Two Sides of New York

In October 2013, we took our second trip to the exciting Big Apple; the first one-day visit was in 2004. Back then we did the real touristy tour of the city—arrived in Grand Central Station, saw the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Times Square, Wall Street, New York Harbor, Ellis Island, and Brooklyn Bridge; climbed the Chrysler building; ate at an authentic Italian dive in the Bronx and in a fancy Brazilian restaurant in Manhattan; and saw Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Then almost 10 years later we were back, but our one-day visit in the big city was much more low key. Hooking up with my awesome relatives, we took the bus and subway from New Jersey, and spent a good few hours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Had our lunch from the classic hot dog vendors on the steps of the Met. Being fans of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and the 60s folk explosion, we decided to visit Greenwich Village and Washington Square—to catch a glimpse of one of the remaining music clubs or coffee houses from that era such as the Bitter End—but mostly to just walk around and take in the local scene. There is still live music in the park, and we stopped to watch a band featuring a saxophonist in a slick gray suit and a tuba player. Then with all the hipster coffee houses on every street, I went on a mission searching out a soy decaf latté, which was surprisingly difficult to find. When I did hit the jackpot at Porto Rico Importing Company on Bleecker Street, I paid only 47 cents, and we walked out with bags of gourmet coffee to bring back to Jersey and California. For dinner we went for authentic New York “pie” at John’s Pizzeria, also on Bleecker Street, probably dining amongst NYC’s bohemian artists and celebs. Then we headed back to Port Authority, where we had to experience Carvel ice cream before returning to Jersey. 

Band in Washington Square Park

Pie from John's Pizzeria

Washington Square

After a day trip to Long Island to visit another awesome cousin, where we dined on authentic Jewish food at the Bellcrest Kosher Deli in Merrick and braved the traffic of the George Washington Bridge, we took a journey away from the Big City to see the other side of New York. That is the natural upstate, small-town New York--where the fall colors of the deciduous forests displayed all the beauty and glory portrayed by the paintings and photographs we see out west, with picturesque small towns rich with character and history. We traveled north towards the Adirondacks to visit friends in the beautiful mountain community of Madison. It would have normally been about a 6-hour drive, but we decided to avoid major freeways and toll roads and take the exploration route through the Catskills. We mostly followed Route 17, had a delicious pasta lunch in Harriman at Marina Restaurant and Pizza on 17M, and took the scenic route through Harriman State Park. Then we stopped for a little gift shopping at the Beaverkill Angler in the classic Catskills town of Roscoe, walking out of there with a little bag of locally homemade fudge. From there we took Route 206 northwest until we wound up on a variety of small and smaller county roads (thanks to Google Maps’ bizarre directions). After quite a few wrong turns and a whole lot of farmland and countryside, we made our way to Route 12N and to our friends in the vicinity of the colorful hamlet of Hamilton. There we made burritos, popped open quite a few beers, and chilled in the trees for a couple of days.

Catskills

Hamlet of Hamilton

Our route back to New Jersey was meant to be a bit more straightforward. We took I-20 east and had a classic lunch at the historic Duanesburg Diner. We picked up the New York State Thruway (Interstate 87) in Albany, and thought we’d fly down that awhile, until we decided to do a “small” detour to the artsy town of Woodstock. Being 60s music fans we were just aching to walk around the town where that all happened. Except Woodstock is not where it happened. The "Woodstock" music festival was actually in the town of Bethel, in a field that is now the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. So after getting gifts and coffees from the new rich hippies of Woodstock, my husband with his not-so-great sense of distance and direction suggested we do another “small” detour to Bethel on our “way back” to Jersey. He took us hours out of our way winding through the Catskills on state and county roads. We finally gave up in the town of Grahamsville, never found Bethel, but experienced a beautiful ride through the mountains. We were late for dinner at our cousins’ in Jersey and missed turning in our rental car on time. A small price to pay for all that we saw, right through the very heart of it, New York, New York.

Woodstock

Chill in Sierraville

About once a year we take a 2-1/2-hour drive out of the city for a less-than-24-hour peaceful escape to the Sierra Hot Springs, in Sierraville, California. Sierraville is in the Sierra Valley between the Plumas and Tahoe National Forests of the Sierra Nevada range. It's about 55 miles west of Reno, Nevada, and a half-hour north of Truckee (40 miles northwest of Lake Tahoe). The coolest thing about Sierraville, and especially the hot springs, is that it is located in the foothills where the flat Sierra Valley Important Bird Area meets the conifer woodlands of the Tahoe forest. The Sierra Hot Springs is a non-profit, volunteer-run retreat nestled up Campbell Hot Springs Road just east of town, with forest on one side and grazed wetlands on the other. For a bird and wildlife enthusiast like myself, it's the best of both worlds.

In August of 2013, I was particularly anxious and stressed out. Sometimes I just get a bad case of the perpetual bad mood, and too much of life's daily pressures weigh just a little too heavy. That's when it's time to hit the road to Sierraville. We generally go on a Friday after work, have dinner in Auburn or Truckee--Java Sushi is usually our eatery of choice in Truckee--and check into the hot springs in the late evening. The lodge is open 24 hours for check-in, and $25/person plus a modest membership fee provides 24 hours of the use of the hot springs as well as camping. We have never stayed at the lodge; but it is in option, though likely requires reservations. Camping does not. Camping is not in a campground. It is a spot in the forest to pitch tents and set up some chairs. The lodge is equipped with a full kitchen, 2 refrigerators, stoves, and large public rooms with couches and tables where visitors cook, eat, socialize, read, play piano, or just lounge. The deck of the lodge overlooks the wetlands of the valley. The rules of this place and the vibe are very conducive to relaxation and meditation. There's no alcohol, people are considerate, and the atmosphere is chill. Clothing is optional in the pools, guests are urged to remain quiet, and no one gets annoying or out of hand. There are a lot of organic-meditation types of visitors, but all types of people come from all over the world. Not too many people know about the hot springs; but once they do, they keep returning.

Our routine after check-in is to set up our camp, and visit the Meditation Pool at night. This pool is near the camping area in the woods and is a natural hot spring of dirt and rock. I nicknamed it the "medicinal" pool, because its combination of hot water and minerals heal just about any physical or emotional ailment. I am also particularly fond of the forest at night. While gazing up at the amazing sky full of stars and comets, adorable little bats swoop down for a visit and catch the biting mosquitos. Screech owls or great-horn owls call to one another in the trees, and often coyotes are heard from the hills nearby. On one occasion when we visited the pool during the day, a cute little garter snake came up, kissed my arm, then joined us for a swim in the pool! Night is the most peaceful time, however, and generally has the fewest amount of people. Then after our refreshing, relaxing soak, we grab a midnight snack in the lodge before going to sleep in the forest.

In the morning, we visit the Meditation Pool again, then have breakfast in the lodge. Mid-morning to lunchtime is when we visit the other pools, which are a small hike from the lodge along a mountain ridge. These include the Warm Pool, a large swimming-pool of hot mineral water with a chair-lined deck overlooking the wetlands; the hot pool in the Temple Dome (too hot for me); and the sauna. Here, a combination of relaxing in the warm water, sunning myself on the deck, and watching birds in the meadow make it a pretty awesome day. On this particular afternoon, the grassland was providing nice foraging for quite a few ibis.

We either cook our lunch in the lodge, or order a delicious enchilada or burrito from Los Dos Hermanos in Sierraville. Then we return to our busy lives with half a weekend still left, feeling as revived as if we had been out retreating for a week. It's a magical place, and a truly spiritual and sacred experience. And it certainly does wonders curing the bad case of the bad mood.