Last autumn, Andrew and I took a day trip to Sleepy Hollow, New York. I remember watching the Tim Burton film with my mom many times over the years, and it remains a staple today. In fact, my Christmas gift from Andrew two years ago was the baby pumpkin bag from La Femme en Noir. Our trip was originally supposed to be for New York City, with a detour to Sleepy Hollow on our way home. But as I built the itinerary, I realized how much more excited I was about visiting Sleepy Hollow.

 

Unfortunately, due to the time of year we visited, the sun was setting really early in the day. Therefore, I wasn’t able to visit most of the cemeteries and museums that I’d planned on. I did, however, get to spend a lot of time at the Old Dutch Church and Burying Ground, which is what this blog post will focus on. This was our first stop, and I spent a couple of hours making my way through the grounds with my camera and the chill November air to keep me company. Most of the leaves had already fallen, but the ones that remained were the deepest red that contrasted beautifully with the gloom of the afternoon.

After walking around, Andrew, the dogs, and I drove around a bit before deciding to head to White Plains for a store I wanted to visit. I knew the sun was setting and there was no chance of getting back to Sleepy Hollow in time to do anything else on my list, so we improvised the rest of our night. We got some milk tea at Susuru Ramen, then split a margherita pizza from Mr. Nicks, before driving around aimlessly looking for some kind of memento. I stumbled upon Cozy Coven— a metaphysical shop that had just what I was looking for. I spent some time chatting with the owner, and I was soon on my way home with some souvenirs from our day.

We didn’t do any of the museums or tours that I’d hoped for, nor did I get to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery before the sun set, so I’ll be doing that next time we find ourselves in that part of New York.

We, of course, had to visit the Irving family.

I don’t know if this is me managing my expectations for once, or if I’m just now learning to roll with the punches. It would have been so easy for me to be thoroughly disappointed with the outcome of our trip, but I just can’t bring myself to minimize the genuinely good, if offbeat, experience we had that day. I didn’t get to do the vast majority of what I planned on, but the things we did and the places we went just made such a good impression on me that I can’t imagine regretting them. Everyone I met, from the guy at Mr. Nick’s Pizza to the owner of Cozy Coven, was just so damn nice and fun to talk to.

 📷 Fuji X-T5 + Fuji XF 23mm f/2 R WR 

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