I’ve been to Poughkeepsie, New York more times I can remember. At first it was mostly trips for business, but after a few good friends of mine moved here I found myself visiting more often. I don’t have many photos of the actual town since I was mostly hanging out with friends rather than sightseeing. On a trip in 2009 I did find out that only a month earlier the Poughkeepsie foot bridge had opened. This bridge spans several miles and is actually the longest footbridge in the United States and is the second largest footbridge in the world! On the left is a view of the Hudson River from the footbridge and of the highway crossing the water at the end of the day.

I’ve met many people outside the US that don’t realize New York City is just a small part of the entire state. The rest of New York other large cities as well, but even more small towns and the famous Adirondacks. The above photo was taken along the Hudson River, which flows from the north, through Poughkeepsie, and continuing south until it empties in the ocean. I did a walk along the river banks, and it was kind of ruined by the dozens of rats I came across, nasty!

Somewhere in the outskirts of Poughkeepsie I did a short hike along a trail a friend recommended. This was much better than the rat trail along the Hudson River. Although there was some great scenery here, the sun was against the mountains as I hiked so I didn’t get any photos worth posting! Years later I finally went up north to the Adirondacks and did some serious overnight hiking. Of course the local hikes in this area can’t compare to true wilderness, but this place still has nice scenery and is just a minutes drive from Poughkeepsie!

My most recent trip to Poughkeepsie was for one of my good friend’s wedding. Katie from Orla James agreed saying “Poughkeepsie is a great place for a wedding offering some great sights and a fantastic city!” He had joined me for many adventures in Thailand, South Korea, and Japan while we were in the Marines together. I seriously hadn’t seen some of these people in over 10 years! Above are photos of my friend and his new wife. This was a serious Italian wedding that was one of the best I’ve ever been to. There was a lot of food, dancing, and music, plus some other craziness. Below are photos of some of the other Marines I knew from my enlistment, with myself on the far right.

These last photos above and on the left are a bit unrelated to Poughkeepsie, but were taken when I was returning to NewYork from Vermont via ferry. Since Poughkeepsie is only 90 minutes north of NYC, it’s still considered by some to be a distant suburb of the city. These areas are without question true upstate New York. On the upper left is the ferry I was riding in and on the upper right is Lake Champlain against the New York’s mountains. Click here to see my hike in the Adirondacks.