Catskills Valentine

 

Catskills Valentine

 February 2023

 

          What to do for Valentine’s Day? A perennial quandary. One unusual option: India's Hindu nationalist government has proclaimed February 14 "Cow Hug Day," countering a holiday they say “encourages female promiscuity and vulgar behavior." I prefer the tried-and-true option of a romantic getaway. But where? My Red Cross blood delivery driving offers an answer. The “Southwest” route takes me to Cobleskill, where I recently came across a group of locals (deer, that is) strolling thru a neighborhood below the hospital, then to Catskill villages Walton & Margaretville. Very scenic: farms, lakes & streams, covered bridges, mountain vistas, villages with pretty houses, churches, & shops. Going thru Downsville I spot the Old Schoolhouse Inn. Looks promising, but an internet check back home finds some negative reviews. Further on, Margaretville Mountain Inn seems a better choice, plus more eateries & interesting shops in the village. First efforts find only 3-night stays but changing dates and help from booking.com scores an overnight into Valentine’s Day itself. What could be better?

         I keep details a secret, only telling Marjorie to keep the 2 days clear and pack for overnight. Well, mostly a secret. We have lunch several days before with Becky, Exec Director of the Empire State Youth Orchestra (where young Matt began performing), at Jade Bistro in Scotia. 

Afterward, Becky gives me a tour of the new space for ESYO – a former school being remodeled & expanded to house the various ESYO ensembles with rehearsal & office space. Quite a project, aiming for Fall ’24 completion. I share my Valentine plans with Becky; she approves.

 

First let’s look at the lead-up to what Marjorie might call our “Valentine Festival” (like her “Birthday Festivals”). Tho I’m on the Board & Past President of Colonie Senior Service Centers, Inc., Marjorie seems more connected to CSSC. She joins neighbors Mary Ann & Paul to see PBS documentary “Searching for Timbuctoo” about a pre-Civil War Black settlement organized by abolitionists in the Adirondacks, hosted at CSSC by the filmmaker; ironically, a CSSC Board meeting prevents my joining them. 

They also take a CSSC tour of the Paine Mansion in Troy. A Gilded Age masterpiece, aka "The Castle," built 1896 as the "Grandest House in Troy," it has been a private residence, college administrative building, movie set, even a fraternity house! The tour is disappointing, not showing much more than what we’ve seen during other events, but the threesome enjoy a good Moroccan dinner at Tara Kitchen.

I’m again unable to join in due to singing the national anthem with the Mendelssohn Club at a Union College hockey game. Marjorie is also on the “Warmth of Winter” fundraiser committee, takes a watercolor class with friend Kevin Kuhne, and teaches classes on alcohol ink. 

She balances all this with work on her Valentine card creations, commandeering the dining room & kitchen tables as her studio. Seems like she should be ready for some B&B R&R.

Then it’s Super Bowl Sunday! Fr. Walsh’s annual “Super Freeze” party at St. Pius has lots of food & conviviality, touch football, other amusements. Then the big game: adorable “Puppy Bowl XIX” between teams of rescue dogs, Ruff & Fluff. 

Then the other big game (SB LVII; i.e. 57, if you don’t speak Roman numerals). At least I think there’s a game in there amid the pageantry & hoop-la. A good game, Chiefs over Eagles 38-35. Marjorie only cares about puppies & commercials. I also enjoyed my annual replay of the Giants’ tense 17-14 victory over the undefeated & heavily favored Patriots in Super Bowl XLII in 2008.

But I digress. What about Valentine’s Day? We head out the day before, beautiful sun, headed to mid-40s; it’s been an unusually warm February, only a couple significant snowfalls this winter. A 2-hour+ scenic drive. Marjorie seems a bit skeptical – “it’s all brown” – but is convinced by the mountain views, lovely farms, & quaint villages – Summit, Jefferson, Hobart, Stamford - along the way. Past a clever highway sign: “Drive With Equanimity.” 

Outside Delhi we can’t help but pull into an incredible array of colorful lawn ornaments around several buildings, from dinosaurs & 6-foot roosters to little frogs & birds. We continue past the Old Stone Schoolhouse to Margaretville.

Margaretville, “a quaint, friendly, vibrant village” with about 600 residents, lies in the valley of the East Branch Delaware River, bordering on Catskill Park near Belleayre Mtn skiing. Main Street offers “the aura of being in a Norman Rockwell painting,” with shops, art gallery, antiques, restaurants & cafes, tattoo studio, bowling alley. The village began in the 1770s after English settlers paid "one hundred forty-nine pounds and 19 shillings" to Native Americans for the land. The Delaware and Eastern Railroad came beginning 1905, but the railroad era lasted only into the 1940s. Margaretville was the hometown of Dr. Orvan Hess, inventor of the fetal heart monitor. The village and its surrounding area have been a location for music videos & movies, including zombie film The Dead Don't Die. There’s an annual Cauliflower Festival in September; so sorry (not!) to miss that.

Lunch first at Crazy River Café & Deli just up the road. Friendly new owner. Sparsely decorated interior, but a view of the river in back, excellent food (cheeseburger, chicken parm sandwich). Over the river, greeted by a friendly bear. 

Too early to check in so we poke around the pretty downtown. Most of our time in the Catskill Mountain Artists Guild, friendly staff and full of colorful creations of all sorts. It reminds of us sister-in-law Ann’s coop in Midland MI. We split up a while to explore other pretty shops & shop windows (some stores closed Mondays) before a short drive thru town, past pretty houses & churches, then up, up, and up to the Inn. 

Our friendly & accommodating innkeeper invites us to check in early, moves us to an available 1^st floor suite (to avoid lots of stair climbing); 2 queen beds & 1 single, certainly more than we need, but plenty of space to spread out and relax awhile.

About the Inn: The Margaretville Mountain Inn, a Queen Anne Victorian on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1886 atop Margaretville Mountain “to take full advantage of the spectacular view of Catskill Mountain State Park.” The house has been well preserved: original slate roof, interior & exterior woodwork, antiques & period interior design. It received a Distinguished Property Award from InnKeeper.com. A small sitting room has library & games. 

The property also has 2 colorful barns, one used for weddings, as well as Village Suites close to downtown. We can attest to the fine mountain view from the veranda, and more views around the property as the sun sets.

Off to dinner, a 10-mile drive to the Peekamoose Restaurant & Tap Room in Big Indian. This is near where Matt had “preseason” fall rehearsal camps with ESYO. The Peekamoose is quite an interesting place, eclectic artwork, many moose & other heads on the walls, a variety of seating areas. Excellent service & food; tho the worst tasting tap water ever! A drive back to Margaretville on the very dark road. Into Bun and Cone, a pretty spot with very tasty ice cream flavor options. They close right after we leave, and the village is quite deserted. Some wind & light rain or sleet as we return to the Inn, some more wind during the night.

On Valentine’s Day I’m up & out early to drive around. A beautiful morning, a deer crosses the road ahead as I drive down to the village and along the river. I’m rewarded with good photo ops of the sunrise and river views. Back to the Inn for a good & filling breakfast in the pretty formal dining room. Joined by 2 other friendly couples, from Newburgh & New Jersey, plus the Inn’s friendly white cat. An interesting coincidence: one couple knows Bruce Springsteen from a NJ pub where he would hang out, the other couple knows his wife Patty. A good, filling breakfast. The other couples head out for skiing, we pack up for home.

More beautiful sun, headed to 50 today, another scenic drive home. Thru pretty villages and past pockets in the valley of what seem toy houses. 

Roxbury offers a view of impressive barns and sculptures for a yoga center just before town, beautiful school buildings & churches in town. 

A panoramic mountain view as we near the Blenheim/Gilboa Visitor Center of the NY Power Authority. The Visitor Center is “open daily” – but not today; this is apparently a “selected holiday.” But the site is pretty, including a 19^th C dairy barn & Lansing Manor (also closed). There’s a view below of Gilboa Dam that creates Schoharie Reservoir. 

Continuing on we pass a colorful figure fronting a pizza place in Grand Gorge. A stop at Blenheim Covered Bridge, crossing Schoharie Creek, the 2^nd-longest surviving single-span covered bridge in the world. We continue on thru Middleburgh & Schoharie. Home about noon.

 

The Inn and surrounding area were as nice as expected. The beautiful drives to & from gave Marjorie a chance to see how I enjoy my drives delivering blood. The weather was gorgeous. Maybe a little snow would have been nice, more picturesque, but shouldn’t be greedy. Even “all brown” proved to be beautiful. A fine Valentine outing.