Retirement: Fall Foliage in the Hudson Valley & Art Omi

For years we’ve wanted to take a trip up the Hudson Valley during fall foliage season. So when neighbors of our daughter moved there and invited us to their new home, we decided to finally make it happen.

Our destination of Hudson, New York is a pleasant (and inexpensive when you’re a “senior”) 2-hour Amtrak ride from Penn Station. After an up and down history the 19th century town has become an uber-trendy landing spot for artsy types and weekend getaway for New Yorkers.

From the train station we walked the length of Warren Street, the main commercial artery, to get a feel for the place. Hudson’s description of “shabby chic” is spot on. Beautifully renovated row houses sit next to ones desperately in need of TLC. High-end shops are across the street from a mom and pop convenience store.

The 3-story skyline is dominated by the steeple of The First Presbyterian Church. 

Regarding leaf peeping, we were a bit concerned about our timing on the ride up. The views were lovely but there just wasn’t much color. All fears were dispelled on the drive to our friends’ home. Like the climate here on the equator, turns out it’s all about the altitude.

This was their backyard during our short stay.

On our only full day in Hudson Valley we drove to a remarkable outdoor, large-scale sculpture and architecture park called Art Omi. The property by itself would be a great place to take a hike, but spread over its 120 acres are contemporary pieces of incredibly imaginative art.

Valledor is designed in such a way that it looks like an entirely different sculpture as you walk around it from a distance.

Untitled is an old pickup truck with a winch on the back. Every inch is painted a dark navy blue. Didn’t get the concept, but thought this was a cool pic we shot through a hole of Omi Pond House in the distance.

This one is called Picker Sculpture. Somehow those large cylinders were crushed between trees.

The perspective here gives you a better sense of how massive some of these pieces are.

Eureka was a favorite. What do you think is going on here? Well, Art Omi is located in Ghent, NY. Turns out this is a hand-painted, 3-D representation of a single row house in Ghent, Belgium as its reflection would look in the canal below it. Standing in solitude on the edge of a huge field with a backdrop of fall color made a mind-blowing visual impression.

And, of course, Edd has to act like a knucklehead. He calls this photo of a gigantic deer sculpture “Bambi’s Revenge.”

Here are some other shots of the beautiful foliage in Art Omi and the surrounding countryside.

Did we have a blast? You betcha we did!