“I?m a born and raised Brooklyn girl who turns out to have a soft spot for the country,” says Casey Scieszka. “Before moving to the Catskills last year, I lived around the world in places as far-flung as China, San Francisco, Morocco, and Timbuktu. Literally. I?m a writer and graphic designer, which is what I did full time before I had this crazy idea to open an inn.”
“A tall, bearded guy”?Casey’s husband, children’s book author and illustrator Steven Weinberg?joined her in this venture, and together the two have hammered and nailed one of the most inviting weekends away from New York. “Nine rooms. One bar. So many stars,” is how they bill their bed-and-bar, now named the Spruceton Inn.
Above: The guest house is set in a defunct 1960s Catskills motel, Schwarzenegger?s Sunshine Valley House. (“Yep. That Schwarzenegger,” says Casey. “It was built by Arnold’s cousin Karl.)
Situated in West Kill, New York, in a green valley with a farmhouse (Casey and Steven’s new quarters), the place hadn’t been touched in decades: “We’re talking cracked teal linoleum, ancient brown carpets, faux wood paneling, and one long strip of oil-powered baseboard heat for entire building,” says Casey. “But the bones of the place were great.” She and Steven hired a father/son carpenter duo to help them tackle things beyond their DIY abilities, “like replacing windows, i...