For the second year in a row, we were able to have a lovely overnight getaway in a local inn, thanks to Justin and Sarah. This time, we were at the Afton House Inn. We have been in the area a number of times before since my mom and dad used to live so close by. As a kid, we also used to launch our boat at Windmill Marina, which was right out the back of the Inn.
Friday was overcast, chilly and windy but we still spent some time looking around the marina in Afton as well as the river area in Hudson.
The view from Birkmose Park above the Hudson marina was really great. It was an interesting park, reminiscent of Mounds Park in St. Paul, where I had visited many times as a kid.
There are a few small shops in Afton that we visited but the antique and lovely ladies clothes we saw were not really to our style. The art we saw in a gallery in Hudson was quite to our liking … but not to our budget! We had more fun walking out the pier almost across the river.
Some teen boys on bikes told us we were “cute” as a couple. I thought that was pretty funny. Have we become the cute “older couple”? I guess so, from a certain point of view.
We saw this very large dead catfish on the beach at the end of the pier. I literally gasped when I saw it. No smell (not that I got especially close to it!)
When we were chilled enough, we stopped into the Stone Tap for about an hour before our dinner reservations. This was a historic building that had been carefully renovated and the atmosphere was fabulous. They had a big menu of craft beers. Jim liked the one called Spotted Cow. There were some other great names too: Dogfish Head Namaste (Jim didn’t like it but the guy at the bar next to us took it for free after checking to see if Jim had a cold or something), Central Waters MudPuppy Porter, Dogfish Head Hellhound On My Ale and more.
Dinner was at Pier Five Hundred, which was pretty good but not really remarkable. It was also a LOT noisier than Stone Tap. We had fun hanging out and chatting in spite of that! Then it was back to Afton so we could try out the funny little “double” Jacuzzi that was in our room. Yes, we both fit but it was pretty cozy cramped!
In the morning, we had breakfast in the Current restaurant (included with our package) and then packed up and headed down to Afton State Park for a hike. It was wonderful to hear no traffic noise, no people noise and lots of birds! The view from the top of the valley was great and it was a nice walk down.
There were many signs of spring to see!
We decided to follow a tiny little mountain goat of a path up from the river, which ended up being a bit of an endurance test. We popped out into someone’s campsite at the top of the trail. Slightly embarrassing, but we just shouted good morning and moved on. (Kinda like this…only not by the water)
We saw several deer but they were not especially keen to pose for me.
After a couple hours trekking around, it was time to head home. We agreed that it would be fun to make it an annual event to go overnight to a different inn or B&B every year around our anniversary weekend. This time was really great and I look forward to a chance to do it again in the future.
