Sleepy Hollow: The New York City Day Trip

Visit Strand or another local indie bookstore to support the non-Goliaths of the book world. Find yourself a copy of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and crack it open. You may have a pretty good idea of how the story goes, but that isn’t the same as reading Irving’s words.

Philipsburg Manor was unfortunately once a working mill and farm where slavery took place. Now it stands, on the edge of the mill pond, a museum run by ladies in their twilight years. The sheep are precocious and the gift shop is really top-notch.

A stone’s throw away from Sunnyside is Lyndhurst, a Gothic Revival mansion passed on to three different American families and sitting on 67 acres of land for curious little 21st century feet to scamper across. Jeffrey and I arrived after hours, but were able to glimpse Alexander Jackson Davis’ architectural feat from the outside.

And you say “We’re not The Rockefellers” when you’re talking about spending money fivolously. If you were The Rockefellers, I wonder, would you have given so much back to the community? Would I? Let’s hope.

When I was growing up, I thought it was a cool pastime to visit the local cemetery and find the graves of folks who were born and died on my birthday. But I didn’t grow up in Sleepy Hollow. And thanks to Washington Irving’s book, I’m glad I didn’t.

Beginning at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, the headless horseman bridge is the spot of the famous chase from the book. Poor Ichabod…

Ask directions here because there it’s pretty centrally located in-between Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown points of interest and also there may be a really handsome man behind the counter. In fact, stop in on your way out of town to ask him one last question just to be sure you had it right the first time. And yes, he really was that cute.

The folks who work here seem to be a be a bit sleepy themselves, but at least there are a few helpful maps. If you’re serious about finding your next point-of-interest and you can’t remember what the wine store guy said, this is the place to go. You can also hop a cab from here to most points without breaking the bank if you’ve got at least two people.

An eager college freshman in a bustle might give you the tour of Washington Irving’s estate, Sunnyside, by the Hudson River. It’s hard to imagine now, but a spot on the banks of the Hudson was to Irving like a lot in East Hampton is to Steven Spielberg today.

Irving was, needless to say, more than a little irked when the train line went up right in his backyard. But hey, it got you here today to marvel at just how small people’s beds and chairs used to be.

What better than a main drag pub called Horsefeathers with in or outdoor seating to nourish yourself in “Sleepy Hollow Country”? A cavernous meat lover’s delight offering up over 100 types of beer. You might see the ghost of the headless horseman after all…in the john.

If you’d like to take home more than a magnet or postcard from your Sleepy Hollow adventure, why not visit Ana Alvarez at Timeless Season’s clothing store on Main Street? Timeless? Well, I’ll let you be the judge. For me,the style here was difficult to define, which really means there must be something for everyone.

Is this a joke? No. Because yours truly never underestimates the value of a somewhat-cleaner-than-mass-transit rest room. Conveniently located just outside the Sleepy Hollow train station, it’s good to know that Mc D’s is there in case you have need of a toilet or you’ve got a craving for a giant Dr. Pepper and some fries before calling it a day. Jeffrey and I made a pit stop under the Golden Arches to help nudge us toward our train ride back the 21st century.