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Tuesday, August 08, 2006

BEST_WEEKEND_EVER!

Liz wanted to see her old professor Marla and her kids who she used to baby sit for. They live in Saratoga NY http://www.saratoga-springs.org/docs/bpwebsite.asp (which is very near to my childhood summer haunt of Lake George http://www.visitlakegeorge.com/). I thought what a perfect opportunity to get away back to the beutiful adirondak mountains of NY state http://adk.com/home/z-home.htm.

We left on a perfect saturday morning, stopped in ST. Albert for cheese curds http://www.fromage-st-albert.com/english/index.html, then we stopped in at a small nature center in Adirondack park and took in a nice hiking trail around a lovely march. We also went through lake placid http://www.lakeplacid.com/ where neither liz or I have ever been. I picked up some cigars and we walked around the lovely little town. We had supper here http://www.greatadirondacksteakandseafood.com/ and suffered from the absolutely enormous portion sizes in the US. That said my 20oz Prime Rib was excellent and about 90% meat so I was happy. The restaurant also features a micri brewery that makes some excellent beers.

We arrived in Saratoga around 10pm and were sleeping shortly thereafter. The next day we went canoeing, swimming and hiking in lake moreau state park. That evening liz and I cruised the Saratoga horse mansions and the main street taking in chocolate shops, and browsing for restaurants. While it was a hard choice we eventually settled on one italian place that would not let our noses go. The smell of the food from this place was just something else! The meals were great but again, the portion sizes are just too big south of the boarder.

Before we went back to Marla's we hit up the local artsy coffee shop "Common Grounds" which is fabulous. Its everything you could want in a coffee shop. Food (breakfast, lunch, snackables), about 25 varieties of coffee from around the world, close to 30-40 types of tea and excellent iced drinks. I brought back two pounts of coffee with me. Stuff I've never even seen before!

That night liz and I got a little misdirected and when we asked for directions the guy just said 'look it'll take me as long to explain it as it will be for me to drive you so you might as well get in'. We did and it was all good. I've said this for years, New Yorkers (both city and state) are some of the friendliest folks around.

On the way back I also picked up a case of 'Saranac' pale ale from Saranac brewery www.saranac.com. This stuff RAWKS. It tastes like an english ale in a bottle. Most english ales don't even taste like english ales in a bottle! I'm already thinking of ways to find stores closer to Ottawa in NY state that feater the wide variety of what saranac produces. I'd also love to go on a brewery tour.

After another stop in Lake placid on the way hope (shopping at the very reasonable outlet mall) we went home where the real adventure began...

Cheers,

P

9 Comments:

  • Awesome!

    I, uh, played Shadowrun this weekend. I've got a phys-adept named Michael Garibaldi.

    Oh hey, would anyone be interested in a play-by-mail game of Diplomacy? I'm willing to adjudicate.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:49 AM  

  • Nice.. if not completely original.

    Feiner is planning on getting a Chat-eau-Run game going over here too. I'm playing another troll. This one a magical adept rebel leader from an african country in civil war. Yeah.. fun.

    I might be up for it.

    Cheers,
    P

    By Blogger Patrick, at 12:54 PM  

  • *sigh* Lake George.. those were the days I tells ya.

    From Butt-breakers to "DON'T CHOKE ON YOUR SANDWICHES!"

    Doesn't get much better than that..

    Jay

    By Blogger Jason Billingham, at 1:30 PM  

  • Well, you see Patrick, he was an orphan found along with a duffel bag full of late 20th-century science fiction flatvids on the steps of a monastery... so the monks named him after their favourite B5 character. They also considered calling him Lennier, except that Lennier is a big wuss sometimes.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:19 AM  

  • Tom I hope his middle name is Molari :)

    Jay, it was good being back in the aderkerondikes ;). Lake george actually looks better than it did when we were there in '99. It has a bunch of new restaurants and the town looks like its been touched up a bit (except for gaping wasteland of abandoned buildings that was Gaslight Village).

    The 'Great Escape' is still there too. Oh and you know what... Saratoga is a really nice town. Its too bad we never really got to see the TOWN! when we used to end up there.

    Cheers,

    P

    By Blogger Patrick, at 7:59 AM  

  • Ah, Saratoga, one of my favorite getaways! Reportedly the birthplace of the potato chip, among other things. Next time you're there, be sure to check out Caffe Lena. Pretty much the entire roster of modern folk music, all the way up to Bobby and Joanie, played there at least once before they were famous, so it's a great place to catch new talent for just a few bucks in a wonderfully intimate setting. (It's also rumored to be where Don McLean sang "American Pie" for the first time ever!)

    By Blogger Dave, at 9:48 AM  

  • You mean Saratoga is a TOWN!? I thought it was just a track, some ponies and an OTB!? ;)

    Jay

    By Blogger Jason Billingham, at 7:54 PM  

  • ah, les chats aux run, how i miss it so.

    By Blogger bitz, at 9:41 AM  

  • Ohh...I checked the website of that restaurant/micro-brewer and found, "Adirondack Smoked Porter". Now, that sounds lovely, lovely. The description makes me want to make special trip to the area!

    As for the Saranac brew, who knows - it might be at Smokeless Joe when you come to T.O. in a fortnight.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:37 AM  

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