 |
| Opening gates to the Millbrook Tribute Gardens |
Sometimes it’s nice to experience the finer things in life.
Sometimes you just want to take a trip to where the rich and famous live.
I love the creeks, the daisies, and the rough country view of the Gunks, but sometimes I crave grey poupon instead of spicy deli mustard. Sometimes instead of rockclimbers, bicyclists, and hippies, I like to see men in plaid cardigans swinging golfclubs, meticulously pruned hedges lining wimbledonesque tennis courts, sprawling mansions with gate and guesthouses, and let’s not forget old women with surgically altered necks and giant sunglasses walking show poodles. When you have a child that screams at you, “I’m a monster!” It’s nice to visit a place where wild things are tamed. You can sit back and relax, observe and reflect a bit, learn maybe.
I grew up on Long Island, where you drive out to the Hamptons to see these sights, but now our replacement “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” destination is Millbrook, a town that has been coined the Hudson Valley’s lowkey version of the Hamptons.
In Millbrook, there are polo fields, country clubs and there is even a Sotheby’s. The men hanging outside the local deli are dressed in very good taste. The entire town is in very good taste, charming, very gentle, genteel, and loaded.
So it makes sense that Millbrook has the most impeccable park I have ever visited. We’re talking sand that literally sparkles below the swingset, two waterfalls cascading into a Koi pond, tall beautiful shading trees honoring fallen soldiers from WWI, and most impressive of all –pristine public bathrooms with teak side tables and artwork on the walls. Millbrook Tribute Gardens is a great park for any family to visit with its beautifully landscaped grounds and upscale playground equipment.
Just make sure you tell your husband not to change your kid’s diaper in plain sight in the parking lot. Mine started doing this when I wasn’t paying attention, and while the man walking by in the purple polo shirt and white shorts didn’t say anything, he must have thought we were unrefined, ill-mannered, let’s shout it out to the rafters “poor” out-of-towners. But who really cares? It’s a public green space. All can go and enjoy no matter your socioeconomic bracket. Is that spicy enough for you, white shorts?
Anyway, I shouldn’t really be angry at white shorts because he is the one paying what must be astronomical taxes for a place like the Millbrook Tribute Gardens. Let’s face it, most playgrounds are pretty boring for adults. Millbrook Tribute Gardens stands out as being a nice destination for the whole family.
Millbrook Tribute Gardens
3257 Franklin Ave
Millbrook, NY 12545
Open Dawn to Dusk
When you’re in Millbrook, make sure you check out the Trevor Zoo too. Read my blog about the zoo‘s newish parking lot. What’s with me writing about bathrooms and parking lots…?
Goodnight. I love you “M” & “R”. Big Kiss.
- Hudson Valley Kim
 |
| Waterfalls and koi pond. |
|
|
|
Millrook Tribute Garden honors fallen soldiers. This plaque lists these soldiers’ names and shows where each soldier was honored with a tree in the park’s Court of Honor. Visitors to the park benefit from these trees’ shade and beauty. Take a moment and reflect.
|
|
Upscale playground equipment
|
|
See my family in the center. See upperclass yuppie parents to the left. My husband would NEVER EVER wear lime green shorts – but you have to respect how a buck gives some men the
confidence to experiment. You go Millbrook men!
|
 |
See the immaculate well-appointed and here is the real shocker MEN’s bathroom.
|
|
|
|
 |
| Poetry |
 |
|
Shady areas for picnicking.
|
|
|
|
|
I’d never seen this playground digger before our trip to Millbrook. My husband had them growing up and said that was because he was from Port Washington and I was from Ronkonkoma. Ahh the class wars continue!
|
 |
| A little sad when you think that all of these trees are symbolic of fallen soldiers…. |
 |
| Good inexpensive local deli. Their competition offered a pint of fruit salad for $15. I bought a meal for the family here for the same price. |
Want to join the discussion about this topic?
Click here.
Permanent Link: http://hvparent.com/millbrook-tribute-gardens-has-the-cleanest-public-bathroom-i-have-ever-seen
Jul 12, 2012
She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes, (when she comes).
She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes, (when she comes).
She’ll be coming ’round the mountain, she’ll be coming ’round the mountain, She’ll be coming ’rou...
May 31, 2012
Kids love spinning around and around, so why wouldn’t they love spin art ?
Who doesn’t have a fun childhood memory of squeezing paint onto a spinning disc and the dizzy feeling of pride from their splatter on a platter?
I remember making spin art on giant twisters at school fairs, bu...
May 8, 2012
Would you like your children to have fun growing flowers and food? If you answered yes, you must check out the “gardening with children,” program at Abundant Life Farm in Walker Valley.
We attended their Open House on Sunday and enjoyed the farm’s empowering and kid-friendly atmosphe...
May 7, 2012
Angling to see a bald eagle dangle from above? Or a real life screecher owl squint his yellow eyes at an Edgar Allen Crow to say “hello?” Make your way to Hudson Highlands Nature Museum’s (HHNM) Wildlife Education Center in Cornwall- home of many rescued animals – and just a few ...
Mar 21, 2012
I was feeling the JetBlues yesterday. It just so happens that my family has plans to fly JetBlue, and have you heard the news? A two-year-old had such a fit on one of their flights right before takeoff, the plane’s pilot removed her and her family from the plane.
My two-year-old often has min...