Day trip exploring the Hudson Valley

The Hudson River Valley is absolutely beautiful. There are so many little towns and farms spread out along the river and tucked away in the Catskill Mountains. Last Saturday we decided to head south and go check a few of these places out.
Adam and Gavin looking out at Catskill Point...

Our first stop was to Catskill, NY. It's a tiny little town situated right on the river bank. We saw that there was a Farmer's Market going on and decided to stop and check it out. It's been so humid the past couple of weeks, but Catskill point had a perfect breeze that made it much more enjoyable to walk around. The view from the point is incredible and Gavin had so much fun running around this little park.
From Catskill, we headed to the town of Woodstock. I did not realize that the music festival did not actually take place in Woodstock proper, but instead was held in the town of Bethel, which is about 60 miles away. Apparently, organizers could not find an open space large enough so they had to move the festival at the last minute. Woodstock is just an awesome little village. It obviously draws a lot of tourists, but the town still has such an artsy feel- tons of little shops, galleries and restaurants. We grabbed lunch at a little place and sat outside on the patio. The food wasn't much to speak of, but the energy was infectious. There was a big flea market while we were there. I've decided that flea markets, in reality, are just giant yard sales where people charge way too much for crap they should really just throw away. I did pick up a cool ring- I love my costume jewelry!
This is outside a little store selling all kinds of peace, love, and happiness paraphernalia... had to take a pic of Janice Joplin! I resisted the urge to buy a tie-dyed shirt... probably a wise choice!

We would have stayed longer in Woodstock but it was nearing 100 degrees with high humidity- so we took to our air-conditioned Volvo and headed out. Next stop was Rhinebeck- Gavin actually slept through this stop as we pushed him in the stroller while we admired the small town. Rhinebeck is home to Beekman Arms, said to be the oldest inn in continuous operation in the country. It's really beautiful, as are the gardens surrounding it. Next time, I'd like to have lunch at the inn. Apparently, both George Washington and FDR have either stayed or eaten lunch there. I just love that sort of trivia.

Rhinebeck, NY

Our final stop was downtown Hudson. Warren Street is lined with historic buildings and beautifully painted brownstones that house various antique shops and galleries. We didn't go into any of the shops, but just admired them from outside. Instead, we grabbed ice cream to cool off and then checked out the public art display of painted dogs! Below are pictures of a few of the buildings in Hudson and some of our favorite dogs!