Monday, August 30, 2010

Weekend in Newburgh/Woodland Valley

We went up to Newburgh again on Saturday and signed a lease to an apartment on Montgomery Street/Grand Street! It needs a little work, but it is a great temporary roost while we work on our house.

After signing the lease, we drove up to the Catskills and camped at Woodland Valley.


Eddie set up the tent as I read the New York Post. We'd only bought it for kindling, I swear! But I didn't want to waste all that print.


Starting and keeping the fire going is my job, and I take it seriously:


We bought corn, fruit, potatoes, tomatoes and an avocado from a farmer's market stand on the way up and went to the grocery store for a rack of ribs and two pieces of steak. We only stayed one night!! But we feasted.

The next morning we packed everything up and started on a trail next to the camp site. We only hiked up for an hour and picnicked on a large stone slab. There were chipmunks running around storing their acorns, and Eddie saw a one-foot long baby snake. It was slithering off the trail, but Eddie thought he could get it to curl around a stick. When he tried to prod it onto his hiking stick, the baby snake coiled up and struck the stick. Its fangs made a knocking sound against the wood. I started running down the trail back to the car, but Eddie took some photos. Google informs us it may be a baby timber rattlesnake, nearly extinct, but lives in the Hudson Valley region and loves the exact kind of forest we were in. Lots of chipmunks to eat and slabs of stone to sun on.


Lots more dangerous adventures when we move up in September!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Newburgh/New Paltz Weekend


This weekend we went up to New Paltz on Saturday and stayed at the cute hostel on Main Street. Only $60 a night! Unfortunately, it was also the weekend SUNY New Paltz students came back to school, so there was some mighty traffic.

We did a short hike to Splitting Rock swimming hole in the Shawangunk Mountains but didn't swim because it was freezing cold water (picture above).

For dinner, we took our friend Anna's tip and went to The Village Tea Room. SO AMAZING! Eddie had a sirloin steak with shallot herb vinaigrette, while I ordered the lamb tagine. Again, I can't wait to move up to Newburgh and enjoy all the Hudson Valley towns!

Sunday, we drove half an hour to Newburgh, had an awesome breakfast (thanks Anna and Evan!), and viewed one-bedroom apartments we found on Craigslist and with Chris, our realtor who should be on retainer. We're still trying to decide which apartment to rent, but it looks like we'll be in Newburgh on September 15!!!

And, since the City Council voted to return the title of the house to us, we'll be able to start work as soon as we get that matching grant and ARC approval. Hopefully.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Weekend in Newburgh/Beacon

The view of Newburgh/Beacon from lower Mt. Beacon, which we didn't finish climbing. Halfway up, I realized that a one mile hike is impossible in flats when the incline is more than 45 degrees. And I'm carrying a five month melon in my belly!
The Goldsmith Denniston House breakfast. Nancy, the owner, was so wonderful and she knew a lot about Newburgh and renovating old houses. She gave us a list of good resources.

We're going back up this weekend and exploring New Paltz, which is only 29 minutes away. Our friends hiked around Minnewaska Park last weekend and their dog chased a baby bear up a tree. Luckily, they got away before the baby's family came looking.

We just hope that we'll reach the top of wherever we go, and maybe find a swimming hole. Split Rock Hole in Coxing Kill sounds adventurous - there's also a nude area. Also, we will probably go to the Antique Sale at the Crawford House in Newburgh on Sunday!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Weekend Adventure

We're going to play tourist to Newburgh this weekend! We're going to stay at a B&B - probably the Goldsmith Denniston House. We have a gift certificate to Akasaka Restaurant, courtesy of our realtor, so we'll be dining on the waterfront one night. If it's not raining, we'll go to Overlook Drive-In for their double feature (only $8 per person!).

We'll probably visit the
Captain David Crawford House in Newburgh, and then take a tour of Bannerman Castle on Sunday. Maybe go to DIA: Beacon, too, if there's enough time. Oh, and there's a Corn Festival on Sunday in Beacon as well! Even if we don't have a house, we can still pretend we live there!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Inconceivable

So, Zaborski's Emporium was massive and crazy and much more pricey than I had anticipated. Kingston is lovely, though, and I hope someday Newburgh can have that level of community pride.

Anyway, we received some pretty awful news on Friday. The City of Newburgh informed Eddie that he doesn't actually OWN the house we bought. The explanation from our lawyer-in-law:

“The title co, your insurer, is working on fixing the problem. The problem took place during a gap between the closing and the last search that was done by the title company before the closing. During that gap, the city foreclosed the tax lien for all those back unpaid taxes. Because it took place during the gap, the title co wasn't aware of it. Notwithstanding, you are insured for not only what you paid, but for the fair market value of the property. I had spoken with Eddie about this months ago, when we discovered the problem when the title co tried to file the deed taking you out of title AND you brought to our attention that you were unable to pay the taxes. The title company is "on it". In the meantime, do not spend any more money on this house until this is worked out.”

Crazy, right?? So everything is on hold - the grant application, the ARC approval for facade work, the historic preservation tax credit application....

Anyway, it wouldn't be an adventure without a few Fire Swamps and Pits of Despair.