An Evening Visit to Nyack, New York

Yesterday evening, I took my son for a visit to Nyack, New York. This was something that I had originally intended to do for a few months, but especially during the summertime. 

Why?

Because there is a walk along the Hudson River, and I remember going there, and seeing more lightning bugs than ever before in my life. That was years ago, probably around literally a decade ago, but it seemed unlikely that this would have changed so dramatically since. And it was something that impressed me, and which felt worth seeing. To me, lightning bugs are some of the best things about summer. They are wonderful creatures, and light up my imagination. It seems that most people like them, and it seemed that my son would appreciate them, as well.

And so I had meant to take him there for quite some time. I had wanted to last year, as well, but we just did not quite get around to it. And when I saw the first lightning bugs of this summer a couple of weeks or so ago, it served as a reminder of this trip to Nyack that I have meant to take my son on.

We went up last evening, after one of those melting, hot and humid days of summer. It was evening, so it was quite a bit cooler, and felt refreshing. 

Unfortunately, they had closed the part of the park where we could gain access to the walk along the Hudson River, which was frankly annoying. But we were able to go up the hill and to the nearby cliffs closer to the top. There were still lightning bugs in the woods there. And while they were not as numerous as how I remember them right down by the Hudson River itself, in such abundant numbers, that it was rather mind-blowing. If I had not known any better, it might have felt specifically like a lightning bug farm, or something. I guess that it would make sense that they have such a strong presence near a river like that.

Barred from the walking path by the river, then, we went up the hill, to a small park further up, away from the river. I was not so familiar with this part, yet it was really nice! There were cliffs looming over a grassy park area, surrounded by woods. In those woods were a fairly rich number of lightning bugs, although nowhere near as many as right on the edge of the river, which was down the hill a bit, through a patch of woods.

It was a pleasant place, and we spent a nice time here, looking up at those cliffs, and down into the woods, where there was a significant presence of lightning bugs. Then, as it was growing darker, we went into the downtown area of Nyack, and went closer to the edge of the Hudson. There, we enjoyed a view of still new Mario Cuomo Bridge, which had replaced the older Tappan Zee Bridge. I must say, they made this bridge much more aesthetically pleasing than the older bridge used to be, as that was merely functional. The new bridge is much nicer to look at, while also sporting a much more modern appearance. I took some pictures of both areas that we enjoyed on this evening in Nyack, and decided to share them here.

Enjoy!