The Dutchess of New York

Sam at Harney & Sons in Millerton (Photo: Samantha-Brown.com)

Most late Friday afternoons are a bit of an emotional ride for me.

Since graduating from high school, Sean has lived literally half of his time with me. So, around 4 p.m. every Friday (give or take) Sean arrives or takes off.

It's gratifying and sad and all kinds of emotions rolled into one. 

Today is the alternating Friday when he leaves, and he took off over an hour ago. Don't get me wrong. Part of me relishes the quiet and solitude.

The other part of me -- the larger part -- gets lonely. It's back to just Rascal and me.

So I came to the computer to finally watch the recently-released PBS program on Dutchess County. Part of Samantha Brown's Places to Love series, it's a nice ride through the county to the north of me.

That, by the way, is where Dutchess Stadium is and where Sean goes when he's not with me and where a large part of my life has taken place. In total, it's a large swath of the Hudson Valley.

I admit to being a Samantha Brown fan, to begin with, just as I enjoy the travel shows of Rick Steeves and others. She knows Dutchess County well, having been here many times with her husband and kids, though she currently calls Brooklyn home.

The show is definitely a reminder of all the good that Dutchess County has, though obviously Sam and her team only hit some key highlights. While she noted the Roosevelt's at Hyde Park -- especially Eleanor's Val-Kill Cottage -- no mention was made of the nearby Vanderbilt Mansion. 

It would be difficult to fit in a segment on Rhinebeck and the Dutchess County Fair and Red Hook and Pawling and Beacon and everything in between.

That's hardly a criticism as you can only fill so much into roughly 25 minutes. It just goes to show that Dutchess County does have a lot to offer.

So does the rest of the Hudson Valley for that matter.

The idea of the show is to entice you to learn more, of course.

What Sam's show did really well demonstrated the depth as well as the width of Dutchess County. The county is split almost down the middle by the Taconic State Parkway, a road that is reviled by some, loved by others (including me). While it's easy to note the traffic and chaos of US 9 from Fishkill to Hyde Park, and I've specifically seen how that has grown, the show instead noted the Walkway Over the Hudson and a restaurant in Poughkeepsie as well as Harney and Sons Fine Tea on the east side of the county, where my cousin Nancy has worked for years.

There was more. Lots more. Not a bad note to be sounded in the show and for what it's worth, that's sort of nice.

It's easy to take it all for granted and I admit I probably used to. I don't do that now.

Obviously, the Hudson Valley is about a lot more than just Dutchess County. Orange, Rockland, Ulster, Westchester, and the little sliver called Putnam make up the other primary counties of the region. It serves as a gateway to the Capital District and the Catskills and beyond.

And it's my home (though I'm in Putnam County, of course).

I'd be happy to be a tour guide for the Hudson Valley. Oh, wait, I sort of will. On the radio. In roughly 18 days or so.

Thanks, Sam. This is still a place that I love and I'm glad you do, too.