Perhaps it is the fickle unpredictability of a trout fish that lends the mystique of trout fishing as something like going after the Holy Grail.  Those who fish describe it as a magical, yet exhilarating experience, bathed in tranquil scenery and clean water.

The Hudson Valley has excellent trout-fishing streams and creeks including the Esopus Creek which runs a good length of Ulster County and feeds into the Ashokan Reservoir.  State environmental officials have stocked more than 4 million fish this year, including 2.3 million catchable-size fish and nearly 2 million yearlings that will grow and be catchable in the future.

Never miss a trout season again with this beautiful country home for sale in West Shokan -- walking distance from the Ashokan

If you love the sense of celebration and sacred connection that you feel in the walls of an old church, you will enjoy the walk up Wurts Street, in Kingston’s Rondout.  

Called by historians, “the holiest street in Kingston,” Wurts Street has beautiful ecclesiastical architecture built by the many nationalities that emigrated and settled in this thriving maritime village.

Today, some of these churches have been de-sanctified and transformed into bed and breakfasts, private homes, and public spaces, having been maintained and restored for posterity by history-loving people.

One such church, a former Baptist Church, has been converted into the Church Des Artistes Bed and Breakfast by painter Julie Hedrick and her composer-husband Peter Wetzler.