When my husband and I got engaged, we talked about making a trip for our engagement anniversary. We got engaged in the Catskills, and it is a place we enjoy hiking. Some background to the Catskills is a state park located in New York that offers excellent hiking but has something for all levels of hikers.
Facts & Attractions of Catskills State Park
🍍 State Park located in New York
🍍 600,000-acre state park
🍍 Oldest known forest on Earth
🍍 A vacation spot for many NYC residents
🍍35 peaks above 3,500 elevation
🍍 Known for its fall foliage
🍍 Has the longest zip-line in North America
🍍Ski mountains for different ski levels
I will admit I like to be more of a frugal spender and don’t want to spend money that I don’t see necessary. Yes, this at times makes it come across as cheap, but I would rather not spend the money. Is that wrong of me? I don’t know. Anywho!
Fast forward to searching for some Airbnbs in the Catskill area. 2022 was not a snow-dumping winter like the previous one. People who would come to the area for skiing or snow hiking would not be making the trip, so we could the shoulder season work in your favor to get discounted prices.
Since it was just the two of us, we didn’t need much space, especially when the goal was to be out hiking and exploring more of the Catskills.
Full Moon Airbnb, I highly recommend for a romantic getaway. It is on a larger property with a pond to walk to and just in a remote area that you get to escape. The house faces a field so you won’t be just looking out into the road.
I loved that the tv wasn’t linked to any streaming service. Let's be honest, are you going to go through the effort of signing in to your account? Then hope you remember to log out for a stranger to possibly use your account? We didn’t want to risk it. Having no streaming to fall back on added to the weekend retreat and escape we both needed from our daily grind.
How To Get There:
Coming from NYC or Northern NJ:
🍍Take NJ-17 N and I-87 N to NY-28W in Ulster
🍍Take exit 19 from I-87 N (1.5 hours)
🍍 Continue on NY-28 W and Drive to Bovina Center to Bramlet Mountain Road in Delhi, NY (1 hour and 20 minutes)
Bramley Mountain is down the road. It was the hike we were hoping to do for the weekend. However, the weather was not in our favor. Snow in the forecast and a mix of rain, being off-trail was the advisable plan.
Our host had a great binder of different activities in the area. We both love a good bookstore, and I was up for checking out a cafe. When the snow began, we jumped in the car and plugged in the name for Blenheim Hill Books.
When we arrived in the town where Blenheim Hill Books, the town sign said, “Welcome to Hobart, Book Village of the Catskills.” I don’t know about you, but first passing this sign, this seemed like such a bold statement. Although the bookstore was only about 15 minutes from our Airbnb, we mostly passed homes or the nearby town with a few restaurants, but coming from Northern New Jersey, we weren’t sure how to take the sign.
Is this town only book stores? Does this town have the only book store in the Catskills?
We’ve been to other areas of the Catskills and seen bookstores. This sign seemed like a bold statement.
What makes this town the Book Village of the Catskills? Shortly after the sign, we entered the town, and ALL, I am saying, ALL of the shops were bookstores. If you are a book lover, solely for that alone, I encourage you to explore Hobart, New York, and see this quaint American town of books. It was honestly a joy.
We went into three different shops:
Is an adorable shop. It was the smallest of the three we entered. The bookstore mainly offered used books with not much of a range. There was a bit of space to look at, but the space is more going to check out your friend's bookshelf to see if there was anything you were interested in.
This was the bookstore our host recommended, and it was our favorite of the three. It's as if someone turned their first-floor home into a bookstore. So many different rooms with a focus on either children's books, fiction, biography, cooking, history, you name it! We walked away with a few books!
The books are a mix of used, new, and classics. Take your time in this shop to look around and see what book could be yours.
I’ll be honest and say I may not have given this store a far browsing chance. Going into a space that was more bookstore, not a fun adorable space in this book village, I got over it a bit. A beautiful window in the shop's back overlooks the lake that was perfect for sitting and watching the snowfall. So if you fall into the same mindset as me, enjoy the view.
After books, food became our focus. About thirty minutes away is the town of Delhi, New York. There is a SUNY Delhi New York, so the main street has a mix of restaurants and shops.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know my love for Lord of the Rings (my husband is also a fan), so seeing a local restaurant called The Shire was a need! Thankfully the food also fits typical pub food. There are also fun drinks. I tried their Black Irish Palmer, which was delicious! I highly recommend it if you’re in the area.
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