A Peaceful Weekend Out of The City
I love when I get the opportunity to get out of the city because as you know by now I am not a fan of NYC. This past weekend I was lucky enough to be able to go upstate. I ate at an amazing food truck called Chipitos Kitchen, walked a little bit of the Walden-Walkill Rail Trail and took lots of pictures. A weekend out of the city was just what I needed. Of course, I'd like a lifetime away from this city but we're taking things one day at a time. 😁First things first. Let's start with the amazing food at Chipitos. My uncle took my mom and me there for lunch and they were already in full swing. While we were still deciding what to get a man stopped by and ordered a strawberry lemonade. As he walked past us he told us that the strawberry lemonade was really good. 
My mom and I decided to split the quesadilla and even though half a portion was plenty for each of us, we still wish we had gotten our own because the food was so good and we could have had some later in the evening. I also got a churro (delicious!) and the strawberry lemonade that the man ahead of us had recommended (also delicious) but totally forgot to take a picture of them. We'll definitely be back but for now, feast your eyes on the banging quesadilla.I had my Fujifilm X100V with me (although I've decided to always carry the X-T4 with me ever since I missed a few really good pictures of deer when I was out walking over the weekend). However, I can't complain because the X100V takes amazing pictures. Check out these pictures that I took (from a moving car) on the way back from Chipitos.
And check out this picture, also taken from the car while it was moving, of some horses by a barn. (Click on the picture to see a full screen version.)After all of that delicious food I definitely had to do a little bit of exercise, so once we left Chipitos I decided to check out the Walden-Walkill Rail Trail. I had seen it before on previous visits when we had driven past it on our way somewhere, so I decided to take a late afternoon walk and at least see a little bit of it. At first I was in the parking area for it which had a few buildings (including the welcome center) and even a small basketball court. My uncle told me that that was just the parking area and the entrance to the rail trail was about a few blocks or so away, so after taking a few pictures I decided to keep walking and see if I could find the entrance. I am notoriously bad at directions but I figured I was only a few blocks away, so luckily I was able to find the place with no problem.
There were only a couple of people walking the Rail Trail when I was there. It was really nice. A family of four rode by on bicycles. I think it would be a good trail to cycle through during the nicer weather. The trail is paved with asphalt, so it was good for both walking and riding. The entrance to the trail was this winding path and you had to dismount your bike when you were walking through it. It reminded me of the lines at the bank.
It was great to walk along the trail and just clear my mind. I even was lucky enough to spot a deer. It was really close so I didn't even want to move. The deer kept staring at me, but when a man came along with a particularly lively (but adorable rescue dog) the deer took off. Walden-Walkill Rail Trail
I was taking this walk very late in the afternoon (around 5:00pm) and I didn’t know how far the trail went (or if it was going to rain) so I decided to head back. I walked as far as I did because I kept hearing water and I am a major fan of waterfalls so I kept hoping to pass by one, but no luck. I did get a few shots of the stream on my left side.My next trip upstate is very much going to be dependent on the weather. This cloudy, rainy weather we've been having has put a damper (lol, get it?) on my hiking plans. I *definitely* want to hike the Ice Caves trail at Sam's Point in Minnewaska State Park. It will definitely be the most challenging trail I've attempted so far, but the good news is that since it's a popular trail I'm sure I'll pass other hikers along the way. I normally prefer to hike alone but for my first time hiking this trail I'd rather have people nearby.