This morning, I traveled a short way upriver to Beacon. When I was younger, I often hiked in the area. Just driving past reminded me of the difficulty of those trails, including the aptly named Breakneck Ridge trail. As I watched rain dripping down rocks, I imagined how slippery the trail must be. Even on good days, the combination of hillsides of scree and huge boulders that require scrambling over and a few areas with rope ladders erased any desire to return to those hikes. Today, the parking areas were filled. Hopefully the hikers were in very good shape.
My destination was DIA, an expansive museum of art from the 1960s to the present. I’ve been there a few times before and, in truth, I don’t much like most of the art on display—it’s mostly conceptual. But I love the building.
The massive, 300,000-square-foot building was originally a box printing factory for Nabisco. In 2003 it was converted to art galleries. Its size allows for works for enormous proportions. The walls are a uniform white, the floors polished wood and the ceilings high. Wandering around the galleries made me feel like a Lilliputian.
Though I visited nearly all the galleries and took a lot of photos, my visit only lasted about 90 minutes. I thought I’d moved quickly, but people who arrived at the same time as I did were nearly through their lunches when I entered the cafe. I think the large scale and lack of detail makes a quick look at the exhinits enough.
From there I drove across the Hudson River to Newburgh. I’d read about a Velocipide Museum and decided I’d go explore it. In case you’re wondering what a velocipede is, it’s a vehicle, usually having two or three wheels, which is propelled by the rider, i.e., a bicycle or tricycle. The photos showed an amazing collection of old, strange, and even outrageous cycles. Google stated it was open until 3 PM, but when I arrived at 2:05 it was closed.
Instead, I walked and drove around the neighborhood, discovering Washington’s headquarters, a gorgeous statue of John Lewis, and a riverwalk with stunning views.
Then, back across the river to Beacon. On this beautiful early spring day, the town was hopping. I visited galleries, quirky shops, sipped iced tea and enjoyed the weather. I was intrigued by the Marion Royael Gallery. The artwork was playful. The owner Marion and I got into a lengthy conversation. In the gallery’s backyard was a site-specific installation worthy of the Kohler Foundation collection. I loved it.
Finally, I returned to Cold Spring where I sat in the riverbank park watching the sun set behind the Catskill mountains until the temperature dropped and it became chilly. Dinner was at the Depot Restaurant, yet another converted train station along the Hudson Line.