Tag Archives: day trips

Let’s Hear It For the Northeast!

14 Wednesday Nov 2018

Posted by in Connecticut, Holidays, Maryland, Massachusetts, New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Travel, Washington DC, Weekend, Winter Solstice

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DC in WinterI love the winter. From its first days being the darkest with the winter solstice, yet brightest with the Christmas holidays, to the freezing storms of February that leave the trees a glistening wonderland, I really enjoy all things winter, especially here in the Northeast. I tend not to get the doldrums as I like outdoor activities as much as I find comfort in lounging on the couch with a cup of something hot — hot cocoa, hot toddy, not mulled cider — and alcoholic to warm my soul.  And, as a New Englander traveling, more specifically driving, in the winter isn’t an issue.

So, I was tickled when I tripped across a USA Today article about the best destinations for cold winter vacations.  The article is based on a WalletHub study that analyzed a locale’s costs and hassle (of getting to/from), overall destination costs, attractions, weather, activity, and safety.  The study looked at more than a 100 destinations and of the top 32, 13 were in the Northeast; woo hoo!! Washington and New York placed in the top 5 (NY ranking highest for attractions), the others are:

6: Boston

9: Philadelphia

10: Pittsburgh

18: Baltimore

21: Rochester, NY

27: Buffalo, NY

28: Worcester, MA

29: Providence, RI

30: Hartford, CT

31: Albany, NY

32: Bridgeport, CT (I’m a bit dubious about this one)

According to the folks at WalletHub, sports are a constant driver for winter travel; however, food (yeah, all things epicurean), heritage, and spa services are growing influencers of travel to cold weather destinations.

While people tend to get depressed with the shorter days, I encourage you to breath deep and take a cold weather trip; you’ll enjoy it. If you do go, safe travels and, of course, bon appetite!

via The best destinations for cold winter vacations in 2018

Sunday, Sunday

11 Sunday Nov 2018

Posted by in Christmas, Holidays, New Jersey, Travel, Yeast

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Here I sit, watching a Christmas movie — this one with Dogs and Kids, always a winning combination. I’ve yet to bake for Thanksgiving (in a nod to Ms. Scarlet, ‘I’ll worry about that tomorrow’).  Unfortunately, while I  cross referenced my baking list with the ingredients in the pantry, I forgot one key item — wax paper.  While I don’t mind being adventurous, making a pumpkin roll without wax paper isn’t high on that list. My husband and I did make bread dough, however.

NYC From Lambert CastleYes, we make our own bread.  Tony adheres to a Paleo diet which prohibits processed food, essentially eliminating flour and sugar from his diet.  While I’m not completely on the bandwagon, by default I’m also following a Paleo lifestyle. Tired of being breadless, a sad and unacceptable state, my husband started researching for, quite literally, ‘low carb bread that doesn’t suck.’  That, coupled with a few recommendations from his nutritionist, lead us to ‘Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day.’ And, what do you know?  Following the book, its gluten free flour mixtures and master dough recipes churn out some darn good bread, that is actually pretty easy to make.  This is our second go-around making the dough and as I become more familiar with the wonders of yeast (I still haven’t figured that one out), we’ll dive deeper into the book as it has a fair amount of recipes — everything from white sandwich bread, to brioche and even flat bread and pizza doughs. #yummy.

Lambert CastleEarlier in the day we went to Lambert Castle in Patterson, NJ.  Yes there is a castle in Patterson of all places.  Home to the Passaic County Historical Society, their annual fundraiser is a holiday craft fair held throughout the month of November.  Driving up the side of Garret Mountain, we came upon what truly is a castle, built back in the late 1800s by a local silk baron (Patterson used to be known as the silk capital of the world). Walking into the castle itself, we were quickly submerged into all things Christmas as the building was stuffed to the rafters with all kinds of goodies — from provisions to ornaments and festive holiday decorations, to clothes for the kids and on and on and on — three floors of ‘on’ to be precise.

It was a fun day.  Not as productive as it could have been, but fun none-the-less.

At some point this week, I”ll bake.  Until then, happy trails and bon appetite!

Don’t Take My Word For It

11 Sunday Nov 2018

Posted by in Holidays, Massachusetts, New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Thanksgiving, Travel, Uncategorized, Weekend

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Don’t take my word for it, but I’m pretty darn good at finding fun and unique things to do no matter where I am.  One of the first rule of thumbs is knowing who you’re catering to — is it just yourself, your family, a persnickety friend — and their interests.  From there, planning a 1/2 day, day or even week-long adventure becomes a relatively easy task.

Flight 93 MemorialI did this on a recent trip to Pennsylvania. We took an extended weekend — we usually do a get-away for our anniversary — to visit the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, PA.  My interests were fulfilled; but what about my husband?  What would I do for him?  For him, with a bit of legwork, I found the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, our ‘hub’ for the weekend, and a fantastic hat shop, Killer Hats, in Lancaster County where he bought his first Stetson (yes, Tony is a hat guy).

Last night, as we were figuring out what to do today (he typically works on Sundays, so spending the day together is an oddity); I mentioned a craft fair from my Christmas ‘Things to Do’ list.  He didn’t completely puke all over the idea and begrudgingly committed to going.  That’s when the conversation got interesting.

“I usually find really good things for us to do,” I exclaimed at his lame-ass “OK.” He conceded, “Yes, actually you do; you do find great things to do.”  How do I do this?  How do I know that a Shakespeare in the Park performance at some random park in some small town in the middle of Maine is taking place?   Well, I’ll tell you:

  1.  I dissect where I’m going, who I’m going with, why I’m going and how long I will be somewhere.
  2. I head to the state, county/region, and city tourism sites — some little towns don’t have a proper tourism bureau and that’s OK.
  3. I check out the local chamber of commerce, specifically their events page .
  4. I peruse the Arts and Entertainment calendars of the local papers.

While this isn’t an exhaustive list of what I do, this is the foundation and it’s a solid foundation.  I actually did this for our Thanksgiving trip to Warren, MA.  Last year, we kind of just went there — my thought being ‘cabin in the woods, fire place, goats…this is going to be great.’  We had nothing to do anyway and I was recovering from an operation so sitting by a fire was just fine.  This year, however, is a different story and I’m anticipating at least one afternoon of antiquing, a meal or two at the Salem Cross Inn, and perhaps checking out Bright Nights at Forest Park in Springfield — all things I found using the simple steps noted above.

Tomorrow, I’ll be checking out the holiday boutique at Lambert Castle (Patterson, NJ), shopping and making my desserts — I must bake tomorrow; I must bake tomorrow; I must bake tomorrow…Oy.

For a Stinking Good Time

22 Wednesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Connecticut, Festivals, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Travel, Vermont, Weekend

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As I reflect upon last weekend’s jaunt to the rolling hills of the Battenkill Valley region of upstate New York, I can’t help but smile at the number of farmers’ markets and road side stalls, with trust boxes, selling everything from zucchinis and tomatoes to bulbs of pungently aromatic garlic. And while some find the end of summer to be bittersweet, I look forward to the warm afternoons and crisp evenings of fall. But,

Purchased at the Cambridge, NY Farmers’ Market

before the apple and harvest festivals kick in, the lag time between mid/end of summer and early October is garlic festival season and here in the northeast there are plenty to choose from. The Garlic Seed Foundation has a complete list; however, for those traversing the countryside of the northeast, a condensed list follows:

September 1 – 2
The Pocono Garlic & Harvest Festival (Shawnee, PA) – celebrating its 24th year, Shawnee Mountain Inn hosts food and craft vendors that offer everything from garlic vinegar and garlic ice cream to garlic-themed pottery and paintings.

The Garlic & Herb Festival (Bennington, VT) – Celebrating it’s 23rd year, this festival has been featured in Yankee Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, and Reuters. Garlic lovers flock to this picturesque town to sample garlic and herb inspired food and crafts from hundreds of vendors.

September 15 – 16
Long Island Garlic Festival (Riverhead, NY) – Long Island’s only garlic festival, featuring the wonders of ‘Garliciana’ with vendors showcasing a wide variety of garlic inspired foods, crafts and music. The festival will feature a garlic eating contest as well as a Junior Iron Chef competition for the kids.

The Garlic Festival at Olde Mistick Village (Mystic, CT) – In its 11th year, this award-winning festival will showcase all things garlic with local restaurants, merchants, artisans, authors and artists as well as village merchants who will offer garlic-related activities and products at their stores. Note, this is one of the few festivals that is free.

September 22
Susquehanna Valley Garlic Festival (Milford, NY) – With garlic varieties from around the world, all grown locally, the Susquehanna Garlic Festival features braiding demonstrations, growing tips and other educational sessions, and live entertainment for young and old alike.

September 29 – 30
Hudson Valley Garlic Festival (Saugerties, NY) – A local tradition, this festival hosts tens of thousands of visitors each year.  The event is a “fun celebration of the harvest of what garlic aficionados lovingly refer to as the ‘stinking rose’.”

The North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival (Orange, MA) – “The Festival that Stinks” is celebrating 20 years of ‘Peace, love and garlic’ and is held on a beautiful historic farm amidst the rolling Massachusetts countryside.

October 6 – 7
Easton Garlic Fest (Easton, PA) – Festivities include the Gastric Garlic People’s Choice Contest, Dangerous Dessert Contest, Farm to Table Iron Chef Cook-Off, over the top 3 Mayors Cook-Off and the exciting First Responders Cook-Off.

Connecticut Garlic & Harvest Festival (Bethlehem, CT) – In its 14th year, the Connecticut Garlic & Harvest Festival will showcase cooking demonstrations and lectures, and will have a variety of garlic and fall provisions available for purchase.

Our friends at the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival include a fantastic listing of the varieties of garlic on their webite as well as what to look for when shopping for garlic, check it out.

The festivals listed above feature educational lectures and demonstrations, vendors selling garlic and a selection of arts, crafts and games for the little ones. Most have an admission fee that, in the grand scheme of fees, appear to be reasonable.

So, with the summertime waning, I encourage you to hit the road and check out a not-so-typical festival for those who love the stink, and the taste, of garlic!