Get Out of Town: 5 Fourth of July Weekend Day Trips
Joan Didion escaped for a little while. You can too.
There’s no shortage of things for New Yorkers to do right here in New York City over the Fourth of July weekend. But, you know, those things? Will all still be here after the Fourth of July weekend too. So maybe you should use your extra day off work and get the hell out of town. But where to go? What to do? No worries! We’ve got you covered.
Rye Playland: Coney Island is great and all, but sometimes you want to change things up, you know? Enter Rye Playland. Once known as America’s “Premiere Playland” this spot in Westchester has been entertaining children and adults for almost a century. There’s a fireworks show every Wednesday and Friday, and there’s going to be a special one for the Fourth of July. Plus, well, there’s been a lot of talk about rehauling Playland, which might wind up benefitting the institution (which has been losing money and customers for the last few years), but it also might wind up stripping the spot of some of its charms. So get over there while you can and enjoy the park, the boardwalk, and the adjacent beach.
ryeplayland.org
The Glass House: A quick jaunt up to New Canaan, Connecticut will get you to architect Philip Johnson’s The Glass House, which is currently celebrating its 65th year. In honor of this milestone, Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya has installed the “Veil,” a mist-based sculpture which envelopes the house in a thick fog, so that it looks like the house is vanishing and reappearing. Spooky! We love it. Tours of The Glass House are $30, and you need reservations, but we highly recommend this trip, because—veiled or not—The Glass House is spectacular. That doesn’t ameliorate the fact that Johnson is the architect responsible for the monstrosity known as NYU’s Bobst Library, but it helps a little.
theglasshouse.org
Cape May: If your impression of the Jersey Shore was formed after watching a certain show on MTV, we highly recommend you head down to Cape May and let your mind get blown. This part of the Jersey Shore is full of beautiful, seaside Victorian houses and quaint shops, impossibly fresh seafood, and a charming lighthouse. It’s a simple (enough, there is a transfer in Atlantic City) bus ride away, but once you get there? You’ll feel like you’re in a completely different world than you’d thought existed in New Jersey.
capemaycity.org
Blue Hill at Stone Barns: It doesn’t get more farm-to-table than Blue Hill at Stone Barns. You can basically see the farm from your table. Because your table is at the farm. And that would be enough of a selling point perhaps on its own if it also weren’t for the fact that the food is going to be among the best you’ve ever eaten and the scenery less than an hour north of the city is exceptionally beautiful. Beauty and good eats? What else do you want?
630 Bedford Road, Pocantico Hills
White Water Rafting: Finally, why not have a bit of an adventure? Sure, there’s no nearby white water rafting that will compete with what you might find if you’re out in Colorado or something. But then you might run into a psychotic Kevin Bacon or John C. Reilly, and that’s no good either. So avoid all that and sign up for a white water trip down the Lehigh River with Discover Outdoors. You’ll get picked up from the Upper West Side and get to go on an approximately 4-hour ride down 12 miles of class III rapids. Fun! And isn’t that what holiday weekends should be about? Yes. Enjoy!
discoveroutdoors.com
Follow Kristin Iversen on twitter @kmiversen
