A weekend in Nyack (with Gertie!)
One of the things I believe most about travel is that you don’t have to go far to get the benefits–and this weekend was a wonderful example of that. We headed to The Time Nyack for what seemed like a half-vacation, half-staycation: The village of Nyack is less than an hour’s drive from Manhattan, but the lush green hills and the gorgeous rambling Victorian houses make it feel like a world away.
Bonus: The Time Nyack has a pool AND is dog-friendly. With a crazy heat wave sweeping through New York, it was the perfect time to escape to a hotel with excellent air-conditioning! We took Gertie with us to start getting her acclimated to hotel life, and we’re thrilled that she loved it immediately. I was also pleasantly surprised by how adorable the village of Nyack was: I had so much fun taking early morning walks through the neighborhoods with Gertie before coming back to have breakfast poolside.
The Time Nyack
To be honest, the hotel was the main draw for it: I’d never heard of Nyack before. And we were kind of itching for a sort of hotel stay-cation: air-conditioning, a pool, watching crime dramas in a big comfy bed. The Time Nyack totally came through with all of that and more: I loved the funky decor and chill vibe of the hotel, and all of the adorable dog-friendly accents. I couldn’t get over how cute this dog teepee was, and I absolutely loved the rug. The hotel is actually housed in a former factory turned recording studio, but they’ve done an amazing job of renovating it with crazy high ceilings, huge windows and a great balconies. 
Poolside
And the BEST part of The Time Nyack: THERE IS A POOL. My biggest complaint about New York City summers is that there isn’t any place to really cool off: pools are hard to come by, and the beach is an hour away on a stuffy subway. So there was no better place to be for a feels-like-103-degrees type of weekend! The pool isn’t huge, but it’s lovely to take a refreshing dip in. The vibe on Saturday was definitely a party, but people were friendly: we quickly made friends with two other couples and chatted with them while drinking cocktails in the pool. It was a little quieter on Sunday: we went down and read in the sunshine after eating breakfast poolside before heading back to the city. The pool alone was worth the Friday night traffic from the city! 
Village of Nyack
The village of Nyack is about a 10-minute walk away from the hotel: it’s not too bad, but I will say that The Time is located at the top of a hill. Easy to walk down to the village, but it was quite a walk back up in the heat! The downtown is super cute with a wide variety of restaurants, bars, shops and cafes–if you keep walking farther down the hill, you’ll end up at the riverfront. Plenty of the restaurants have sidewalk seating, which made it super easy to eat outside with Gertie: we especially enjoyed the sandwiches and the craft beer selection at Prohibition River.
Gypsy Donut
Nyack is a pretty popular spot for cyclists hiking to Hook Mountain, and it seems like they all stop for coffee and carbs at Gypsy Donut. I walked there in the morning with Gertie and splurged on a salted caramel donut and a Stumptown iced coffee: so delicious! 
Nyack Library
It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with bookstores and libraries and any other book-related places. I couldn’t believe it when I stumbled over the magical Nyack Library! The ivy-covered building was built in 1903 with funds from Andrew Carnagie, and the wood-paneled front room has a gorgeous fireplace. Even though I love the historic details, the modern addition at the back is so light-filled and sleek: the huge windows open out to so much greenery that it feels like you’re right in the middle of the forest. I would love to have this library as my go-to place to work and read!
YMCA
I’m kicking myself now for not going inside, but how gorgeous is this YMCA? It opened up in 1844, and I just thought the brick facade looked more like a European church than a gym.
DSZ Barbers
While I was exploring the architecture gems downtown, my boyfriend was getting a haircut at DSZ Barbers. When I traveled to South Africa with Dabito, he told me about one of his favorite travel traditions: he gets a haircut! As a woman, I feel like I’m not quite bold enough to try that (it takes so much longer to grow out any mistakes!)–but my boyfriend figured he’d start trying it out. DSZ had such a cool feel, with all of these awesome antique barbering chairs–and the staff was so friendly and awesome about letting Gertie hang out while he got his haircut. Fun new travel tradition born! 
What’s your favorite part of Nyack? What would you be most excited to visit?
The Time Nyack kindly offered me a complimentary stay, but all opinions are my own.
