24-ish Hours in the Hudson Valley
Red Hook dandelion. Photo by Kristina Feliciano.
I left Kingston for good in March 2025, but visiting the Hudson Valley in the summer always inspires a bit of wistfulness. The grass glows green and the sky bleeds blue. All of nature’s colors are turned up past the point of reason, which is the point.
I took the train up to attend Center for Photography Woodstock’s photo biennial. But first, we went to the Schoo'l’s summer opening, “Modus Operandi.” The gallery’s back field was dotted with white canopies and folding chairs. Children and dogs played. Adults sipped white wine and ate free pizza. A DJ broadcast music that alternated between a playlist for a wedding reception and a Jamaican resort for Americans. A middle-aged white woman in tight clothing danced stiffly but enthusiastically near the speakers. It was her summer of love. While my friends pored over the art in the gallery, I laid in the grass and wondered at the sky.
At CPW, I saw Joanna. James, who lives in Kingston, joined. He and Helene and I went to Lola for dinner, and my old bartender was our waiter. He paid for our round of drinks. Helene and I spent an hour trying to get a taxi to pick us up and bring us home to Red Hook. Not many drivers about. The ups and downs of upstate.
Sometimes I think about moving back. People talk about how close it is to the city. The best of both worlds, nature and urban. But Hudson Valley winters can be relentlessly gray. And the trip to Grand Central or Penn is more than two hours one way when you factor in getting to the station. A one-day visit is exhausting. And an overnight stay is expensive. So, no.
