Away

We sold our car before leaving Toronto, a move I have regretted zero times in the two months we've been here. Gas is expensive, parking around here is miserable, and our next door neighbors had their car stolen awhile back, right off the street in front of our building. Really, are there any pluses to owning a car here?

Okay, there's at least one. Weekend trips. We loved our weekend trips in Canada. We went camping and hiking, visited Montreal and Ottawa, and just generally had the region at our fingertips. I knew it wouldn't be as easy to make quick East Coast getaways sans car, but I made my peace with it. Not owning a car makes me happy in many ways, so the small sacrifice is worth it.

As it turns out though, it may not be as much of a sacrifice as I thought. Exhibit A: Breakneck Ridge. This 5.5 mile hike on the Hudson River within Hudson Highlands State Park, is a short 76-minute ride from Grand Central Station in Manhattan. What's more, the train drops you off half a mile from the start of the trail. A day in the "wilds" of the Hudson River Valley brought to you by public transit? It took me awhile to believe it.

What a wonderful day! The hike took about four hours, with frequent breaks for water and shade, and about 1200 vertical feet of scrambling over rocks (imagine climbing steps three at a time. There was a lot of that). The view was magnificent, and I could almost picture a member of the Hudson River School crouching nearby with a canvas. What a nice change too, from the concrete and lights and Tory Burch bags of the city. After the hike was over, we went to Cold Spring, a little town 30 minutes (by foot) down the road. I bought some vintage Pyrex from one of the antique stores in town, had an heirloom tomato salad with shitake mushrooms and edible orchids for dinner, caught the train back to the city, and was sound asleep in my own bed that evening. All without a car.

P.S. Orchids: really tasty!