Visit Dia: Beacon

It is not that I am starved for indoor activities that I thought Dia Beacon was an incredible visit, but more so that it exceeded my expectations far and away. It is worth the hour and half drive for each and every exhibit especially Carl Craig’s Party/After Party. It would be remise not to mention that the museum itself is a site to behold, nearly 300,000 square feet that epitomizes industrial architecture. The natural light that pours in through the skylights of museum is divine. The massive glass pane windows wrapping the building allows the outside foliage to fuse with the exhibits. The shadows that form on the concrete and hardwood flooring is a photographer’s dream. Dia Beacon is open all year-round sans major holidays and I will be closely watching for new exhibits and guided tours. 

John Chamberlain
Mel Bochner
Robert Smithson
Dan Flavin
Lee Ufan
Lee Ufan
Michael Heizer
Dorothea Rockburne
Dorothea Rockburne
Dan Flavin
Carl Craig
Carl Craig

I am not only besotted with the museum, but also with the town of Beacon. Everyone is welcome. As you walk towards the main drag you are meet with homes prominently showcasing Pride and BLM flags. People holding signs facing traffic like “Honk for Justice”. This is 75-minute express train ride from Manhattan, but you could have fooled me into thinking it’s Chelsea/West Village for it’s progressive, yet quaint vibes.

Notable mentions:

Parking for the museum is included with your tickets and parking downtown was hassle free.

Mask wearing was abundant and people were considerate of distancing on the sidewalks.   

The Roadhouse: Incredible meal, great service and a patio that overlooks a waterfall.

Wonderbar Beacon: Tapas and cocktails are worth the wait.

Scrolling the Week of 9.07.2020

I will always love New York, Never Forget, let’s come together

New York is NOT dead, the constants will always remain

The Whitney, The Natural History Museum, MoMA, DIA: and more are all open

A gender reveal party started the El Dorado Fire in California’s San Bernardino County, let’s end this stunt

Patio and yard makeovers before and after

Just picked up this book

Following PRH for more books:

Great recommendation to a documentary on the Father of New American Cuisine:

Now on Netflix

Swooning over this charging pad

Just sent these masks as a gift, love free shipping

I don’t know about you, but I have lost my appetite, two meals a day has been working for me

I lost my craving for coffee in the beginning of the pandemic, but I am back on the caffeine train

Cheers to the weekend.

Storm King Art Center: Outdoor Museum

For over fifty years this Art Center has been a welcoming guest from all over the globe. I’ve been to Storm King in the past and in the wake of social distancing norms, this was a must do weekend activity. There are over 100 sculpture installations throughout the property, but the Center’s dramatic landscape of farmed fields, woodlands, lawns, native grasses, wetlands, and water are also a sit to behold. The landscaping is extremely thoughtful and I couldn’t help but be impressed by invitations to enter areas indicated solely by strategic paths, low cut grass or gravel paths, like breadcrumbs. There is something for everyone. If you choose to look at the sculpture from a far you will surely cover more ground, but you can easily walk 20K steps, either way there are fantastic photo opportunities at every turn. There are also designated picnic areas near each parking lot, so you can take a break and enjoy lunch overlooking the scenery.

Currently, tickets are based on timed entry and in turn there wasn’t clustering of people in the parking lots or the lunch areas. This park is opened rain or shine and throughout the fall. I highly recommend reserving your tickets as soon as possible. This is truly a majestic place that beautifully encapsulates the union of art and nature.

Scrolling the Week of 09.04.2020

RH Farms at Riverview Farmers Market

And so it is Labor Day weekend, don’t get emotional get cooking with these recipes

If you are not the cook, but the lounging grazer, than check out NPR’s book list

Labor day sales are happening and there seems to be a Buy Now, Pay Later mentality taking over, what is that all about?

Speaking of shopping…I don’t need this, but this could bring great joy to food prep

I canned peaches and now I’m on to Jersey tomatoes using this food mill:


NOT ANOTHER COOKING SHOW

MSC Cruises is sailing in the Mediterranean Covid free, hot damn

There is a housing frenzy, basically the new gold rush and these cities are becoming the top places to live

Aperol Spritz

A long weekend calls for cocktail inspiration

Cheers Happy LDW.

Hiking: Cold Spring, NY

Blue Hill Full Loop

I’ve gone hiking less than a handful of times in the past 5 years. I would describe myself as someone who likes the outdoors, thanks to summer sleepaway camp. I guess other indoor activities were on my agenda like brunch, bars, movies, shopping, and museums. If I am really honest the fact that I would be out late on the weekends didn’t make hiking any more appealing. Alas, the times we are in has encouraged me to join step challenges, which in turn got me back into me hiking. I use AllTrials app, which provides the driving directions to the hiking trials as well as a real-time trial guide. It was really simply and I love the fact that each trial is rated in terms of difficulty and includes user comments. In the beginning of lockdown I gave myself the goal of hitting 10K steps a day. Hiking knocks my step challenge goal out of the park. I track all my activities with the Garmin vívoactive HR watch and all my activities feed to the Garmin Connect app on my iPhone. It’s motivating to visually digest my weekly activity levels. As we transition into a new season, I know that hiking will be a lasting activity. (Dare I say, PSL is here).

We choose the Blue Hill full loop. It requires work, but the view at the top is beautiful and the way down is surprisingly flat allowing for moments to recover and eat.

Having been hiking in Cold Spring, NY via Metro-North Rail before, I knew this was a good option because the town is so adorable. I opted to drive, which would give me the ability to not only hike, but to walk around the town and browse the shops. #suporrtsmallbusinesses

I am happy to report that the shops in the downtown area were all opened and people are wearing masks.

Happy September.