There are many things that I dislike however one thing that I am pained to see are ruins of estates or businesses in which you can literally see in the gentle or ragged lines of age the beauty which once was. I tend to imagine the decrepit buildings and in my mind I see the people bustling in and out or attending to their daily affairs.
If I had enough money in the world I would definitely buy old properties and restore their grandeur. The day started relatively simple. My fiance and I showed up at West Point Foundry Preserve at about 9:15AM in order to look around and just see what the parking situation was like. To our surprise we saw another car pull in and he was very excited to meet us and let us know he signed up for the hike as well!
Slowly but surely, more cars started to pull in and I knew that it was going to be a fun day. West Point Foundry Preserve has great history and the only building which is fully in tact is the main offices where administration took care of day to day affairs. We all took a few moments to take a look and wonder in amazement at how such a wonderful piece of property could go to such ruin.
Great views...but the hike was really short.
So one of our hikers suggested that we make our way over to Little Stony Point! A few of us decided to drive up the street and arrived to the din of music and cheers. Apparently the manager of many of the parks lives in the building next door to Little Stony Point and he put together a fundraiser for the grounds. After pretending it was summer time on the beach at Little Stony Point we headed to the summit and we were able to take in some breathtaking views of the Hudson Valley. While taking pictures, I imagined I was Beyonce and on top of the world. It didn't work out too well as I was the only one channeling fierceness.
Finally when the chill finally got to us and our ears were pierced with cold we decided it was time to make our way back to ground level. We took a brief repast at the party and treated ourselves to hot chocolate and pancakes.
Even better yet...Trevor (my fiance) and I ran into some pretty awesome ruins on Route 9 and after further research found that it was called "Craig House" completed in 1859 and it was a private mental institution for the rich and in many cases famous. Jane Fonda's mother apparently put an end to her own life there decades ago... After learning this we drove away quietly and were not as enthusiastic to investigate further.
I have to say...it is awesome to plan but sometimes even better to be spontaneous.
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