Every year Lindsay and I travel up to New York state for a nice relaxing weekend to the Inn at Stony Creek in Warwick, NY. Our usual snowtubing plans got wrecked because of the rain, but we did other things like visit local wineries Brotherhood and Benmarl. The snow was still on the ground, so at least the views were there. Our Friday night dinner in Warwick was at the Landmark Inn. Great restaurant! The Landmark Inn is a 232 year old building. Wide wooden floorboards and a dizzying array of wooden doors mounted to the ceiling. Yes, it’s definitely an interested design choice.

We branched out this year and visited other areas including Cold Spring, New York. Cold Spring is a town that reminded me of a much nicer version of Sleepy Hollow, New York. The Metro-North train runs through Cold Spring and is a nice partition between downtown Cold Spring and the Hudson River. The passage underneath the train tracks is dark and barely lit by orange flood lights. A nice visual separation between street level and the waterfront.  The Hudson River was completely filled with large chunks of ice. It must be impossible to travel on the river during this time of year!

The town itself is full of antique shops and nice owner-operated businesses. A big difference from the usual Jersey strip mall. (NOTE TO NEW JERSEY DEVELOPERS: We’re sick of them) One of the stores greeted us with some friendly gnomes.

The buildings in Cold Spring are very old and charming. Vines are wrapped around brick structures and every store serves in keeping the area quaint and peaceful. I’m a big fan of technology that has been put through its paces and still functions. The gas meters on the side of one of the buildings have been rusting for quite some time and the vines are just about forcing them off.