A COVID quarantine sojourn from Long Island up to the Mid-Hudson Valley is just what I needed following weeks and weeks of repetitiousness. My girlfriend and I stayed in Saugerties, NY, at an AirBnB, and we travelled around the area from New Paltz where we went to college and first met, to the Walk over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie, to Pleasant Valley and Hyde Park, where we walked llamas and rode horses, respectively. We were there from Wednesday to Saturday, with the mid-October weather more or less cooperating to catch vibrant vistas of the fall colors.

Friday was the questionable day, the forecast suggesting intermittent showers and overcast conditions. Of course, that didn't stop us from venturing toward Verkeerderkill Falls in Pine Bush, which happened to be closed due to COVID. Because we were already in the area, we decided to make the most of the situation, so we headed around the bend to the back end of Minnewaska State Park. Across the road from one of the lookout points, you can access this brilliant view across the valley towards Kerhonkson. Clouds billowed overhead and up from the trees below in an eerie, yet mystifying sight. I stopped to capture this shot on my iPhone, then completed the painting upon returning back to The Island.

This was a fantastic trip, and I enjoy the ol' Bob Ross-style landscape painting, particularly when they freeze such a sentimental place in time.