The Great Escape Part 1- Woodstock, NY...

Happy Monday, everyone! I made good on my vow to get out of NYC and headed up to Woodstock, NY, about two hours away. Well known for the 1969 music festival of the same name, this charming town is also packed with great hiking trails, good food and wonderful stores.

After a stop at Budget Rent-A-Car (this "compact" car felt like driving my own personal tank!), my first stop in town was to Bread Alone.  Their delicious pastries and yummy sandwiches were right up my alley. Plus, I needed to grab some food for my trek up the Overlook Mountain Trail.

The trailhead starts a few miles out of town. It's a trek just to get up there, so I would advise taking a car. The moderate to hard trail is five miles round-trip with a steady incline, but the views from the top are definitely worth it.

 Hopefully, this is good luck...

View from the scenic overlook

Along the way you can stop and check out of the ruins of the old Overlook Mountain Hotel which reportedly burned down about four times (the last in the 1960s).

Down the mountain, I explored the kitschy hippie shops with tie dyed tees and Woodstock memorbilia.

Hidden amongst these stores was Still Life Mercantile, which houses a fabulous mix of modern home goods, books and jewelry. I love the way vintage items were mixed in with Jonathan Adler salt and pepper shakers and items from Etsy. I definite must see while in town.

Photos courtesy of Still Life Mercantile

My last stop before heading out of town was Candlestock. This Woodstock institution makes their own beeswax candles and smells delicious inside. The unexpected attraction was the over 6' drip candle sculpture started on Sept 11, 2001. They continue to burn several candles a day to add to this piece... 

More on my trip, including vintage hunting in Hudson, NY coming this afternoon...