&nbsp Why do I mention it now?

Because considering the next available reservation is in 2010, I thought you'd like a heads up. If you can't plan that far ahead, the grounds are open during the day. Plus I have been craving the farm fresh bahn mi at Miss Lucy's Kitchen since last April.

Here's what I said back on 4/28/08:

The Saugerties Lighthouse, originally built in 1869 fell into disrepair in the fifties until locals raised money for a massive rebuilding. Now the upkeep is funded by donations and the bed and breakfast.

There are only two rooms in the house and this exclusivity (and a major Times article that fortunately came out a few days after I booked) have made this an extremely popular spot. In fact, they are booked for the entire year of 2008. Which means, quite possibly, you will miss out on the steep stairs that lead to the top of the lighthouse, which you can walk around and enjoy a stunning view. You also won't be seeing the Victrola in the sitting room, or sleep in the quaint rooms, or enjoy homemade pancakes in the kitchen from hunky, hippie keeper, Patrick.

But no need to get sad, anyone, with a reservation or not, can walk the half mile trail to the lighthouse and enjoy one of many sitting spots on the water. These spots are tranquil and idyllic. Make sure to wear shoes that can go though sand as you will be right on the water at times. In wetter months (we got lucky with perfect weather) the path can even become waist high in water. The rustic trail, dotted with bridges,?is scenic and your first glimpse of the beautiful lighthouse is exciting.

After leaving this paradise, be sure to visit the town of Saugerties for amazing food at Miss Lucy's Kitchen (get their fantastic bahn mi if they have it) and if you head a bit north, grab world cuisine at the funky New World Home Cooking.

See more: Places to Visit Beaches Upstate New York

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Posted on June 15, 2009

Inwood Hill Park is home to the real New York of old, back when the island of Manhattan was all trees. The peaceful, quiet, and very green park that featured wide, winding trails for walking is an oasis within the city and one of the nicest parks I've been to in the area. Hard to believe that busy highways and giant hamburgers (served on the rare side at the sports bar circa 1970 Piper's Kilt around the corner) surround the serenity of these huge and ancient trees.

We only explored a portion of the paths, which immediately give you the sense that you'll become lost forever with the myriad splitting of trails and lack of any signs, but really, it ends up being pretty easy to navigate so long as you keep the river (with lovely views of the Bronx) and the city of Inwood as your guides.

It's Manhattan's second largest park next to Central, but fairly unknown and forgotten. Use that to your advantage and enjoy secluded walks in the shade of nature this summer.

See more: Places to Visit Inwood Parks

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Posted on June 1, 2009

You really doesn't have to travel far from the heart of the city to feel like you've entered another world. After a meal of clam strips and milk shakes at Jonny's Reef on City Island, friends and I took a gray, hazy day walk through the Twin Islands Nature Hike at Orchard Beach. The trek began with a rare glimpse of a black squirrel and a shoe-destroying muddy path that eventually lead through the trees to an apocalyptic looking beach.

Broken down boats litter the rocky marsh and huge horseshoe crabs cry out in distress in the Bronx. Fortunately Jim and Mike were there to save them (after using an iPhone we found out that horseshoe crabs are often in need of assistance – a campaign called “just flip em” even began in the area – we also learned that their stingers are not poisonous, but it was still unnerving to watch them being picked up since they look like alien spiders on the inside).

More paths (speckled with poison ivy, so do be careful) lead to more strange landscapes and views. From a stone hill you can look out at both the city's Potter's Field and an island with what looks like a huge grounded boat right off its shore, Mike discovered this is actually a decommissioned naval training center.

While the nature trail (which we sort of crisscrossed parts of) is not a difficult walk, it can be a bit tricky with all the mud and uneven footing, so do wear appropriate footwear.

See more: Places to Visit Bronx Parks

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Posted on May 18, 2009

Hey guys, we didn't get around to a day trip this weekend like I planned, so Jim submitted this brief Atlantic City overview.

Not too, too long ago, my former boss and I headed down to AC to scope out the annual Imprinted Sportswear Show. The conference was pretty off the hook, but my companion was antsy for some real entertainment, so not long after arriving at the Convention Center (located at One Miss America Way, by the way), we hit the Borgata.

In most of the anecdotes I've heard, AC's always been derided as a low-rent dump: one friend got bit by a spider in a moderately priced hotel; another (guilty of nothing more than wearing a backpack — which is only a crime on the subway), was invited by a scruffy looking dude to check out the local soup kitchens. My friend (and this happened years before the concept of 'hipster or hobo?' became mainstream), didn't initially comprehend that the scruffy looking dude was homeless and that he (the scruffy looking dude) thought my fairly scruffy looking friend was homeless as well.

But the Borgata was magical! And not sleazy at all; kind of like Mohegan Sun. We played roulette, my gracious employer purchasing all the chips, dined at a Wolfgang Puck-branded restaurant, and we're back home before 8:30. Despite the fact that many of the guests were dressed in shorts, t-shirts and sandals, the place still maintained an upscale and just-built vibe.

I actually returned to the Sportswear Show last year with a former coworker and, I've got to say, the experience just wasn't quite the same. We left a little bit late and hit some heavy southbound traffic, which would have been fine if the iPod we were listening to hadn't kept playing really explicit R. Kelly songs — not that there's anything wring with Sex in the Kitchen or Puttin' My T-Shirt on or Ignition or Bump 'N Grind, but we just felt like the randomizing software was somehow having a joke at our expense as it continued to generate R-rated audio content we were both too comfortable to skip while we idled in stopped traffic.

By the time we reached One Miss America Way, all the adjacent parking lots were full and we had to fan out a little to find a spot. As we drove away from the Convention Center, the seamier side of this fairly seamy city (seemingly unchanged from the days of the Dernsy/Nicholson masterpiece, King of Marvin Gardens) began to reveal itself. My advice is that if you're planning on visiting Atlantic City plan, just like you would in every other metropolitan area, to stick to the inskirts of town.

See more: Places to Visit Games New Jersey

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Posted on May 4, 2009

It's hard by today's standards to envision a big game hunter as any sort of conservationist or environmentalist, but Teddy Roosevelt was both. One of the first, and certainly one of the most influential leaders of a conservation movement:

According to the National Geographic, the area of the United States placed under public protection by Theodore Roosevelt, as National Parks, National Forests, game and bird preserves, and other federal reservations, comes to a total of approximately 230,000,000 acres or about 84,000 acres per day!

Sagamore Hill, his home in Oyster Bay, offers a small museum dedicated to his life and accomplishments as well as a great short nature walk that takes you directly to the shore and offers glimpses of a crazy eccentric Asian palace mansion next door.

There also hourly tours of the home itself, which we just missed on our visit, but plan to return for.

See more: Places to Visit Earth Day Galleries/Museums Long Island Politicians

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Posted on April 20, 2009