lively concert.

The Bearsville Theater at 291 Tinker Street

https://www.facebook.com/bearsvilletheater/

Somehow I got to Hyde Park where I was spending the night, which is my headquarters in the Hudson River Valley when I am visiting the area very quickly. I checked in and dropped my bags off at the hotel before I drove to Woodstock which is about a half hour away over the bridge.

Since I had time before the concert started, I decided to stop at The Little Bear at 295 Tinker Street B, a Chinese restaurant within the complex for some dinner (see review on TripAdvisor). I have been many times when I have been up for a visit during Christmas and the food has gotten more uneven over the years since my first time.

The Little Bear Chinese Restaurant at 295 Tinker Street (Closed in December 2022)

I started my meal with the Steamed Dumplings. They were very soft and almost fell apart.

The Lemon Chicken had a nice sauce but again the chicken breasts were over cooked. The Lemon Sauce was delicious and tasted really good. The Mixed Fried rice was the best part of the meal. It was loaded with all sorts of meats, seafood and vegetables and they make it so good.

The Steamed Dumplings at Little Bear

The biggest problem that I have with Little Bear as a restaurant (see review on TripAdvisor) is the service. The family who runs the restaurant always seem so overwhelmed. At Christmas time, it was one of two restaurants that were open in Woodstock and the surrounding areas so it was mobbed, and the phone would not stop ringing with takeout orders. It was chaos! The people that run the restaurant are really nice but it gets to be too much for them when it is busy.

The Fried Rice at The Little Bear was the best part of the meal

After dinner, put the leftover fried rice in the car and headed over to the concert. This is when the State of New York needs to get their protocols together. I had to take a COVID test to go inside the building because I did not have my vaccine card on me. So I had to spend another $15.00 to be tested (negative of course) again. Thank God I have had all my vaccine shots. The concert started late because a lot of people had to take the test. Still it was worth it as the concert was excellent and the best part was that no one had to wear a mask.

The concert was of course excellent! I had not seen the band play live since 2014 and a lot of good things have happened to them since including a number one song. This is not the concert from that night but the songs you can enjoy just the same.

The Concert has not yet made it to YouTube but this concert from Daryl’s House is close:

The Lindsey Webster Band

What made the concert so special to all of us was not just the excellent vocals and music but it was the first time everyone was allowed to the Bearsville Theater without masks. It was nice to see people dancing and just enjoying themselves. It had been such a long time for everyone. It makes you appreciate life more.

The drive from Woodstock to Hyde Park was not that long and I got one of the best nights sleeps in a long time. The hotel was so relaxing after a long drive. What I love about staying up in the Hudson River Valley is the quiet of it all. That and people do not seem that much of a rush (unless you get those City visitors).

In 2023, I lucked out in that I had a series of walking tours on Friday and Saturday and Lindsey Webster, and her band were playing in Woodstock that Thursday night at the Colony Hotel in the ballroom. I had never seen a band play there before. The ballroom where they played that night really jammed and it was an excellent concert.

The ballroom at the Colony Hotel in Woodstock

Thank God the days of the COVID testing before the concerts is over (for now at least). It seems like a million years ago but I remember that first concert was right after everything had been officially lifted and they were still driving everyone nuts with over testing. It was nice to just walk into the building, relax, order dinner and watch a fantastic concert.

The Colony Hotel at 22 Rock City Road in Woodstock, NY

https://www.colonywoodstock.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

The band really rocked the ballroom that evening, and people were dancing in the aisles. Ms. Webster announced that she was expecting a child and the whole place applauded. She was a real trooper as she and the band performed two encores and the concert went until 11:00pm. What made it really special is that a lot of the band members family and friends were in the audience. It looks like they will be playing more concerts close to home in the next several months.

Lindsey Webster and her band rocked the whole night.

Before the concert started, I ordered dinner. Why I did not know before I had just had a lunch at Del’s Dairy Creme not even two hours earlier. I kept telling myself that I was not hungry but then I kept seeing all the wonderful sandwiches coming out of the kitchen and convinced myself that the concert would be going until 11:00pm and there would be nothing open that late at night (which was the case) and ordered a cheesesteak.

The Colony Hotel’s amazing Cheesesteak with homemade French Fries

I could not believe I ate this whole dinner and then watched a concert for the rest of the night. The food at the Colony Hotel is excellent and I swear that the French Fries are homemade. I got to see all the sandwiches coming out that night and the Reuben and Shrimp Po Boy looked excellent too.

The concert was great that night and the audience really got into it as we all knew the group’s song list and the best part was, they played several songs from here new album. She ended the concert with a signature song of hers, “Over the Rainbow” which took on a new meaning with her starting a family. People were really touched by this. I really enjoyed myself that evening.

The next day I started to explore the surrounding area and visit the small towns that make up the character of the Hudson River Valley. There has been much talk about the “Brooklynization” of the Hudson River Valley and I wanted to see those changes. In retrospect of the towns I visited, it depends on a couple of things: how close is the town to a train station to the City, how closed it is to Route 9, the corridor on both sides of the Hudson and how close to a college is the town.

What I like about so many of these towns is that the classic turn of the last century architecture that makes up the character of these towns. Also how carefully the new owners go to renovating these buildings back to their former glory. Town by town a lot of work has been done to refit these buildings and bring life back to downtowns that may have been forgotten by tourism.

My first stop was Rhinebeck, NY just above Hyde Park about a half hour up Route 9 depending on how fast you drive. Rhinebeck has changed a lot from I went to the Culinary Institute of America in the late 1990’s. It has transformed from a town of local stores and restaurants to a high end town of more expensive stores and restaurants. A lot of the mom & pop stores I remembered and galleries in the first wave of development are now gone. Still it is a very vibrant town with lots of activities.

Downtown Rhinebeck, NY is always fun to walk around in

I love to walk around the town and admire the stores. There is such a nice collection of businesses that cater to every taste. I still have my favorites that have been around for a long time and are staples in Downtown Rhinebeck. Many of these can be found on my websites:

Little Shop on Main Street:

https://littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/

Dining On A Shoestring in NYC:

https://diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/

The stores I love to visit are Pause Dog Boutique at 6423 Montgomery Street Suite 3 in the Montgomery Row Shopping Complex. This store formerly of Red Hook carries all sorts of pet products to pamper your pooch with from collars to snacks (see my review on LittleShopOnMainStreet@Wordpress.com). There is a unique merchandising approach to their items that showcases all the things that your dog could desire.

Pause Dog Boutique at 6423 Montgomery Street Suite 3

https://www.pausedogboutique.com/

Pause during the holidays

Another great store I love to visit is Samuel’s Sweet Shop at 42 East Market Street, a wonderful little candy and dessert store (see my reviews on TripAdvisor and LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com). I love the way they merchandise the store with all sorts of colors and displays. When I was walking around the store, admiring the shelves of candies and sweets, I eyed a glazed doughnut under one of the glass domes ($2.00) and had to have one. God with was soft, chewy and had a nice sugary glaze. Talk about waking you up!

Samuel’s Sweet Shop at 42 East Market Street

Home

Samuel’s Sweet Shop during the holidays

I walked the Farmer’s Market which is held in the municipal parking lot, and I have to say that their wares are much more expensive than the surrounding towns. When a pastry is $5.00 or homemade soap or jelly is over $10.00 you are pricing yourself out of the local market. When I used to stop at the Farmer’s Market in Hyde Park, NY, the prices of everything were very fair. I guess post COVID people are trying to make their money back.

After finishing my walk around Rhinebeck, I drove further north to Red Hook, NY which is a quaint little downtown that I love. What I enjoy about the town of Red Hook is that it is not geared towards tourists as opposed it is a place that locals do their shopping. On a Sunday afternoon, it is really quiet as by the late afternoon a lot of things are closed.

Downtown Red Hook, NY

Check out my blog on Exploring Downtown Red Hook for more information on the town:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/14144

One store that was open and I was able to visit was Petals & Moss at 6 East Market Street. This wonderful little flower shop treats its plants and flowers with such respect, and they are merchandised like a piece of art. I was talking with the owner, and she said that even though she goes into the flower markets to buy things, when in season she will grow flowers in her own year for the store.

Petals & Moss at 6 East Market Street

https://www.petalsandmossflorals.com/

The fresh flowers from the owner’s garden at Petal and Moss

Another store I love to visit, and it is such a whimsical and well decorated place is Little Pickles at 7505 North Broadway. This delightful little toy and clothing store has everything a child could desire from jars of candy and balloons to wooden toy and experiments to clothing and shoes all in a playhouse environment. It is what you would expect a toy store catering to the Lilliputian set to look like.

Little Pickles at 7505 North Broadway

https://ourlittlepickles.com/

https://www.facebook.com/littlepicklesgeneralstore/

Some of my other favorites such as Equis Gallery and Village Pizza III were closed that day but I was able to have another snack at Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop at 7501 North Broadway (right next door to Little Pickles-Closed in August 2024) and I had a jelly doughnut that said to me “buy me”! They know how to make a good doughnut. The jelly was so tangy and the doughnut was soft and fresh. The store has that classic bakery look almost like you are visiting an old General Store.

Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop at 7501 North Broadway (Closed August 2024)

Welcome to our Site

The inside of Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop

Since a lot of the stores and restaurants were closed that Sunday morning, I headed up Route 9 to Tivoli, NY. Tivoli has a very small but quaint downtown in the middle of an area with large farms. Since visiting a few years ago, more restaurants and shops have opened and there is a good arts representation with the Tivoli Artists Gallery at 60 Broadway.

Downtown Tivoli in the summer

In the last three years, I have seen a change in the quality of the restaurants and again they have gotten pricey. Creative but pricey. I ate lunch at a local restaurant, Tivoli Broadway Pizza at 49 Broadway. The pizza and the service were really good and it was nice to sit back and relax and read the local paper.

Tivoli Broadway Pizza at 49 Broadway

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Restaurant/Broadway-Pizza-of-Tivoli-217714098248176/

What I love about Tivoli is the charm of the village. It is such a nice little town to walk around and just admire the farms and the woods. You can walk the downtown quickly but it is fun to take your time and let it all soak in.

Tivoli Artists Gallery at 60 Broadway

https://www.tivoliartistsgallery.com/

After leaving Tivoli, it was time to cross the river at the Kingston Bridge and explore the other side of the river. I have written about Kingston , NY many times over the years so it was time to explore other towns. I headed up Route 9 for my next destination, Catskill, NY.

Catskill, NY on the other side of the Hudson River. I had only driven through Catskill about seven years ago when I explored the towns surrounding Rhinebeck and it was the other side of the river that I visited. Downtown Catskill is pretty amazing when it comes to architecture and I can tell that other people think so as well as all the buildings seemed to being snatched up and renovated.

Downtown Catskill, NY

Most of the businesses in Downtown Catskills were closed on a Sunday with the exception of a few gift stores and a couple of restaurants. Even walking around the downtown after crossing the bridge there were maybe a handful of people.

Walking Downtown Catskill, NY

The downtown is absolutely beautiful and it was interesting that the urban renewal that hit so many of these towns in the late 60’s and early 70’s did not come to Catskill so all the 19th and early 20th century architecture still dominates the main street.

Downtown Catskill, NY

Weaving in and out of a lot of the stores and provision shops I was most impressed by Cat on the Corner, a tiny store dedicated to everything cats at 362 Main Street. I was impressed by the variety of merchandise starting with items for everyone’s favorite feline to gifts and decorative items for the home.

Cat on the Corner at 362 Main Street

https://www.catonthecorner.com/

Among all the objects I found was a magnetic with a lot of dirty words on it that I had to get for my mom (who loves cats) and to spend the $10.00 credit card minimum, I also got her a cat cookie by a local baker from the area, which I thought was really cleaver. She ended up loving both. What I also like about the business is that the owner was helping a lot of small women owned cottage businesses with their wares and I found that good business.

The windows are so clever

Another business that stood out to me was a Left Bank Ciders at 150 Water Street. What made me walk into the Tap Room was the sign and location. It was down a alleyway and then tucked into an above ground basement area. The inside of the Tap Room was exposed walls and ceilings. The selection of ciders looked terrific as well.

Left Bank Ciders at 150 Water Street’s Tap Room here is so unique

http://www.leftbankciders.com/

After walking the entire downtown both sides and the local park plus the entire other side of the creek area, I just relaxed by the car. I can tell they are starting to renovate the other side of the creek as well as some of the homes. It will take time to bring life back to this part of the neighborhood.

My last stop was Saugerties, NY, a quirky little downtown right by the Hudson River and again another downtown with a lot of charm and interesting architecture. It had not changed much since I visited and had lunch here seven years ago. The prices of everything have gone up significantly though over the years.

Downtown Saugerties has an interesting vibe.

The sign welcoming you to Saugerties

I drove through the downtown last when I went up to Cooperstown, NY back in October for my birthday and saw that there had been changes in several of the buildings. After my trip to Catskill, I made this my final stop of the day.

Before I stopped in downtown to walk around, I made a detour to see the Saugerties Lighthouse at 168 Lighthouse Drive, which I had always seen signs for but never stopped to see. It is nice when you have the time on your hands to detour to all these special places.

The Saugerties Lighthouse at 168 Lighthouse Drive

https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=678

I have to say it was a drive off the main road of Route 9 down several hills and winding roads. When you come to the small parking lot, there is not a lot of space to park on a busy day but it was the late afternoon when I got here so it was quiet.

The pathway to the lighthouse is surrounded by woods and flowers and a few streams so in the Spring and Summer months, it is very beautiful to walk down the path. Many flowers were in bloom and it was very colorful. You have to stay on the path though as there is water everywhere.

The lighthouse sits on the end of the path with a small dock on one side and a small beach at low tide. I did not realize that it is being used as a B & B and you should check out the Friends website for details if you want to stay there. The lighthouse was built in 1869 and was decommissioned in 1954. It is an elegant old building with the Hudson River in the backdrop which makes it very impressive. (There are tours available by appointment). After my tour around the lighthouse and park, it was back to downtown.

A slice of pizza at Slices at 71 Partition Street went up to almost $4.00 and an ice cream cone at several places will set you back over $5.00. I know these things are gourmet but not when they are more than New York City prices. The rents must have really gone up over the years. Even my favorite restaurant, Miss Lucy’s Kitchen at 90 Partition Street was more than I remember. Their food was mind-blowing the last time I ate there years ago.

Miss Lucy’s Kitchen at 91 Partition Street was a favorite of mine years ago

https://www.misslucyskitchen.com/

I was able to walk the entire downtown and it was also slowly changing as well as buildings were being renovated all over the downtown and homes were getting a facelift. I had never seen so many potted plants and wreaths on doors. A younger crowd was moving downtown with many bars opening and an increase in nightlife that I did not remember on my last few visits.

Before I left that evening, I took a walk down by the river to the Saugerties Village Beach Park at 47 South Partition Street and watched all the kids running around the park and some people actually taking a dip in the water (I thought it was too early). It was so nice to watch the sunshine and sit back under a tree and just watch the world go by. It is such a relaxing park.

Saugerties Village Beach Park at 47 South Partition Street is a the bottom the downtown area.

The Village Beach

The Village Beach

https://villagesaugerties.digitaltowpath.org:10064/content/Tourism/Home/:field=sections;/content/TourismSections/View/2:field=sites;/content/TourismSites/View/16

On another trip to the Hudson River Valley, I visited both Downtown Pine Plains and Downtown Millerton to check out their downtown districts. Pine Plains is quaint but has a lot of businesses that are currently closed due to the pandemic. I can see this rebounding in the future with its interesting architecture and picturesque look.

When I revisited Pine Plains in the Summer of 2023, it was like a transformation. The theater in the downtown was open, all the restaurants were open for business that evening and all the store fronts were filled again. I had never seen such a dramatic change in a downtown before. It was like a ghost town when I visited the last time.

Downtown Millerton’s businesses were closing for the evening the afternoon that I arrived but encouraged me to stop by again on the next trip Upstate. Each of these little towns offer so much charm and interesting shopping and eating establishments.

In the Summer of 2023, Downtown Millerton’s business district was also in full swing. The Millerton Inn had people dining outside and music playing, the movie theater was busy with a line twenty deep and the restaurants were all busy as well. There were a lot of people walking around as the stores were closing on this Saturday night at 7:00pm.

Downtown Pine Plains, NY

Downtown Pine Plains, NY

Downtown Pine Plains, NY

Downtown Pine Plains, NY Memorial

Homepage

I also visited Downtown Millerton, NY:

Downtown Millerton, NY

Downtown Millerton, NY

Downtown Millerton, NY sculpture

The Millerton Inn and the Methodist Church in the summer

http://www.villageofmillerton.net/home.html

Shopping in Millerton NY

Don’t miss taking a trip to any of these small towns lining the Hudson River. COVID has driven people out of the City and it has brought a new vibe and built on improvements made to these once small manufacturing and shipping towns. New restaurants, art galleries and stores have brought not just new customers but new ideas on ways to reach customers. It is so nice the times of good service and a friendly local atmosphere have not given way in the Amazon era.

There is still a relaxed and creative buzz to these towns that was always there but now being added to with new members of the community. COVID did not kill this spirit in the Hudson River Valley.

Visit soon!

*Bloggers Note: In fairness to stores, restaurants and parks I visited on my journey are mentioned below. The others I have added their links so that you all can choose the places you want to go. I will keep adding to this blog with more small towns.

Places to Eat:

The Little Bear (Closed in December 2022)

295 Tinker Street B

Woodstock, NY 12498

(845) 679-8899

https://the-little-bear.business.site/

Open: Sunday -Tuesday 3:00pm-9:00pm/Wednesday Closed/Thursday-Saturday 3:00pm-9:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g47293-d3216488-Reviews-The_Little_Bear-Bearsville_Woodstock_Catskill_Region_New_York.html?m=19905

Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop (Closed 2024)

7501 North Broadway

Red Hook, NY 12571

(845) 835-6071

Welcome to our Site

https://www.facebook.com/AnnabellesVillageBakeShop/

Open: Sunday 7:00am-3:00pm/Monday & Tuesday Closed/Wednesday-Saturday 7:00am-3:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48473-d14051169-Reviews-Annabelle_s_Village_Bake_Shop-Red_Hook_New_York.html?m=19905

Tivoli Broadway Pizza

49 Broadway

Tivoli, NY 12583

(845) 757-2000

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Restaurant/Broadway-Pizza-of-Tivoli-217714098248176/

Open: Sunday 12:00pm-11:00pm/Monday-Thursday 11:00am-11:00pm/Friday & Saturday 11:00am-12:00am

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48732-d4630813-Reviews-Broadway_Pizza_of_Tivoli-Tivoli_New_York.html?m=19905

Places to Visit :

The Bearsville Theater

291 Tinker Street

Woodstock, NY 12498

(845) 684-7133

Upcoming Shows

https://www.facebook.com/bearsvilletheater/

Open: Please visit their website for concert dates

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48915-d7218237-Reviews-Bearsville_Theater-Woodstock_Catskill_Region_New_York.html

Tivoli Artists Gallery

60 Broadway

Tivoli, NY 12583

(845) 757-2667

https://www.tivoliartistsgallery.com/

https://www.facebook.com/tivoliartistsgallery/

Open: Sunday 10:00am-5:00pm/Tuesday-Thursday Closed/Friday 5:00pm-8:30pm/Saturday 10:30am-8:30pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48732-d11863589-Reviews-Tivoli_Artists_Gallery-Tivoli_New_York.html

Saugerties Lighthouse

168 Lighthouse Drive

Saugerties, NY 12477

(845) 247-0656

https://www.facebook.com/SaugertiesLighthouse/

Open: Please check the website for hours/Seasonal

Admission: Free for the Grounds/Check the website for the B & B availability

https://www.saugertieslighthouse.com/

https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=678

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48564-d4214114-Reviews-Lighthouse-Saugerties_Catskill_Region_New_York.html

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/5740

Saugerties Village Beach Park

47 South Partition Street

Saugerties, NY 12477

(845) 246-2919

https://villagesaugerties.digitaltowpath.org:10064/content/Parks/View/3

Open: July-September Sunday-Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm-Check the town website

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48564-d5617527-Reviews-Saugerties_Village_Beach_Playground-Saugerties_Catskill_Region_New_York.html

Places to Shop:

Pause Dog Boutique

6423 Montgomery Street Suite 3

Rhinebeck, NY 12572

(845) 532-0676

https://www.pausedogboutique.com/

https://touch.facebook.com/PauseDogBoutique/?tn=CH-R

Open: Sunday-Monday 11:00am-5:00pm/Tuesday 11:00am-6:00pm/Wednesday Closed/Thursday 12:00pm-6:00pm/Friday 11:00am-5:00pm/Saturday 11:00am-6:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/598

Samuel’s Sweet Shop

42 East Market Street

Rhinebeck, NY 12572

(845) 876-5312

Home

Open: Sunday-Thursday 7:30am-8:00pm/Friday & Saturday 7:30am-10:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48486-d3641613-Reviews-Samuel_s-Rhinebeck_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on LittleShopOnMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/187

Petals & Moss

6 East Market Street

Red Hook, NY 12571

(845) 758-9964

https://www.petalsandmossflorals.com/

https://www.facebook.com/petalsandmoss/

Open: Sunday 12:00am-4:00pm/Monday-Wednesday Closed/Thursday-Saturday 11:00am-5:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48473-d20029389-Reviews-Petals_and_Moss_Floral_Design-Red_Hook_New_York.html

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/1074

Little Pickles-The Children’s General Store

7505 North Broadway

Red Hook, NY 12571

(845) 835-8086

http://www.littlepickles.shop/

Open: Monday-Saturday 10:30am-5:30pm/Sunday 11:00am-4:00pm

My Review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48473-d7954016-Reviews-Little_Pickles-Red_Hook_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/169

Cat on the Corner

362 Main Street

Catskill, NY 12414

(518) 719-9080

https://www.catonthecorner.com/

https://www.facebook.com/catonthecorner/

Open: Sunday 11:00am-4:00pm/Monday-Wednesday Closed/Thursday-Saturday 11:00am-5:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g47427-d23417533-r789888290-Cat_On_The_Corner-Catskill_Catskill_Region_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/1091

Day One Hundred and Seventy: Exploring Downtown Red Hook, NY- A Local Journey July 26th, 2020, December 8th, 2021, and February 10th and October 15th, December 16th, 2022, June 7th, 2023, December 20th, 2023, July 13th and August 13th, 2024 and March 12th, 2025

July 28, 2020"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Bakeries for the budget minded, Candy and Ice Cream stores for the budget minded, Chinese Restaurants for the budget minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String in New York State, Exploring Beacon, NY, Exploring Catskill, NY, Exploring Cooperstown, NY, Exploring Farms and Farm Stands, Exploring Historic Dutchess County NY, Exploring Historic Towns of Upstate New York, Exploring Kingston NY, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring New York State, Exploring Poughkeepsie, Exploring Red Hook NY, Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Exploring the Historic Hudson River Valley in New York State, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring Tivoli, NY, Exploring Woodstock NY, Gourmet restaurants for the budget minded, Historic New York State neighborhoods, Hot Dog, Hamburger & Fries for the budget minded., Little Shop on Main Street in New York State, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan at the Christmas Holidays, MywalkinManhattan at the Halloween Holidays, MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Pizzeria's and Italian Restaurants for the budget-minded, Sandwich and Deli's for the budget minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York State, Walking in Rhinebeck NYAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Annabelle's Village Bake Shop, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, Del's Dairy Creme, DiningonaShoeString@Wordpress.com, diningonashoestringinnyc, Downtown Red Hook NY, Downtown Rhinebeck NY, Equis Art Gallery, Exploring Downtown Red Hook NY, Exploring Red Hook NY, Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Exploring the Hudson River Valley, Exploring the Hudson River Valley at Chiristmas, Exploring the Hudson River Valley at Halloween, Golden Wok, Historic Homes, Historic Homes of New York State, Historic Hudson River Valley, Hudson River Valley, Hudson River Valley Summer Events, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, Little Pickles General Store, littleshoponmainstreet.com, LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com, Mills Mansion, MywalkinManhattan.com, NY Historic Mansions, NY Historical Sites, Pause, Pause Dog Boutique, Petals & Moss, Pete's Famous, Professor Justin Watrel, Red Hook NY, Staatsburgh Manor/Mills Mansion, Terry's Country Bakeshop, The Crows Nest, Village Pizza III, Visiting Red Hook NY, Visiting Rhinebeck NY, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walking in Downtown Red Hook NY, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

With the weather reaching now into the high 90’s and the humidity has become unbearable, it has been a chance to take a break from walking the streets of Manhattan with the uncomfortable heat (and the equally uncomfortable feel of the City) and head up to our version of “Upstate New York”. People from Ithaca, where I went to graduate school, actually laugh when I say this is “Upstate New York”. “That’s like Westchester!” some will say to me because it is so close to the City instead of in the middle of New York State.

Still Dutchess County is beautiful at anytime of the year and a nice substitute when the weather just gets too hot. The cool breezes of the Hudson River, the foliage full of deep greens and the unique little downtown’s with their ‘mom and pop’ restaurants and stores (which we need to help desperately at this time) make a nice day or weekend visit. I have also gone to college in Hyde Park so I know the area quite well but still there were many towns I had never visited before. One of them being Red Hook, NY.

Gardens in Downtown Red Hook, NY in the Summer of 2024

I had gotten to know Red Hook quite well since 2014 when I thought I was moving to the Hudson River Valley for work and needed to find a place to live. I got acquainted with Downtown Red Hook when meeting with realtors but it was when I came across an advertisement for “Little Pickles”, a children’s store that had just opened that I wanted to visit that I got to really visit the town.

Downtown Red Hook decorations in Fall 2022

The nice part of Downtown Red Hook is that it has not been “Manhattanized” the way Downtown Rhinebeck further south has been. Being further up Route 9, the restaurants and stores are not as expensive, the feel of the restaurants are more local and down to earth and a lot less expensive. The one thing about the stores are that they cater to locals and not tourists so much, they are reasonably priced and their merchants are extremely creative in merchandise purchased for their stores and the way their stores are displayed. The service I have found in the stores here is very personal and friendly and you are mostly dealing with the owner of the store.

Downtown Red Hook was decorated for the Fall

What is also nice about Red Hook is that the parking is still on the street with no meters and you can park right near the stores. At the current time, the town is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic as is the rest of the country, so a lot of the parking directly in the center of the town is for “Grab and Go”. Between the heat of this summer (it was 96 degrees that day) and the COVID-19 pandemic still keeping everything at bay, the town was quiet the afternoon I visited.

Downtown Red Hook in Summer of 2023

I started my day at the Staatsburgh Historical Site of the Mills Mansion in Staatsburg, NY. The mansion was not open for tours yet under Phase 4 of Governor Cuomo’s plan as of yet so the park site opened programs that showcased the outside of the mansion. I started my day with a “Garden Tour” of the grounds of the Mill’s Mansion “Staatsburgh” located at 75 Mills Mansion Drive.

The Mills Mansion “Staatsburgh” (Staatsburgh State Historical Site)

https://parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/25/details.aspx

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48676-d107418-Reviews-Staatsburgh_State_Historic_Site_Mills_Mansion-Staatsburg_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/visitingamuseum.com/2137

The 90-minute tour took us to the back lawn of the estate where we visited the former icehouse, boat house, stables and storage areas and the location to where the greenhouses were located. The mansion was once a 25-room home that was a working farm but with Ruth Livingston Mills social standing the house was added and expanded to 79 rooms to the current home of today.

The original farms became lawns and Ogden Mills, her husband and a financier himself, became a gentleman farmer and animals were grown and raised for competition and for food for the estate. The greenhouses were used for flowers and fruits and vegetables for the mansion.

The back lawn of the Mills Mansion and the Hudson River in the distance

Most of the buildings have since been knocked down or in disrepair but you have to use your imagination to see how the estate once worked. The whole property was once pretty well self-sufficient.

Ruth Livingston Mills

The Mills Family

Ogden Mills

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogden_Mills_(financier)

When I toured the house in February 2022, the mansion had just gone through a deep cleaning after being open for the Christmas holiday season and had been decorated to the hilt for the holidays. We had a small group of three that had the mansion to ourselves, and it was a quiet but informative tour.

By 10:30am, our small group of four was done for the morning and I decided to run up to Red Hook for lunch. I was in the mood for a Chicken Parmesan sandwich from Village Pizza III located in the downtown. Before I left for lunch, I drove through Downtown Rhinebeck which had just closed off all their downtown parking for outdoor cafes and the place was really busy. All the restaurants were busy for the late brunch and early lunch crowds.

Village Pizza III at 7514 North Broadway

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=113437418688745

The Chicken Parmesan sandwich here is excellent especially the red sauce

This delicious sandwich you should not miss when passing through Red Hook, NY

I drove further north on Route 9 which takes you right into Downtown Red Hook and turns into North and South Broadway which is cut at the intersection of East and West Market Street (which is Route 199). The downtown stretches from this intersection for a few blocks before leading to more homes and farms. The wooden storefronts are a combination of Victorian and multi-level architecture and brick buildings which gives it the classic downtown appearance.

Looking down East Market Street in Downtown Red Hook, NY

https://www.redhook.org/

https://www.redhookvillage.org/

I parked on East Market Street and started to walk towards the intersection. I discovered that one of my favorite stores that I just featured a few months ago, Pause at 10 East Market Street had moved to Rhinebeck. It now has an online store and its new expanded location in Rhinebeck at 6423 Montgomery Street Suite 3.

Pause was a great store of handmade food products and whimsical toys for pets (Moved Rhinebeck in 2022)

Pause is now at 6423 Montgomery Street Suite 3 in Rhinebeck, NY

https://www.pausedogboutique.com/

https://www.facebook.com/PauseDogBoutique/

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/598

Next to the former Pause store is another unique at 6 East Market Street called Petals & Moss, a fresh and dried flower store, where the owner, Nancy Lee, designs not only the floral arrangements and the dried flower wreaths that line the walls but also cuts most of the fresh flowers in season from her own garden.

Petals and Moss at 6 East Market Street

https://www.petalsandmossflorals.com/

https://www.facebook.com/petalsandmoss/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48473-d20029389-Reviews-Petals_and_Moss_Floral_Design-Red_Hook_New_York.html

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/1074

The display tables inside of Petals & Moss

The tables are arranged with fresh floral bouquets and dried flowers designed in interesting designs. I like that the store is not overwhelmed with flowers all over the place and the look is a minimalist where you can enjoy the beauty of the flowers and they are showcased in their simplest form.

The beauty of Petals and Moss arrangements

Petals & Moss at Christmas time in 2021

Next to Petals and Moss was this wonderful display for Fall where the Christmas usually stands

The display in the Fall of 2024

When I was visiting Red Hook in October of 2022 for the Sheep and Wool Festival on the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, I stopped up to walk around the town again. I stopped in I2evolve, a small arts and crafts store that also serves as an expressive art school for local children at 18 East Main Street. The where having a ‘Haunted Halloween Village’ event.

I2Evolve at 18 East Main Street in Red Hook

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100054426402158

https://www.instagram.com/i2evolve/?hl=en

The Haunted Halloween Village at I2Evolve was a lot of fun

The ghoulish welcome into the store

The Haunted Halloween Village event was the owner showcasing the children’s art on tables all over the store. It seems that her students in her art school came up with so many creative haunted houses that she created a ‘village’ to display the students work. It was a very clever idea and it was a lot of fun looking at all the students creativity in their work. So many of them were loaded with details and interesting embellishments. The owner of the store, Kim Popolizio, took me on a quick tour of the store before the families arrived with their kids (who were the artists of all of these wonderful pieces).

The main part of the village

More of the ‘village’ homes

The inside of the store and the ghostly village to the side

The kids were so creative!

So much detail and attention into these works

After touring all the villages, I stopped at the concession stand that the owner had set up in the back. She had “Witches Brew” which was a green fruit punch, a cotton candy machine, a popcorn machine, cider doughnuts, candy and coffee and tea all of which was between $1.00 and $2.00. What a good businesswoman not gouging her guests! People loved it and it was really busy (plus the cider doughnuts were delicious!)

The owner insisted I see her patio in the back so I made the trip outside. It was still warm and in the 60’s when I visited so it was pleasant to go outside. What a wonderful place to relax.

The patio section of I2Evolve is a nice place to relax from the crowds of the store

The outside patio

In a small truck stand down the road at 33 East Market Street is the seasonal business and weekends only during the cooler months is Terry’s Country Bakeshop. Terry sets up a small table of reasonably priced baked goods such as cider doughnuts, scones, crumb cake, cinnamon rolls and small pies (prices are seasonal). Don’t miss her cider doughnuts ($1.00). They were excellent. She is also quite the conversationalist. We had a nice chat.

Terry’s Country Bakeshop at 22 East Market Street (no longer there)

Crossing the street at the intersection of Market and Broadway, I like to head north to my favorite restaurant in Red Hook, Village Pizza III at 7514 North Broadway. I cannot tell you how good the food is here in a few sentences. For a small pizzeria, the food is excellent, the service is friendly and the prices are amazingly fair. For a family on a budget, the restaurant is the perfect place to dine. It was unfortunately closed on Sunday.

The food and service at Village Pizza III is excellent!

Village Pizza III 7514 North Broadway Red Hook, NY 12571

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48473-d819096-Reviews-Village_Pizza_III-Red_Hook_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/886

The many times I have eaten here over the holiday season and on my visits to the area for functions, I really love coming here for lunch and dinner. The red sauce here is just delicious and has a rich tomato flavor that makes every dish wonderful. The Chicken Parmesan dinner with spaghetti could feed two people easily. It is loaded with gooey mozzarella cheese.

The Spaghetti and meatballs are out of this world. Three golf ball sized freshly made meatballs on top of what looked like a half pound of spaghetti. The red sauce here is amazing. The calzones are overstuffed with ingredients and the pizza has the most amazing combination of spices and cheeses. Each bite is like heaven. There is not one thing on the menu that is not delicious.

The pizza here is fantastic and the prices here are extremely fair.

Their Chicken Parmesan with Spaghetti is excellent.

The elusive J & J Gourmet at 1 East Market Street was closed for a third time when I visited there in 2021. Oh well, I will have to wait until another time to have breakfast there. (The restaurant closed in January 2022).

The Country Corner at 1 East Market Street

https://www.facebook.com/jandjgourmet/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48473-d830876-Reviews-J_J_s_Gourmet-Red_Hook_New_York.html?m=19905

https://www.jandjgourmet.com/our-cafe/

It has now been replaced in 2023 by The Country Corner at the same address. A brand new concept with new products and merchandising with a lot of local purveyors.

The Corner Counter at 1 Market Street

https://www.cornercounter.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

The Corner Counter specials

The new sign

The Corner Counter is a neighborhood cheese shop & eatery, offering artisan cheese & charcuterie, craft beer/cider, coffee, specialty foods and grocery staples. Food menu includes a rotating selection of sandwiches, salads, prepared foods and cheese plates. Our goal is to serve as a community gathering space, where customers can enjoy quality food in a warm, welcoming environment. We support local farms & purveyors, and choose organic, fair trade and sustainable products whenever possible (The Country Corner website).

The groceries and specialty items

Their delicious sandwich selection

The assortment of cookies and treats at Christmas time.

The Fall display in Downtown Red Hook, October 2023.

During the times I eat in Red Hook, one of my favorite places for dessert is Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop at 7501 North Broadway. They make the best cinnamon rolls and cookies.

Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop is a nice place to sit and relax (Christmas 2022)

https://www.facebook.com/AnnabellesVillageBakeShop/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48473-d14051169-Reviews-Annabelle_s_Village_Bake_Shop-Red_Hook_New_York.html?m=19905

Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop in the summer of 2023

Red Hook in the Fall of 2024

The last visit I made to Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop, I had one of her Fruit Loop Doughnuts that was an over-sized cake doughnut topped with a thick vanilla icing and finished with lots of colorful fruit loops. Their over-sized Cinnamon Rolls on another visit were layered in sweet cinnamon in a buttery dough. I had their jelly doughnuts, and they are filled with the most amazing jelly. Recently, I had one of their cream filled Long John doughnuts. Yum!

The chocolate covered cream filled Long John

The baker herself has waited on me and is extremely engaging and when it is okay to eat inside again, it is a relaxing experience to just sit and talk. For now, there is a tent outside for dining and enjoying your dessert.

The inside of Annabelle’s Bake Shop (Annabelle’s closed in October 2024)

Village Bake Shop decorated for the Christmas holidays in 2021 (closed 2024)

Next door to Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop is one of the most creative, imaginary and interesting toy stores I have ever seen. Little Pickles Children’s General Store at 7505 North Broadway. This colorful little store caters to the Lilliputian crowd and has all the things you need for a small child or creative tween.

Little Pickles Children’s General Store at 7505 North Broadway is out of a fairy tale book.

Shop

https://www.facebook.com/littlepicklesgeneralstore/

My review on TripAdvisor.com:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48473-d7954016-Reviews-Little_Pickles-Red_Hook_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/169

Little Pickles is one of those stores I wish was around when I was a kid. Even the big kid in me loves visiting the store when I am in Red Hook. One of the stores is dedicated to clothing, shoes and accessories for the small child in need of everyday items. In the room is a castle to explore and wooden trains to play with while your siblings’ shop (these things are currently not available because of COVID-19).

The outside of the store has a whimsical candy and ice cream shop and lots of little ‘stocking stuffers’ for a quick gift. Lining the shelves in the front of the store, there are balloons, magnets, small games and puzzles that are perfect for the creative child’s birthday party.

This is where children come for that special gift

The back of the store has a assortment of games, puzzles, magic tricks, science experiments and board games. During these tough times with all of us having to stay in it has the perfect collection of items for family game night.

The sign of Little Pickles is so welcoming.

Down the street are Red Hook Stationary and The Crow’s Nest, unique gift shops sell specialty items. The Crow’s Nest is a store that supports women artists and craftspeople and specializes in merchandise that is eco-friendly and Free-Trade. Owner Sarah Carlson says that she searches the world to find items that support female artisans who offer handmade one of kind gifts and home products. The shelves and tables are lined with interesting merchandise.

The Red Hook Stationary store at 7 West Market Street

https://www.facebook.com/RedHookStationeryCo/

The Crow’s Nest at 9 West Market Street

https://www.chronogram.com/hudsonvalley/the-crows-nest-home-goods-boutique-red-hook/Content?oid=13005760

Walking down North Broadway and turning the corner to West Market Street. Another store stands out for its interesting gift items and fascinating artwork Equis Gallery at 15 West Market Street where all things are equestrian.

The Equis Gallery at 15 West Market Street where it’s all-things horses.

Equis Art Gallery

https://www.facebook.com/equisartgallery/

My review on TripAdvisor.com:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48473-d7180984-Reviews-Equis_Art_Gallery-Red_Hook_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/372

The gallery is so unique with the theme with all the artists carried in the store is all things horses. Paintings large and small line the walls and the tables are ladened with jewelry, statuary, small sculptures and gifts for the perfect host present.

The beautiful jewelry at Equis Gallery

The store carries the work of many local and distant artists and is all unique to the store. It is always nice talking to the gallery owner, Juliet Harrison, who always greets you with a smile and makes you feel welcome.

The work here is revolving so there are always new artists to see.

Equis Gallery owner Juliet R. Harrison

A wonderful video on the Equis Gallery

There is a new gourmet grocery store, The Locavore Market at 29 West Main Street, just opened in the downtown which has a nice selection of locally made food items from sodas to cheeses. They also have a prepared food section where you can buy breakfast and lunch sandwiches and pastries. There is inside seating to enjoy your meal as well.

There is a nice assortment of Hudson Valley created products, cookbooks and other items for the household that make nice gifts and souvenirs from the Hudson River Valley. The store has expanded the selection of products from more local farms and baked goods from local bakers and when in season all the produce from local farms. All the products are marked from what local vendors they are from.

The Locavore Market at 29 West Main Street in Downtown Red Hook, NY

The sign of the shop

https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Locavore-Market-100084226388563/

https://www.instagram.com/locavoremarket/

The cheerful sign welcoming you to the Locavore Market

The inside of the shop

The wonderful baked goods at the store

Walking back down West Market Street and heading down South Broadway, I headed to Golden Wok Chinese Restaurant at 7479 South Broadway, but the place had no dining area open inside. On a recent trip to Red Hook, I stopped in for dinner.

What was nice is that Downtown Red Hook during the summer months has a little park with tables for outdoor dining. On Friday and Saturday nights from 6:00pm-8:00pm have live entertainment. The woman guitarist that evening was wonderful and attracted a nice crowd on this warm Spring night. It was a nice way to dine with the warm breezes passing by and conversing with other people at the table.

Golden Wok at 7479 South Broadway

http://us.chinesemenu.com/us/red-hook-ny-12571/golden-wok/

My review on TripAdvisor.com:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48473-d821529-Reviews-Golden_Wok-Red_Hook_New_York.html?m=19905

I ordered from their extensive Cantonese menu and had for dinner the Beef and Broccoli combination platter with Fried Rice and Egg Roll ($11.95). It was a nice sized portion and have to say that the Fried Rice here is excellent.

Beef and Broccoli with Fried Rice at Golden Wok at 7479 South Broadway

The Roast Pork Lo Mein with Pork Fried Rice with an Egg Roll is also an excellent choice for lunch and dinner.

The Roast Pork Lo Mein combination platter for dinner Christmas 2022.

When I was here last Summer (Pre-COVID-19), there was another enjoyable concert in the parking lot next to Village Hall that was free for the evening with local musicians. That was a nice night and people really had a nice time listening to the music and talking with their neighbors. It must be a nice place to grow up.

The Memorial Day Parade in Red Hook NY from 2008

After my walk around Downtown Red Hook, it was back to Rhinebeck for lunch. There is another branch of Village Pizza in Downtown Rhinebeck as well but I now wanted something different as it was getting even hotter outside and I wanted something light.

Downtown artworks during the fall of 2022

So, I headed to Pete’s Famous Restaurant at 34 East Market Street, a restaurant I have eaten at many times over the last twenty years of visiting Rhinebeck. The food is always consistent here and the service very friendly. Like the rest of downtown’s all over the nation, the sidewalks and streets of the Main Street have been changed to an outdoor cafe. Pete’s Famous has good number of tables and umbrellas on the sidewalk under the trees and street which made for a nice experience.

Pete’s Famous Restaurant at 34 East Market Street in Rhinebeck, NY

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/American-Restaurant/Petes-Famous-Restaurant-115462331809675/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48486-d823142-Reviews-Pete_s_Famous_Restaurant-Rhinebeck_New_York.html?m=19905

Everything I have ever ordered here has been wonderful. When a friend and I stopped in 2025, we started off with Mozzarella Sticks and Buffalo Chicken Wings. Both were really good and the portion size was really good.

The Mozzarella Sticks for lunch

The Buffalo Chicken Wings are delicious

For the entree, I love getting the Turkey Club sandwich and the restaurant did not disappoint. The sandwich was layered with freshly roasted turkey, juicy tomatoes, crisp lettuce and crisp bacon lathered with mayo on toasted white bread. It was a nice combination of flavors and tastes and the fries just came out of the fryer.

The Turkey club with fries here is excellent.

This Turkey Club Sandwich is quite a sandwich

Yum!

It was nice to sit outside on a sunny afternoon and watch people walk by. It made it almost seem like there wasn’t a global pandemic going on. I am not too sure how long all of this will last but for that afternoon everything felt okay.

On a cool February day in 2022, it was a Hot Turkey platter that warmed me up after a tour of the Mills Mansion. Layers of fresh turkey are mounded on top of white bread with a side of mashed potatoes topped with a yellow turkey gravy was like heaven on a cold day. It was served with a side of cranberry sauce and fresh string beans that tasted like Thanksgiving all over again. The meal also started with a small bowl of Chicken and Rice soup which warmed me up. The food at Pete’s Famous Restaurant is always excellent.

The Open Faced Hot Turkey sandwiches here are excellent

I didn’t want to stay for dessert because I has passed an ice cream stand on the way back from Red Hook that I have wanted to try for years but it is closed during the times I usually come up to Rhinebeck, Del’s Dairy Creme at 6780 Route 9 North in Rhinebeck. Do not miss coming here during the warmer months! It’s worth the whole trip.

Del’s Dairy Creme at 6780 Route 9 North is amazing!!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Drive-In-Restaurant/Dels-Dairy-Creme-343317432733279/

My review on TripAdvisor.com:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48486-d830017-Reviews-Del_s_Dairy_Creme-Rhinebeck_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

This little ice cream shop right near the Dutchess County Fairgrounds looks like it had just been renovated and landscaped. The back part of the building has a nice sized lawn with chairs and tables (socially distanced perfectly) that is the perfect place to enjoy your ice cream or lunch items on their listing.

Del’s lunch menu

Del’s menu in the summer of 2025

Del’s summer menu in 2025

The ice cream here is so thick and creamy and has the most unique flavors. On the recommendation of the young lady working there I tried the Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Swirl and the Honey Lavender ice creams. The Lemon Poppyseed is also excellent. I do not say this much but after biting into the Honey Lavender ice cream I thought I saw God. The ice cream was amazing!

The Ice Cream menu at Del’s Dairy Creme

It was just the right combination of flavors of sweetness and tartness. The Blueberry ice cream is made from fresh fruit from the farm, and you could taste the flavors sweetness and creaminess from the fresh milk and cream from the farm.

The Blueberry Lavender Ice Cream here is excellent!

The Ice Cream sampler though is the way to go when wanting to try all the delicious flavors

Del’s is Americana during the summer months. It is the place that people look like they have been coming to since the 1960’s and with a new owner and a modernized building brings it into the twenty-first century. It is the perfect place to stop with the family.

In the Fall months around Halloween, the warm weather was a pleasure in Del’s backyard seating area.

Del’s in the Summer in 2024

Del’s Burgers are the best on a cool day.

The Fried Chicken sandwiches are also excellent on a summer day

After the long and relaxing lunch, I headed back to the Mills Mansion for the “Lecture on the Portico” for a talk on the servants’ role at the mansion when the family was in house for the late Summer and Fall months. I have to admit with such a large lunch and dessert inside me and the weather being so warm (it was about 92 degrees at this point), I was getting sleepy and started to nod off during the lecture.

Mills Mansion “Servants Talk”

It was an interesting lecture on household items that the servants would have used to maintain the mansion during the summer months. They explained how the servants used the hand-cranked ice cream machine to make the summer treat and showed us their ice cream scoop for the perfect serving of the frozen treat.

Other items that were explained to us to run the household were a meat press for creating juices for broths, a bottle closer for opened beverages and a mop wringer for cleanups. It is interesting the amount of time it took to keep the mansion clean and the items needed to do the work at a time when electrical cleaning items did not exist. It took an army of servants to keep the mansion running.

It was so nice to relax and enjoy the breezes on the portico (the front porch) while listening to the lecture. I think this is the reason why on top of digesting a big lunch why I kept falling asleep. The heat did not help either. Still, it was a nice way to see the mansion in a different light by seeing it from the outside looking in. The grounds have so much to offer and the lecture topics are very interesting.

The portico of the mansion is a nice place for meetings.

The views of the Mills Mansion back lawn

It was just nice to be back up in the Hudson River Valley again for Christmas in 2021. I had not been up here since February for the last Tea Lecture (see my review on the mansion above) and since the COVID-19 pandemic, it was an interesting way to still visit the mansion and tour the grounds and have a new sense of scenery.

Red Hook, NY is one of those picturesque little towns at Christmas time with elegant lights on the stores and trees in the downtown area and stores so beautifully merchandised giving the town the look of a Currier & Ives carving.

Downtown Red Hook at dusk at Christmas time

Spending time at the holidays in Red Hook is also special. The merchants do such a nice job decorating their windows for Christmas and all the older buildings in the downtown are decorated with garland, red ribbons and white lights. It looks like a Currier & Ives print especially at night when the whole town is lit up.

Petals & Moss at Christmas time

Petals & Moss at Christmas time in 2021

During the usual holiday season, the town holds the “Snowflake Festival” the second Saturday in December (the first weekend in December is the big “Sinterklaas” festival in Rhinebeck and that gets all the people the first weekend) and that is a nice family event.

Red Hook, NY at Christmas is like a picture out of Currier & Ives

Red Hook is so peaceful on a pre- or post-Christmas night. I visited on New Year’s Day and most of the stores and restaurants were closed but still at twilight, the Christmas holiday with all its hope and dreams is still alive and appreciated at night. The Christmas season in the Hudson River Valley especially in these small towns is really special.

Red Hook is so beautiful at Christmas time

Annabelle’s Village Bake Shop decorated for Christmas in 2021

The Red Hook, NY village Christmas tree in 2021

Downtown Red Hook during the day at Christmas time.

The Downtown Red Hook Christmas tree 2023.

The Christmas Tree during the post Christmas late Winter in March 2025

The church with the Christmas tree competition for best decorated tree.

Christmas is a special time in the Hudson River Valley and you need to travel to these small towns to appreciate how the towns decorate themselves and welcome Santa. Red Hook is now beginning to rival Rhinebeck down the highway for beauty and elegance at the Christmas holidays. The downtown businesses go all out in December and the town is decked in lights and decorations awaiting Santa’s arrival. The church services are in full swing with chorus concerts and beautiful decorations awaiting parishioners. It is magical in Red Hook at Christmas!

Downtown Christmas 2022

Downtown Red Hook Christmas tree 2022

Downtown Red Hook, NY at Christmas time.

Downtown Window displays at Christmas time.

Downtown Red Hook windows at Christmas.

Downtown Red Hook at the corner of Main Street and Route 9 Broadway.

The downtown churches of Red Hook, NY were decked out for the holidays.

The Downtown Red Hook churches are beautiful at the holidays.

Historic homes just off the downtown are decked for the Christmas holidays.

It is such a pleasure to visit the Hudson River Valley. The towns are so quaint during the holiday season from Halloween to Christmas Day. They are special places.

The homes in Downtown Red Hook are pretty amazing during the summer as well (Summer 2023).

The homes during the Fall of 2024 right before Halloween

Red Hook in the Fall of 2024 and the beautiful downtown homes

The new logo of the Red Hook shopping district in the summer of 2023

The Red Hook of Red Hook

The outdoor cafe’s in bloom

It is beautiful in every season up here.

The Town of Red Hook, NY is a magical place any time of the year. You just have to visit and know all this from the people who live here who seem to love it so much! It always seems to come alive though at the holidays both at Halloween and Christmas!

Exploring Red Hook during the summer of 2024

Red Hook in the Fall of 2024

The Town of Red Hook is wonderful to visit anytime of the year!

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Seven Christmas Again in the blink of an eye November 23rd, 2019-January 10th, 2020

January 18, 2020"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Projects, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String in New York State, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New Jersey, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Boonton, NJ, Exploring Farms and Farm Stands, Exploring Historic Bergen County NJ, Exploring Historic Dutchess County NY, Exploring Historic Towns in New Jersey, Exploring Historic Towns of Upstate New York, Exploring Hyde Park NY, Exploring Lewes DE, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Manhattan Valley/Bloomingdale/Upper West Side, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring New York State, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring Red Hook NY, Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Exploring the Bronx, Exploring the Historic Hudson River Valley in New York State, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring Wappinger Falls NY, Historic New Jersey Towns and Neighborhoods, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Historic New York State neighborhoods, Historical Towns of New Jersey, Little Shop on Main Street in New York City (LittleShoponMainStreet), My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan at the Christmas Holidays, MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Pizzeria's and Italian Restaurants for the budget-minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New Jersey, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Visiting a Museum in New York State, Visiting Farms and Farm Stands in New York, Walking around Manhattan, Walking in Hyde Park, NYAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Auntie El's Farm Market, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, Buying a Christmas tree, Buying a Christmas Tree in New Jersey, Christmas Holidays, Christmas in Rhinebeck NY, Christmas in the Hudson River Valley, Clermont Mansion Livingstons, Decorated Mansion Tours, DiningonaShoeString@Wordpress.com, Downtown Cold Spring NY, Downtown Rhinebeck NY, Downtown Wappinger's Falls, Dyckman Farm House, Exploring Historical Homes at Christmas, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Exploring the Hudson River Valley, Exploring the Hudson River Valley at Chiristmas, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Hasbrouck Heights Men's Assocation, Hasbrouck Heights Men's Association Christmas Tree sales, Hudson River Valley Christmas Events, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, Justin Watrel CEO Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc., Justin's HHMA Tree Commerical, LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com, Locust Grove, Mills Mansion, MywalkinManhattan.com, Paterson Falls, Paterson Museum, Paterson NJ, Pete's Famous, Ringwood Manor, Selling Christmas trees, Sinterklaas, Sinterklaas Parade, Skylands Manor, Springwood Mansion FDR, Take me back to Paterson NJ, The Cloisters, The Hermitage Mansion, Van Cortlandt Manor, Vanderbilt Mansion, VisitingaMuseum.com, Wagon Wheel Pizza, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watrel, Wildersteinjwatrel

I have never seen a holiday come and go so fast that it zoomed by. We had one less weekend this year in the month of December before Christmas and it seemed to set everyone in a panic. I have seen holidays fly by but this one was for the records. It seemed that everyone crammed in as much as they could the first two weekends of December and did not come up for breath.

I was no different as work took up everything leading to Halloween and then boom, five weeks later there was Thanksgiving and Sinterklaas. As I wrote in earlier blogs, we went from 71 degrees on Halloween Parade to 25 degrees five weeks later for the Sinterklaas Parade. You just can’t predict the weather.

Halloween Parade Puppet Rehearsals 2019.jpg

The Puppet Rehearsals started my Holiday Season in early October

Visit the blog “Day One Hundred and Fifty Three: “Halloween Again”:

Day One Hundred and Fifty Three: Here’s Halloween Again October 31st, 2019

After my class’s presentation in Paterson, I left the next day for Florida to visit friends and family. There were some concerns with my friends and I wanted to be sure that they were okay and then I wanted to spend time with my brother and niece. After that I traveled to visit my mother for her birthday so it was a nice visit.

It was also a good working vacation too as I added on new stores to my LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com site and new museums on my VisitingaMuseum.com site:

See the new Museums I explored:

https://visitingamuseum.com/

The Cummer Museum in Jacksonville, Fl was recently added to my blog among others were updated.

https://www.cummermuseum.org/

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/3810

The MOCA-Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville, FL was interesting

https://mocajacksonville.unf.edu/

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/3836

See the new shops that I added:

https://littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/

The innovative pet store, “Bark” in Jacksonville, Fl was added to my retail site as well as some sites were revisited.

Homepage

It was also a good vacation because after the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. presentation in Paterson, NJ was behind me, it was a big sigh of relief. As I said in that blog (Day One Hundred and Fifty-Eight), it was a lot of work and stress for all of us right before Thanksgiving but it was the best time to present it because the students could relax over the holidays and be proud of what they accomplished.

Here are some links to the project:

Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.

Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc Film Team Project

Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Paterson Project

My Business 101 class at City Hall for their presentation “Take me Back to Paterson,NJ”

Visit the site: “Day One Hundred and Fifty-Eight: Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Presents:

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Five: Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. presents: “Take me Back to Paterson, New Jersey” Introduction to Business 101-Bergen Community College November 23rd, 2019

When I returned home from Florida on my business/vacation trip, it was full steam ahead with the holidays. I promised myself this year that I would cut back on a lot of the get togethers and events to attend and I stuck by it. Still there was a lot to see and do and things I wanted my readers to know on my blogs.

The holiday season this year though started without me. I was not home for the Christmas tree drop off for the Men’s Association, the Annual Holiday Parade in Hasbrouck Heights and our Department Party for the Fire Department and the Holiday Party for the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association. I was away that first weekend visiting friends and family and work on this blog. I got into the spirit and the holiday rush when I returned.

The holiday season started for me the first Saturday of December with marching in the Annual Sinterklaas Parade in Rhinebeck. I am now going on my seventh year participating in the parade and almost a decade of being up in Rhinebeck, NY.

Rhinebeck, NY like the rest of the Hudson River Valley is just magical at the holidays from Halloween to New Year’s. Downtown Rhinebeck is picturesque like a modern Currier & Ives print with the twinkling white lights, the Sinterklaas paintings attached to the trees and the beautifully decorated retail windows which showcase their goods and the parade stars.

Rhinebeck, NY is magical at Christmas

I was so busy working in the morning with my Introduction to Business class on the wrap up of their project and preparing them for their final exam that I did not get up to Rhinebeck until 2:30pm so I missed the whole puppet set-up.

Sinterklaas at the end of the parade

It was really cold the day of the parade and must have been around 38 degrees even with the sun. I did not see as many people as the last two years and you could actually walk the streets. The police closed off the main street so you could finally walk around Downtown Rhinebeck with no problems.

All along the streets and alleyways were entertainers, bands, costumed characters and people on stilts talking to people and engaging the crowds. The one thing I have to say is that it was getting colder and colder as the day went on. I felt for the people in costume who had to deal with this weather.

I wrote more about my afternoon at the parade on Day One Hundred and Fifty Six: The Sinterklaas Parade:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/11227

You can see me in the corner of the Sinterklaas Parade near Mother Earth in the Cornell Hat in the 2018 parade and the 2019 parade

Home

That Saturday evening it went down to almost 24 degrees and it got cold! Even with four layers, I could see my breath right in front of me. That didn’t stop the crowds. They were five deep for the parade which like every year it magical. Between all the colors, lights, floats and stars hanging from poles along the parade route it adds to the excitement of Sinterklaas coming to town.

I was working in the star forest by the Mother Earth float so I was toward the back of the parade so I could see most everything from the hill overlooking Downtown Rhinebeck. It is something to see the parade from the parade itself up on the hill. The whole town is ablaze with energy as each band and dance team performs.

Downtown Rhinebeck NY during Christmas

I loved the looks on the kids faces as all the puppets lean into the crowds. Then right behind us the crowd follows the parade into the parking lot to enjoy the show. This is when the crowd dispersed.

I have never seen a crowd clear up as we rounded the corner and dropped off our puppets. The other people I worked with went home and after the show and the fire performers finished the last of the crowd dispersed. I just wanted to walk around the town one more time before I left town.

The parade is magical when the puppets enter Downtown Rhinebeck

By the time finished my walk around town, it must have dropped to 22 degrees and everyone was off the streets. It got so quiet in Rhinebeck. The restaurants were still dealing with the crowds but not as busy as I remembered the last two years. When I had a slice of pizza at Village Pizza at 119 East Market Street (see review on TripAdvisor), the place was quiet which not normal that night. You could still get a seat. It was worth it though as their pizza is delicious.

I got home late that night and I will tell you that it got colder that night. The windows of the car really froze up. Normally I would spend the night but I had to visit a series of decorated mansions to visit, a few holiday events at museums and an Afternoon Tea at the Ballantine Mansion at the Newark Museum.

The next day was a whirlwind of activity as I ran from one activity to another. Because of having one less weekend before Christmas all the organizations were having their events the first Saturday and Sunday of December so I had to plan my visits like D-Day. I wanted to be able to update my VisitingaMuseum.com blog with visits to all the holiday events. It was too much in one day but I did it.

I started that Sunday at the Lodi, NJ VFW for the Knights of Columbus monthly breakfast. For $6.00, I had to load up on the carbs because I would not be eating until 4:00pm. The Knights of Columbus know how to make breakfast and I loaded up on scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes and French Toast and potatoes before my long day of running around. The discussion amongst all of us was how we were all tired of Christmas and it had not even arrived yet. It just seemed that everyone else like me was running from one thing to another.

My first stop that morning was the the Boonton Historical Society at 210 Main Street in Boonton, NJ (see reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). I had visited earlier in October after a Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association meeting and they had mentioned this get together. It was a very nice event.

The Boonton Historical Society at 210 Main Street

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com

https://www.boonton.org/268/Boonton-Historical-Society

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/3595

The Historical Society had a few local musicians and entertainers playing to the crowd and a nice assortment of small appetizers and cookies to nibble on while you walked around the displays. It is a nice place to get insights on the development of the iron industry in New Jersey plus the growth of business in the State. They also had a nice exhibition on the Trolley system in New Jersey.

The refreshment table for Christmas at the Boonton Historical Society

The next stop was the Holiday Festival at the Hopper-Goetschius House at 245 Lake Street in Upper Saddle River, NJ. The Historical Society of Upper Saddle River ran this engaging little festival which was a lot of fun. The weather had broke and it was sunny and a pleasant 48 degrees out.

Santa in the Dutch Barn at the Hooper-Goetschius House at 245 Lake Street

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2030

You could visit Santa in the Dutch barn, participate in historical games in the schoolhouse, watch a demonstration of blacksmith work, eat fresh popcorn and chestnuts that were cooked over an open fire the outdoor kitchen and tour the house itself which was decorated for a Victorian Christmas.

There were tours of the house, story telling in the dining room, classical music being played in the parlor and fresh Christmas cookies and hot apple cider in the Colonial kitchen which dates back to the late 1700’s. they really did a nice job but then it was off to the next site, the Newark Museum for Afternoon Tea at the Ballantine House.

The Ballantine House at the Newark Museum was decorated for Christmas as “Mrs. Ballantine’s Christmas Eve Open House”

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://www.newarkmuseumart.org/ballantine-house-newark-museum-art

If you ever drove from Boonton to Upper Saddle River to Newark in one afternoon, it is a lot of running around and a lot of driving through traffic during the holidays. Thank God all of these events were on a Sunday when the malls are closed (Bergen County, NJ has strict Blue Laws).

I got there just as they started serving tea and the room was packed with people. The event was held on the top floor of the old Ballatine Mansion which is part of the Newark Museum. It had once been the attic of the house which Mrs. Ballatine converted into an apartment for her married daughter and her family. It now serves as the Trustees Room.

The Newark Museum at 49 Washington Street in Newark, NJ. The Ballantine House is to the right.

That was a very nice afternoon of nice conversation with other guests, wonderful food (the sandwiches and pastries were plentiful on the table) and an interesting talk on the history of the Ballantine Mansion and the family. After the tea was over, we were lead on a special out of the mansion which was decorated for the Christmas holidays circa 1890. It must have been a pleasant affair for the family as the day started with church services and then a Christmas luncheon.

After the talk, it was back to the house again and changing clothes and selling Christmas trees from six to ten that evening. We only sold five trees that night and I was so happy that after 8:00pm we had no customers and I could just sit by the fire and relax. I was all ‘Christmased’ out that day. It was just nice to sit and smell the pine trees. I was happy when the day was over. Fun yes but I was tired from all the driving. That was just the first weekend.

Selling Christmas trees is part of the our fundraising for the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association. I have been doing this for twenty years.

Here’s me promoting the event:

The second week was just as busy. I ran two holidays parties at work. One group not many people attended so it was just the four of us. Still it was nice. The other group I had twenty people in wheelchairs who we ‘wined and dined’. Each one of us baked something, we arranged to have gifts for all the residents of the facility I work with and then I made a big batch of stuffed shells and made a dessert tray as a gift so that the residents had something from me to take back to their rooms. I have never seen a group of people light up and be their old selves. Living in a nursing facility is hard but I think we did bring ‘Santa’ back in their lives that afternoon.

We had another wonderful lunch at work with a full turkey dinner and a lot of well wishes and then the rains came for two days and did not let up. So we had to change the day of our Men’s Association Christmas party to the next night and I ended up having a nice time.

Setting up the Christmas trees

We all huddled around a fire and talked about the past year and the success of the Christmas tree sale. This will mean more scholarships in the future to our students and hopefully more future customers. People believe in what we are trying to achieve. The pot luck brings in everyone’s creativity and we had a nice meal.

The second weekend came and went as fast as the first. I gave my final exam in the morning to my class and for the most part everyone did well. I think we were all relieved when the class was over. They left as soon as they were done. I went off to sell Christmas trees in the afternoon and there was only thirty one trees when I left.

The Campbell-Christi House was used as the pub for dinner that night

I went off to a historical Christmas event at the Bergen County Historical Society at 1202 Main Street in River Edge, NJ. They had the whole complex decorated for a Colonial Christmas. It was enchanting with the candles in the windows and people in costume walking around the buildings.

The Campbell-Christi House for dinner during the concert night. The Shepard’s Pie was delicious!

The Cookie Assortment dessert

In the Campbell-Christi House they had set up a Colonial era pub so you could have dinner with a modern twist to pub food including Shepard’s Pie, Mac & Cheese, a dessert plate and fried doughnuts It was all served by people in costume.

The Van Steuben House, part of the Bergen County Historical Society

My reviews on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/872

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/531

Then you were walked down to the Van Steuben House near the river for entertainment. Performer Linda Russell and her group sang traditional songs that would have been sang during the holidays.

Linda Russel and her group at the Van Steuben House for the Christmas concert

Unlike the Victorian Christmas’s of a hundred years in the future, Christmas after the Revolutionary War was quite simple. Houses were decorated with holly, mistletoe and garland and there were church services in the morning with a lunch afterwards. Things like presents and Santa would not come until after the Civil War.

One of Linda Russell’s most popular songs

Performer Linda Russell performed traditional Christmas songs that were sung of that era in the main room of the Van Steuben House where General George Washington had stayed during his time in the Bergen County during the Revolutionary War. She lead a lecture and in song how people enjoyed themselves on those cold nights. It was a nice insight on the early holidays.

The next morning was a long trip up to the Hudson River Valley to visit some of the decorated mansions of the area. My first stop was Germantown to visit Clermont, the homestead of the Livingston family at County Route 6 (see review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com below). The house was beautifully decorated with garland and trees and was being set up that evening for the house’s ‘Candlelight Tour’, where actors in costume performed as guests. I came up before the event on one of the middle tours and got a personal tour of the house.

Clermont, the home of the Livingston Family at Country Route 6

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/3928

The house sits frozen in time when it was donated to the State of New York with period furnishings and family heirlooms decorating the rooms and walls of the home. It was decorated with rows of garland, holly and mistletoe like most homes of the era and lavish Christmas trees in certain rooms. The formal dining room table was set of the holiday dinner.

The Library at Clermont

The tour including the history of the Livingston family in the area and in the country and the influence that the house had during both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Then there was a discussion of the people that lived here and their stories. It is an interesting tour.

The Living Room during Christmas

My next stop before the afternoon was over was a tour of Wildenstein at 330 Morton Road in Rhinebeck, the home of the Suckley family, who were relations of the Roosevelts and Livingston’s. I had visited the beautiful decorated mansion many times in the past and on a glorious sunny day, the view of the Hudson River from this spot is spectacular.

The Wilderstein Mansion in Rhinebeck, NY

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/1642

Only the first floor of the mansion is open for tours and was elegantly decorated for the holidays. Ms. Suckley lived into her 90’s and dwelled only on the first floor in the end so the house is pretty much intact from the Victorian era. She kept the house immaculate and restorations continued. You could tour the living room, dining room, front palour, entrance hall and library which were decorated in holly, garland and Christmas trees with gifts in two of the rooms. Like the other mansions it was decorated for formal dinner.

The elegant dining room at Wilderstein

By the time I got home that evening, we had sold out of Christmas tree for the Men’s Association and we closed the stand down for the season.

As classes geared down to their last day and work was pretty much over for the semester at the college, I concentrated on MywalkinManhattan blog and visiting as many cultural and historical sites that I could to update my VisitingaMuseum site. There are a lot of places to visit and things to see during the holidays in the New York City area and I wanted to share this with readers all over the world.

I revisited some sites in New York the day of the Holy Apostles Holiday Party that I went to for the work in the soup kitchen that I try to do once a week. During the day, I went back to Central Park South to finish walking part of the neighborhood and then walked across Manhattan to visit the Mount Vernon Hotel & Museum at 421 East 61st Street.

The Mount Vernon Hotel Museum at 421 East 61st Street in Manhattan

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2191

The museum was once a day hotel during the early 1800’s which means that you just went there for the afternoon and early evening for activities and lunch which was considered dinner back then. The house was open for tours to see it decorated for the Colonial holidays.

The main rooms has holly and garland all over the banisters as they were preparing for the Christmas holidays and the main dining room was set for a holiday luncheon. Foods that the visitors might have eaten at the noon time meal including turkey, oysters, fresh fruits and vegetables and apple and pumpkin pies. They did a nice job interpreting the meal.

Meal at noontime at the Mount Vernon Hotel

Later that afternoon I stopped by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the Christmas tree that they set up every year. I have been it hundreds of times over the years but I never like to miss it.

The Christmas Tree at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

I also visited the Origami Tree at the American Museum of Natural History for about ten minutes before the crowds at the museum forced me out. It was packed during the holiday break.

The Origami Tree at the American Museum of Natural History

https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/origami-holiday-tree

That evening we had the Holy Apostles Holiday party at the Church of the Holy Apostles and it was a very nice evening. We had a complete Italian dinner with salads and desserts and the music provided by the Avenue’s (a local private school) Jazz Band. These kids are wonderful and can really play. It was a nice evening and a good way to end a very busy year in the Soup Kitchen. It just keeps getting busier with the needs changing.

On Friday night before Christmas, I was finishing my walk of the Central Park South neighborhood businesses and the evening treated myself to a Christmas concert at Carnegie Hall which was appropriate since I spent so much time in the neighborhood. It is such a beautiful building inside and out.

I love Carnegie Hall at Christmas

I went to the show “A Frank and Ella Christmas” with performers Tony DeSare and Capathia Jenkins who performed the tunes of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. I love to see Carnegie Hall when it is lit for the holidays and decorated on stage. It really puts you in the Christmas spirit. Essential Voices USA were the back up vocals that evening and it was a wonderful concert. They sang all the classic songs with Santa leading a sing-a-long at the end of the concert.

Here is Tony DeSare singing “I’ll be home for Christmas” as he did in the concert

They sang all the traditional songs such as “It’s the most wonderful time of the Year” and “Jingle Bells” and this beautiful version of “I’ll be home for Christmas”. The sing a long ended the concert with “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”, “Frosty the Snowman”, “Here comes Santa Claus” and ended with “Jingle Bells”. It really got the audience moving and everyone was humming as they left the theater. I walked across the street to see the building decorated with wreaths and garland and lit in full view. It is quite a site at the holidays. After that I headed home. The next morning was the last day of class.

I gave out my grades the next morning. Class had finally ended and it had been an interesting semester. I had a ball with my students. Who ever thought we would present a project at Paterson City Hall? I did not. Most of my students told me how they loved the experience. That made me feel good right before the holidays.

Sunday brought us “Santa Around Town” our annual romp around Hasbrouck Heights, NJ with the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department. It was such a beautiful and we really lucked out with the weather. It must have been 50 degrees when we started the event and a sunny afternoon.

“Santa Around Town” with the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department December 22nd, 2019

We stopped at ten stops around town greeting families and their pets to an evening with Santa Claus. People get such a kick out of it. We have families that come every year and some plan their holiday parties around the event. I always find it excellent outreach to the community and like to watch the children’s faces when they take a picture with Santa. I also enjoy when people have their dogs take a picture with Santa. I get a kick out of that. It was a busy evening and we did not get back to the firehouse until 8:00pm.

See my write up on the Brothers of Engine One HHFD:

https://wordpress.com/post/engineonehasbrouckheightsfiredepartmentnj.wordpress.com/498

I had a lunch with a good friend at Sanducci’s Italian Restaurant (my review on TripAdvisor) the day before I left for my mother’s for Christmas and this has become our Christmas tradition. It was nice to catch up with her not realizing that it had been over a year since we saw one another. It is strange how fast it all goes.

I spent Christmas Eve morning visiting the cemeteries starting with my aunt and cousin in one place, then one set of grandparents in another and then visiting my second set of grandparents, my uncle and then my father, which is always the toughest at the last cemetery. I am not sure what people feel about paying your respects at the holidays but I feel it is very important. I do believe it keeps them alive at the holidays.

The it was off to my mother’s for Christmas. It is the one time of the year all three of us get together with my mother. Since my father’s passing, my brothers and I have tried to spend the holidays together. Since we are coming from all over the country it can be hard but well worth it. We have such a good time at my mom’s.

My brothers and I on Christmas Day

We get together as a family on Christmas Eve night for dinner at a Chinese restaurant which is a lot of fun. The owners know my mother really well so we get treated very well and they always treat us to a special dish or appetizer which I think is good business. I go the restaurant pretty much every trip I make to my mom’s because she loves going there so much. When we got home, we just talked most of the night and caught up with what was going on in our lives.

Christmas Day was very nice. We got up late and had breakfast and then exchanged smaller gifts (most of my gifts were emailed off ahead of time) while the fire was going and we played Christmas songs. My brother’s dog got in on the action and she just played along with a toy my older brother bought her.

My mother, the amazing cook that she is made a delicious tenderloin, homemade lasagna, salad and garlic bread. It’s great to have a mother who can cook. We sat around the table with my family and friend’s of my mom reminiscing about Christmas’s past. It was a nice evening and a nice way to spend Christmas Day.

Before I left my mom’s to head home to attend the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium to root on Michigan State University, my mother, brother and I went to lunch at a local restaurant in Downtown Lewes called the Striper Bites (see review on TripAdvisor) that she had wanted to try and I had wanted to review. The food is wonderful yet I am the only one who can go to a seafood restaurant and crave a hamburger which was delicious.

We also visited the store, Fairy Godmother at 103 Second Street in Lewes that I featured on my blog, LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com. This adorable children’s store should not be missed. It has the most original merchandise for infants and toddlers.

Fairy Godmother is at 103 Second Street in Lewes

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/357

The inside of Fairy Godmother

I was looking forward to the Pinstripe Bowl since they announced it a few weeks earlier that my Alma Mater, Michigan State University, was going to play at Yankee Stadium. It was warm but rather gloomy day that the game was played. I had gotten to the stadium early for the Alumni Tailgate up in one of the suites. It was really nice as the cheerleaders and band came up to spread the cheer and we also got to meet the new President of the MSU, President Samuel Stanley.

The New Era Pinstripe Bowl is at Yankee Stadium every year. It was Michigan State University versus Wake Forest University

It was a nice afternoon with all sorts of stadium foods to choose from like hot dogs, hamburger sliders, mac & cheese, French fries and a barely touched salad. They served assorted cookies and brownies for dessert so I was not hungry for the rest of the day.

Here comes MSU: Go GREEN/GO WHITE

Then all of us got to our seats and it was let the game begin. I have to say it was a nail-biter all the way to the end as it was not a high scoring game. We had some great plays one of the best one being one of our players, Mike Panasuik, knocked the ball from Wake Forest and ran in for a touchdown. It happened so fast the other team did not have time to react. That was the turning point of the game.

Mike Panasuik getting the interception that changed the game

It was a very rough ending to the game as no one scored in the last quarter and we won the game 27-21. I could see by the other Alumni we were glad the game was finally over. It was a spirited ending though with the presentation of the trophy and our Quarterback Brian Lewerke getting MVP of the game and setting a school record. It was nice way to end his time at Michigan State and a nice win for the college.

Winning the Pinstripe Bowl

Highlights from the Pinstripe Bowl 2019

The remainder of the week before the New Year it was like one long road trip visiting decorated mansions for my blog, ‘VisitingaMuseum.com’. I have never put so many miles on my car before and made so many trips up to the Hudson River Valley (I am beginning to think that I need a weekend home up there) I feel like it is my second home.

Because of the extensive list of homes I visited, you can see their history’s and write ups on my blog VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://visitingamuseum.com/

These are the mansions I visited during the week between Christmas and New Year’s:

The only time that you can visit The Skylands Manor at 5 Morris Road in Ringwood, NJ is the first week in December when they decorate the house for Christmas. During the rest of the year, it is used for catering and an inn.

The Skylands Manor in Ringwood, NJ has a beautiful location

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2641

The Skylands Manor is decorated by various Garden Clubs and individual organizations. Because of a snow storm that hit the week before the mansion did not seem as decorated as it had in previous years. Still the entrance way and main hallway were very originally decorated.

The garden clubs do such a good job decorating the house. Each use their members own ideas and the amazing part is that they have one week to get it all up and two days to take it down and get it out of the house before it is used again.

The next weekend I travel led to Ringwood Manor at 1304 Sloatsburg Road in Ringwood, NJ right around the corner from the Skylands Manor. This lavish display is done by the Friends of Ringwood Manor who also run the cafe and the barn where artwork and gifts are sold. The home of the Hewitt family is in the process of being restored and are raising funds for a new roof.

The Ringwood Manor in Ringwood, NJ

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2621

The Sun Room decorated at Ringwood Manor in Ringwood, NJ

The lavish display at Ringwood Manor is not how the house would have looked but is a nice interpretation of many ideas that can be coordinated into anyone’s home. I don’t think people would have decorated every room like this but the Friends do such a great job and have such original ideas I never like to miss this house at the holidays.

The entrance to Ringwood Manor.

When returning from Ringwood, NJ from visiting the mansions and in the summer the Botanical Gardens, make a pit stop at Auntie El’s Farm at 171 Route 17 South in Sloatsburg, NY to eat. They have the best baked goods, pies and jellies.

During the holidays I like to go up just for their cider doughnuts, which are still warm when you buy them ($1.00) or their cake truffles ($3.00) which are rich and decadent. Their Caramel Apple Pie ($12.00) was a little rich for me but still delicious. I feature them prominently on my site LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com.

Auntie El’s Farm Market is such a great experience at Christmas

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/180

The baked goods and those delicious doughnuts make the trip up to Ringwood, NJ very special

The Hermitage at 335 North Franklin Turnpike in Ho Ho Kus, NJ is one of the most famous mansions in Bergen County being the home of Theodosa Prevost and her second husband, Aaron Burr. The house was the headquarters for General George Washington at Mrs. Prevost request who she herself was afraid of losing her home.

The Hermitage in Ho Ho Kus, NJ

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/1566

The house was decorated for the Victorian Christmas holidays a big difference from the year before when its them was a ‘Depression Christmas’. The house was nicely but sparsely decorated that year reflecting the times. Here it was all garland on the banisters and archways and set for a formal Christmas dinner.

Here is some the era’s clothing for the event

I followed the map of Hudson River decorated homes for the holidays and went one by one until Christmas Eve. My first trip including Boscobel at 1601 Route 9D in Garrison, NY , a mansion in Cold Springs, NY.

Boscobel at 1601 Route 9D in Garrison, NY

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/4015

The house was beautifully decorated for the holidays and has the most interesting gardens.

The Dining Room set for Christmas dinner.

The next home I visited was Mount Gulian in Beacon, NY at 145 Sterling Street. This historic home was used as headquarters for the Revolutionary War and the where the Society of Cincinnati was formed as a Veterans group. The original house burned to the ground in 1931 and this is a recreation.

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/4103

They were just taking the decorations down at Mount Gulian but this home was a major point of refuge during the Revolutionary War.

On my next trip up to the Hudson River Valley, I visited some of the NY State Park sites starting with Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s home Springwood at 4097 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park, NY. The house is going to start a major renovation which our tour guide said it needed and will close April of 2020. As we were touring, they were removing books in the library and the only part of the house that was decorated for the holidays was a Christmas tree in the library.

Springwood at 4097 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park, NY

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2676

The library at Springwood at Christmas time

The library at Springwood was the only part of the house that was decorated at that point. It looked really elegant in the wood paneled room but the room is slowly being taken apart. The house will close in April 2020 and reopen about a year and a half later so see it now before the closing.

The Vanderbilt Mansion and Estate at 4097 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park the next estate over was also starting to close for the holidays. I got there on the first tour of the day so I got to see it before most of the rooms were taken apart.

The Vanderbilt Mansion at 4097 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park, NY

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2200

The home of Fredrick and Louise Vanderbilt was decorated to the hilt for the holidays considering when Louise was alive they closed the house up and moved to New York City for the Social Season.

The entrance foyer of the mansion was beautifully decorated for the holidays and there was flowers and garland all over the house.

The Mills Mansion (Staatsburg State Historic Site) at 75 Mills Mansion Drive in Staatsburg, NY was decorated to the hilt for the holidays. I usually attend the fundraising cocktail party here right before the holidays but the weather was so bad that night, I did not venture the trip so I came right after the holidays.

The Mills Mansion at 75 Mills Mansion Drive in Staatsburgh, NY

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2137

The Mills Mansion is always decorated to the hilt by the Friends of Mills Mansion and each room in the house has its own character. Like most of the homes in the area, Ruth and Ogden Mills did not stay here too many times for the holidays.

The formal Dining Room at the Mills Mansion is elaborate.

The home of Samuel Morse ‘Locust Grove’ at 2683 South Road (Route 9) in Poughkeepsie, NY was down the road from some of the more popular mansions. The home of Artist Samuel Morse and creator of the Morse Code and Cable lines owned this beautiful home as his ‘summer cottage’.

The Locus Grove Estate at Christmas time at 2683 Route 9 South

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/1691

The Locust Grove estate is at the start of the big commercial district of Route 9 South so please watch for the turn off as it is sharp and you may miss it.

The Dining Room at Locus Grove at Christmas time

Locust Grove was another home that was not used during the holidays by the family but more as the summer family retreat until Samuel Morse died and then it was sold to another family who lived locally. Still the mansion is beautifully decorated.

The Living Room Christmas tree

The last of the mansion’s I visited before the New Year was the Van Cortlandt House & Museum at Broadway and 246th Street in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. This beautiful home was the seat of the Van Cortlandt estate before the family sale in the late 1880’s. The family had several homes at this point in the New York area.

The Van Cortlandt Estate at Broadway & 246th Street at Christmas time

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2568

The Van Cortlandt family had this home since before the Revolutionary War and the estate had been in the family for about five generations. The house was decorated for the post -Revolutionary War era Christmas with garlands, mistletoe, holly and berries all over the house. You can take the tour on your own.

The palour at the Van Cortlandt House was decorated with garlands and berries and the outside of the home was covered with wreathes.

I walked down Broadway and visited the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum at 4881 Broadway at 204th Street to see how the house was decorated for a Dutch Christmas. It was plainly decorated with some garland here and there. Like the tour guide said to me that this was a working farm before the Revolutionary War and things would have been plainer here.

The Dyckman Farmhouse in Inwood at 4881 Broadway

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/771

Even though a traditional Dutch Christmas was not a big part of the home, it was interesting to see the everyday life of the traditional Dutch farmer in that era

My last stop that afternoon was to take a tour of the Cloisters Museum which is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art featuring their Medieval Collection located in Fort Tyron Park overlooking the Hudson River.

The Cloisters-The Met at 99 Margaret Corbin Drive

The museum was decorated for Christmas during the Renaissance and they were conducting a tour on “Holly and Hawthorne: Decorating during the holidays” on how people of that era embraced the coming of Winter by sprucing the house up with pines and flowers that bloomed in the Winter months. I thought it was an original theme and played into how the museum was decorated for the Christmas holidays.

The Cloisters Museum looked so elegant at Christmas

https://www.metmuseum.org/visit/plan-your-visit/met-cloisters

The entrance hall to the galleries

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/680

The beautiful plantings at the Cloisters at Christmas time

My last stop before my trip downtown was at Bodega Pizza at 4455 Broadway to have a pizza at a restaurant I have wanted to try since the summer. I had passed it many times on my walk down Broadway but it was always closed.

Bodega Pizza in Washington Heights (Closed February 2020)

https://www.facebook.com/bodegapizza/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d17990667-Reviews-Bodega_Pizza-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The pizza was excellent and so well cooked and the service could not have been nicer or more welcoming. The only problem was that they pulled a stunt with the bill and charged me an extra dollar for the pizza which I did not find out until I left the restaurant. The food and service are wonderful but double check the bill before you leave.

It was a different story when traveling to the mansions. Running all over the Hudson River Valley can make anyone hungry and I stopped at a few restaurants that I had either passed or had been on ‘my bucket list’ to try. On my first trip up to see the homes higher up the river, I stopped at Jade Palace Chinese Restaurant in Wappinger Falls, NY at 1659 Route 9 for dinner. The Cantonese food is excellent and the place was not that busy. The Roast Pork Lo Mein was excellent and so were the egg rolls.

Jade Palace at 1659 Route 9 in Wappinger’s Falls, NY

https://www.jadepalacewappingersfalls.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48799-d4631119-Reviews-Jade_Palace_Chinese_Restaurant-Wappingers_Falls_New_York.html?m=19905

Their Hot & Sour Soup is amazing

The Egg Rolls are amazing

The Roast Pork Lo Mein was really good that night

Another restaurant I visited was the Pete’s Famous in Rhinebeck, NY at 34 Main Street in Downtown Rhinebeck, NY. This local diner is my ‘go-to’ place when I visit. I love their stick to your ribs type of cooking. On a cold night I treated myself to a Hot Turkey platter with mashed potatoes and broccoli. That hit the spot for dinner. Their Chicken Rice Soup really warmed me up as well.

Pete’s Famous at 34 Main Street in Downtown Rhinebeck

https://petesfamousrestaurant.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48486-d823142-Reviews-Pete_s_Famous_Restaurant-Rhinebeck_New_York.html?m=19905

Pete’s Chicken Rice Soup

Their Roast Turkey Platter is like two meals

When visiting the mansions closer to Beacon, NY, take time to travel up Route 9D and drive through the small towns that parallel Route 9. It has much more character and you will miss Wappinger’s Falls, a small quaint town out of a Currier & Ives print that is rapidly gentrifying like the rest of the small Hudson River towns.

Downtown Wappinger’s Falls along Route 9D has a lot of character

Right near the river, I was recommended Wagon Wheel Pizza at 2654 East Main Street by one of the merchants. I am glad that i waited until 4:00pm when they opened. The pizza was wonderful and the owner could not have been more engaging.

Wagon Wheel at 2654 East Main Street for pizza is delicious

https://www.allmenus.com/ny/wappingers-falls/646763-wagon-wheel-pizza/menu/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48799-d4712660-Reviews-Wagon_Wheel_Pizza-Wappingers_Falls_New_York.html?m=19905

The inside of the Wagon Wheel Pizza

The restaurant was very festive at Christmas time

This traditional family business harks back to the 1970’s pizzeria’s that I remember going to as a kid and the pizza is excellent. The sauce has such great flavor and there is nothing like a fresh pie when it comes out of the oven. The owner could not have been nicer and it is a nice spot to talk to the locals.

The Cheese Pizza at Wagon Wheel Pizzeria is excellent

I was so exhausted from all the running back and forth to the Hudson River Valley and running in and out of the Manhattan that I needed to relax on New Year’s Eve. When I returned from my three mansion tour and lunch, I was warn out. I spent the coming on the new decade asleep and the only reason why I awoke at Midnight to greet in the next decade was because my neighbors were shooting off fireworks. Otherwise I would have slept right through it.

Happy 2020!

The Annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree 2019

What was special was they left the Annual Tree at Rockefeller Center up until January 8th so it was nice to see it lit without all the tourists milling around it. It was the perfect to visit Rockefeller Center. What a beautiful tree this year!

The Pointer Sisters sang it best. There is nothing like Christmas in New York!

What a fun song!

Places to Eat:

(I did not include the prices as they keep changing and the hours which can change during the times of the year. I made all the connections to each’s website).

Village Pizza of Rhinebeck

119 Market Street

Rhinebeck, NY 12572

(845) 876-9676

https://www.facebook.com/RBKVP/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48486-d818463-Reviews-Village_Pizza_of_Rhinebeck-Rhinebeck_New_York.html?m=19905

VFW of Lodi, NJ

163 Union Street

Lodi, NJ 07644

Every Second Sunday of the Month the Knights of Columbus run their Breakfast Buffet for $6.00 All you can Eat

Sanducci’s Italian Restaurant

620 Kinderkamack Road

River Edge, NJ 07661

(201) 599-0600

https://www.sanduccis.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g46776-d535253-Reviews-Sanducci_s_Trattoria-River_Edge_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

Striper Bites

107 Savannah Road

Lewes, DE 19958

(302) 645-4657

Home

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g34028-d396039-Reviews-Striper_Bites-Lewes_Delaware.html?m=19905

Jade Palace Chinese Restaurant

1659 Route 9

Wappingers Falls, NY 12590

(845) 297-1188

http://www.jadepalacewappingersfalls.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48799-d4631119-Reviews-Jade_Palace_Chinese_Restaurant-Wappingers_Falls_New_York.html?m=19905

Pete’s Famous Restaurant

34 East Market Street

Rhinebeck, NY 12572

(845) 876-7271

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Petes-Famous-Restaurant/113374415362954

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48486-d823142-Reviews-Pete_s_Famous_Restaurant-Rhinebeck_New_York.html?m=19905

Bodega Pizza (Closed February 2020)

4455 Broadway

New York, NY 10040

(646) 869-0815

Bodega Pizza

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d17990667-Reviews-Bodega_Pizza-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Wagon Wheel Pizza

2694 East Main Street

Wappinger’s Falls, NY 12590

(845) 297-5940

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Wagon-Wheel-Pizza/167984063214534

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48799-d4712660-Reviews-Wagon_Wheel_Pizza-Wappingers_Falls_New_York.html?m=19905

Places to Visit:

Downtown Rhinebeck, NY hosts the Sinterklaas Parade every year on the first Saturday of the Month of December. Please look to the website for more information on it:

Home

https://www.facebook.com/sinterklaasrhinebeck/

The Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association sells Christmas trees each year starting the day after Thanksgiving until we sell out which is usually the second week of December:

https://www.facebook.com/hasbrouckheightsmensassociation/

Auntie El’s Farm Market

171 Route 17 South

Sloatsburg, NY 10974

(845)753-2122

Homepage

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48625-d4557200-Reviews-Auntie_El_s_Farm_Market_and_Bakery-Sloatsburg_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/180

Because of the extensive amount of Historical Sites and Decorated Mansions that I visited during the Holidays Season, please check out my blog, ‘VisitingaMuseum.com’ on WordPress.com for more information on the Decorated Mansions and Museums:

https://visitingamuseum.com/

Downtown Lewes, DE has some very original and creative stores and restaurants that includes:

Fairy Godmother

103 Second Street

Lewes, DE 19958

(302) 930-7827

https://www.facebook.com/fairygodmother103/

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/357

The Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department runs our annual “Santa Around Town” every December on the last Sunday of the month before Christmas:

http://www.hasbrouck-heights.com/hhfd/

http://hasbrouck-heightsnj.org/new_fire_department_page.html

Don’t miss Downtown Wappingers Falls, NY and Downtown Cold Springs during the holidays. The Hudson River Valley has such nice little towns to visit.

Yankee Stadium for the Pinstripe Bowl 2019: The Highlights

The Game:

We Won!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Six: The Sinterklaas Parade in Rhinebeck-Here comes Christmas! December 7th, 2019

December 15, 2019Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Exploring the Historic Hudson River Valley in New York State, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan at the Christmas Holidays, MywalkinManhattan Experiences, UncategorizedAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, Christmas in Rhinebeck NY, Christmas in the Hudson River Valley, DiningonaShoeString@Wordpress.com, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Exploring the Hudson River Valley, Jeanne Flemming, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com, Mother Earth Float-Sinterklaas, MywalkinManhattan.com, Rhinebeck NY, Sinterklaas, Sinterklaas Parade, VisitingaMuseum.com, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

Welcome back to Rhinebeck, NY for Sinterklaas!

This annual Dutch Christmas festival has become part of my Christmas tradition since I visited Rhinebeck for the event in 2010. Rhinebeck, New York is the true Currier & Ives town at Christmas time and one of the most quintessential Hudson Valley town that retains it charm being so close to the City. I love coming up here not just for the event but as you have noticed by my most current blogs, I have spent a lot of time here in the Summer and Fall letting readers know of all the wonderful events and happenings in the area.

I have to say I was not used to Christmas creeping up on me like this. It had only been five weeks since we had the Halloween Parade in the City and puppet rehearsals had only been five and a half weeks earlier when I visited Rokeby. That and it had been 71 degrees on Halloween night and Sinterklass night it was more like 25 degrees. I could really feel the drop in temperature that evening.

Having just returned from Florida over the Thanksgiving break, I had been in class giving a quiz to my students that morning and reviewing over their group project and various chapters in the book for the upcoming exam. So I did not head Upstate until almost noon. I got up to Rhinebeck at 2:00pm and that is when it set in that the snow storm that had hit New Jersey was very different from the one Upstate. The storm had been worse Upstate than it had been in New Jersey and there was still a foot of snow in Rhinebeck. I didn’t get to the main street until 2:30pm.

The side streets were closed off on one side because the snow was still piled high. So it was an eight block walk on snowy paths to the Main Street of Rhinebeck which had fully cleaned up for the parade. What was nice this year was the first three blocks of the downtown area were closed off so you could enjoy the bands and acts walking around.

Rhinebeck when the sun goes down at Christmas

The Rhinebeck Christmas tree

It was a cold afternoon and I noticed that the crowds were not as large as they usually were for the event. Still Rhinebeck at Sinterklaas is festive and engaging environment. There were crowds weaving in and out of the restaurants and stores and the windows were decked out for the holidays with interesting holiday displays and lit stars from the parade. All around town there bands playing, people on stilts singing and grumpuses (Sinterklaas’s helpers) dancing around and chanting. You could see that people were freezing but still having a really good time.

The Grumpuses, Sinterklaas’s helpers dancing in Downtown Rhinebeck, NY

I was able to get to see some of the musical performances at the churches before the start of the parade and warm up. Even the audiences did not seem as busy as they had in the past but still people were enjoying the performances and stopped shivering.

Don’t miss this performance of Uptown Lowdown in downtown Rhinebeck that afternoon. The ladies were wonderful!

Sitting in the church pews and listening to groups was enjoyable. There was only about two hours before meeting at the Starr Library for the parade so I chose my shows by groups I had not heard in the past.

I started at 3rd Evangelical Lutheran Church listening to the Bard College Georgian Choir, who sang traditional Georgian Christmas music, which was interesting. I did not understand the words but the music was enjoyable. The students did a nice job.

This is some of their work at another concert

After that, I took a short walk to the other side of the downtown and heard the Vassar Devils at the Reformed Church Sanctuary. They were lively, peppy bunch that sang traditional Christmas carols with a jazzy spin.

This is the Vassar Devils at the 2015 Sinterklaas event

After the concerts, it was a quick walk to the Starr Library to get ready for the Sinterklaas Parade. There is always a lot of excitement to the beginning of the parade and getting ready to march down the hill. For some reason, I don’t remember it getting so cold so early in the season.

The temperature dropped as the sun went down. Everyone was excited as we lined up for the parade and got ready for the walk through the downtown. All I could think about is how fast the year had gone and how I had this conversation with myself when I walked the parade last year. Were the years getting quicker between the parades?

There is an exhilaration when the parade progresses down the hill into Downtown Rhinebeck and the whole town is lit with white Christmas lights and illuminated stars that represent the parade. It may have seemed quiet in town that afternoon but the crowds were out for the parade. There must have been about a thousand people lining the street on both sides. It was a big crowd filming the parade.

There is always such excitement to this parade. Similar to the Barnacle Parade that I attended in October (Day One Hundred and Fifty One The Barnacle Parade see below), this is a home grown parade that just keeps getting bigger. When I first starting coming to the Sinterklaas Parade back in 2010, it was more local people. Now you have people coming from many states to join in the festivities. Even the cold kept people from the day’s activities, they came for the parade.

Marching toward the end of the parade with Mother Nature, this is the second year of carrying the ‘star forest; puppet (I am not pulling my back out for something heavier as in the past), we get to see the other puppets, floats and bands head down the hill. You can see the multiple lights from the other puppets and the raging sounds of the bands and the Chinese Dragons as they head down the hill to town.

You can see me in the corner holding the Star Forest puppet by Mother Nature with my Cornell Pom-Pom hat on marching to keep warm. It is an exciting night!

There is always a delay as you get to the Route 9 crossing near the Beekman Arms Hotel for the performance of the “Wild Women of Rhinebeck”, who perform their annual dance and for the ‘Dragon Dance’ that the Chinese dancers perform. It is really fun to see up close if you get the chance.

When we entered the downtown, all the kids were excited to see the Mother Nature float winding by. The parents were just as excited as they high-fived Mother Nature as they passed by groups of people. The drum line was going in full beat just behind us followed by a large group of parade goers marching in the parade with their lit stars. It was exhilarating and fun to watch from the marcher’s point in the parade. On such a cold night (by this point it was 25 degrees), I could not believe that many people were lining the parade route.

As we rounded the corner into the Rhinebeck Municipal lot to end the parade and drop the puppets off, we were greeted by a huge roar of people and the announcements from the stage for the final part of the parade. I just dropped my puppet off and enjoyed the stage show as the drum line passed by.

The stage performance was with all the main characters of the parade, Sinterklaas, Mother Holly, the Snow King and Queen, the Mermaid Queen, the Midnight Moon Princess and various members of the Sinterklaas Parade Committee who run the parade. it is a ceremony that honors the children, ‘The Kings and Queens of Sinterklaas’, for the evening.

The Closing ceremony

There were musical performances, dancing, prayer and then the fire jugglers entertaining us. The audience had thinned out by this point and about a hundred and fifty people were standing in the parking lot watching the ceremony. It was getting even colder by the time the fire jugglers started. After the last announcement for the parade events next year, the crowd started to disperse. It did not take long to watch crowd leave as it got so cold.

I walked around downtown Rhinebeck for about twenty minutes letting the crowds thin out and the traffic leave but by that point the town really quieted down and most of the cars were gone as I did not see that much traffic.

It was fun to walk the town one more time and admire the beautiful Christmas windows of all the stores and the sparking white lights that lined the trees on both sides of the main street of Rhinebeck. It is really is picturesque.

Downtown Rhinebeck is so beautifully decorated for Christmas

I had full day of work the next day that including decorated houses to visit, historical society events to attend, an Afternoon Tea at the Newark Museum (see review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com) and then an evening selling Christmas trees for the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association (see blogs on Christmas on MywalkinManhattan.com) so staying overnight in Rhinebeck was not possible this year. It was going to be a long ride home.

It was worth it and a lot of fun!

Happy Sinterklass and Merry Christmas!

Check out the videos online on the Sinterklaas Parade on YouTube. It is an exciting night!

My Halloween Blog on the Halloween Parade in October:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/10800

My blog on the Barnacle Parade in October:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/10747

Day One Hundred and Nineteen: Walking the Dutchess County Fair Friday August 24th, 2018 (revisited on August 12th, 2019, August 27th, 2022,August 20th, 2024 and August 22nd, 2025)

September 29, 2019Exploring Red Hook NY, Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Exploring the Historic Hudson River Valley in New York State, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York StateAuthor Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, DiningonaShoeString@Wordpress.com, Dutchess County Fair, Dutchess County Fair Grounds, Exploring Dutchess County NY, Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Exploring the Hudson River Valley, Hudson River Valley, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com, MywalkinManhattan.com, Rhinebeck NY, VisitingaMuseum.com, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

I updated my trip to the Dutchess County Fair when visiting in 2024. It is one of the great fairs of New York State and you all should not miss it next summer!

The Dutchess County 4 H Display

Don’t miss the fairways and the food at the Fair!

The Midway during the day

The Midway at night

It was another wonderful day on August 22nd, 2025:

The weather was on the 80’s and sunny all day long

What a beautiful day on the midway

It was starting to get crowded by the early afternoon

Of course I needed my Jaken’s Hamburger fix

The line might be long but worth it

The Pulled Pork Cheeseburger with homemade pierogi

The burger is the best!

I had to visit my pals at the Petting Zoo

More friends at the petting zoo

Then see the amusements

https://videopress.com/v/ejO4q66r?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

The video on the amusements

mywalkinmanhattan

I took some time off from walking in the City to walking around Upstate. I read that the Dutchess County Fair was the last week of August and I had not visited it since my first summer when I was attending the Culinary Institute of America in 1996. I wanted to see if it changed much in twenty years and it hasn’t.

From parking in the lot at the Dutchess County to the buildings that housed the animals and displays it looked to me that nothing changed in over twenty years with the exception of people taking pictures with their phones. Even then, I did not see that many phones out. The Fair was in its 173rd year and people were just having a good time with their families. It was a similar day when I went for the 174th year. The place was crowded with local families catching up…

View original post 2,148 more words

Samuel’s Sweet Shop 42 East Market Street Rhinebeck, NY 12572

September 23, 2019Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Exploring the Historic Hudson River Valley in New York State, Little Shop on Main Street in New York City (LittleShoponMainStreet), My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), UncategorizedAuthor Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, DiningonaShoeString@Wordpress.com, Downtown Rhinebeck NY, Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com, MywalkinManhattan.com, Samuel's Sweet Shop, Visiting Rhinebeck NY, VisitingaMuseum.com, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

Don’t miss Samuel’s Sweet Shop in downtown Rhinebeck, NY. This store has been mentioned on my Christmas blogs for Sinterklass. The store is owned by actor Paul Rudd.

Don’t miss all the wonderful treats at Samuel’s Sweet Shop

Little Shop on Main Street

Samuel’s Sweet Shop

42 East Market Street

Rhinebeck, NY 12572

(845) 876-5312

Home

Open: Sunday-Thursday 7:30am-8:00pm/Saturday-Sunday 7:30am-10:00pm

My Review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48486-d3641613-Reviews-Samuel_s-Rhinebeck_New_York.html?m=19905

I have visited Samuel’s Sweet Shop many times over the years from both living in Hyde Park, NY and visiting for Sinterklass events.

Samuel’s Sweet Shop is a unique and quirky little store of nostalgic candies, local vendor sweets, bulk candies, delicious baked products and coffees and hot chocolate. There are all sorts of gift items, bagged candies and sweet delights to choose from. The shelves are colorfully displayed with all sorts of candies, chocolate figurines, bags of gourmet mini cookies and boxed items at the holidays.

samuel's sweet shopIII.jpg

All the colorful bagged candies at Samuel’s

I have to admit some of prices are a little high with some nostalgic candies like Razzles or certain larger chocolate bars running around $2.35 but for a one time treat it makes a…

View original post 508 more words

Day One Hundred and Twenty Seven: Here Comes Christmas! Part One- November 30th-December 14th, 2018

March 5, 2019Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Projects, Dining on a Shoe String in New York State, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York State, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Exploring the Historic Hudson River Valley in New York State, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Little Shop on Main Street in New York City (LittleShoponMainStreet), My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan at the Christmas Holidays, MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New Jersey, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Visiting a Museum in New York StateAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc., Bergen County Firemen's Home Association, BergenCountyCaregiver, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, Buying a Christmas tree, Christmas Holidays, Christmas Party, Christmas Tree Sales, diningonashoestringinnyc, Exploring Island of Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring Red Hook NY, Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Bergen Community College, Friends of Mills Mansion, Hasbrouck Heights Christmas Parade, Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department, Hasbrouck Heights Men's Assocation, Hasbrouck Heights Men's Association Christmas Tree Sale, Jeanne Flemming, Jerry Naylis and family, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, Justin Watrel CEO Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc., Ladies Shopping Mile, Little Pickles Red Hook NY, littleshoponmainstreet.com, Mills Mansion, Mother Earth Float-Sinterklaas, MywalkinManhattan.com, Rhinebeck NY, Sinterklaas, Sinterklaas Parade, The Bergen County Firemen's Homes Association, Visiting Red Hook NY, Visiting Rhinebeck NY, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Manhattan, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watrel, Washington's Crossing Reenactmentjwatrel

I do not know how Christmas creeps up every year. It starts when Forth of July weekend ends and then we blink our eyes and there is Christmas. The years just keep getting faster and faster. Even though the holiday season snuck up on me the month of December was full of interesting events.

I had to put my walk around Manhattan on hold for most of the holiday season. Between classes, work, the Fire Department and selling Christmas trees (as you have seen in other blogs), the month of December was a busy one. There were different events to attend, activities to participate in and places to visit.

Christmas to me is not just the holiday itself but the time of the year to give back and help raise money for those in need. I really believe in giving back to the community during the holidays so there was a whole series of fundraisers that I attended. As my friends always say of me, you never sit still for one minute.

The holiday season started right after returning from seeing Lillian out in Kings Park, NY. We had such a nice time together having dinner with the other families and enjoying the entertainment that I promised her that I would see her in two weeks for the family Christmas dinner at her facility.

The next day, I got up early to the firehouse to help wash the truck as the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department was participating in the Annual Holiday Parade in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ. Our Chamber of Commerce sponsors the parade and Christmas tree lighting every year on Thanksgiving weekend.

The Holiday Parade in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ is always a lot of fun. It gives all of us a chance to give back to the community as the procession of floats, decorated cars and organizations participate in the parade ending at the circle near the edge of town for the tree lighting ceremony.

Engine One in the Hasbrouck Heights Holiday Parade

Before the parade, all of us met up at the firehouse to wash and decorate the trucks and then stage by the Boulevard before the parade. I always enjoy watching the little kids in awe when the trucks pass by. It was cold the night of the parade so the crowds were thinner than previous years but still people looked like they were having a nice time. After the parade was over, everyone met at the circle for the tree lighting ceremony which got the usual ohhs and ahhs.

I had to be up early the next day as we had to unload 340 Christmas trees from the truck for the Annual Christmas tree sales for the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association. This is our organization’s largest fundraiser and it is our job to sell all those trees for our scholarship program. We must have set a new record for emptying the truck and by the end of the season for selling them (See Day One Hundred & Twenty Six).

It is something for me as next year I will be going on my twentieth year on the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association. I have seen the growth of the organization and the all the high school seniors that we have given a head start with our scholarship program. I can’t believe I have served on the Executive Board for four years now as Director (Sargent of Arms). It has been quite the journey.

The members of the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association setting up the trees.

This starts the holiday season in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ with the Boulevard decorated for the holidays, fantastic window displays by our town merchants and everyone excited that Santa was coming. The holiday season means holiday parties, tours of decorated mansions, hand writing Christmas cards and keeping everything in check. I went to a record thirteen Christmas parties and get togethers this year. I am the member so many organizations and with four jobs everyone wants to get together. I was a busy person this year.

Right after Thanksgiving Weekend with the endless activity and getting to work selling those trees, I had to go back to work and put my schedule together for the month of December.

My first weekend of December was busy with back to back activities with Sinterklaas Weekend ahead of me and the day after the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association Christmas Party. This is always a busy weekend so I spend my weekend up in Rhinebeck at the Quality Inn (See review on TripAdvisor) while I run from one place to another. This was on top of the fact that my class would be presenting their final project for my Communications class the Monday I got back to work.

This was my sixth year participating in the parade. Rhinebeck, New York is a magical place at the holidays. The store windows are beautifully decorated with all sorts of merchandise that showcase the stores and the trees that line the downtown are layered with white lights that illuminate the downtown. Little wooden paintings line all the trees in the downtown area and garland accents a lot of buildings. It looks like a quaint little Christmas town straight out of a Currier & Ives print.

Downtown Rhinebeck, NY at Christmas

I help with the set up at 10:00am at the Starr Library every year. This year the theme was the Butterfly. (At the cocktail party fundraiser before Thanksgiving, the Sinterklaas community was introduced to the Butterfly King & Queen and were given the traditional blessing before the start of the Sinterklaas season.) The committee created Butterfly puppets for the parade that we put together that morning. As I unpacked the truck with the other volunteers, I could not believe how fast the year went. I kept asking myself how did this go so fast.

The same group of volunteers I have worked with for four years and we all worked in tandem with each other, emptying out the truck, unloading all the puppets and then putting them all together and stacking them against the library for the night of the parade. I have done this for so many years, I know how to put most of them together in my sleep. We were done in about two hours and then I was able to enjoy the rest of the days activities.

I have been volunteering in the parade now since 2010 and I can definitely tell you that the number of people has tripled over the past four years alone. After the Opening Ceremony at the Beekman Arms Hotel (I get a kick out of Mother Holly’s ‘feeling Jolly’ speech every year), I got a copy of the day’s activities and then snuck up to Red Hook, NY right up Route 9 to visit a few stores and restaurants on my bucket list for my blogs (you will find Little Pickles Children’s Store on ‘LittleShoponMainStreet’ and Village Pizza II on ‘DiningonaShoeStringinNYC’ on my WordPress.com blog sites). Red Hook’s downtown was decorated for their Christmas event the next weekend. As one gallery owner explained “everyone is in Rhinebeck for Sinterklaas, so the town is quiet”.

Little Pickles in Red Hook, NY

I was able to visit businesses for my blogs that had not been open the weekend I visited President Van Buren’s home in Kinderhook, NY (see the Van Buren Homestead on my VisitingaMuseum.com site) and revisit old ones. I wanted to get a better feel for their downtown. (Please don’t miss the pizza at Village Pizza III at 7514 North Broadway. Their slices are excellent).

By the time I got back to Rhinebeck at about 1:30pm, I could not find a parking spot. The town was mobbed with people and almost every block around the downtown was lined with cars. I had to park almost five blocks away.

The rest of the afternoon was full of concerts, performances by the dancing polar bear and the grumpuses and lively singing at the churches. All four churches in town had either singing groups or bands. Lining the Main Street of Rhinebeck were all sorts of local charities selling Christmas cookies, hot chocolate, hot dogs and other snacks. Most were almost empty when I got back as people were snacking as they walked the streets to get from one activity to another.

The Grumpus singing and dancing in Downtown Rhinebeck, NY

I decided to relax and not run around for the afternoon as I have seen most of the shows and acts that were on the roster and pinpointed how I wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon.

I first visited the Butterfly nest that was located in the courtyard. The artists are very creative on the Sinterklaas staff. They built entire Butterfly cocoon that you could walk through. There was music going on in and around the cocoon and when I exited, the grumpuses were starting to do one of their dances in the courtyard. They had the whole crowd laughing and clapping along.

My stop on the event was the ‘Into the Light’ show at the Church of the Messiah. I have seen this show over the years of coming to Sinterklaas and I swear, the girl who plays the main character has not changed in the last five years. She is just getting older.

‘Into the Light’ Show

I spent the rest of the afternoon at the United Methodist Church listening to the Brass bands. I got to hear the Funkrust Brass Band and The Second Line Brass Band. It was nice to just sit back and relax and listen to the music. I had been running around the town the who afternoon.

After the bands, it was time to get ready for the parade. So back up to the Starr Library and my position in the parade as part of the “Star Forest” of puppets. We lucked out again that night as the weather was mild and it was in the high 40′ that night.

As the excitement of the parade started and we made our way down the hill, I noticed immediately that the crowds had really grown this year. They were five deep at the parade route on both sides and everyone had their cellphones out to record the parade. With all the white lights on the trees, all the decorated windows in full light and all the Sinterklaas stars that lined the route, it was a beautiful and festive night when coming into town.

Me in the Parade in the ‘Star Forrest; by the Mother Earth Float

People got so excited to see “Sinterklaas” (the Dutch word for ‘Santa Claus’) and the various characters in the parade as ‘Mother Holly’, ‘The Pocket Lady’, ‘The Dancing Polar Bear and his trainer”, ‘The Butterfly King and Queen’, ‘The Grumpuses’ and ‘The Wild Women of Rhinebeck’ joined the brass bands, floats, puppets and singers, dancers, performers and animals who make the parade what is every year. It really is exciting to be part of this parade.

At the end of the parade route, we pass the stage with all the members of the Sinterklaas family to make our final goodbyes until next year and drop off the puppets. It was funny that the whole time I was walking in the parade I kept telling myself how fast the year had gone and I could not believe I was here again.

Watch me in the Sinterklaas Parade in the ‘Star Forrest’ on the right

I dropped off my puppet and went to watch the last of the parade before leaving for dinner. It was fun to watch the fire throwers perform at the end of the parade. It was a nice way to end the evening and after the performance was over, the crowds dispersed to go to dinner. Every restaurant in town was mobbed all evening.

I went to a barbecue restaurant that I had wanted to try for years, (See review on TripAdvisor). I had the buffet dinner ($20.00) that they had set up for the day and just ate. I had to admit as much as l liked the food, the waiter annoyed me when he charged me for the refills on the drinks (Noted in the review and in his tip).

As I walked back to my car, it started to mist and rain lightly. I did not realize how far I had packed away from town. I was four blocks away near the Duchess County Fairgrounds. That is how busy the town was that day. I just went back to the hotel and relaxed. I had an early trip the next morning.

The next morning after a big breakfast, it was off to the Boonton Firemen’s Home for the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association Christmas Party for the residents that we throw every year. The facility was nicely decorated and we had some crowd that afternoon with all the residents present and their family members as well.

The band was a lot to be desired as they were off key most of the time and the lead singer could not sing a note. The place was really in the holiday spirit when member, Jerry Naylis and his family, who sing in their church choir and whose daughter in law sing opera, entertained the crowd. It really livened up the room and put us all in the holiday spirit. His little granddaughter stole the show when she sang ‘Jingle Bells’.

The Naylis Family entertaining the residents at the Firemen’s Home in Boonton, NJ

During the intermission we gave the residents their Christmas presents, monogrammed sweatshirts with their names on them, as a gift which I still see them wearing everytime we come to the home for events (See blog, BCFHA@Wordpress.com-Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association below).

https://wordpress.com/post/tbcfha.wordpress.com/156

The residents look forward to this party every year and were very touched by the gifts and the holiday thoughts. It was a fun time for all.

The members of the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association with the residents in December 2018

After the party was over, the members of the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association went to dinner at the Columbia Inn for our annual get together. We had a great time just catching up with one another and having a few laughs. The restaurants pizza is terrific too (See review on TripAdvisor).

With the weekend closing, it was back to work for me and another week of a round of holiday parties. First though, my students presented their project, “Bergecco-Park Consulting Inc. presents “Welcome Week 2019-Follow the Yellow Brick Road back to Bergen Community College”, their final exam project (See Day One Hundred & in ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’). The students gave a very professional presentation to a crowd of professors and administrators and members of the Athletic, Theater, Art, College Foundation, Alumni Association and Department of Special Services were on hand to view the presentation. It was well received by everyone and I could not have been prouder as a professor (please view that blog for the full project presentation).

Our logo for “Welcome Week 2019-Follow the Yellow Brick Road back to Bergen Community College”.

See the whole project presentation on my site, “MywalkinManhattan.com”

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/8022

After I finally had the presentation behind me, it was a series of holiday parties one after another between the school, the fire department and various organizations that I am involved in (and that number is high). I joined the faculty at the college for our annual holiday get together, which was really nice. They had a full Thanksgiving dinner for us and a lot of holiday cheer. The Administration got up and wished us all a happy holiday season and good luck with the remainder of classes. It was nice to talk to the other professors who had come to the presentation. They gave me nice feedback at the party.

The next night it was off to the Engine One Christmas Party at Segovia’s in Moonachie. It was a nice evening with the guys, toasting the year and the successes that we had as a company (See The Brothers of Engine One HHFD-Blog on WordPress.com). It had been a busy year for us activity and project wise accomplishing both getting the bell fixed and chromed and getting the tee-shirts finally ordered and out to everyone. It was nice to catch up with everyone in a relaxed environment.

On Friday night was the annual Friends of Mills Mansion Holiday Cocktail party and fundraiser. Normally this is the night before Sinterklaas but it seemed that no one was in the holiday spirit on November 30th so they held it the week after.

Me at the Mills Mansion Holiday Party with members of the Friends Executive Board and dancers from the Isabel Duncan Dance company.

We had a really nice time. The event for the first time was sold out and the mansion was packed with well dressed people. The food was excellent and the servers did a nice job passing appetizers to all the guests. One of the local wineries was sampling one of their new sweet ice wines as well as a Chenin Blanc. It was a perfect dessert wine for the holidays.

The rooms were fully decorated for a Victorian Christmas and the Jazz band they had performing were excellent. They were engaging and people cleared the floor for impromptu dancing. It was nice to see people get up and dance again. It was nice to just sit back and catch up with other members I had met over the years and listen to the music. After that I took a quick tour of the rooms before heading back to the main room to hear the holiday greetings from the Executive Board.

The formal dining room at the Mills Mansion for Christmas

It was important that they sold out the event because the money will go to renovating both ceiling in the dining room and redoing the curtains that line the dining room windows. The mansion is slowly returning to its past glory and these events make this possible. The only problem was I was really tired after the event and it was a long ride home.

The weekend was coming up and there were two big events planned and I wanted to get enough rest to enjoy them. The first was on Saturday afternoon where I joined the Cornell Club as we we took a tour of the Ladies Shopping Mile and Gramercy Park with an event, the “Victorian Tour: Origin of Christmas Traditions” (See Day One Hundred & Twenty Eight). We literally walked this entire section of the City around Union and Gramercy Parks and walked up lower Sixth Avenue to visit the old department store buildings to know their history as part of the shopping area after the Civil War.

Ladies Shopping Mile on lower 6th Avenue

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/8117

On Sunday was the dress rehearsal for the “Washington Crossing Reenactment” at Washington Crossing Historic Park. The event takes place every Christmas morning to remember when General Washington crossed the Delaware River and surprised the British. It was an interesting event that everyone should see once in life. It is very important to know how he crossed the river, in what type of boat and the conditions they were under that morning during a snow storm.

The Military Parade by the Delaware River

We started the morning with a Artillery Demonstration and then this lead to a Fife and Drum Parade in the historic village on the Pennsylvania side of the park. Then the troops had a Musket Firing Demo & Soldier’s Drill by the Delaware River. At noontime, the troops had their formation and the Reading of the Order of Battle.

See the parade of soldier’s before the Crossing December 2018

By 12:45pm when the troops made their trip, the event was narrated by Major General Walter Lord, U.S. Army (Retired). The troops had their parade movement and then they loaded the Durham boats, which were rebuilt for the event from the original designs that General Washington and the troops actually used.

The Washington Crossing Reenactment 2018

What I found interesting about the event was that they used the same boats as General Washington used and even in normal conditions, it was hard to maneuver these boats in the river. One of the boats even had problems had with the crossing and it took them extra time to cross and they had rescue boats off to the side in case the boats lost control, Imagine doing this during an ice storm riding in boats with chunks of ice coming at you in the water. What these men did to save our freedom is commendable.

The reenactments have been going on at this site since 1838 where it was discussed the importance of this historic event. The first attempt at a proper crossing was done in 1844 but the crowd was so rowdy and drunk that it marred the event. When they tried the event again in 1876, it was so cold and the exposure to the weather and too much alcohol consumption by the crowd marred the event again and it was noted not to attempt is again for another hundred years (History of Washington Crossing-Park).

As part of a pledge project in 1947, a group of Rider College students attempted the crossing again and it received national attention. In 1953, a half-scale Durham boat was built and a proper ‘authentic’ using the same boats as used that day of the crossing and it was successful. Over 700 people came to the event and since then it has become an annual tradition (Washington Crossing Park History).

It was a busy first half of the holiday season and just kept getting busier as the holiday got closer. Between work and outside activities, I just kept running.

Please read about the Victorian Walking Tour on Day One Hundred & Twenty Eight.

Places to stay:

Quality Inn Rhinebeck

4142 Albany Post Road

Hyde Park, NY 12538

(845) 229-0088

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjjlt6N7OvgAhWGhLMKHbcJBsgYABAAGgJxbg&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAASE-RooTIxmc5SMBldM5FH_lmQddE&sig=AOD64_2mmL-hiEz3ZSdcMhSE1Dot8L-jQw&q=&ved=2ahUKEwiQnteN7OvgAhWkct8KHa-EB7wQ0Qx6BAgNEAE&adurl=

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60801-d590312-Reviews-Quality_Inn_Hyde_Park-Hyde_Park_New_York.html?m=19905

Places to Eat:

Columbia Inn

29 Main Road

Montville, NJ 07045

(973) 263-1300

https://www.thecolumbiainn.com/

Hours: Sunday 1:00pm-9:30pm/Monday Closed/Tuesday-Thursday 11:30am-10:00pm/Saturday 2:30pm-11:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g46639-d639843-Reviews-Columbia_Inn_Restaurant-Montville_Morris_County_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

Smokey Rock BBQ

6367 Mill Street

Rhinebeck, NY 12572

(845) 876-5232

Hours: Sunday 12:00pm-10:00pm/Monday-Saturday 11:00am-10:00pm

New York Style Barbecue

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48486-d6684399-Reviews-Smoky_Rock_BBQ-Rhinebeck_New_York.html?m=19905

Segovia’s Steakhouse

217 Main Street

Little Ferry, NJ 07643

(201) 814-1110

Open: Sunday-Thursday 12:00pm-10:00pm/Friday-Saturday 12:00pm-11:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g46575-d3700411-Reviews-Segovia_Steakhouse-Little_Ferry_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

Places to Visit:

Downtown Rhinebeck, NY

Home

Washington Crossing Historical Park

Washington Crossing PE Road

Titusville, NJ 08560

(609) 737-0623

https://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/washcros.html

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46869-d3440313-Reviews-Washington_Crossing_State_Historic_Park-Titusville_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

Washington Crossing Historical Park

1112 River Road

Washington Crossing, PA 18977

(215) 493-4076

Home

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g53924-d2522457-Reviews-Washington_Crossing_Historic_Park-Washington_Crossing_Pennsylvania.html?m=19905

Have a great holiday season!!

Here’s the whole reenactment event on YouTube of the Washington Crossing Event 2018

Day One Hundred and Nineteen: Walking the Dutchess County Fair Friday, August 24th, 2018 (revisited on August 12th, 2019, August 27th, 2022 August 27th, 2023, August 20th, 2024 and August 22nd, 2025)

September 28, 2018"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Farms and Farm Stands, Exploring Historic Dutchess County NY, Exploring Historic Towns of Upstate New York, Exploring Hyde Park NY, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York State, Exploring Red Hook NY, Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Exploring the Historic Hudson River Valley in New York State, Historic New York State neighborhoods, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan at the Halloween Holidays, MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York State4H at the Dutchess County Fair, Addthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver, County Fairs, diningonashoestringinnyc, Dutchess County Fair, Dutchess County Fair Grounds, Dutchess County Fire Museum, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Exploring the Dutchess County Fair, Exploring the Hudson River Valley, Historic Hudson River Valley, Jaykens Food Truck, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, littleshoponmainstreet.com, Midways at Fairs in NY State, MywalkinManhattan.com, NY, Rhinebeck, Rhinebeck NY, VisitingaMuseum, VisitingaMuseum.com, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

The parking lot was packed in the summer of 2023.

COVID really changed everything and the fair did not run in 2020. In 2021, I pulled a muscle in my back and could not go to the fair in 2021 and was really disappointed. In 2022, the fair seemed to be back in full swing and the crowds came cautiously back. In 2023, not only was the place packed, they added all sorts of new attractions and events to the fair making it one of the biggest ones that I have been to since returning the to fair in 2018.

When I returned in 2024, my best friend, Maricel came with me, who had not been at the fair since we went the summer of 1996 right before I left for my Internship in Hawaii.

Entering the Dutchess County Fairgrounds

The Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, NY

https://www.dutchessfair.com/

Welcome to the Fair

From walking to the admission booths (it was $18.00 to get into the fairgrounds in 2022) to walking the paths not much had changed. When visiting the fairgrounds means almost a step back into time when things seemed so much slower. Being just outside Rhinebeck with its galleries and high-end restaurants it seems a world away.

The fair sign in 2023 welcomed me.

In 2023, my day started late as I had so many errands to run and work in the morning that I got off to a late start. I got to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds at 3:00pm and spent the rest of my afternoon exploring the Fair. It is so interesting to see how much has changed in the world but how little it really changes. In 2019, I had the whole day to spend at the fair and it really is a lot of fun. In 2023, I planned the whole day like D-Day wanting to take pictures of things I had seen in the past in Hyde Park and then at the fair.

The entrance to the Hyde Park Historical Society

In 2022, I stopped first at the Hyde Park Farmers Market and the now open Hyde Park Historical Society before arriving at the fair. I parked in the parking lot and then walked over to the museum first to see what is was all about. It is a great little museum. In 2023, I followed the same path and stopped at the Farmer’s Market, which is bigger this time of year, to see what was there and then walked over to the museum. I figured I had plenty of time.

The new Boy Scout and Girl Scout uniforms that were donated to the museum.

I got a chance to walk around the museum which is loaded with interesting artifacts and local antiques from people’s homes from the area. The exhibition was nicely mounted and takes only about an hour to tour.

The Hyde Park Historical Society at 4389 Albany Post Road

https://hydeparkhistoricalsociety1821.org/

https://m.facebook.com/people/Town-of-Hyde-Park-Historical-Society/100063805906875/

The Farmers Market in Hyde Park was closing down at the end of October so I got to see some of the items that the artists were creating for both Halloween and Christmas.

The sign welcoming you.

The Hyde Park NY Farmers Market is very popular when in season.

It was the end of the season so there was lots of apples, root vegetables, pumpkins and corn. There were lots of baked goods and jellies and preserves available for sale as well.

The Fino Farm at the Hyde Park Farmers Market

The Farmers Market in late October has so much to offer between the bakeries, cheese places, meat purveyors and fruit and vegetable farmers. There was a really nice selection of things to buy. What I also liked was that the artists came out and showed off their wares. There was of interesting things going into Halloween.

Interesting wood carvings at the Farmers Market

The selection of Arts & Crafts at the Farmers Market

The delicious baked goods at the Hyde Park Farmers Market

Delicious looking cookies at the Farmers Market

Tom’s Heritage Baked Goods & Jams at the Hyde Park Farmers Market

One of the baked items I was most impressed with when I came to the Farmers Market in 2023 was a Sausage and Cheddar Brioche by a baker named “Little Loaf” who came to the Farmers Market for the first time. Their baked goods while pricey were very impressive in creativity and quality.

The “Little Loaf” sign

The baked goods at “Little Loaf” with the delicious Cheddar and Sausage brioche.

The creative baked goods at “Little Loaf”

The indulgent Cheddar, Sausage Brioche with a Bechamel center. Yum!

There were a lot of people doing so many creative things at the Farmers Market that I might have to make a special trip up for it again. The crafts and baked items were really impressive and the prices are not over the top like a lot of the Farmers Markets in the other towns.

A cow is a cow at the end of the day. How to take care of it and milk it has changed over the time and the philosophy of animals and their care have advanced but the cow is still in the pen, fed hay and goes Moo! That goes the same with chickens, rabbits and goats. There is also the immense pride these children in the 4-H take in these animals that far extends taking a picture of them on an app and having them talk like a human.

Maricel and I arriving at the fair in 2024. She is just as picture happy as I was that day

(I credit Maricel Rincon on this picture)

Walking the Fair is interesting in that it is broken down into many different areas to explore but when you first walk in what is there but all the food carts and booths. I have never seen so much deep-fried food in my life, and I have been through the Feast of San Genaro dozens of times.

The crowded concessions area of the fair.

There were food trucks selling fried dough, funnel cakes, Twinkies, brownies and zeppole’s. There carts selling deep fried hot dogs, stuffed pizza and giant tacos. It is hardly for the Vegan customer, but you know what, it is fun every once in a while, to eat like this. I don’t do it every day.

The Midway of food vendors at the Dutchess County fair

Both in 2019,2022, 2023 and 2024, I got there in the early afternoon and was starved. I stopped at a food truck in the Midway named ‘Janeks’ and ordered their ‘Chef’s Hamburger Special-The Piggy Back Burger’. It is one of the best burgers ever!

The Janek’s Truck is always where I eat at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds

The special was two freshly made beef patties that were caramelized and cooked to perfection, topped with smoked bacon, pulled pork and freshly made cheddar on a home baked bun with a side of homemade pickles and cheese and potato pierogi that had been sautéed in butter and onions.

My FAVORITE item: The “Chef’s Special Burger”

It was on the pricey side but was the best $12.00 ($19.00 in 2023) I had ever spent. The flavors were so complex and so delicious on that burger that I thought the guy who made it was more of an artist than a cook. It blew away any pizza or fried dough I would have eaten. The combination of the Cheddar Cheese, Pulled Pork and Ham on top of the burger gave it so much extra flavor and added to its smokiness. I only eat this twice a year, at the Fair and then at the Sheep & Wool Festival when I return in October and look forward to it.

After eating this burger at Janeks Food Truck it is so perfect you will see God!

https://www.manta.com/c/mmf2bjn/janeks-fine-food-stores

This burger is so amazingly juicy and crisp from the caramelization and the pierogis are so delicious

The burger is so good!

The Janeks food truck is my only stop for lunch at the Dutchess County Fair

My first stop in the Fair was the Amusement section where all the kiddie rides, Ferris wheels, games of chance and thrill rides were located. In the early part of the day, the area was mildly busy but by the time I left and the lights came on the true ‘Wonderland’ came to life. The lights, the noise and all the screaming coming from the thrill rides brought the area to life. During the day though, it was little kids on the carousels, mini-rides and small track rides. To be a kid again at this Fair.

Dutchess County Fair Midway

Leaving the Amusement area, I ventured next to the historical area of the fair, the Century Museum Antique Village, where the Cider Mill, Sugar Home, the One Room Schoolhouse, the firemen’s tent, home of the Firefighting Museum of Dutchess County and the Historic Train Station were located. These recreations of old Dutch farming villages showed a way of life from the turn of the last century and beyond. It is amazing to see how we have progressed in education since then, but I think the times were different when I see the teacher in front of the board describing the lesson plan.

In 2024, the Dutchess County Firefighters Museum opened at the fairgrounds and is a testament to the fire fighters in Dutchess County who raised the funds for this and worked on the displays. The original tent displayed most of the items that we now see in the museum.

The temporary headquarters of the Firefighting Museum of Dutchess County in 2023

I had a very interesting tour of the Dutchess County Fire Museum (See review on VisitingaMuseum.com) that had been set up on a temporary basis at the fair awaiting a permanent home on the fairgrounds in 2023

The Dutchess County Temporary Fire Museum at the fairgrounds in 2023

The Pine Plains Ladder Truck on display in 2023

The retired firefighters that I talked to said that they have been trying to raise money for a museum, but it has been tough. The fairgrounds have now offered them a space the only problem being that it would be open only when the fairgrounds are open. When I talked with the guys in 2022, they explained that the fairgrounds are working with them to build a new home there. In 2023, it looks like it will become reality.

Dutchess County Firemen’s Museum

https://www.facebook.com/DutchessCountyFirefightingMuseum/

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/3196

In 2024, the museum was completed and stocked with items from the new Dutchess County Historical Society that opened in Rhinebeck (another impressive museum). The gentlemen who ran the museum did a nice job mounting the displays and there is still much more work that will be done in the future.

The new Dutchess County Firefighters Museum at the fairgrounds

Bunker gear at the new Dutchess County Firefighting Museum

The ceremonial equipment for the parades

The hand held hose cart at the new museum

The old Ladder Trucks from the Pine Plains Fire Department

The hand held hose bed from the 1800’s

When I walked all these buildings that were created before electricity, computers and even modern light, I think there were less distractions, and you had no choice but to work. Those were the days of back-breaking work loads and things were done totally by hand. There was a care and quality to those items. It is interesting to see how these things were made and how the design has not changed but they have been electrified.

The school room at the School House Museum I have seen in many historic museums and have not much changed from their modern version except the furniture has gotten nicer and there is more light. The philosophy of learning the ‘ABC’s’ is still there and the black boards are still part of the routine. I still think it is the best way to learn.

The Schoolhouse Museum on the Dutchess County Fairgrounds

The School Room has not changed much over the years.

Inside the schoolroom has not changed much since today.

We still do the same thing today

The other building right next to the old schoolhouse is the Pleasant Valley Train Station that was also moved here and open when the fairgrounds are open. The one thing I have to say as an educator is that the set up as a schoolroom has not changed since this time period with the exception of modern electricity and convenances.

The Pleasant Valley Train Museum on the fairgrounds

The hand cart at the Train Museum

The train manager’s office in the museum.

The baggage room at the station

The display in the Waiting Room

The train routes through the Hudson River Valley

The pathway lead me to the Animal Barns and this is where the Fair had not changed. The families stood guard at their at the different pens washing and taking care of the pets. I never saw such pampering to pigs, cows, chickens, rabbits and goats. They were so well-groomed and well taken care of and their pens were so clean and if they weren’t the kids were right there to take care of it. There were ribbons for all the hard work these children put into it. The care and the pride these children have on animal husbandry is encouraging.

This well groomed cow in the Cow Pen is named “Oreo”.

I saw the cow grooming show when I was visiting the Cow Barn and I have never seen such clean cows before. They were washed, brushed and combed by their owners and it reminded me of similar judging at the Dog Shows that I see on TV. When they walked their cows along the path in the ring, there was such pride in the owners faces especially to the winners. I have to say that the ribbons were very impressive.

This lamb’s name is “Queen of Hearts” and she was for sale. She gave me the funniest look.

https://dutchesscounty4h.weebly.com/

The Llama Barn was interesting in that I usually find Llama to be friendlier but these animals really kept to themselves and stood in the corners of their pens. They seemed to want to socialize with one another and avoid the humans.

The Goat Barn was the exact opposite. I could not have met a friendlier animal with good social graces. They looked like they were so happy to see me. They all came running up to me as I stood by their pens. They are really are an observant animal. They just stare you down when you are looking at them and then they walk away.

These little guys were so happy when they were being fed.

The surprising part of the Pig Barn was that it wasn’t a pig pen. It was one of the cleanest parts of the Fair. Each of the stalls were really clean with only the smell of the pigs which probably surprised people coming up from the City. The only thing was some of these over-sized pigs didn’t fit into the pens and there was not much moving room for them. They really do oink a lot. Their owners sat outside the pens socializing and catching up with one another while their pigs slept. They closed the barn off for about an hour.

Mama pig with her piglets

My favorite part of the animal barns was the Comerford’s Petting Zoo that they had between the amusement areas and the barns. I never got into petting zoos even when I was a kid but got some feed from what looked like bubble gum machines and then the goats and sheep were putty in my hands. They were so friendly and let me pet their warm fur. I have never seen so many happy faces chasing after me. The sheep had such a nice feel to them with their soft furry backs and the goats which I thought might be aggressive could not have been friendlier.

Little piglets in the pen were well taken care of.

When you pet them they seem so grateful that you are scratching their backs. I ended up spending more time here than I planned feeding the animals and petting them. They seemed so happy that they got extra attention.

The Sheep were really friendly

In 2024, Maricel and I toured all the pens and looked at all the animals being groomed that day. The sheep had just been sheared and they had their coats and masks on to keep them warm. The cows had all been washed and were being bushed and the pigs were being corralled around their pens.

The Animal Building was so well landscaped at the fair and the pens were kept so clean

We visited the Goat pens as it was feeding time

This goat gave me the friendliest look as he thought he was going to get fed

The Sheep being sheared that afternoon giving us a surprised look

We visited the cows who were being washed and groomed

Visiting the cow pens in 2024

The Century Museum Village was used as the Horticultural Building, which reminded me of my many trips to the Philadelphia Flower Show, large self-contained displays of flowers, lawn decorations and furniture each with their own them. There was a lot of creativity to their displays with water sources, planted flowers and shrubs all over the place all colorfully designed. They also used some statuary to accent the plantings. It was a nice size building made even bigger with these creative gardens.

These temporary gardens are beautiful

Dutchess Fair Features

There was a lot of creativity at the gardens displays.

After visiting all the barns and historic recreations, it was off for a late lunch. In 2018, I headed back to the food trucks to decide between the cheese steaks, meatball sandwiches and fried desserts. I decided on a pulled pork sandwich with pickles and a Coke for lunch that was more than enough. The sweetness of the barbecue sauce with the roasted meat on a soft roll made a wonderful meal. The nice part was sitting under a tree on a picnic table to enjoy my lunch. On a nice day, there is nothing like it.

People enjoying the outdoor vendors in 2022

In 2019, I avoided all the fried desserts and got a traditional pretzel with mustard from a vendor from Pennsylvania. The was an expensive pretzel at $8.00 but it was well worth it. The thing was huge, freshly rolled and made and was still hot. With a little mustard there is nothing like it. The softness and butteries of the outside made every bite enjoyable.

In 2022, I through caution to the wind and ordered a Funnel Cake with loads of powdered sugar on top from Sugar Shakers Fair, a vendor out of Sarasota, Fl who were frying out the largest funnel cakes of the fair and what looked like the freshest ($8.00). It had been made ahead of time but still warm and still delicious. I loved pulling apart all the pieces and dipping it into the extra powdered sugar.

The funnel cakes at Sugar Shakers are really good but can be premade so watch their stock.

http://sugarshakers.com/

In 2023, after a big lunch and a milk shake I wanted something sweet and saw all this fried dough around the fair. I needed to have one and stopped by one stand near the amusements > it figured I found the one place that could not make fried dough correctly.

Debbie’s Funnel Cakes and Lemonade

I have to say one thing that the Lemonade was freshly squeezed and was amazing. It was so tart and sweet that it quenched my thirst on a hot day. It was amazing. The Fried Dough sat on the plate luke warm and flat. When I asked for another the man working the counter pointed to a very over-worked woman who did not look like she wanted to make me another and I saw a stack of premade fried dough and fried oreos. I knew it was the wrong stand. Next time I will go to the one closer to the midway.

The Lemonade was amazing but the Fried Dough looked like a deflated pancake. It was just okay.

My funnel cake looked good in 2024 but still needed about 40 more seconds in the fryer

In 2024, I gave Debbie’s another shot and both Maricel and I had Funnel Cakes. At $10.00 a pop, I thought these would be much better than the flat Fried Dough. The Funnel Cakes were good but not great and I did not appreciate the guy at the counter trying to sell me one that had been sitting for awhile. Two new ones were made and both of us bought and again it was okay and looked good but it was not cooked all the way through. I have to write this off for next year or find another vendor at the fair.

After lunch, walked through the rest of the barns looking at rabbits, chickens and taking another peek at the Goat Barn. They are really are a beautiful animal. After leaving the barns area, I walked down to watch the Equestrians perform. There is such a grace to jumping and the ladies did a great job. Some of them are so poised on their horses.

As the afternoon wore on, my last stop was the Gift tents where they were selling handmade arts and crafts. You should see the work of these knitters, quilters and wood carvers. Some of the baby blankets and clothes were so beautifully made and colorful that I wished I had someone to give it to as a gift.

My favorite Santa wood carvers at the fair

The wood carvers were getting ready for the holidays with Santa’s and snowmen. It never ceases to amaze me that we are in a perpetual state of Christmas no matter what time of year it is. The surrealist look of many of these Santa’s were done by the cut of wood that the artist had to work with when carving the piece. These men and women are very creative in their work and they will be back in October for the Craft’s Show.

I love picking out the Santa’s for my mom

Before I left for the evening, a saw a long line forming by the 4 H Exhibit Building and I found out they were selling giant homemade milkshakes with the milk and cream from the Dairy Barns. The sold these large Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry shakes for only $5.00! (In 2022, the 22 oz was $7.00 and the 16oz was $5.00. In 2024, they went to $8.00 for the large but the small was still $5.00. I still ordered the large). That was one line I did not mind being in.

The 4 H members preparing these popular milkshakes in Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry.

In 2018, I ordered this Vanilla shake where you really could taste the fresh ice cream which was loaded with several scoops. There is nothing like a fresh milkshake with real ice cream. It was the perfect way to cap off the evening. In 2019 and in 2022, I ordered the Strawberry milk shake and one is more than enough. All those scoops of fresh ice cream and sweet milk. It is heaven! You could even scoop up the fresh strawberries on the bottom of the cup. In 2023, it was back to vanilla.

The milkshake is one of the things I look forward to at the fair.

Yes it is worth the $7.00 price tag.

In 2024, I had to try the Strawberry Shake. Maricel made fun of me the whole time as I indulged in it. I love a good milk shake and these are such good quality with local milk and cream to make these delicious drinks.

The Strawberry shake was rich and creamy

The Strawberry milkshake was amazing!

Walking the Fair at twilight you really see it come to life with all the lights, screaming kids by the rides and hungry patrons at the food trucks. It is so funny to see these small kids gobble down cheese steaks and fried dough. They had some appetites! When you work on a farm and take care of the animals as I saw the fairgoers did they must burn off all the calories.

The amusement area in the late afternoon.

When I left at 7:30pm (I hate driving in the dark), the whole fair was coming to life with all the lights on and the shows winding down so that the 8:00pm concert could take place. The lines outside when I left were just as long as when I arrived at 2:00pm. I guess people were in for the show and for dinner.

The amusement area in the late afternoon.

It was a great day and I learned a few things about Animal Husbandry and landscaping. I just wondered why on the way home it took me twenty-two years to come back.

The amusement area in the late afternoon.

In 2024, Maricel and I decided to do an overnight in Poughkeepsie so that we could enjoy the fair late in the evening. I hate to drive at night and it is an over two hour trip home. I had never been to the fair after dark and it is an amazing place to experience in the evening I could not believe what a fantasyland it turns into at night.

The Midway in the late afternoon

The Midway in the late afternoon

Me kidding around at the fair

Maricel and I kidding around the Midway

(Credit to Maricel Rincon on this picture)

The Midway Gardens in the late afternoon

Maricel decided she wanted to go on the Ferris wheel and I thought that would be fun since I had not been on one since my best friend, Kris and I went on the Wonderwheel in Coney Island a few years earlier. We just wanted to wait until it got dark so we could experience it with the lights on. Waiting until dusk was a good idea because the whole fair came to life when the sun went down.

The ‘Itsy Bitsy’ Ferris Wheel at dusk

The Ferris Wheel as it got dark

Us in the Ferris Wheel as the ride started

My video of the ride on the Ferris Wheel:

IMG_9037 Download

(Join Maricel and I on our trip around the Ferris Wheel)

After the trip on the Ferris Wheel we walked the Midway and took the most spectacular pictures of the Midway and of the rest of the fair. This is the Dutchess County Fair at night:

The Midway at night

The Midway at night

The Midway at night

The Midway at night

The Midway at night

The Midway at 9:00pm that evening

The Midway at the end of the evening. People were still milling around.

We were both exhausted when we left the fair and were happy that we each had our own rooms. I barely made it into my room when I knocked out for over and hour waking up not knowing where I was at 11:30pm. I could not believe I just feel asleep that fast.

The Marriott Courtyard in Poughkeepsie, NY at 2641 Route 9 South was our headquarters for this tip

https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/pouch-courtyard-poughkeepsie/photos/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g48443-d93719-Reviews-Courtyard_Poughkeepsie-Poughkeepsie_New_York.html?m=19905

The lobby of the Marriott Courtyard in Poughkeepsie, NY

My bedroom at the hotel

The courtyard view from my room in the late summer

I have stayed at this hotel many times over the years and it had just gotten renovated. The room had the most fantastic king size bed that I just sunk into. I barely made it to the pillow I was so tired that evening between all the driving and running around before the fair.

The next day we were meeting a friend of Maricel’s for breakfast so we checked out of the hotel and headed to Eveready Diner in Hyde Park. Here was another place I had not been to in about twenty six years. The last time I ate here was with my mother and brother on Graduation Weekend from the Culinary Institute of America.

The Eveready Diner at 4184 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park, NY

https://www.facebook.com/p/Eveready-Diner-100063685712520/

The welcoming sign

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60801-d951342-Reviews-Eveready_Diner-Hyde_Park_New_York.html?m=19905

I have to say nothing has changed in this restaurant as the food and the service are still excellent and the decor looks very similar to what it was many years ago. It always looks retro.

The inside of Eveready Diner

I was starved that morning. While Maricel and her friend met for breakfast on the other side of the restaurant, I enjoyed the ‘Eveready Breakfast’ platter of three large pancakes, two scrambled eggs, two pieces of bacon and two sausage with hot tea and freshly squeezed orange juice. That was great orange juice (at $5.99 a glass it should have been).

My breakfast that morning

The ‘Eveready Breakfast’ platter is excellent

It was a nice relaxing breakfast and I got to just take my time while Maricel enjoyed her time with her friend. It was just a nice break from all the running around I had done that week as I prepare for college in three weeks. I have been cramming so much in that I am tired from everything. The fair and the overnight was a nice way of not rushing through things. I got a chance to catch my breath and just enjoy the fair. It was a nice afternoon and evening out.

The Dutchess County Fair is the last week of August and is well worth the trip up to Rhinebeck. It is a real wonderful experience and a great way to spend the day or two.

The Fair in 2025:

I had to wait for Hurricane Erin to pass by before coming up for the fair. It had been cold and damp for two days but the storm gave us much needed rain and a break with the heat. On Friday morning, the weather was sunny, cool and clear. The perfect day to drive up to Rhinebeck for the fair.

The Dutchess County Fair in 2025

I got up to the fairgrounds by 12:30pm and it was surprisingly not as busy as I thought it would be that afternoon. I got through the check points and in the fair in about ten minutes.

The entrance of the fair

The crowds were light in the Midway in the early afternoon

Passing through the food Pavilions on my way to the exhibitions

Instead of immediately eating, I decided to visit the exhibitions first. The crowds were lighter so I could walk through much quicker. I first went to the food tent to see what was to sample and what was on sale.

These amazing jellies by Dragonfly Jams and Jellies were terrific

Then I went through the Craft exhibits and then went through the 4-H exhibits with all the baked goods.

The award winning baked goods

The baked goods on display

An amazing assortment of cookies

The cookies and cakes looked so good

After I visited all the display exhibits it was about 2:00pm and it was time for lunch. The choices you have at the fair.

The decisions you have to make

The decision is always easy when Janek’s is at the fair. I need my Cheeseburger with pulled pork on top and the side of homemade pierogi. I know most people would call this an indulgence but I only eat it twice a year and when I do, I really enjoy it.

The line was surprisingly short and I was able to order quickly

The mascot greets you when you order

The company is celebrating their milestone

My favorite lunch at the fair, the Cheeseburger topped with pulled pork with the homemade pickle and homemade pierogi with sour cream

The best food at the fair

The taste of the burger is incredible

I just sat at the picnic tables, enjoying my lunch and people watching. It was quiet on an early Friday afternoon so I had plenty of room to spread out. It was perfect weather to eat outside.

After I finished lunch, I decided to visit the museums again. I started at the Duchess County Fire Museum. The museum was manned by retired firefighters swapping stories with other firefighters like myself.

The old hose beds from the 1800’s

Then it was off to the Train Depot Museum to look at the displays.

The depot was moved here when the building was decommissioned

Working along the lines

The old luggage room

The displays in the old waiting room

The train route through the Hudson River Valley

I then moved to the schoolhouse museum and always note to myself how nothing has really changed over the last 100 years.

The schoolroom of the mid-1800’s

Then I visited the Agricultural Museum and noticed some new displays they added to the museum.

The Century Village Museum & Collectors Association

The 1920’s picnic display outside the museum

The new Barber Shop display

The updated farm equipment display

The change in transportation on the farm

The equipment from the turn of the last century

I decided to take a different turn and explore the amusement rides area next. The rides were getting busy with younger patrons having fun being whipped and thrown around by the assorted rides.

The Ferris wheel dominates this section of the fair surrounded by smaller rides and lots of dessert stands.

The actors on stilts entertaining the crowds

Juggling and laughing with the crowds

They really captured the crowd

The performance was very engaging

I thought I had worked with these two at the Sinterklass Parade celebrations but they were so busy, I did not have time to ask. So I continued my walk around the amusements to see the rides in action.

The kiddie rides were busy in the afternoon

My fan favorite the Ferris Wheel

The rides that throw you around

The Colossus seemed to be the park favorite

I then moved on to the Petting Zoo. I was afraid that the animals were getting too much to eat but the goats and sheep had no problem eating from my hand.

The animals ran up to me waiting for food

The camels were just as eager as the goats and lambs and reached out for food

The moment I put the food in my hand they licked it away

Even the camel reached out to me

The next stop was the 4H pens to visit the cows, sheep and rabbits. It is really funny but some of the animals looked so happy to see us.

Our welcome to the cow pens

The cow pens

The cows looked really tired

I then visited the sheep pen and most of the sheep had just shown and had their coverings on.

The sheep had just been shaven

The sheep relaxing in their pens

The rabbits were the last pens I visited in the 4H booths

The 4H Building

I loved the sign

The fluffy rabbits were a big hit with the kids

After I had visited all the museum, exhibitions and paid my respects to all the animal pens, it was my favorite part of the fair, my annual milkshake at the 4H building. The line was forming and it was time to get in line.

My favorite line at the fair, the milkshake line

You can’t leave the fair without supporting the 4H and buying one of their milkshakes. It is the best $7.00 you will spend. They are so creamy and delicious.

Now this is a milkshake!

Now that I had my Janek’s and milkshake fix, I had to work all this food off before the two hour ride home. I couldn’t stay up this year and had another function the next day (all I did was run around this summer), so I toured the fairgrounds.

Walking the gardens by the 4H Building

The gardens in full bloom during the fair

The Butter Carving

Visiting the food vendors by the amusements

Somehow my appetite came back when I passed one of the Fried Dough vendors and saw someone pass by me with a fried dough with an apple topping. I had to have that.

Sugar Shakers will be my go to spot for future trips to the fairgrounds

The Fried Dough topped with butter and powered sugar and an apple pie topping

My new favorite dessert

The crowds got larger as the evening wore on

Now that I had another dessert in me I needed to walk around a bit more before I left the fairgrounds. I did another round the amusement area as the lights were coming on. There really is a magic to when the lights come on at a fair.

The amusement area at twilight

The rides as it got darker outside

The rides got more interesting

The lights came on and then the fun began

The rides got busier as people came after workIt was snot

Wonderful night at the fair and I wish I had had time to go back but it can only be one day. I really enjoyed myself again. Until next year.

Dutchess County Fair:

The Month of August in the third week.

http://dutchessfair.com/dutchess-fair/

Places to Eat at the Fair:

Janeks Food Truck

101 Beaver Run

Milford, PA 18337

https://www.manta.com/c/mmf2bjn/janeks-fine-food-stores

(For burgers)

Sugar Shakers Fair

6888 Myakka Valley Trail

Sarasota, FL 34241

http://sugarshakers.com/

(For funnel cakes)

4-H Volunteers

https://dutchesscounty4h.weebly.com/

(For milkshakes)

*Not much information but there are at the Fairgrounds during events

Eveready Diner

The Eveready Diner

4184 Albany Post Road

Hyde Park, NY 12538

(845) 229-8100

https://www.facebook.com/p/Eveready-Diner-100063685712520/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 7:00am-10:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60801-d951342-Reviews-Eveready_Diner-Hyde_Park_New_York.html?m=19905

Places to Visit:

Firefighter’s Museum of Dutchess County:

https://www.facebook.com/DutchessCountyFirefightingMuseum/

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/3196

Hyde Park Historical Society

4389 Albany Post Road

Hyde Park, NY 12538

(845) 229-2559

https://hydeparkhistoricalsociety1821.org/

Open: Sunday 11:00am-3:00pm/Monday-Friday Closed/Saturday 10:00am-3:00pm

Fee: Free

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60801-d3426818-Reviews-Hyde_Park_Historical_Society_Museum-Hyde_Park_New_York.html

Hyde Park Farmers Market

4390 Route 9

Hyde Park, NY 12538

Every Saturday from June through October.

https://www.hydeparkny.us/542/Hyde-Park-Farmers-Market

Places to Stay in the area:

The Marriott Courtyard

2641 Route 9 South

Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

(845) 485-6336

https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/pouch-courtyard-poughkeepsie/photos/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g48443-d93719-Reviews-Courtyard_Poughkeepsie-Poughkeepsie_New_York.html?m=1990

Day Ninety-Nine: This is Christmas!, Rhinebeck, NY, Woodstock, NY and Rehoboth Beach, DE: Part One November 24th-December 3rd, 2017 (revisited December 5th, 2024)

This Christmas holiday season was one of the best I have had in years. It was also one of the busiest. It is never easy when you are working three jobs, have a book to edit as well as writing one and have six blog sites to maintain, all while looking for full time work. Squeezing the holidays is interesting when you have a full plate.

After Halloween was behind me, I put ‘MywalkinManhattan’ on hold to concentrate on the holiday season. Halloween kept me really busy with my jobs, volunteer work and community service that I like to perform. I swear that my feet did not touch the ground until January 2nd of the New Year.

Work is my always my first priority and my students dazzled me in class with their final group project presentation, ‘Buscomonzefi.com’, a simulated tech start-up company (See Day- Ninety-Eight-‘MywalkinManhattan’). Working with my students on the project took a lot of my time up as well as my job consulting for the Department of Disability Services and working on my blog, ‘BergenCountyCaregiver’. I am very proud to say we welcomed our 3000th visitor to the site. There were lots of activities and charitable functions that I did supplemented my free time.

Buscomonzefi.com logo

First, we had set up for the Annual Christmas Tree Sale for the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association right before Thanksgiving. Our set up clashed with the Cornell/Penn football game.

It was a heartbreaking loss at the last second at Penn

Being the dedicated Alumni, I ran down to Philly for the Cornell-Penn Game (and watched us lose in the final second when the ball was intercepted in the end zone, which would have tied the game). It was a heart breaker but was my excuse of not being there for day of set-up.

Christmas Tree Set-Up

So I decided to rake the whole site the Friday before I left for the game. There were not too many leaves on the site and I spent about an hour and a half raking the site and piling leaves. The rest of the guys met and took care of the set-up for the site. The Saturday after Thanksgiving was tree delivery day. With all the members of the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association present, we unloaded 315 Christmas trees (up from 285 the year before.

Me selling trees as it appeared in the Community News Paper

Our Christmas tree sale is the main fundraiser for the Association and last year we gave out ten $650.00 scholarships. We were hoping to sell more this year to give out more this year. I am very proud to say that as a group we sold all 315 trees by December 19th and were able to donate a few to ex-members families and our local church. We even donated a free tree to a local senior resident where we set it up and took it down. This is my 18th year on the organization and I have never seen trees sell so fast (See my commercial on YouTube under ‘Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association below and see the picture above).

Thanksgiving this year had some sad twists to it. My uncle had been very sick and my family had no formal plans for the holidays. Not to burden anyone with me, I went to visit my friend, Lillian (See ‘Day Seventy-Six-MywalkinManhattan’) out on Long Island for the holiday. I knew she would be alone and I thought this might cheer her up. I can’t think of a more magical Thanksgiving I have had in the last several years.

Lillian and I have been friends for 24 years and she has seen me through a lot. She was there for me during job changes and college comings and goings and a shoulder to cry on when my father passed away. Now at 99 and having outlived most of her immediate family, I wanted to be there for her.

Lillian and I

Thanksgiving could not have been nicer. I was able to get to the assisted living facility in an hour and twenty minutes so we were able to spend more time together. The facility had a lovely dinner for us in the formal dining room in the building that is used (I guess) for special occasions. We sat with all the other families and had a nice dinner of turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and string bean casserole. For dessert, we had a slice of pumpkin and apple pie.

After the dinner was over, we joined the other family members in the other dining room for entertainment. It was nice because I was able to relax and digest before the long ride home. The singer performed songs from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s and I could tell by the humming along most of the residents appreciated something more contemporary.

What I liked was how happy it made Lillian, who liked the afternoon out in her own home. We had a long talk about her life in the facility, her family and friends and at 99, I could not believe how sharp she was about life and everything around her. It just goes to show that people are more observant than they let on and people at nursing homes know exactly what is going on. I would see Lillian later on in the holiday season (See Part Two-This is Christmas).

After Thanksgiving, it was the Christmas Parade in Hasbrouck Heights with the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department. This annual tradition has been going on in my town for years and the fire department is usually at the end of the parade with Santa following. There is always a lot of last minute running around at the firehouse before we leave for the parade, including wiping down the truck. My biggest contribution is the double batch of milk chocolate brownies that the guys want me to make every year.

Engine One in the Hasbrouck Heights Holiday Parade

The crowds of people really seem to enjoy the parade although I have to say that the crowds at the Woodstock parade on Christmas Eve when I visit Woodstock, NY have been bigger. The whole downtown is ablaze with lights and at the end of the downtown on the circle in Hasbrouck Heights, we have the annual Christmas Tree lighting at the end of the parade. The funny part is once that tree is lit, everyone scatters and the event is over. Within twenty minutes, you would never know that there was a parade.

The Hasbrouck Heights Christmas Parade

After the parade was over, the next morning was Christmas tree delivery for the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association. 315 trees were delivered that morning and with a crowd of thirty men and their sons, we got the trees unloaded and tagged for sale for that afternoon. I was surprised we sold a few trees after they had been tagged. Three trees went off the lot within fifteen minutes after we finished the tagging. People really like to make a head start on their holiday decorating.

Setting up Christmas trees

As the week went on there were other preparations for the holidays, including me handwriting 90 Christmas cards for members of the firefighting community (not only am I the Engine One Company Secretary but I am also the Department Secretary as well for a decade and five years respectively). That on top of the ones I have to do for family and friends.

I packed everything up and headed down to Rehoboth Beach, DE that Wednesday for my mother’s 81st birthday. I swear, I don’t think my mom has aged that much since she was in her sixties. She looks terrific and keeps herself super active. I was surprised that she had time on her birthday to see me! It is always nice spending time with her.

Mom making “The Dinner”

“The Dinner” Chicken Cutlets with Ziti and a salad with Vinegar and Oil

My mom and my siblings and I have a favorite meal my mother calls ‘the dinner’ that she makes for us when we are in town. ‘The Dinner’ is breaded veal cutlets, spaghetti (or Ziti) with marinara sauce and a salad with lots of oil and vinegar. That is the meal we had on my first night there. We just caught up and laughed. We always have a nice time when I come down to her house.

My brothers and I with our mom

For her birthday, I took her and her partner to the Blue Moon Restaurant at 35 Baltimore Avenue in downtown Rehoboth Beach (See review on TripAdvisor). The food here is always wonderful and the service is excellent. The best part was that even though it was the 30th of November, the whole place was decorated for Christmas. I had the most wonderful beef stroganoff with sauted broccoli and a wonderful tart for dessert. The food and the service here are just excellent and I can tell that the two of them enjoyed themselves as well.

The best part of the two days that I was here was that I got two great nights of sleep and that really helped with the second part of the weekend. I had to leave right after breakfast and drive four hours home to check my emails and change my clothes as I was heading up another two hours to Rhinebeck, NY for the Annual Mills Mansion Christmas fundraising cocktail party and the Sinterklaas Parade on Saturday. After that I had to head home for the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Christmas Party at the Firemen’s Home in Boonton, NJ. I swear I ran all over the place this weekend.

After I arrived home, I quickly went through all of my mail and emails and bills and got everything sent out. I changed my clothes and got in the car for the weekends volunteer events.

I got up to Rhinebeck with an hour to spare before the cocktail party and fundraiser for the Friends of the Mills Mansion. The Mills Mansion in Staatsburgh, right below Rhinebeck was the home of Ruth (nee Livingston) and Ogden Mills until Mrs. Mills death in the 20’s. I remember visiting the house in the early 2000’s for research on my book and it was falling apart then.

Mills Mansion at the holidays

Now there has been a whole series of successful fundraising to continue the restoration of the house and its contents. The Annual Christmas fundraiser is a lot of fun and a way to give back to the house. From 6:00pm to 8:00pm, we had cocktails and hors oeuvres in the main dining room that the Mill’s used to entertain. The food was catered by the Culinary Institute of America and was excellent. Many of the members kids help pass out the food and it was a nice way to get them involved.

The library decorated for Christmas at the Mills Mansion

There must have been about 150 people at the event, and it is always so nice to see people dressed up for an event. Everyone was in either suits or dresses and it fit the mood of an elegant get-together the way the Mills would have had it. The dining room and tables were all decorated for the holidays as was the rest of the house. There were trees and garland all over the house as well as decorations in all the rooms.

Me at the Mills Mansion Christmas fundraiser

I am not sure how often they used the house for the Christmas holidays but there are records of gift giving at the house by the family. We had the house to ourselves to walk around and see the decorations, so we felt like invited honored guests. The best was when they put the desserts out. They served the most delicious mini eclairs and chocolate mousse in chocolate shells.

The foyer decorated for the holidays.

I still think the most beautiful room in the house was the library that was decked out with its own tree and presents around it. The room always seemed so homey to me and a nice place to just relax and look at the view. I highly recommend this fundraiser as now only are you raising money for much needed repairs at an interesting site, but it is a night of good food and drink in an elegantly decorated private home. How many people get to be the invited guests of the Mills family at Christmas?

Christmas tree in the foyer

I don’t know if it was the two cocktails, I had that evening or just the six hours’ worth of driving I had to do between mom’s house and the fundraiser, but I went back to my hotel and completely conked out. I hit the pillow to just ‘relax’ at 9:00pm and woke up at 1:30am in the morning and then went back to bed and did not wake up until 8:00am and I had to be at the Starr Library by 10:00am for the set up for the Sinterklaas Parade the next morning.

I love participating in the Sinterklaas Parade every Christmas in Rhinebeck, NY. It is so much fun and Rhinebeck, New York is one of the most beautiful places to spend the holidays. The town is straight out of a Currier & Ives wood carving. The town is dominated by buildings are from the late 1800’s and all the stores are so beautifully decorated for the holidays accented all by the white lights on the trees and on the buildings.

Downtown Rhinebeck, NY at Christmas.

When I got there in the morning, we lucked out as the weather was a brisk 48 degrees F and sunny. We unloaded all the puppets and floats from the truck and a group of about twenty of us started to assemble the items. I must be becoming an old-timer because I know at this point how to put everything together. There are some great puppets in the parade and this year’s honorary animal was the Elephant. They had a great surreal, wire-like elephant puppet that someone walked around in at the fundraiser at the Beekman Arms a few weeks earlier.

Setting up for the parade

Previous puppets were put together first such as the bee and penguin puppets on a stick, the hummingbirds and the knights and dragons. We also had the traditional floats such as the dancing ballerina, the four seasons, the nature gods and my float, Mother Nature or as everyone calls her “Big Mama”. New puppets are created every year but like the Macy’s parade, everyone has their traditional favorites.

Sinterklass starting the parade

We zipped right through most of the items because having worked on the parade for the last three years (I have volunteered for the parade for 2010, 2015-2017) and at this point have worked out the kinks to them. We were done by 10:00am and were able to join everyone else at the Beekman Arms Restaurant for the Opening Ceremonies.

The Opening Ceremony at the Beekman Arms

The Opening Ceremonies at the Beekman Arms introduces all the mascots of the day’s festivities including Mother Holly (who is always feeling jolly), the Queen Bee, the Pocket Lady, the Wish Lady, the Elephant Lady with her sidekick the Mouse, the Royal Court and the Dancing Bear. This is a big family event and there were people all over the main banquet room of the Beekman Arms to greet everyone. Johnathan Kruk, the famous storyteller, was on hand at the end of the ceremony to tell the story of Sinterklaas.

All over the town for the rest of the day there were all sorts of activities. At the churches, there were all sorts of performers from choirs to band combos and singing groups. All the churches had their own activities as well as food for sale. My favorite is at the Third Evangelical Lutheran Church when they sell their hot dogs and drinks. As part of the meal, many of their members bake homemade Christmas cookies and its worth the price of the meal.

In Rhinebeck, the whole downtown is awash with Christmas decorations and groups selling baked goods and other foods to raise money for their charities. You can get the most amazing cookies and other treats as these groups really know how to bake.

The decorated stores of Downtown Rhinebeck, NY at Christmas

All over there are craft workshops, dancers, storytellers’ bands, children’s performances and shows such as “Into the Light” at the Church of the Messiah, which is sold out every year. The Grumpuses, Sinterklaas’s helpers perform and dance all over the place as well as the Dancing Polar Bear dances along with a song (the guy that wears that costume is exhausted by the end of the day every year).

‘Into the Light’ pageant

I had to get back to the library by 4:00pm for set up and the get my assignment. I decided to give our coordinator a break and I walked with the ‘Mother Earth’ float. I had a nice time as all we had to do is push her down the hill and move her arms around (see YouTube video of the event under ‘Sinterklaas in Rhinebeck NY 2017).

Downtown Rhinebeck decorated for the holidays

I only get to see it from a distance but from parades past that I have viewed and to see it all on YouTube, it is quite a site when the parade guides down the hill from the Starr Library to Downtown Rhinebeck awash with colors and music. It is such an exciting and festive mood when you see the white lights and puppets all over the place with marching bands performing Christmas songs. The parade is full of lit stars which are one of the symbols of Sinterklaas.

Us holding Mother Earth in the Sinterklaas Parade

I can’t believe how the crowds have grown over the years. There must have been about three thousand people lining the street this year. We have lucked out with the weather being so mild and people were all over the place. Everyone was excited and laughed and singed along with the parade.

The Gumpuses dancing around the downtown

At the end of the parade after pushing ‘Mother Nature’ several blocks we ended up at the Grand Finale Pageant in the municipal parking lot where Sinterklaas and his court welcome everyone to the end of the parade. All the floats pass by the stage and are given their sendoff. The parking is getting more mobbed each year.

Sinterklaas wishing everyone well at the end of the parade

Video of the closing ceremony

We dropped ‘Big Mama’ at the truck to be packed up and put away for next year. I left and went to the Reformed Church for the end of their Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser. I swear, these church groups know how to cook. They gave the small group of us who showed up after the parade (I could not believe that they closed it at 8:00pm when that was the end of the parade) a large portion of Spaghetti and homemade meatballs (the three meatballs were huge) along with salad and garlic bread. It hit the spot after a long day of events and the parade.

The Christmas tree in Downtown Rhinebeck, NY

The whole downtown was quiet after the parade was over. I swear everyone went home and the first wave of people who had gone out to eat had already finished and most of the restaurants started to close after a busy day. It was the opposite of the rest of the day. It is nice to see the town lit up with white lights, quiet and peaceful finally. You could just enjoy the beauty of it.

Downtown Rhinebeck decorated for the night of the parade

I was in bed early that night as I had to leave Rhinebeck early to get to Boonton, NJ for the Annual Bergen County Firemen’s Home Christmas Party. I have to tell you I was exhausted having to drive back down to New Jersey and put on the happy face. It was well worth it though.

Bergen County Firemen's Home Association October 29, 2017

The Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association Christmas Party

We have a band perform on a quarterly basis for the residents, sponsor a barbecue every summer and the holiday party is the last event of the year. I was exhausted so I was falling asleep on the couch in the main meeting room. All that driving was getting to me but it was well worth it. The look on the residents faces when we handed out the gifts on the break from the band was performing. Our organization bought all the guys a new shirt with the Bergen County Firemen’s Home logo on it. I could tell that many of them were touched.

As I handed out refreshments at the break, many of the residents said how much they felt appreciated at the holidays. Some never get to see their families. I am glad that the organization could bring a little holiday cheer to the guys.

The Members of the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association handing out gifts

After the event was over, we all went out for a late lunch at the Columbia Inn in Montville, NJ (see review on TripAdvisor), as a group which was a nice way to end the weekend.

And to think, this is just ONE weekend at the holidays where I volunteer! This is unusual and a very long and productive holiday weekend. I would not have had it any other way!

I dedicate this blog to my uncle, Donald Snyder, who passed away the Monday night that I came home from Rhinebeck. This is sent with much love and respect to my family who had a lot to deal with during the beginning of the holidays.

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!!

The Heartbreaker at Penn: Losing at the last second

Events to join in on in the future:

-The Hasbrouck Heights Christmas Parade is the Friday night after Thanksgiving every year.

-The Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association opens its Annual Christmas Tree sale every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We are located on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Terrace Avenue in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ. (See my commercial on YouTube under the ‘Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association).

The Friends of the Mills Mansion hold their Annual Christmas Fundraiser at the mansion on the first Friday night of December.

-The Sinterklaas Parade is every year the first Saturday of December in downtown Rhinebeck, NY.

Places to visit:

The Staatsburgh State Historic Site

75 Mills Mansion 1 Road

Staatsburgh, NY 12580

(845) 889-8851

http://www.millsmansion.org

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48676-d107418-Reviews-Staatsburgh_State_Historic_Site_Mills_Mansion-Staatsburg_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2137

Places to Eat:

*The Blue Moon

35 Baltimore Avenue

Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

(302) 227-6515

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g34048-d396007-Reviews-Blue_Moon_Rehoboth-Rehoboth_Beach_Delaware.html?m=19905

*Columbia Inn

29 Main Avenue

Montville, NJ 07045

(973) 263-1300

http://www.columbiainn.com

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g46639-d639843-Reviews-Columbia_Inn_Restaurant-Montville_Morris_County_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

*Call the restaurants for their hours during the holiday season as they may differ during the year.

My Christmas Tree Video in Hasbrouck Heights

The Video of me in the Sinterklass Parade in Rhinebeck

The Buscomonzefi.com: If you would like to view the student project, here is the link:

https://buscomonzefi.yolasite.com/

https://buscomonzefi.yolasite.com/Our-Company.php

https://mywalkinmanhattan.com/tag/buscomonzefi-com/

Day Sixty: Participating in the Sinterklaas Parade in Rhinebeck, NY December 3rd, 2016

December 19, 2016"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Catskill, NY, Exploring Historic Dutchess County NY, Exploring Historic Towns of Upstate New York, Exploring Hyde Park NY, Exploring Kingston NY, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring Poughkeepsie, Exploring Red Hook NY, Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Exploring the Historic Hudson River Valley in New York State, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Historic New York State neighborhoods, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan at the Christmas Holidays, MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Pizzeria's and Italian Restaurants for the budget-minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York StateAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, Christmas at the Mills Mansion, Christmas Holidays, Christmas in Rhinebeck NY, Christmas in the Hudson River Valley, DiningonaShoeString@Wordpress.com, Downtown Rhinebeck NY, Exploring Red Hook NY, Exploring Rhinebeck, Exploring Rhinebeck NY, Exploring the Hudson River Valley, Hudson River Valley, Hudson River Valley Christmas Events, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com, Mother Earth Float-Sinterklaas, MywalkinManhattan.com, Rhinebeck NY, Sinterklaas, Sinterklaas Parade, Staatsburgh Manor/Mills Mansion, The Mills Mansion, VisitingaMuseum.com, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

I have been participating in Sinterklaas since 2010 when I went up to Rhinebeck with my father to meet Jeanne Fleming, the artist who runs the parade for an article I was writing and to participate in all the activities and get involved in the parade. That year my dad and I held the banner at the end of the parade to let people know to meet at the end of the parade.

A lot has happened since then and this is the third time since that I have been involved with the parade. I had participated in two fundraisers to start the planning process, one the “Star Party” in Rhinebeck in November and the other “Sweets & Treats Party” in Kingston. Both were a lot of fun and it was nice to get to know people within the organization. It was a plus to raise money for the event.

A group of us at the Mills Mansion Holiday fundraiser

I had stayed in Rhinebeck after a holiday fundraiser at the Mills Mansion and got to the parade route at 10:30am in the morning to help unload the floats and props out of the truck for the parade. It is interesting to see how a parade comes to life.

The Mills Mansion at Christmas time for the party

The foyer at the Mills Mansion at the holidays

Most of the people I worked with had been working on the parade for years and really knew their stuff. They know exactly where things get placed and the condition of the props for the floats. We were lucky that the weather held out and it was a nice day as mostly everything is Paper Mache and two years ago could not be used or else it would have fallen apart.

We unpacked the ballerina, Mother Earth and various bees, penguins, turtles, horses and this year’s mascot, the Owl. All the other animals had made appearances in the parade in other years when they were the mascots. I remember last year when we put the bees together for the parade. We put all the final touches on each of the puppets and the floats that needed extra parts added to them.

Preparing for the Sinterklaas Parade

The Owl Puppets during set up

Our mascot this year was the Owl, which was prominent in all the artwork and in the giant puppets that were created for the parade. They were the stars at the middle of the parade. For most of the morning, we put together most of the puppets that people would be handling for the parade including stars, bees and horses. That’s when I found out that I would be the back of the dragon puppet that would fight a knight.

The Owl puppets being prepared in the parade route

We got done with the basic set-up for the parade in about an hour and that gave me a chance to join in the activities. I was able to make the opening ceremony at the Beekman Arms in downtown Rhinebeck. There we met the people who ran the parade and many of the characters who would be walking around town including Mother Holly (who was feeling Jolly), the Owl Queen and her companion, a mouse, the Queen Bee (our hostess last year when the Bee was our mascot), the Pocket Lady, who showed her pockets of gifts, The Polar Bear and his trainer, who dances when you sing a song to him and several other costumed characters who would walking around town and the parade.

The parade is starting as we walk down the hill from the Starr Library

Jonathan Kruk, the famous storyteller, started his program telling stories of the Legend of St. Nicholas and life in Dutch New York, a story on Hanukkah and then a story on the Wise Old Owl Take. Mr. Kruk, I have heard several times over the years in both Rhinebeck and Tarrytown and he is amazing at telling a story. He really captures an audience. He just has that type of voice that commands a room. Everyone was spell-bound by him as he knows how to tell a story. The Legend of St. Nicholas and he became Sinterklaas and eventually Santa Claus is very interesting and parts of it can be seen on YouTube.

Jonathan Kruk at Sinterklaas

The rest of the afternoon was spent at various sites all over Rhinebeck seeing college choirs and quartets from Bard, Vassar and SUNY. There were story tellers on the streets, the Wish Lady was walking around talking to people, the Grumpuses were dancing around town performing in parking lots and on lawns. There were musicians on stilts in costume playing their instruments to the crowds and all over the sidewalks charitable organizations were selling baked goods and other holiday treats. The most interesting prop they built for the event was the Coo Coo Clock in the alley in the downtown area that really worked and you could meet the Owl court.

I heard the church choir at the Third Evangelical Church and then had my lunch in their basement room. Now I have been to the other church that served lunch and I am sorry that $4.00 for Mac & Cheese and $3.00 for a hot dog is ridiculous. Those are a rip off in New York City but for upstate New York?

When I ate at the Lutheran Church you could get a grilled cheese sandwich and a hot dog with all the Christmas cookies you could eat with the meal for $1.00 each and they accepted it as a donation. Needless to say, I have eaten here since 2010. What’s nice is that all the parishioners bake their favorite cookies and that makes it even more special. The people who volunteer here could not be nicer and can really cook.

The Third Evangelical Lutheran Church at 31 Livingston Avenue in Rhinebeck, NY

http://www.lutheranparishnortherndutchess.org/third-lutheran-church.html

After an afternoon of concerts, story-telling, musicals, shopping and touring the town, it was time to get ready for the parade. It is always exciting getting ready for a parade but this one is very hometown. It still is a local crowd even though people are beginning to come up from the city to see the parade. We met back at the Star Library up the hill and got ready to line up for the parade.

The weather dropped a bit. It was still cool but as cold as it could have been at this time of the year. I was assigned to hold a puppet and I held the back part of the dragon (Yes that is me on the back of the dragon puppet on a few YouTube videos). It is not the same as the balloons I used to carry in the Macy’s Parades back in the 90’s but it still took some work to carry the dragon puppet down the hill to the downtown area. I still got a kick at the guy who ran the front of the puppet. He got to engage with the crowd with the head of the puppet and get the face into the crowd. I just followed behind.

I could tell by the crowds that Sinterklaas is becoming more popular as the crowds that lined the main street of Rhinebeck were about ten deep. People were very excited watching the floats and puppets ride by them. People were spreading out all over the street by time we made it to the heart of the downtown. I wish they had better crowd control as they narrowed the path to the point where they could walk right up to us. I could tell by the big smiles and the excited yells that people really enjoyed the parade.

The Parade in full swing Downtown Rhinebeck, NY

As we progressed through the crowd and I ran from one side of the street to the other chasing after the front of the dragon float, we exited to the town parking lot to the 6:30pm Pageant & the Children’s Star Ceremony. Here the crowds met with all the characters in the parade.

The crowd got to meet Sinterklaas, the Owl Queen, the Snow Queen. the polar bear with his trainer, the Pocket Lady, Mother Holly and the Grumpuses. It was followed by a fire juggler performance that excited the crowd and a musical performance. it was a magical night to everyone in the crowd.

The closing ceremony with all the cast of characters at the end of the day

I ate at Pizzeria Posto at 43 East Market Street (See review on TripAdvisor) for the most amazing thin-crusted pizza with sausage. The sauce is flavorful with fresh mozzarella and fresh basil with local sausage.

Pizzeria Posto at 43 East Market Street is a pretty restaurant

http://postopizzeria.com/

The pizza and the service are excellent. They let me stay after the restaurant had closed for the evening. That was service and they could not have been nicer.

The pizza is excellent at the restaurant

It is a fun parade to be part of and I am looking forward to participating in Sinterklaas 2017. It is held the first Saturday of December but all year-long there are events to prepare for the event.

Just walking around Rhinebeck in its picturesque look can put anyone in the holiday mood. It looks like a village in a Currier & Ives print. There are white lights in the trees, costume characters that walk around the town and after the sun falls, there is a sax player that plays Christmas songs.

Downtown Rhinebeck, NY at the Beekman Arms at Christmas

Downtown Rhinebeck is so magical at Christmas

Again magical.

Places to Visit:

Staatsburgh State Historic Site (The Mills Mansion)

75 Mills Mansion Drive

Staatsburgh, NY 12580

https://parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/staatsburgh/details.aspx

http://www.facebook.com/staatsburghSHS

Open: Thursday-Sunday: 11:00am-5:00pm

TripAdvisor Review:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48676-d107418-Reviews-Staatsburgh_State_Historic_Site_Mills_Mansion-Staatsburg_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2137

Hours: Open Thursday-Sunday: 11:00am-5:00pm (the last tour is at 4:00pm)/Open Monday Holidays from April 19th to October 28th. The mansion then closes to prepare for the holiday season. Closed on Thanksgiving and Easter. There are special programs from January to April so please see the website.

Admission: $8.00 for adults/$6.00 for groups and Seniors/Children under 12 are free. Special events have separate fees and can run from $8.00 to $10.00 and above.

Visiting in Rhinebeck, NY:

The Sinterklaas Parade

Every first Sunday in December

Please check their schedule online by August when most events are posted

Home

Sinterklaas Festival Day in Rhinebeck

Places to Eat:

Pizzeria Posto

43 East Market Street

Rhinebeck, NY 12572

(845) 876-3500

http://postopizzeria.com/

Open: Sunday 12:00pm-10:00pm/Monday 12:00pm-9:00pm/Tuesday-Saturday 12:00pm-10:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48486-d3642490-Reviews-Pizzeria_Posto-Rhinebeck_New_York.html?m=19905

The Churches have their own food service during the parade time.

Johnathan Kruk reading “A Christmas Carol”:

This was the Sinterklaas Parade that I participated in 2016. Look for me holding the back of the dragon. I credit this YouTube video to the attached contributor:

Merry Christmas!

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: