After weeks of empty promises, I finally made good on my word and took the kids out for a day trip. We endured 2 hours in crazy freeway traffic through our capitol city (Albany, NY) to visit the Olana Historic Site in Hudson, NY, and have a nice lunch along the banks of the Hudson River in Catskill, NY.
Olana is beautiful. It was the home of the late Frederick Church, one of my favorite painters. He was an apprentice of Thomas Cole, my most favorite painter ever. 
These painters were part of the Hudson River School, a group of artists that created a distinctive American romantic art movement called Luminism. I studied them in art school, and it was a real treat to see Church’s home and some of his paintings.
This is his home. It’s designed in Persian architectural style. After traveling through the Middle East, Church and his wife were smitten with the colorful designs of Persian and Arabic architecture. I love it.
At the top of the hill, the views were exquisite. This is the Rip Van Winkle Bridge over the Hudson River. We had to cross it to get to Olana. The view from the bridge was well worth the $1 toll charge.
I’ll have more photos and stuff about our trip on my travel blogs. We encountered some really quirky things in Catskill, NY, and had a blast! Stay tuned…. 😀
Life is never dull, and exciting things just seem to always happen to me... why me... when I'm not running around the house fixing things, I'm a freelance writer for national media outlets like USAToday.com, Salon.com, and others. I've even been interviewed by TIME and The Wall Street Journal about blogging. Can you believe it?! Here is where I express my zany, creative, motherly side. 
August 18, 2011 at 6:05 pm
I will have to check this out. Hubby goes out to see his mom once a month, she lives in Melrose, NY. Its just outside of Troy. I will have to try to go with him soon to check out the Olana site.
I am glad that you all got out of the area and had some fun!
August 19, 2011 at 8:14 am
Rena, the visit is worth it. The area must be stunning in the autumn!
August 19, 2011 at 8:03 am
Olana is certainly beautiful! We went there several years ago when we were touring colleges and visiting Marist. There’s a similar site in New Hampshire called Castle in the Clouds that we went to.
August 19, 2011 at 8:15 am
Cindi- the northeast is so, so beautiful, isn’t it? I have never been to New Hampshire but it’s on my list to visit someday!