Well it’s finally happened! Another one of my favorite local landmarks, the giant ice cream cone at Meredith’s Bread on Route 28 between Woodstock and Kingston is gone. I’m disconsolate! I drive along this route about twice a day and seeing the giant cone always made me smile! I have wanted to paint the local icon for years – and now that it’s gone I’ve committed to making that one of my winter projects. The giant ice cream cone will [...]

As Hudson Valley residents, my husband and I are always on the lookout for great places to go for a romantic overnight that are fairly close to home. Over the years, we’ve gone as far afield as Lake George or the Berkshires (1-2 hour drives), we love The Mohonk Mountain House, which is always an amazing trip of historic significance considering when it was built and the magnificence of the hotel itself (a 1/2 hour drive). We love going into [...]

The full name of this wonderful Ulster County Route 28 roadside treasure is “The Reservoir Delicatessen and Dairy”. How many times have I driven by this great sign and said to myself “I have to stop, get a picture and PAINT that sign”? Hundreds, I’m sure!! So one day last summer, I finally did it! Jumped out of the car, snapped a few pics and dashed inside, notebook in hand to find out a little more about the place. One [...]

We’ve owned a home in the Hudson Valley since 1985 (started out as weekenders from New York City) – and there’s almost no landmark as iconic to Kingston as the giant Skytop Steakhouse neon sign that beckons travelers as they’re approaching exit 19 on the New York State Thruway! For a number of years, part of the fun of the sign was that one or two letters would be dark – you were never quite sure what the sign would [...]