My Suburban Escapes

Day Trippin' in Lower NY. Get Out In It.

I am by no means a thrill seeker or adventure junkie. I’m a suburban mom with a craving for a bit of adventure. And I found it in my own proverbial backyard – Westchester County. You can do just about anything within a 60-mile radius of the Tappan Zee Bridge – hike, bike, kayak, fish, swim, ski, snowshoe, ride horses, and explore gardens and homes and ruins – and be home in time for supper. It can be challenging to break free of the daily grind, but there’s nothing better to make you appreciate it more upon your return.

“ROAD TRIP!” is a solid cure for restlessness, but we forget about the option as adulthood creeps in. Well, I’ve remembered it. And exploited it. And I am sharing it with you here and in my upcoming guidebook, “My Suburban Escapes,” which lists over 300 days trips with how-to instructions, divided into categories:

• A Nice Ride in the Country
• Easy Strolls and a Meal
• Art Strolls
• Garden Strolls
• Hudson Valley Homes
• Let Me Entertain You
• For Those Who Came Before
• Hiking
• Kayaking
• Biking
• Horseback
• Winter, A Season for Everything
• A Walk on the Wild Side
• Do It Like a Man

So go ahead. Get out there. Explore the lakes and rivers, woods and mountains, Revolutionary War battle sites, and Gold Coast mansions. There’s majesty and beauty waiting to be discovered. Wonder and awe await you. With a little research, a map, and my guidebook in hand, you’ll begin creating your own adventures.

Blog Feed

  • Take a Hike, Ma

    Mothers’ Day is the one day of the year when my family will seek adventure with me. I can nag them into it on my birthday sometimes, but that’s so close to Mothers’ Day that they’re usually still in a recovery position (on the couch clutching an electronic device).  Hiking is never at the top of their…

  • Love Among The Ruins

    It’s hard to describe the thrill of finding the Garden of Eden right smack in the middle of Yonkers. You just have to trust me and go find it yourself. The man-made miracle of Samuel Untermyer awaits you, a classic Indo-Persian garden as soothing as a balm in Gilead. I corralled a group of ladies…

  • The Storm King

    I have met the Storm King, and you don’t wanna mess with him. He guards the gates of Storm King Art Center like the Sphinx from his lawn chair at the bicycle rental kiosk. If you incorrectly answer his riddle for admission, your fate is sealed: expulsion or death. Your choice. I mercifully passed his…

  • Where the A.T. Was Born

    “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,committed citizens can change the world;indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”Margaret Mead Walk with me if you will in an “It’s a Wonderful Life” way to what Upper Westchester County could have been if some of our George Baileys had never lived. New York is a…

  • Ridin’ The Rails

    I have sustained more injuries loading and unloading my bike into the back of my truckthan from any other activity I’ve undertaken. I regularly jab myself in the ribs with the handle bars, schlonk my hips on the derailer and bite my shins on the pokey pedals as I throw my bike in again and…

  • What I Learned at Summer Camp

    I have the greatest summer job ever. For six weeks I get to immerse teenagers in the great outdoors. They arrive each morning at the Rye Nature Center for Paddle Adventure Camp and we return them safely each evening, filthy dirty and happy. Sleepy boys and girls of all shapes, sizes and temperaments appear, clutching…

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@mysuburbanescapes
Welcome to BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardam, the largest Hindu temple in the Western Hemisphere and the second largest in the world. And its right here in New Jersey. Construction began in 2014 and it opened to the public in October 2024. Sandstone, limestone and marble, granite mined in Turkey, Greece and Italy was shipped to India for carving then to NJ for the assembly by 12,500 VOLUNTEERS. It is magical. Dine on “Indian street vendor” onsite. Delish. An amazing daytrip. Well hellooooo May. So good to see ya. Time to bloom. “I think that i shall never see a poem lovely as a tree…” Storm King Highway from West Point to Cornwall-on-Hudson has finally re-opened: gateway to gorgeous. Eight mile hike at Sam’s Point in Minnewaska Preserve up a frigid creek bed in the rain to Veerkeerder Kill Falls on top of the world. Worth it. A lovely drive and hike in the Palisades before the next big snow dump tomorrow Gone fishin. Party in a snow globe beneath the Tappan Zee. Seriously, they think of everything Snowshoeing at Fahnestock Winter Park in yesterday’s “warmth” was just the ticket after becoming a Mall Walker last week. They have a cafe, a kickfire, rental equipment and groomed trails for xc skiis on the frozen lake. I hit the woodsy Appalachian Trail. Its so close. And fabulous.

About Jana Seitz

Originally from Monroe, Louisiana, Jana spent her youth horseback riding in the woods, skiing on the bayou and generally raisin’ hell. She graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where she studied English and Public Relations, and then moved to New York City to study acting. 

She stayed in NYC for nine years, during which time she helped found a theatre company (Seraphim), managed the Greenwich Street Theatre, wrote a screenplay (The Ambassador of 20th Street), held various temp jobs (including horse and buggy driver and bike messenger) and acted when she could. 

She moved to Austin, where she had great opportunities as an actress in theatre, film, and commercials and worked with the Austin Film Festival. She also helped run the Texas River School, taking elementary school children from at-risk communities on full-day canoe trips on Lady Bird Lake in the heart of downtown. 

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