Art Omi — Fields Sculpture Park

Bernar Venet, “Arcs in Disorder: 4 Arcs x 5, and 83.5 Degree Diagonal Line” An art museum and hiking? Great idea! You can enjoy both at Art Omi, an 120-acre sculpture and arts park in upstate New York.  Dan Colen, “Yellow M&M, Brown M&M, Red M&M, Orange M&M“ The scuptures frequently change, so what I enjoyed […]

Overlook Mountain Trail Hike

Overlook Mountain is located just north of Woodstock, NY. In fact, if you walk down the main thoroughfare of Woodstock, you can see it clearly. It’s a popular trail — one of the most popular in the Catskills, in fact. You won’t get any solitude but that’s because the payoff is amazing.  Three payoffs, actually. […]

Staying at Grandma’s Place — an AirBnB Vacation Fabulous Find

  We were looking for a fairly inexpensive house to rent while we explored the Catskills and we found “Grandma’s Place” in Woodstock NY.   Perfect for a couple or small family, Grandma’s Place is walking distance to the center of Woodstock. The house sleeps four comfortably: one double bed and one queen bed.  The […]

Albany Rural Cemetery

The Albany Rural Cemetery is as much a park as it is a burial ground. There are a variety of species of trees, and the roads lead you through undulating hills. Erastus Corning (1794-1872) – Founder and president of the New York Central Railroad, and is located on a large circular plot in Lot 2, Section 31. Erastus […]

Reflecting Absence: 9/11 Memorial and Museum in NYC

Every American, if they are old enough, has their own memory of that day, the 11th of September, 2001. A surprising number remember, of all things, the incredibly deep blue sky that yielded the planes which were the instruments of terror that day. A view of lower Manhattan from Brooklyn, taken around 8:30 a.m. September […]

Nine-Eleven Memorials

There is America pre-9/11 and America post-9/11, and a world of difference in between. The targets of the 9/11 terrorist attacks were the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington DC and, most likely, the Capitol Building — symbols of America’s financial, military and political influence on the world. The magnitude […]

10 Great November Daytrip Destinations

November brings great weather for hiking and biking, and if you head south, there are still lovely autumn leaves and scenic drives to enjoy. November’s chill also reminds us the holidays are right around the corner. Start your holiday giving now by giving great experiences, the sort of ones that they’ll remember for years after. […]

10 Fun Things to Do in September!

September is summer’s last gasp, and is a favorite time of year. The weather cools, and toward the end of the month, autumn leaves start showing their colors. The mid-Atlantic region offers a wide variety of great things to do and see! There’s nothing quite like a Renaissance festival, whether it’s in Maryland or Virginia […]

Turning Abandoned Space into a Lovely Park: NYC’s High Line

Lisa Schwartz guest blogs this week about a relatively recent addition to NYC’s attractions. Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Rockefeller Plaza, etc. are all iconic and wonderful places to visit when touring New York City. I have visited each of these locations several times, and they are definitely worth checking out. A […]

Kykuit: Retreat of the Rockefellers

The John D. Rockefeller estate, Kykuit, is a 40-room National Trust house in Westchester County, NY, built by oil tycoon, capitalist and Rockefeller family patriarch John D. Rockefeller. Conceived largely by his son, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and enriched by the art collection of third-generation scion, Governor of New York and Vice President of the United […]

Gotta Catch Them All: 11 Best Places to Play Pokemon Go

With multiple Pokéstops and Pokégyms, 1. Columbia’s four lakes in Howard County, MD, offer Pokémon Go players great game play in a pleasant, shaded setting that belies its urban location. Proximity to water also ensures you’ll catch plenty of magikarp as you collect what you need to evolve a gyarados. 2. Downtown Pittsburgh has hundreds […]