Rich and I went on an upstate Hudson trip over the weekend. We needed a break from the city. We found all of that, along with an Airbnb that was pet-friendly, so Speedy got to come, too. I thought I’d give you all a recap of what we did when we were there and some of the fun things we came across.

THE PURPOSE

Part of this trip was about doing some serious unwinding. I literally did not touch social media the entire time I was there. I learned two things from that experience. 1) It’s incredibly refreshing for the mind to do a social media detox. 2) My phone’s battery lasts for days when I’m not on social media. I didn’t need to charge it the entire time we were there! To further honor my no-social-media goal, I also chose to shoot my photos 1998 disposable camera style. I think I may start doing it more often, or shooting with film, because the effects are really cool, and I’m more in the moment.

You see, I’ve been struggling with what it means to have an online presence and blog (part of my business, I guess?) and do it in a socially responsible way. I want to make visual and creative things for you, including images on Instagram that inspire you. But I also want to keep things as real and down to earth as possible. The last thing I would want is to share an image that gives the idea of an experience without being completely transparent about what it took to get that image. Or to not be fully present in the experience of our trip itself. More on that a bit down the road in this post–something that cut to the core of me–but let me start at the beginning of our trip.

DAY 1

The ride there was incredibly relaxing. We listened to Father John Misty and Kacey Musgraves. When we got out of the city, we rolled down the windows and welcomed the mountain air we were headed towards. Speedy’s nose went crazy when we got up into the actual mountains.

Once in Hudson, we wandered a bit looking for a place that sells bras, because guess who forgot all of her bras???? This girl! We had planned to stop at a swimming hole on the way up to our destination, so I was wearing a swimsuit when I left our apartment. I completely forgot about the over the shoulder boulder holders. No luck on finding a bra, so I just wore swimsuit tops as bras all trip. LOL.

After a fruitless search, we popped into a place called Spotty Dogs Books & Ale, a beer bar and book store. We grabbed a pint, and I got a couple books to read. We then settled into our Airbnb, which was incredibly charming. It was filled with an eclectic mix of art and antiques. There was a painting above the bed of a shih tzu dog riding a large praying mantis that I couldn’t get enough of. It was hilarious and haunting at the same time.

As I mentioned, our plan for this trip was not to pack in a ton of activities, but to simply relax. We lazed around reading and occasionally chatting about this or that until it was time for dinner. We went to Fish & Game, probably our favorite restaurant of all time. The place has special meaning to us because we went there the evening Rich proposed to me a couple years ago. The food is always so fresh and delicious. I particularly enjoyed the roasted carrots with ramp yogurt and pistachios. Rich nearly went crazy for his soft shell crab caesar salad. Not too many photos from this meal, as I wanted to be in the moment and just enjoy.

Afterward, we grabbed a nightcap at the bar in Rivertown Lodge. I absolutely loved everything about the exterior design of the place. We then went back to our Airbnb to just relax, chat, and cuddle with Speedy/make him do tricks for popcorn.

DAY 2

The next morning, we slept in (a feeling that was much needed for both of us), then decided to hit Warren Street to window shop. But first, brunch in the lobby of Rivertown Lodge! I had Kuku Sabzi, a Persian-style omelette that’s packed with fresh herbs. I will definitely be making many more of those at home now that I know what it is!

The entire strip of Warren is brimming with local art, antiques, and beautifully curated stores. Some of it was out of my price range (this area of Hudson reeks of money), but there are lots of vintage and home goods stores that are still doable. Favorites were MINNA, a home decor store with handmade pieces. I also liked Nina Z, a vintage clothing, accessories and clog shop. I picked up a few things from these spots, which I’ll share on Instagram later.

We stopped into a record shop and the cutest pet store, LoveThyBeast. We found the most millennial dog toy ever there–a plush “Lick Croix” can. I honestly don’t know why the hell we didn’t get that. If you know the two of us, we have a slight obsession with LaCroix. We’ve been known to have multiple 12 packs in our fridge at once.

After a morning of shopping, we headed to Bash Bish Falls. We wanted to hike, see the tallest waterfall in the state, and swim in the fresh water. It was gorgeous! Speedy absolutely loves hiking, and he was in his element until we tried to get him to swim. He was not having it. Never was one for water. He chilled out on the rocks while we cooled off.

A DIGRESSION ON SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSIBILITY

While we were at the waterfall, so were many other people. They were laughing, screaming, splashing, and jumping. It was pure joy to see the fun everyone was getting out of it. But my eye was also drawn to a group of three young women. They looked as if they were ripped straight from Instagram model-dom. Wearing hot pink one piece swimsuits with the word “lifeguard” emblazoned on the chest and trendy sunglasses á la any of the Kardashians.

The entire time we were there, these women were doing one thing, and one thing only; Taking pictures of each other in sexy poses, making sure not to get any other people in the photos. They would constantly check the pics to see what they looked like, and then take more, looking for that perfect shot.

Being someone who does photoshoots/takes photos regularly for my blog and Instagram, I felt such a deep sense of second-hand shame while seeing these women. The sheer vapidness of it all. The contrast between their behavior and the other people there. It made me feel sad because those women weren’t actually experiencing this thing they will inevitably show on their Instagram pages. And surely those who see it will envy those womens’ day spent relishing in a swimming hole with crystal clear mountain water. But did these women even really experience what it’s like at all?

The whole thing also made me wonder–are they bloggers or “influencers”? Or are they young women who’ve seen other bloggers or “influencers” create a social presence and images like this, and are trying to recreate it? Emulate it. That gave me the weirdest feeling in the pit of my stomach and a yearning to create things that don’t encourage that type of behavior. It also made me feel even more satisfied with my decision to ditch social media for the weekend.

Yes, while I did take photos on the trip, I made it a point to not be a whole thing. I did it in the moment, and didn’t look at the photos I’d taken until much later. What I remember from our trip is not the moments we took photos. I remember the moments we experienced around those photos. It’s something I’ll continue to talk about as I flesh the feeling out myself. I want to make social media a place where people feel good and give them ideas for things to do/wear/eat etc., not make them feel that their life isn’t enough.

FINAL EVENING

Once we got back from hiking and showering, we decided to take a walk to enjoy the historical architecture of the town before grabbing a refreshing watermelon drink to enjoy outdoors while reading. There was some kind of historical car and motorcycle show going on that weekend. Rich was going wild for all of them. I, however, know next to nothing about cars. I did find one that reminded me of The Dukes Of Hazard car, though. We had a low key dinner afterward and another quiet evening sans phones and TV.

GOODBYE, HUDSON!

The next morning before heading back to NYC, we got coffee and sat with Speedy in the town’s park on Warren Street, just enjoying the peaceful and slow-paced nature of small town living. And to have a little piece of that to take back with us, we stopped at a couple farms on the way home to grab pasture raised meat and fresh produce.

It was a great trip that I only wish could have extended beyond a couple days. But it gave me the peace my mind was longing for and also allowed me to continue to assess how I want to put myself out there on social media.