weekend getaway

For the last three years we've taken a short summer vacation to the Hudson River valley area in New York. It's only about three hours away and is so lovely! We usually stay in the Bear Mountain vicinity.

This time we stayed at the Inn at the Garrison, a small inn located on a golf course. It's also a wedding venue, and there were several while we were there. It wasn't a super quiet place because of that, but very clean and comfortable.

On our way to the Garrison, we stopped at our most favorite place to eat, The Filling Station (TFS) in Haverstraw. We discovered this place the first time we vacationed in that area and have been going ever since! Their specialty is burgers (made while you wait) and fries. You would be hard-pressed to find a better burger anywhere! The building is literally an old filling station. Definitely not a fine dining establishment, but quirky and unique.

Condiments are kept in old tool chests, like shown above. It's worth driving three hours just to eat there!

On Saturday we took a 2.5 hour cruise from Peekskill to West Point on a 36 passenger former Coast Guard boat called Evening Star. 

Unfortunately, it rained several times while we were on the trip. It was still fun though! We found out some interesting facts and history about the area. Although several places claim to be the inspiration for the yellow brick road in the Wizard of Oz, the actual road is supposed to be in Peekskill, where L. Frank Baum attended military academy. Seeing West Point from the river was pretty impressive.

West Point 

Saturday evening we went to Hudson Creamery for ice cream. I got the yellow brick road sundae, which was fantastic! It came in a waffle cone with crushed Nilla wafers and dulce de leche sauce. Quite a treat!

Lots of time to rest, beautiful scenery, and good food made for a relaxing getaway. It just went by too fast!