The Bright Side: Leaf Peeping in Hudson Valley

One day in the middle of July, I was pining for fall in a way that made me start stalking the Farmer's Almanac to see when leaves would peak up north. I spontaneously booked a trip to Sleepy Hollow, a place I have always wanted to go because spooky season is fun and I am a lit nerd. Shelley reminded me that we are saving for a wedding and already had a trip planned to Orlando for a friend's wedding, but I had already booked, so what could be done? (Part of my plan!)

We began the drive early on Friday morning with sandwiches and bags stuffed into my little Mazda hatchback, Arlandria. Road trip-ready with a playlist prepped, we drove... and drove... and drove to New York.

Stopped off on the way to see this lookout

The 6 and a half hours were nothing compared to the over double that time we had done down to Orlando a few weeks prior. We took back roads and were able to truly enjoy the colors of the leaves, which honestly took my breath away.

When we first arrived in Hudson Valley, before we even brought our bags in, we were down walking along the river and playing on the pebbled beach.

Hudson River

Exploring the Hudson

We stayed in a little bed and breakfast called Casa Hudson, which overlooks the Hudson River. The place was clean, the breakfast was minimalist and good, and the owners were kind. Plus, the view!

This view!

Casa Hudson

That night, one of the first things that drew me to Sleepy Hollow in the first place was the Great Jack O'Lantern blaze-- over 7,000 carved pumpkins arranged in various displays. Carousels, windmills, trains, bridges-- it was amazing to see, like Christmas at Halloween. If you go for no other reason, make it to see this.

A bridge of pumpkins!

Now we know why he is screaming...

Shells walking into the bridge of pumpkins

The next morning after breakfast, we put on our hiking boots and headed out to a place recommended to us at the B&B called Bear Mountain. It gets its name-- you guessed it-- from the large bear population, but thank goodness we didn't see any or I wouldn't be typing this now.

Bear State Park

Hiking (again, Sorel boots for the win!)

We started out near a waterfall (surprise!). Anyone who has followed this blog for any amount of time knows that's kind of our thing, so after a gorgeous hike up the mountain, we trudged back down-- which was somehow more treacherous than going up-- and lunched on a ledge above the waterfall.

Lunchtime picnic at a waterfall

So many gorgeous leaves

The colors were seriously breathtaking.

The leaves were incredible, and with every turn I was exclaiming and snapping pictures of the way the light filtered through the leaves like a kaleidoscope and cast crazy shadows. The morning was perfect, just cool enough, and the sky was a deep, clear blue. We explored a swamp across the street as well, listening to the wind rustle through the willows.

Our plan was to cross the river and head back to Sleepy Hollow for a kerosene lantern tour of the Old Dutch Church Cemetery. We went early and found out a Halloween festival was happening, so we explored the cemetery by day and ran into the Headless Horseman and got to see the Headless Horseman Bridge. In spite of the lore that goes along with the town, and the street signs with the horseman depicted at the top, it wasn't as touristy as I expected-- not like Salem, which I also loved in spite of the witches on every corner.

The bridge

Old Dutch Cemetery

Our feelings about being there

The Headless Horseman

Old Dutch Church of lore

Me by THE Headless Horseman Bridge

Horseman sculpture

Being cheesy with the Horseman's Hollow haunted house stuff

The little town was quite lovely, and the day was perfect. We walked up and down the streets and explored, and went to the Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse, which made my day. I don't know why I have this thing with lighthouses, and this one was pretty small, but it was still worth the walk.

Lighthouse

Relaxing at the lighthouse in Sleepy Hollow

That evening, we bundled up in layers-- it was much colder than I anticipated-- and grabbed our kerosene lantern for the tour. It was a walking tour through the cemetery and took us until midnight, which was very spooky. The tour in general was historical and fascinating, and walking through the cemetery at night was more peaceful than unsettling. Some of those dead rich men had some crazy things to prove with the giant mausoleums they erected, and one man even put a statue of an attractive woman on his tomb so that she is trapped there, immortalized in tears for him. Insecure much? We got to see Irving's gravestone, and had a confused moment of "What's he doing here?" when we saw Andrew Carnegie's name on a grave up there. Apparently that was where he chose to be laid to rest and not Pittsburgh, where everything is named after him. I highly recommend this tour as well-- our guide did a fantastic job, and the lantern was a big selling point for me. It was all very old-timey, which may be why I am into the lighthouses as well.

Ready for our guided cemetery tour

Lantern in hand

Washington Irving's grave-- his headstone was stolen twice!

Sunday, we wanted to go for a hike but woke to a torrential downpour and the Hudson crashing against the shore like we were at the ocean, so we ended up heading home. About halfway through the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, we came across a waterfall gushing over the road, and a mountain with the most exquisitely colored trees and a fog, so we pulled over to grab some pictures and just appreciate the sheer beauty of God's creation. The whole weekend was very much that-- stepping back, almost as if into another time, and allowing ourselves to walk and experience and live in nature with gratitude and awe of the entirety of it.