I haven’t visited any places specifically to learn about the War of Independence, but I have stumbled upon little reminders at a few places. Seeing little bits of the past brings history alive for me. I know I learned about the Revolutionary War in school, but now it’s so much easier to remember what I…
Category: New York State
Dining Before the Revolution in Kingston
The Brawny Sherpa and I toodle around upstate New York with no specific plan in mind. Just enjoying a seasonal drive, stopping where we like at whim, doing so much of nothing, we get hungry. We are fortunate to stumble upon the Hoffman House Tavern in Kingston, N.Y. where we enter the 17th century. The…
Tarrying in Tarrytown
The Bashful Adventurer discovers the Tarrytown Music Hall and the Oath Craft Beer Sanctuary in Tarrytown, N.Y.
Castles in Westchester: Caramoor
Seeking the Rosens in a Villa in Katonah Going on a house tour is a bit of an odd pastime, being as a certain amount of snooping into other people’s personal lives is encouraged, yet go too far, and a velvet rope is likely to hold you back. I feel a bit like this the…
Westchester Castles: Manhattanville
Don’t let Reid Castle be wasted on co-eds Try to find a reason to visit the campus of Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y. just to visit what’s called ‘The Castle,’ and it indeed looks like one. Formally called Reid Castle, it once belonged to New York Tribune owner Whitelaw Reid, who acquired the estate,…
Dining at Ryder Farm in Brewster
Ryder Farm in Brewster, N.Y. has been in existence since at least 1795. Hundreds of years later, it’s still a special place to visit.
Finding Ulysses in the Big Apple
Who knew that Civil War General and, later, President Ulysses S Grant had ties to New York beyond West Point? The Bashful Adventurer investigates.
Beacon beyond DIA
A Visit to Artist Jeffrey Terreson’s New Gallery For those who grew up in Upstate New York at a time when it was thriving, what’s happened in decades since is sometimes disheartening. Failure to thrive in too many places comes in the form of mothballed factories, declining real estate prices, and Main Streets full of…
Meeting the French in Cold Spring
Dining at Brasserie Le Bouchon I don’t know how many times the Brawny Sherpa and I walk past Brasserie Le Bouchon in Cold Spring, N.Y. Hey, it’s French, it could be good, it could be full of butter, meh, let’s keep going. It’s a friend who insists we go there, says it’s fantastic, try it,…
Getting a Clue at Caramoor
An evening of wine and ragtime at Caramoor in Katonah leaves imaginative visitors looking for Professor Plum, or possibly Miss Scarlet, in the music room at was once the residence of Walter and Lucie Rosen, who spent good-weather days at the house while entertaining their theatrically inclined and otherwise talented friends. Now open to the…