This Old House

A spontaneous trip upstate to deter the boredom that threatened to overtake us this week. We stayed here and it was nice, especially the large whirlpool tub and the pumpkin waffles with bacon for breakfast. But the inn was built only a few years ago and has that slightly sterile Pottery Barn feeling of new construction. I'll take this private, homey cottage for a getaway instead any day. We also had a fabulous (and seasonal and sustainable) dinner at Beso in New Paltz, a place that is definitely worth returning to on future trips there.

Everytime we go upstate we dream about moving to the country and flip through real estate magazines. This time we looked at this beautiful old stone house built in the 1800s. Unfortunately, it was too in-the-middle-of-nowhere to be able to commute to NYC, so it was really just a fun pipe dream to wander through its rooms and imagine ourselves there.









It also got us interested in stone homes - stone is natural insulation that keeps a house warm in the winter and cold in the summer. It's eco-friendly from the olden days when people used to consider how to harness the environment to their sustainable advantage when building a home, before artificial heating and cooling systems made everyone forget that knowledge.

I grew up in the country and would like to move back there someday. But after living in the city, would I feel isolated upstate or does a slower pace of live bring a greater sense of community? Would all the driving wrack me with eco-guilt? Am I too hooked on Brooklyn and its cultural and culinary and social offerings to leave? I guess all the possibility keeps the future from looking too boring right?