One for the Road: An Anatomy of Roads

by Kelly Amabile on

My June travels through the Hudson Valley have uncovered some interesting titles about and from the region. Today’s reading suggestion is one I found on the shelves at Oblong Books. It’s a rather unique essay collection from Bard College called An Anatomy of Roads: The Quest Issue, the 44th edition of the college’s literary journal, Conjunctions.

The issue explores “the fascinating, complex process of defamiliarization as the ultimate path to knowing oneself” as revealed in a series of poems and fiction pieces. Bristish author Jon McGregor offers a story of a distraught man who travels to an unnamed island in search of his lost father. David Schuman’s story “Miss” is an eerie modern desert journey in which a man and his daughter, who is convinced that she is a cat, encounters the mother who abandoned him working in a Twilight Zone-like diner in the middle of nowhere. “Kronia,” by celebrated fantasy writer Elizabeth Hand, details a love story that may or may not have actually happened over the course of decades around the world.

These stories and over twenty more have been gathered together in this collective journey of the mind. A few are available online at the archives of the journal’s website.

Warwick: Sip Wine at Applewood; Dine at Ten Railroad

by Kelly Amabile on

I meant to write about Warwick last week, so you’d still have enough advance notice to make a visit for the Shawangunk Wine Trail Festival. But it’s too late now, so you’ll just have to make note for next year. The event has a really cool travel theme — every year for Around the World in 80 Miles each of the 11 participating vineyards represent a different country. They serve international cuisine that complements the local wines, and provide cultural entertainment about each country.

Two weeks before this annual event I visited one of the participating locations, Applewood Orchards and Winery, where for just three bucks you can taste six wines. The actual space where the tastings take place is fairly small, but the scenic grounds include a rose garden, barn with rotating art exhibits and a few token sheep and chickens.

We snacked on oyster crackers while sipping wines, but decided to head into downtown Warwick afterward for a late lunch/early dinner. The village was much quieter than Rhinebeck, partially because it was a Sunday afternoon, but also because Warwick is tucked away in a different part of the Hudson Valley — still accessible by train to NYC, but located on the opposite side of the river in more rural Orange County.

An artist at the winery told us to try Ten Railroad, which serves a well-done mix of Spanish, Italian and American dishes. The waitress told us that the chef was fairly new — I’m not sure how new, but it didn’t matter. The food was delicious and very affordable. Portions were generous and tasty — calamari, shrimp scampi, salmon — and service was excellent. The owner is originally from Asturias in Spain, so there is paella on the menu too. I’m guessing it’s pretty darn good.

One for the Road: Route 22

by Kelly Amabile on

Here’s a new book that just screams road trip. Well, maybe it’s more of a gentle awe-inspiring hush, but there’s an obvious undercurrent of energy here that may soon motivate you to hit the highway. New York-based photographer Benjamin Swett has created a photo essay of Route 22, the 350-mile highway that connects Manhattan and Montreal. More about this unique travelogue and “Autobiography of a Road” from the Quantuck Lane Press:

While driving along this road one day, Swett was struck by the contrast between the landscape he could see through his car window and the more romantic one he remembered from his childhood. Without any particular plan, he set out to discover how the upstate New York of James Fenimore Cooper and Thomas Cole became this other place-a seemingly lost, untended region of Off-Track Betting Parlors and Tattoo Emporiums, abandoned diners, and ancient buildings crumbling into forgotten canals. The result of his exploration is this book-an insightful and deeply personal meditation on this complicated and beautiful landscape, accompanied by ninety evocative photographs.

Swett is the former director of the Parks in Print program at the New York City Parks Department, and has also produced Great Trees of New York City: A Guide in addition to several other books. Photos from Route 22 can be seen here.

Rhinebeck: Terrapin Bistro and Oblong Bookstore

by Kelly Amabile on

I was in Rhinebeck, NY last week, a trendy Hudson Valley outpost in Dutchess County. I could do without the Manhattan-size prices I noticed while window shopping, but it’s still a charming spot to visit for a weekend or Sunday drive. If you’ve only got a few hours to spare (which was the case with me and the friend I was visiting) here’s my one-two punch suggestion for a pair of places to visit:

Dine on duck quesadillas at Terrapin, a New American “Best of the Hudson Valley” restaurant housed in a renovated First Baptist Church, originally built in 1825. The building is fantastic, but we chose to eat outside — despite the close proximity to the street, the veranda seating can be quite nice. Our waiter was uber-attentive but not overly annoying, possibly a chef-in-training at the Culinary Institute in nearby Hyde Park. The place is pricey, but the level of service and quality of food make it a deserving choice for a treat. Save money by eating at the bistro instead of in the main dining room.

When you’re stuffed to the gills on nachos and tapas, take a walk along Montgomery Row and pop inside indy bookshop Oblong Books and Music for some post-lunch browsing. Oblong has that lived-in feeling that makes bookstores so comfortable–the shelves are organized but there is still a sense that you’re roaming through an extra large and overstocked living room. Find one of the few comfy chairs you can collapse in, but be sure to do so with book in hand.

Tubemap Wallets Are A Wallet AND A Map

by Willy Volk on

When you first see the Tubemap wallet, you’ll nod your head and mutter, “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?” So simple it’s brilliant, a Tubemap wallet is an “ordinary” black leather wallet that folds open to reveal a printed London Underground map inside. Not heading to London? Tubemap also makes wallets for the New York subway.

At £35 ($69), the Tubemap seems a little pricey, but if you’re the kind of person who like traveling light, you’ll gladly pay for dual-purpose gear. With space for loads of cash and 8 cards, this will be one wallet you’ll really cry over if it gets snatched.