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Families enjoy holiday close to home, Bear Mountain Park - 4 July, 2009
Akiko Matsuda
amatsuda@lohud.com
BEAR MOUNTAIN - Katherine Ferreira tended to the grill at a picnic table near the lake yesterday afternoon.
Ferreira's daughter, 9-year-old Gabriela, helped flip a turkey and chicken burger.
Ferreira's husband, Crusito Ferreira, played dominoes with the rest of the family.
The Ferreiras, of Clifton, N.J., were among the hundreds of families who spent a summer day at the Bear Mountain State Park yesterday .
As families were hit hard by the sluggish economy, many of them decided not to travel. Instead, they are finding a way to enjoy the season close to home.
Crusito Ferreira said he wanted to travel overseas for the holiday but decided not to.
"We don't have the money," the 41-year-old man said. "We are making the same money, but everything got more expensive, and we have to cut back."
Liz Cruz of New Windsor said that her family came to the park's zoo because it was the closest place from home where her 6-year-old daughter, Shania, can enjoy watching animals.
For the rest of the weekend, the family planned to stay home, bathing in the backyard pool, Cruz said.
Nadja Frederick of Manhattan said she and her husband, Dorian, wanted to take their 2-year-old son, Dorian II, to Lake Champlain this weekend.
But after considering the costs of renting a cabin and filling up gas for a five-hour, one-way drive, they decided to stay home.
"We would have definitely done that if the economy was not like this," said Frederick, noting that her husband works for Citigroup. "We have to be careful."
But after taking a dip in the outdoor pool, picnicking on the lawn and walking around the zoo yesterday, Frederick told her husband that they should come back to the park more often.
"It made us appreciate what's close to home," she said. "This is very important."
Paul Diamond, of Fort Montgomery, N.Y., spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon biking in the park with his son, 4-year-old Jake.
Diamond said he has been more cautious about spending money because of the recession.
But even without that, he wanted to keep their holiday local, he said.
"There are plenty of things to do in the Hudson Valley," Diamond said. "We should explore."
As burgers and sausages on the grill were getting ready to be served, Katherine Ferreira said the family's visit to the park was a success.
"We are enjoying the holiday locally, not far away from home," Katherine Ferreira said.
"It's not a bad idea to enjoy what's close to home. It's very relaxing," she said.
Journal News
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