Columbia County

We didn’t get the sleep-in we’d been hoping for today, as we still woke up at our regular time, despite going to bed late. Breakfast was included at this hotel, which wasn’t the greatest but when it’s included, we never complain. It tasted fine but probably wasn’t that healthy! I also got to try pumpkin spice coffee which isn’t something I’ve ever seen back home.

After getting petrol we continued on our way to the Catskills - the New England states have been wonderful, but we’re keen to see something different. We decided to go on the toll roads again although we didn’t get the option to pay for them as they were electronic, so I guess we’ll get the bill when we return the car.

We first drove to the the town of Catskill which almost appeared as a ghost town in the middle of beautiful wooded scenery. We considered driving right through it but changed our mind and had a look. I’m glad we did - even though the town was asleep, it actually had a very nice charm. We had coffee at a beautiful gift shop/cafe run by a guy who had moved to Catskill from Manhattan. What a relief to have decent coffee!

Our next stop was the town of Woodstock in New York which isn’t actually the location of the famous music festival, yet it tries to promote itself as such. I didn’t actually find it particularly interesting. We were hoping for something that was worth photographing but apart from buying a T-shirt, didn’t spend much time there at all.

For lunch we went to a diner in Windham which, like most the towns we’ve seen in the Catskills, are really tired looking and lacking in tourists. We’re guessing it might be a combination of the low tourist season and the repercussions of Covid. Windham actually showed potential though as there was a large ski resort area which isn’t utilised during the summer months like Blue Mountain in Canada is.

When we arrived in Roxbury where our hotel is, we found the town to be small but charming nonetheless. Our room is absolutely beautiful - it is called “Samantha’s Dream” and is inspired by the TV show “Bewitched”, based on scenes when Samantha would meet with her mother or another character up in the clouds. The receptionist had suggested we explore the other part of the hotel which is further up the road, so we did.

That was definitely worth the drive! It is almost impossible to describe this place so here’s a description from the website: “Imagine if Alice in Wonderland married Willy Wonka and set up residence in Oz”. This is one of the most amazing hotels I’ve seen so far. Whether it was the building itself or the surrounding grounds, this hotel is an assortment of colour, class and sheer beauty. To call it unique is an understatement.

We had intended to see the nearby waterfall but a storm blew in, forcing us back to the car to escape the pouring rain. We went back to our room and dried off before trying again a few hours later. The waterfall was unsurprisingly beautiful too, to match the hotel and surrounding grounds.

Whilst walking around the grounds, I saw a man walk out of the building and asked if he worked there. Well, he actually ended up being one of the owners, as he and his partner Joe had started the place up a few years back. The three of us ended up talking for a while about a lot of different subjects, but it was very impressive meeting someone who had so much amazing vision yet remained so humble.

For dinner we returned to town to try the restaurant Chappies, which seemed to be the only place operating that evening. It was also being run solely by one overworked waitress and two chefs, so patience was definitely required. We ordered a pizza and salad but the latter didn’t arrive so we decided to cut our losses and just enjoy the pizza. It wasn’t until after paying the bill did we realise we’d still paid for the salad!

Tomorrow we head further west, as we get closer to our original destination of Toronto where we picked up the car. So far this trip has been a collection of eye opening experiences, and today was no exception.Read more