End of Summer Happy House Hunting

Oh, what a beautiful last weekend of summer we had!  In our seemingly never-ending search for a house in the Hudson Valley, we spent both Saturday and Sunday looking at homes. Our Saturday visits were on the west side of the Hudson, with one in Ulster Park and the other in Port Ewen... both locations we know nothing about.  The first house was an old renovated barn with vaulted ceilings and a quirky layout. The exposed wood beams and unique nature of the house lured us in briefly, but then we saw the kitchen. Small kitchen tucked away from the rest of the house and unable to open into a dining or living space. So, this wasn't quite the one. Then, we visited a home in Port Ewen that was adorable but was located on a double yellow road, which is a deal breaker for us. 

So, we finished the day and headed to our friend Joey's house to stay for the night. He graciously let's us stay there even when he is not, so we got the key and entered the house to find a power outage. We lit candles, and when Liz called the power company it turns out that a car ran into a telephone pole and knocked out the transformer only minutes earlier on the same road we just drove. We heard sirens as we entered the house, and while having no power for a bit was a bit of an inconvenience, we were incredibly grateful to have missed that accident. But within a few hours the power was on, and we had a great fire going in the wood burning stove to keep us warm. 

On Sunday, we returned to Athens (the site of the accepted offer debacle) to see a beautiful Victorian home in the village. While it's significantly above our original price range, we both really like it and felt like it has everything we've been looking for. After this successful visit, we went to see another house that was quite the opposite. It's located in a more "country" setting with a beautiful yard, trees all around, and no house across the street or right next door. With 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, it's a great size, and the layout is open and clean, which feels like a perfect country home. It's walkng distance from a swimming lake and a short drive to Taghanic State Park with lots of hiking and beauty. It's also not too far from Red Hook, Tivoli, and Hudson (about 25 minutes). 

We couldn't believe our luck!  Two houses in one day that make us both equally excited. That never happens!  So, moving forward, our hope is that one of these two places becomes our first home together (weekend home), and that you can come visit next summer.  Fingers crossed😊 

Back yard shot of Athens house

Back deck shot of country house