July 2026 – Page 2 – Peckish Travels

Birth and Death (7/4/26-7/5/26)

Yesterday, was the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States as a country. It was a very hot day here, so we didn’t do much. We got some New York bagels for breakfast and also picked up a New York Times newspaper to read before we headed to the weekly farmers market, which was mostly to-go foods rather than produce.

Last night, at about 8:15 or so, a storm came through with thunder, lightning, winds, and heavy rain. The lights flicked on and off a couple of times. We were pretty sure the fireworks for Tarrytown would be canceled, but the rain eased and at about 9:15 or so, the fireworks started. We had a great view from the balcony off the top floor of the house, as they shot the fireworks off over the Hudson River.

More storms moved through overnight, but we’ve had a mostly dry day today. Since the rest of the week is looking pretty rainy, we got out to explore the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery which is about a 2 mile walk from the house. The cemetery is featured in Washington Irving’s “Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and is the final resting place for a number of prominent figures, including: Elizabeth Arden, Vincent and Brooke Astor, Andrew Carnegie, Walter Chrysler, Samuel Gompers, Harry and Leona Helmsley, Washington Irving, Albert Lasker, William Rockefeller, among others. The cemetery provides a free map that lists about 8 prominent memorials to visit.

We crossed over the Sleepy Hollow Bridge,
erected in memory of Washington Irving, to get to the cemetery.

A sign near the bridge noted that the Headless Horseman Bridge described by Irving in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” formerly spanned the stream at this spot. On the way into the cemetery, there was a sign advertising evening tours.

The Old Dutch Church within the cemetery.
It was erected by Frederick Philipse in 1697.
Restorations were made in 1837 and 1897.

The gate to the Irving grave.
The marker seen through the gate notes
that this is the Irving family grave plot and that his grave
receives perpetual care from local citizens and admirers.

An impressive mausoleum for a Benedict family

The lovely setting for the cemetery, very close to a state park

A sign about another tie (pun intended)
to “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

A Scottish emigrant, Dale Carnegie
became a successful steel industrialist,
but is perhaps more well known for his philanthropy.

This is the relatively humble gravestone
for Mr. Carnegie and his wife.

Walking up to the much less humble mausoleum
for William Rockefeller at the highest point in the cemetery.

The front of the mausoleum surrounded by a circular drive

A bronze statue of a woman at the Thomas
(no idea of who exactly they were) mausoleum

Again, don’t know who this was for
but was impressed with the sculpture

A closer view of the resting place of the hotel magnates.
She was referred to as The Queen of Mean
for her tyrannical management style.

Tarrying in Tarrytown (6/30/26-7/2/26)

The heat is on! It’s been or is hot all over, so I guess it’s our turn now. No central heat in the house, as is typical in lots of areas, but we do have window units. We hadn’t been using them but have started over the past few days. It’s a 2 story house with a basement, and the lovely main bedroom is on the top floor, so we definitely enjoy that one for sleeping. We have been leading a rather more leisurely pace while settling into our Tarrytown home/pet care routine.

A couple of days ago, we had our first New York bagels of this trip. There is a good place near us, with lots of flavors, and Bob walked over and picked up a couple for us that I had ordered online. We walked by a little later in the day after our excursion over part of the Mario Cuomo Bridge (see below), and the bagel place was just as busy for lunch.

The Mario Cuomo Bridge, that we drove across to get to Tarrytown and that we can see from the house, was fully opened to traffic in 2018 and replaced the former Tappan Zee Bridge. There is a pedestrian/bike section walled off from the automobile lanes. The entire trail is 3.6 miles long over the bridge connecting Tarrytown to Nyack, NY, three miles of which are over the Hudson River. It is the longest bridge in New York State.

On Tuesday, we walked part of the trail but hope to do the full back and forth over the bridge some time before we leave in early September.

The sign at the Welcome Center on the Tarrytown side

The Welcome Center building with clean bathrooms,
cold water fountains, and vending machines.

“Current,” by Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong, 2020.
Made of 12 illuminated steel arches
in the plaza at the start of the pedestrian path.

Heading out of the plaza on the path towards the bridge

A display showing the recent change in the bridge

The bridge is supported by more than 1,000 massive steel piles measuring 3 to 6 feet in diameter.

A view of Tarrytown through a partition
as we started onto the bridge

A view of Tarrytown harbor through fencing on the bridge

Yesterday, we walked back across the railroad tracks and then into Sleepy Hollow to check out a market that Bob had seen online. It was actually a very pricey (but attractively displayed) grocery store, DeCicco & Sons, with space for events and a bar and patio on top with views of the bridge.

A Sleepy Hollow-esque exhibit outside the entrance

Looking down into the produce section from the upper floor

The Hallows Bar, where the England v
Democratic Republic of Congo World Cup game was on

The outdoor patio and the bridge in the background

One risk with housesitting for pets and pet ownership is the chance that your adorable ball of fur might find another small creature to eat/play with/bring to you as proof of their awesome hunting prowess. This morning, these two lovely ladies found and caught a live mouse. That’s up there on my list of undesired things to deal with. I first saw Bella with a tail hanging out of her mouth, and then she eventually put it down, and Cleo grabbed it. Long story short, Cleo finally gave it up, and I was able to trap it under a container, which Bob then took outside. Eek!

Cleo and Bella pre-mouse episode this morning

We have been shopping at a local coop-type grocery where we have become members, but today we decided to drive to a larger grocery that the homeowner told us about that we had never heard of, Stew Leonard’s. It was a unique experience that might be a one and done for us, but we’re glad we tried it.

The family opened a small retail shop in the 1890s in Brooklyn to sell goods from their farm. They now have 8 stores total in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. It still retains the farm/market look with a silo near the store and produce displayed market style both inside and out along with a large garden section. They also have a small cafe on the patio as well as an ice cream shop. We both got ice cream (soft serve only) before we shopped, as the weather almost seems to require it. Heat advisory here until 9:00 pm tomorrow night.

We didn’t test them on it, but this policy sounds okay to me.

The burger barn next to the ice cream shop.
Bob just read that you get a free cone if you spend $100.

The store is very loud. Lots of people talking, machines running (they make doughnuts and bagels onsite),
staff pounding as they make guacamole,
and a number of these musical animatronic displays.

There is something a bit Freudian about this display.

Who knew? Ben has a brand of Stiller’s natural sodas
that are sold at Stew’s.

Wherever you are, stay cool and safe!