I was on a mini-vacation this weekend in Hudson, N.Y., a pleasant little upstate town that used to be an industrial center and is reinventing itself as a hipster tourist mecca. I spent the weekend relaxing rather than writing, but I did take a few pictures:
Stopped off along the way in Kingston, another delightful Hudson Valley town, specifically to visit this bookstore. Not just an excellent indie bookseller, it also had an impressive craft beer list. They’re best known as the bookstore that featured notable foreign authors to mock one of the current president’s racist statements.
In Hudson’s Promenade Park, this statue stands cryptically overlooking the Hudson River (what’s with the sword?). Apparently it’s St. Winifred, the patron saint of sailors, but I didn’t see any plaque or anything else explaining this, so that may be enough to skate past constitutional muster.
Took a cruise on the Hudson River. This is the Hudson-Athens lighthouse, a local landmark.
Bird life on the Hudson River: A family of ospreys has built a nest on this channel marker. When we got near, the male took off, engaging in a distraction display to lure our cruise ship away from his chicks.
Bird life on the Hudson River: A juvenile bald eagle perching in a tree (seen at a distance). We saw him carrying a fish in his claws.
Bird life on the Hudson River: Another channel marker is home to a colony of cormorants.
Spotty Dog, another indie-books-and-beer establishment. I took a picture of this Good Boy and his human.