Hudson
on the Hudson
Some
places are over sold by the pundits of publicity and on arrival we are
disappointed by the reality. However,
Hudson NY – on the Hudson River seems to be the exception. Dropping the hook opposite Athens on the
Western shore we dinked over to the East side for a visit to Hudson of which we
had heard many glowing reviews. On our
previous three trips up the river we had never visited either of these two
villages although we had previously anchored off Athens. Our quick walk in Athens revealed a vintage town
with almost zero commercial property but blocks and blocks of quaint old homes
most in need of serious TLC although they provide a welcoming free dock.
On
the Hudson side we were prepared for disappointment since not much that
receives such glowing reports actually seems to deserve them. However, Hudson
is indeed a restoration well along and a treasure that looks only to get better
as more work is completed. This little
town was reportedly one vote away from being named the capital of New York
State. It clearly once had a thriving downtown
that has thankfully been rediscovered by antique dealers and galleries plus
boutiques and food shops. Even window
shopping here is a treat with the refurbished store fronts providing a glimpse of
days gone by. The sounds of hammers and
saws point to a bright future as ever more homes and shops are being
reborn. Fortunately the vast core of
this town was not torn down in the rush to “Urban Renewal”. The few buildings that were removed have been
cleverly turned into pocket parks making this a pedestrian friendly stop for
boating and train visitors alike. We
stayed around to catch the best tide – and it happened to coordinate with the
Farmer’s Market. This gem rates near the
top of our best list in this category.
Organic produce vendors offered fresh beets, mushrooms, delicate squash
and bushels of greens. Then there were the cheese stalls, grain feed meat
producers, bakers and crafters. Oh, yes,
we can’t forget the fresh cut flowers and pots of herbs. This was a Mini-Garden of Eden in lovely
Hudson, NY.
a real vintage hardware store for Steve plus a plumbing supply from the 1900s
Hey guys, wondering how you are. John comes to visit next week for first time since moving to London 2 years ago. You be in town any time soon? You must be having fun!
ReplyDeleteAngie
Greetings back and to you all. We are on the boat for the summer. Will have to visit our storage sometime in the fall and will give you a heads up. Please send your email address to us a erben42@gmail.com so we can be sure to keep in touch. I seem to have lost it in one of my changes. Did you get to London to visit John? What a fun city to be for a while - we are happy to be away from big cities most of the time but have been enjoying Burlington VT and look forward to Quebec City as we head north in a few weeks. From then on it will be more rural until we head down to Nova Scotia. All good here. Paul and Amanda are in Seattle - he starts a two year course on Monday and after that we will all see - maybe a they will be in a place where we can boat! In the meantime we are floating onward. Thanks for keeping in touch and hugs to you all especially those fathers.. Cheers Julia
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