Fell in love with the Catskills

“An Escape from the City and the Suburbs Thereof”

Jason and I rented a fabulous house in the Catskills for a few days.  We loaded up some groceries, Radar, my guitar, some art supplies, a few good books, hiking shoes and we were off!

This is what we found…

We came across a refurbished garage made into the coolest store and coffee shop called Scandinavian Grace on highway 28.   Fredrick was super fun to talk to and the items were beautifully designed, colorful and unique.

After playing house in the fabulous rental, we woke up the next morning to deer grazing in the yard.  (What a sweet respite from the overcrowded city and a deep, cleansing cool breath of fresh air!)

Midday we enjoyed a scrumptious lunch at the old-fashioned Andes Hotel in a nearby village.  (Radar hid under my chair from the raindrops and distant thunder.  He spent his time doing dog things like rolling in the grass, drinking fresh mountain water that runs along everywhere and then shaking fearfully from the intermittent storms – there’s no talking him down from that.)

The next day we hit a Farmer’s market on route 30 near Margaretville for some local goods.  We found some amazing grassfed beef by Shannon Hayes (author of The Farmer and the Grill and The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook) who gave us incredible grilling instructions.

I fell in love with an artist’s palette-shaped cutting board, hand crafted out of beautiful local woods.  Wallywoodshop is the place to go to find these beauties!

And then I nabbed some gorgeous raw honey, basil garlic mustard, blackberry jam and my new favorite, pumpkin butter, from Will the Bee Man.  If you’re in the area and craving something tasty, call William Patterson at 607.326.7776 for some delicious spreads, soup mixes and more.

We did quite a bit of hiking along the countryside – I’m a sucker for farms in open valleys.  I love the secret pockets of openness hidden in between the mountains.  Everyone has a creek on their property, a pond or both – I’m so jealous!

We traipsed around Margaretville, cheated another mini rainstorm and found a used bookstore called the Bibliobarn where I purchased Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night.

On the way home we found an absolutely amazing restaurant on highway 28 called Peekamoose Restaurant.  Definitely make a point to dine here if you take a trip to the Catskills.  They had amazing fare.  Jason had a delicious asparagus trout and I gobbled up a yummy potato/parsnip gnocchi in a leak fondue sauce.  – Hello, GOOD FOOD!  The owners, Devin and Marybeth, are super friendly and welcoming too.  I am so glad we stopped at Peekamoose   (I loved these horse sculptures on their deck.)

I had to share this wall from the restaurant.  Apparently, when they purchased the property Devin and Marybeth found a ton of scraps, old tools, etc.  They creatively made wall art out of the random pieces and painted the entire thing robin’s egg blue.  So very cool.

So that’s what we found.  I instantly fell in love with the Catskills and I can’t wait to go back!

1. 

   Zoe Randall says:

   May 23, 2011 at 6:09 pm

   How lovely! How lovely to re-fall in love with these mountains through your eyes. Next time in Andes, please come by my gallery: Chace-Randall, 49 Main Street, the green/grey Victorian with tea red and picholine olive trim. You’ll love the work inside, and it will be my pleasure to meet you. Until then, Zoe
2. 

   Makie says:

   May 23, 2011 at 6:52 pm

   Thanks Zoe, we WILL be back and I’d love to visit your gallery!
3. 

   Shelly, the Prairie Chick says:

   May 23, 2011 at 7:24 pm

   Beautiful. Sounds so relaxing and very artsy. So glad you had a wonderful time. (Too bad about Radar and the storms. At least he was with his Mom and Dad:))
4. 

   Carol Spinelli says:

   May 23, 2011 at 9:12 pm

   Those of us who live here full time feel truly blessed! We enjoy amazing communities, fun eateries, unique boutiques, awesome galleries and the beauty of our natural surroundings. Come visit again soon…and put BOVINA on your list! Another Catskill Mountain hidden jewel.
   Carol Spinelli
   Coldwell Banker Timberland Properties
5. 

   Makie says:

   May 23, 2011 at 9:54 pm

   Carol, we certainly will – thank you!!
6. 

   Makie says:

   May 23, 2011 at 9:55 pm

   Prairie Chick, you got it! xo
7. 

   Brianna says:

   May 24, 2011 at 2:16 pm

   Love the pictures – wish we could visit the Catskills with you next time Someday ….
8. 

   Lill says:

   May 24, 2011 at 3:22 pm

   Thanks for the armchair travelogue! It looked like a lovely time for all, including Radar! Lill
9. 

   Mary Carroll says:

   May 26, 2011 at 3:20 pm

   I have been going to the Catskills since I was a little kid and this makes me miss them so much. I can’t wait to go back. Plus Peekamoose is one of my favorite restaurants in the world! Try Woodstock some time. It’s a really great town. October is magnificent in the Catskills. Mother nature truly outdoes herself with colors.
10. 

    Makie says:

    June 1, 2011 at 2:39 pm

    Thanks Mary, we wanted to swing by Woodstock on our way back but we found Peekamoose instead! Next time. And there will be a next! We will shoot for the leaves in the autumn for sure.
11. 

    ted says:

    June 2, 2011 at 8:56 pm

    hi, try the barryville,ny are along the northern branch of the deleware. a stop in narrowsburg and canoeing a must. dinner at the fork in shohola a great dining treat. only 97 miles from nyc
12. 

    Makie says:

    June 2, 2011 at 9:52 pm

    Thanks Ted!