Living Our Bucket List Life: Hudson River Valley (May 2010)

We had a great weekend in the Hudson River Valley! There's so much to see that we already know we'll take another trip sometime in the future.

On our first day, we visited West Point before crossing the Hudson to see Vanderbilt and Vassar. Ate lunch at the Beechtree Grill in Poughkeepsie, just off the Vassar campus. It didn't look like much from the outside, but the food and service were very good. We ended up staying in Tarrytown at the Springhill Suites, which suited our purposes just fine. (Although we cancelled the Tarrytown House Estate, we did drive around the property, and that would have been a fine choice.) Dinner at Chiboust was quite good, particularly the desserts.

On our second day, we visited Kykuit, which was lovely. If you have just one mansion to see, this should be it! But definitely make a reservation, and try to visit early in the day. Tours seem to sell out quickly (maximum of 18 people per group), and parking (at Phillipsburg Manor) is at a premium. (You are bused from Phillipsburg to Kykuit.) We ate Sunday brunch in Tarrytown at Sweet Grass Grill, which was delicious, and the outdoor patio tables are a nice place to dine. Afterwards, we visited Union Church to see the Chagall and Matisse windows, and then toured Blue Hill at Stone Barns. We ate dinner at Blue Hill in the evening, but because jacket and tie are requested for men, we thought it best to do our tour of the gardens, greenhouses, and livestock pens in more casual dress. Our meal at Blue Hill was the most unique we've ever had in terms of ingredients. Presentation wasn't overly fussy, but rather rustic and natural. The service wasn't as good as I had expected, but overall it was worth the cost and the effort (reserving two months in advance). My best advice for Blue Hill is to take an early reservation--it takes 3 to 4 hours for a full meal, depending on whether you choose 5 or 8 courses, and we recount at least 10 amuse bouches were served before any of the actual courses were placed in front of us. Bring your appetite!

On our last morning, we visited Lyndhurst, which was worthwhile, but hard to stand up to Kykuit, even though it was very different in style. We probably should have also stopped at Washington Irving's Sunnyside before departing for home, but at that point we were somewhat "mansioned out" as a previous poster thought we might be.

All in all, it was a great 3-day weekend, and next time we'll move a little farther north to see the mid and/or upper Hudson region.

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