The Last Weeks of Summer with MINI
I feel like I’ve been absent from my website the past few months with the launch of Duffield Street, being back and forth from the city, and preparing for some big life changes on the horizon in the coming weeks, months, and year, but I am excited to exercise my writing muscle again and get back into the swing of things, starting with a recap of some of the best weekends we’ve had as a final hurrah to a new kind of summer that we experienced this year.
The weeks leading up to Labor Day weekend are some of my favorite each year -- to me it feels like there’s a rush to soak up the rest of summer between Chrisitan’s birthday at the end of August to departing for an international trip right after the holiday weekend. This year obviously posed a different situation as we’ve been stuck between New York and Connecticut for the last six months, and we wanted to scratch the itch of exploring new places that we usually get to do this time of the year. We were lucky enough to partner with MINI for a few weeks to make the most of our weekends from Christian’s birthday through Labor Day Weekend, and the two weekends away - in the Hudson Valley and in New Hampshire respectively - gave me a breath of fresh air that I needed before heading into the fall months.
The first weekend was Christian’s 27th birthday which is always a favorite weekend of the year for me as all of our friends and family come together to celebrate my favorite person. Christian’s best friends from growing up came into the city and we ate plentifully from our last Fedora Burger at Bar Sardine to a very Christian dinner party. You’ll be able to see my full post on how I pulled the Lobster Bake together at our Brooklyn apartment coming soon to the site, and since this was the first weekend with the MINI, we really got a feel for the luxury of having a car in the city to run basic errands in preparation for the celebration, to getting to and fro friends places to keep the celebrations in tow.
During the week we wanted to make the most of our time with the MINI, so we packed up our cooler safe with Fjord fish dip, guacamole, and raw veggies and headed to the Rockaways for sunset happy hour, and LET ME TELL YOU! We will never return there on a weekend again. It felt like being out east with the dunes behind us and the surfers squeezing the last of daylight out of the water ahead of us. Sometimes I wonder if part of the “grind” of living in New York is that we often don’t have places in nature to resort to when our workdays end, so we may go to a happy hour, or get dinner with our girlfriends, but then we inevitably take the subway home and sleep the minimum amount of hours before we have to get up and do it all over again. Having the MINI and being able to escape for a few hours after work felt like a breath of fresh air, and gave us that perfect last taste of summer.
The following weekend we knew we had to take advantage of having the MINI at our disposal, so we packed our bags Friday afternoon and headed north with no destination in mind - something I cannot recommend enough! Whenever we travel internationally, for one reason or another we always have one part of our trip that we don’t plan - no accommodation, occasionally a general idea of where we’ll be, leaving it up to the moment - and while this wasn’t planned for our first weekend here, we simply both got too busy with work and forgot to book a place in time, but that didn’t stop us.
Once we hit the road, we knew we wanted to go to the Hudson Valley area, and a friend of ours recommended we go to Arrowood Farm Brewery outside of New Paltz. With no plans, we put it into our GPS and made that our first stop. We loved how beautiful the drive was once we got a little north, and the fields of sunflowers welcoming us into the farm area already made it worth it. The IPA was one of the most interesting tasting beers we’ve ever had, and after it grew on us about five sips in, we were big fans. We also ordered the pretzel and burger, and both were worth writing home about.
Since going to Hudson last fall and falling in love with the town, I knew I wanted to show Christian around Warren Street, so when we were deciding on where to stay for the night, we landed on Hudson so that we could wake up, go to my favorite diner, and spend the morning there as a jumping-off point for the next day’s adventures.
The following day we spent the morning in town weaving in and out of coffee shops and vintage stores before heading to High Falls - a beautiful hiking area and waterfall 5 minutes from town, hitting every farmstand along the way to pick up fresh produce for the week, and begin heading in the direction of the city stopping along the way wherever caught our eye. Knowing that I wanted our last stop to be Beacon for dinner, we followed signs en route leading us to Clinton Corners Winery and Milea Estate Vineyard - both lovely landscapes with good wine. You can find all of my recommendations including these and others for Hudson Valley below.
Labor Day Weekend in New Hampshire had been something that we were looking forward to since earlier this summer. One of our best friend’s parents has a place in Bristol on Newfound Lake on the top of a mountain safe with a dirt road and trees for as far as you could see - the perfect contrast to our life in the city. It just so happened that we had the MINI in time to get us up there and make for the perfect long-distance (5ish hour) roadtrip vehicle. Christian loved the engine on our Countryman and as he would say, it is the perfect passenger car with bluetooth, the most comfortable seats, and so much legroom.
Over the course of the weekend, we took our friends out in the MINI exploring neighboring towns and areas with the windows down, the sunroof open, and the exquisite mountain air. As we went from town to town stopping mostly for lobster rolls, it felt like the perfect ending to an abnormal summer, and made us appreciate the small things like weekend trips, belly laughs, and best friends only a car ride away.
Thank you to the MINI team for giving us the key to unlock these adventures as our final hurrah to summer - we couldn’t have done it without our MINI Countryman.
Hudson Valley Recommendations
NEW PALTZ
We didn’t stop in the town of New Paltz although it is very cute set on a hill and with small, quintessential shops. We drove through it to get to Arrowood Farm Brewery, and obviously had to stop at the famous Mohonk Mountain Resort to see if perchance they had any rooms for the night (to our dismay, they did not).
HUDSON
As noted previously, I had been to Hudson before and was smitten over it. So when we knew we would be in the area, I made it a point to stop there. Hudson is a great place to stay if you are planning a trip to the Hudson Valley because it is a drive away from the best parts and has some of the best accommodations, town, and shopping.
Stay:
Food/Drink:
Grazin Diner for breakfast or lunch: milkshakes are to-die-for, as are burgers
The Maker Hotel: great for mid-morning espresso or pre-dinner cocktails in their cocktail bar behind the hotel
Lil Deb’s Oasis: fun dinner spot with great food and a scene ;)
Rivertown Lodge: while I haven’t eaten here, I hear that it rivals best breakfast with Grazin Diner
Explore:
High falls conservation area: Christian wanted to get some fresh air and find waterfalls in the area, and this was the first place that came up, only being a 5-minute drive away from the town of Hudson. It was an easy but beautiful hike and the waterfalls were gorgeous. If the weather is rainy, the waterfalls section might be closed off, but might we suggest you tune into the rebel within you and hop the fence? We did it and the other hiking groups followed, each one being glad they did.
The farm stands! There are so many farm stands and orchards (in the fall) that you will pass on the roads, and you must make it a point to stop and buy some in-season fresh produce. I love supporting these small businesses and farmers and their produce is better than anything you’ll find in city grocery stores.
CLINTON CORNERS
We had no plans of going to Clinton Corners, but when we finished our hike and wanted to make our way in the direction of the city, we found a brewery on the map and headed that way. But the best part about having no plans and no obligations, is that you can change where you’re headed when you see a sign pointing to a local winery. En route to Beacon, we decided to pull off the highway toward a vineyard, and it led us to some amazing spots.
Junkyard/vintage shop off the highway on Clinton Corners Shutzville Road: a charming older man owns a landscaping company that this garage is a part of, and it was a very happy accident pulling into the driveway and discovering the little gems he has collected, from cane chairs for $30 to trinkets, glassware, and tchotchkes. The best part is that he told us that when he makes enough money each week from this side business, he uses the money to play a game of golf. AND WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO SUPPORT THAT KIND OF SMALL BUSINESS?
Clinton Corners Winery: a beautiful property and family-owned winery easy to get to and perfect for a summer or fall afternoon. Christian and I split a tasting and Beau could not have been happier picking up cheese and cracker droppings and running free in the open field.
Milea Vineyard: we absolutely LOVED this vineyard, with the tables set on a hill overlooking the vineyard and just a short 10 minute drive from the Clinton Corners Winery. This vineyard is slightly bigger than Clinton Corners, and on Saturdays they have live jazz and a pizza truck to make the experience divine. While their tasting room has been closed due to COVID, you can buy a bottle (for around only $20), grab a table outside, and make a perfect afternoon out of it.
BEACON
While we didn’t spend much time here and I definitely want to go back, the town was a perfect stop on our way back to the city. Beacon is known for its art and culture and in the short amount of time that we were there, it reminded me of Portland, Oregon -- one of my favorite cities.
Dia Beacon is one of Dia Art’s locations, and one of their most famous ones. Dedicate an afternoon to going here and exploring the galleries and stopping by the bookstore before departing.
Storm King isn’t exactly located in Beacon, but while we’re on the topic of art, it is another must-see when you’re in the Hudson Valley, ideally in summer or fall. It is an outdoor museum (perfect for COVID) with a property filled with sculptures, in perfect distance to neighboring towns, in the closer part of Hudson Valley to the city.