Back Road Travel to a Luxurious Resort

A guest post by Mike & Beth Berney

Find Part Two here!

There are times when an Interstate might be considered a “back road”.  A stretch of I-84 through the Poconos in PA, to the Hudson River in NY, qualifies to us as a back road because the beauty of that stretch of Interstate is amazing.  We have traveled I-84 many times: heading to Cape Cod; to visit a friend who lived in Ipswich, MA; to Bar Harbor, ME, or other points in New England.  Each time, we find this road peaceful and scenic.  Driving through the Pocono region of Lord’s Valley is particularly beautiful.

 

This was a 3-day, 2-night “leaf peeping” adventure to the luxury of Mohonk Mountain House.  We thrive on fall foliage! Our plan was to arrive in Newburgh, NY for an overnight stay and then take Rte. 208 the next morning to New Paltz and Mohonk.  We decided to check out a portion of Rte. 208 prior to Newburgh, to decide whether we’d “take back roads” the next morning.  The short distance we traveled on 208 confirmed it. This was a back road we wanted to travel.  We stumbled upon a beautiful church and cemetery in Montgomery NY, with graves dating from the Revolutionary War.

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After spending time exploring the cemetery, we decided to head to our hotel in Newburgh.  What a superb place that hotel turned out to be!  It was a Days Inn with a spectacular view.  The hotel, and our room, looked out over Lake Washington.

The next day we headed to our primary destination—Mohonk Mountain House.  Rt. 208 was a wise decision.  The road was peaceful, colorful, scenic.  We passed an interesting “compound” where they were going to host a concert.

We also passed the interesting and beautiful abandoned building below.  We could find no indication what it had been in a prior life time.

From there, we followed the serene Wallkill River all the way to New Paltz.

New Paltz is a rather bohemian place where a campus of SUNY is located.

On the road to our final destination—Mohonk Mountain House

Because Mohonk is so extraordinary, we will devote a separate post to our time there.  To say the least, our journey to Mohonk was a perfect preparation for the splendorous, magic adventure that only Mohonk provides!

Part Two