It’s officially summer now, atleast I’m pretty sure. Those who go to grad school have a few months to detox from papers and exams. Those with children in school now have their arms full again with speeding gonzaleses running around their houses. Its time for family members to visit, friends to visit, vacations to be taken.
So, what can you do? These are some of the things I have planned on my list. Most cost little to no money, which is good for people who are on money diets like myself ( racing is expensive!).
1) Berry picking! I mentioned this in a post I wrote earlier in the fall, called Welcome Fall which went into details of where you can go to pick apples and pumpkins and what there is to do in the fall. There are loads of farms which will let you pick your own berries. On my ride the other day, I came upon Grieg Farm in Red Hook where you can pick your own strawberries through June, and then blueberries come out in July. Mmmm. I love strawberries and blue berries.
2)Drive in Movies. I’ve never been to a drive in move before, but there are great drive in movies all over the place. Go check out Driveinmovie.com and see what’s playing where. There’s one up in Hyde Park, up in Greene County near Coxsackie called Hi-Way Drive-in Movie, and you just need to check out that site to see what is playing!
3) Fourth of July
There are numerous festivities that go on for the fourth of july. I remember back when we live in Lake George, we’d bundle up and head out into the boat and watch the fireworks above us. The Dutchess county fair grounds does something special for the fourth of july, with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic which can be found here.
4) Hike. When you hike on Catskill trails, it’s free. But there are places in the Gunks which have amazing trails. On the Mohonk Preserve, which you do need to pay either a daily fee or membership fee for, in June, they have what is called the blueberry patch, where wild blueberries grow. The Hudson Valley Magazine has some great hike ideas.
5) Go watch the Windham World Cup — It’s the UCI’s world cup for mountain biking. I know some people who have worked their asses off, spending hours on the mountain preparing for this event– Mountain Bikers from all over the world will be there. Quite an exciting event, especially so close to where we are!
4) Tubing. Town Tinker Tube located up in Phonecia has a 5mile stretch where you can rent a tube (or kayak) and float or kayak on the Esopus. This may be more of a pricy event, but still fun to do.
5) Waterfalls, lakes, swimming holes– are all over in Greene county. And, some in Ulster county as well. (I haven’t heard of any in Dutchess county–if you know of any, let me know!) In this humidity and heat, there’s nothing better than to cool off in natural water–outside with nature surrounding you, instead of being in a pool outside (haha, this person who used to freak out by being in outdoor water can now no longer stand pools). Swimming holes tell you where there are in your area. If you are a distance swimmer and pass a swimming test, you can swim in Lake Minnewaska! There are also small parks that have little lakes with lifeguards if you have smaller children or prefer to have a lifeguard while you swim, such as Wilcox Park in D.Co, Ulster Landing Park over in Ulster County right on the Hudson (although, I’m not sure who would want to swim in the hudson….), Lake Taghkanic State Park is a state park located in the southern part of Columbia County which has swimming and also waterfalls!, Freedom Park, in the town of LaGrange, also has swimming area. I know some of these because they are the locations of triathlon and duathlons.
6) Race season! If you are into duathlons or triathlons, there are loads of races throughout the summer.Great little events. If you are a more experienced triathlete, they have a lot of half IM’s throughout the state, however those can get pricy. The smaller, local races aren’t too bad.
7) Cheer on the cyclists from the Tour of the Catskills and support the riders as they come up Devil’s Kitchen. ‘
8) County and State fairs. If you enjoy paying to look at animals and proud owners of mini dogs going to catch disks, and inhale the smell of overpriced, greasy food, go for it! (I grew up in the country and had my share of smelling farm animals, so county/state fairs aren’t my ideal events to attend). But, the Dutchess County Fair has really neat old farm equipment.
These are just a few of activities geared towards the more athletic person (sorry, it’s just who I am). But there are a lot of exciting events going on this summer!
I wish you all a wonderful and safe, fun summer! Don’t forget to keep hydrated and sunscreen at hand!
A Rendezvous with Sneakers 