NEW YORK: Cragsmoor

Cragsmoor Stone Church

On the morning we left Liberty, there was frost outside on our rental car's windows. Although it started out rather cold for us Floridians, it turned into a gorgeous and cool fall day. We decided to spend the day exploring some area's that Kaili was familiar with already.

Bear Hill Preserve
Bear Hill Preserve was our first destination of 3 for the day. This hike was quite short at about 1/2 of a mile, but it was a beautiful brisk day and all the autumn leaves covered the paths making the way seem like a golden road. After hiking for a bit we reached a viewpoint for our first panoramic picture opportunity. This area was a nice retreat from tourists. It was a little difficult to find but worth it. The short hike has a huge reward - a view of the valley below. We recorded a brief clip of the view which you can see here.

Cragsmoor Stone Church
Also known as Chapel of the Holy Name, the old stone church first opened for service in 1897 making this church over 100 years old. The drive to this church was simple and was only a few miles away from the Bear Hill Preserve. We did not go into the church but spent some time taking pictures of the building the stone arch which overlooks the valley.

Sams Point/Ice Caves
Finally, we did a short hike at Sam's Point Preserve. By far the most popular hike in the area, Sam's point is a small preserve with several easy to moderate hikes.We completed the Ice Caves trail - although sadly, due to climate change, there wasn't much ice to be seen. Along our hike of the Ice Caves, we also stopped off at Sam's Point for the gorgeous view.

You can read our other entries about New York here. 

Like this post? Follow for more!

BLOGLOVIN | YOUTUBE | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | ETSY

NEW YORK: Liberty Cemetery

You can read our other entries about New York here. 

Like this post? Follow for more!

BLOGLOVIN | YOUTUBE | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | ETSY

NEW YORK: Sullivan County

As Florida lacks anything resembling a season (outside of severe summer and mild summer), we wanted to take a trip up north and see some fall colors. As we're both from New York, and have some friends and family up there, it seemed like an ideal destination. We spent a week in late October exploring Upstate NY, NYC, and Long Island.

Our first venture was to visit friends in Sullivan County, located about 120 miles from NYC, north west of the Hudson River. There is not much to do in the area but there are plenty of rivers and beautiful country landscapes. On the way up from the city we stopped at a viewpoint on the palisades to see NYC as the sun was setting.

While we arrived late that night, we spent our first (very cold) full day in NY visiting some local viewpoints.

The Neversink Reservoir ironically washed away several small towns (including Neversink) upon it's founding. While the citizens were moved out, and many of the homes demolished, whatever was left behind still lies at the bottom of the reservoir.

Hawks Nest road runs along the Delaware river, and offers a gorgeous view from it's winding heights.

Finally, we made a stop at a couple of cemeteries. The first was Laurel Grove Cemetery, which has within it the tri-state monument, marking the location of three state borders: New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 

Finally, we stopped at Liberty Cemetery before going out for some food and heading home. This was a gorgeous spot full of fall foliage, and a view of the town below. 

There is a photo post of Liberty Cemetery here, as there are way too many to post. 

You can read our other entries about New York here. 

Like this post? Follow for more!

BLOGLOVIN | YOUTUBE | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | ETSY

TENNESSEE: Gatlinburg

In the Smoky Mountains there are two entrances into the park: one in the East on the North Carolina side (which is where we were staying during our visit), and one on the West in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. For our time in the area we wanted to be in a more secluded area without crowds and typical tourist attractions. However, if tourist attractions and casual franchise dining are more your "thing" then Gatlinburg is the place for you to stay.

If you have ever been to Orlando and ventured down the heart of International Drive, then you kind of already have a feel for what Gatlinburg is. Full of bars, Chilis, Fridays and Ripley's Believe it or Not museums, it is like tourism gone wild. There are hotels and shops lining the blocks and all sorts of festivities going on.

Enjoying our peaceful cabin in Cherokee

After hiking in the Smokey's and spending time secluded for awhile, we ventured into this tourism paradise for an afternoon. Driving through the Smoky Mountains is beautiful. Winding turns and lush vegetation surround you as you traverse the hills and mountains through the park. The drive through is about an hour and you can't miss Gatlinburg. We looked up a few places to eat and decided on the Smoky Mountain Brewery.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN BREWERY

Located in the basic tourism center of town the Smoky Mountain Brewery is your typical bar food and local beer restaurant. The food was nothing special and their locally brewed beers were alright.

As we didn't spend too much time in Gatlinburg, we don't have a whole lot more to say about it. To be honest, what it had to offer just wasn't our cup of tea.

You can read our other entries about Tennessee here.

Like this post? Follow for more!

BLOGLOVIN | YOUTUBE | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | ETSY

GEORGIA: Savannah | Bonaventure Cemetery

You can read our other entries about Georgia here.

Like this post? Follow for more!

BLOGLOVIN | YOUTUBE | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | ETSY