PATRICK JONES

VP OF COMMUNICATIONS, AGENTRY PUBLIC RELATIONS
NEW YORK, NY

Where were you born?: Lafayette, IN

What are your favorite restaurants?: Pierre Loti - best burger in town, Flex Mussels, The Little Owl

Cocktail of the moment?: I don't get too crazy with my cocktails. In the summer it's a nice vodka soda, maybe with a splash of lemonade. Once fall hits I'm all about the Old-Fashioned. You can never go wrong with those.

Any hobbies you want to share?: Running, scuba diving, hiking, backpacking, kayaking

What is the best under-the-radar thing to do in your town?: People watching is some of the most fun I've ever had in the city. Pack a picnic and some wine (hidden in a water bottle so you don't get fined) and head over to the West Side Highway. You get a great mix of people walking up and down Hudson River Park plus you're right on the Hudson River so you can watch boats go up and down. Stay until the sunsets for some great pictures.

Describe your ideal weekend?: Nothing recharges me more than getting out of the city and going backpacking up in the Catskills. As a publicist I'm constantly on one device or another communicating with clients and media so I'm never off. Up in the backwoods of the Catskills though, you don't have mobile service or wi-fi so it forces you to disconnect and actually enjoy where you are. Ideally, I'll wake up super early before the sun rises and hike up to my favorite overlook to watch the sunrise. It's absolutely stunning to see the landscape below and around you come to life, plus the view is out of this world. After, I'll hike down to this little lake that I like to pretend is my own private oasis - and sometimes is! It's one of those postcard perfect areas complete with beaver house and all. I'll get camp set-up, gather some firewood for later and then take a dip in the lake to refresh and cool off depending on how warm it is. There is also this fantastic waterfall that you can hike to. It makes for a great day adventure and you get to see a waterfall! On my way back to the city, I like to stop at Boitson's, a restaurant in Kingston, NY that I discovered a few years ago. It's the perfect place for a burger and beer and slowly starts to acclimate you to coming back to the real world.

What are you listening to these days?: It's an interesting mix for sure. I love a good throwback like Fleetwood Mac, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. I also love pretty much anything in the top 100 tracks on Spotify.

What do you never travel without?: My mom got me this super intense battery for Christmas one year. I didn't think I'd ever use it and now it's one of those things that I absolutely can't leave home with out. It has saved me more times than I can count.