So many places to visit, so little time.
Art Omi
We begin at the outdoor sculpture park Art Omi, a few miles north of the town of Hudson. Overshadowed by the larger Storm King Art Center (located closer to New York City), Art Omi’s 120 acres offer a more walkable space with sparser crowds. Our favorite exhibit is Orange Functional, almost two dozen basketball hoops sprouting from a single trunk. Basketballs lie about, begging to be picked up by visitors and shot at odd angles.
Café Mutton
After working up an appetite, we drive to Café Mutton, a Hudson farm-to-table restaurant open from 10-3 (dinner available on Fridays). We’re not joking about the farm origins of this eatery. You can order lamb head porridge, if the mood strikes. There are scrambled egg and crepe options for those who want to stick to a more traditional brunch.
Olana
Then we’re off to Olana and its 250 acres of sweeping views of the Hudson River. The 1870s house, designed by architect Calvert Vaux (whose protégé and junior partner was Frederick Law Olmstead) and painter Frederic Edwin Church, is a marvel of towers, balconies, recessed porches, and Persian-inspired interiors.
The grounds incorporate Church’s advanced ideas about the integration of architecture, landscape, and environmental preservation.
Olana is popular, so be sure to reserve a tour, otherwise you may not be able to view the interior.
