In which Kate does ordinary things
The best thing about the weekend was how ordinary it was - nothing death-defying, just stuff people do when they're on vacation - and yet it was incredibly wonderful. I took an egg cheat and had breakfast in a perfectly ordinary diner; after having been in so many places trying for that ambience, it was amusing to have (delicious!) eggs and coffee in the real deal.
Frommer's guide to NY state lists "Black Mountain" as the best hike in the southern 'dacks; I'm just amused that this is one of their sections, along with best food and best hotels. It turned out to be the best hike I've ever done, with a marvelous view of Lake George from the summit and a pleasant meander around mosquito-ridden lakes. The whole thing took just under 4.5hours, including ~45mins for snacks, so not long either. My knee and ankle had been bothering me enough the day before and that morning, that I considered punting. It was also my companion's second ever hike, so the length was just right. We talked about the Civil War and abolition and books we'd been reading. Best comment of the hike was "Is it just me or do we have a lot more gear than anyone else we're passing on the trail?" but in the end, I think we were both glad to have hiking poles.
The nearest Zagat-rated restaurant was 42mi away, so after showers, we went to a random restaurant I found in the local ad supplement, with the superb name of The Lobster Pot. Bc really, any summer when you haven't eaten lobster outside is wasted. I was a wuss and had the lobster tail, which was fine. I also had a bikini-tini and proper clam chowder. It was a random choice - and it was exactly right. (Like so much of the trip.) Then we played pirate-themed mini-golf, which was superb: I was really awful at it and laughed and made faces when my ball did untoward things. Then we got ice cream at Stewart's and got a night cap and everyone was just so friendly/helpful/nice. Yaay travel!
Sun morning we woke to thunderstorms: so much for the boat ride. Instead we went to Lake George's best vegan restaurant, a burger shoppe, where I had a veggie burger. It was not awful, although my companion had to save me from the amount of jalapenos I'd eaten. Wandering through town, we happened on the Adirondack Winery, the worst winery I've been to in my life. I asked the lady what they were known for and she said, "Our diversity. We source our grapes from California, so we can make anything!" In other words, you suck at everything. That said, I liked two of the fruit "wines" enough to bring them home: green apple white that tastes of apple cuz guess what they put in it. But blueberry really does go with shiraz! And when I put them into punch or sangria, I'll smile happily at the memories. I also liked their cabernet sauvignon, bc it's lighter than it ought to be: I'd like to try it with a hamburger or pot roast.
I'm personally very proud of the logistics of this trip bc the transportation went so smoothly, even though I overestimated the driving times. Which meant that Sun night, I had time to hit the gym for balance work and order Chinese food. Mon, I ran an extra mile during my run bc I felt so good. I did all sorts of things I'd been dawdling on, like finishing my book about Darwin and finally cooking seitanic jambalaya.
I've had Veganomicon since before the experiment started, bc I'd been planning to cook for Lbro, but I don't have time for LJ, let alone cooking. It was the most intriguing recipe in the book, bc I *heart* jambalaya and it's a good, filling lunch. Cooking was rather dramatic: I forgot to scale down the recipe so even though I didn't have enough beans, it was still threatening to overflow the pot. Halfway through, I realized it finishes in the oven, so I ended up using a casserole dish for the overflow. The rice took far longer to cook than expected, so I had to keep checking it, which also involved balancing the amount of water between the two pots. At one point I started ladling water from one container to another, but it was spilling, so I grabbed for the handle to move the pots together. That would be the metal handle that had been in the oven for 40mins. OWOWOWOW. I ran my hand under running cold water for 3 10min intervals (between checking the food for doneness), but I'm afraid my long-suffering gf heard me whining about it our whole conversation.
Pongo was kind enough to do the research and tell me the Macys fireworks would be over the Hudson this year. I don't know how I've lived in this building for 6 years and never seen them before. From the roof I could see at least 3 distinct sets of fireworks and in discussing the two buildings partially obstructing our view of the Hudson, a small child told his mother, "Well, they can see the fireworks better, but we get the Thanksgiving floats too." Wait, what? We can see the Thanksgiving parade from my roof?? I think that's sufficient reason to host this year. Anyhow, I'd never seen them before, so I didn't realize they have 6 coordinated barges and it was spectacular when they started. The technology is awesome and I'm glad I stayed long enough to see the smiley-face fireworks, but it also seemed a bit long. Maybe if I'd brought a radio.
Frommer's guide to NY state lists "Black Mountain" as the best hike in the southern 'dacks; I'm just amused that this is one of their sections, along with best food and best hotels. It turned out to be the best hike I've ever done, with a marvelous view of Lake George from the summit and a pleasant meander around mosquito-ridden lakes. The whole thing took just under 4.5hours, including ~45mins for snacks, so not long either. My knee and ankle had been bothering me enough the day before and that morning, that I considered punting. It was also my companion's second ever hike, so the length was just right. We talked about the Civil War and abolition and books we'd been reading. Best comment of the hike was "Is it just me or do we have a lot more gear than anyone else we're passing on the trail?" but in the end, I think we were both glad to have hiking poles.
The nearest Zagat-rated restaurant was 42mi away, so after showers, we went to a random restaurant I found in the local ad supplement, with the superb name of The Lobster Pot. Bc really, any summer when you haven't eaten lobster outside is wasted. I was a wuss and had the lobster tail, which was fine. I also had a bikini-tini and proper clam chowder. It was a random choice - and it was exactly right. (Like so much of the trip.) Then we played pirate-themed mini-golf, which was superb: I was really awful at it and laughed and made faces when my ball did untoward things. Then we got ice cream at Stewart's and got a night cap and everyone was just so friendly/helpful/nice. Yaay travel!
Sun morning we woke to thunderstorms: so much for the boat ride. Instead we went to Lake George's best vegan restaurant, a burger shoppe, where I had a veggie burger. It was not awful, although my companion had to save me from the amount of jalapenos I'd eaten. Wandering through town, we happened on the Adirondack Winery, the worst winery I've been to in my life. I asked the lady what they were known for and she said, "Our diversity. We source our grapes from California, so we can make anything!" In other words, you suck at everything. That said, I liked two of the fruit "wines" enough to bring them home: green apple white that tastes of apple cuz guess what they put in it. But blueberry really does go with shiraz! And when I put them into punch or sangria, I'll smile happily at the memories. I also liked their cabernet sauvignon, bc it's lighter than it ought to be: I'd like to try it with a hamburger or pot roast.
I'm personally very proud of the logistics of this trip bc the transportation went so smoothly, even though I overestimated the driving times. Which meant that Sun night, I had time to hit the gym for balance work and order Chinese food. Mon, I ran an extra mile during my run bc I felt so good. I did all sorts of things I'd been dawdling on, like finishing my book about Darwin and finally cooking seitanic jambalaya.
I've had Veganomicon since before the experiment started, bc I'd been planning to cook for Lbro, but I don't have time for LJ, let alone cooking. It was the most intriguing recipe in the book, bc I *heart* jambalaya and it's a good, filling lunch. Cooking was rather dramatic: I forgot to scale down the recipe so even though I didn't have enough beans, it was still threatening to overflow the pot. Halfway through, I realized it finishes in the oven, so I ended up using a casserole dish for the overflow. The rice took far longer to cook than expected, so I had to keep checking it, which also involved balancing the amount of water between the two pots. At one point I started ladling water from one container to another, but it was spilling, so I grabbed for the handle to move the pots together. That would be the metal handle that had been in the oven for 40mins. OWOWOWOW. I ran my hand under running cold water for 3 10min intervals (between checking the food for doneness), but I'm afraid my long-suffering gf heard me whining about it our whole conversation.
Pongo was kind enough to do the research and tell me the Macys fireworks would be over the Hudson this year. I don't know how I've lived in this building for 6 years and never seen them before. From the roof I could see at least 3 distinct sets of fireworks and in discussing the two buildings partially obstructing our view of the Hudson, a small child told his mother, "Well, they can see the fireworks better, but we get the Thanksgiving floats too." Wait, what? We can see the Thanksgiving parade from my roof?? I think that's sufficient reason to host this year. Anyhow, I'd never seen them before, so I didn't realize they have 6 coordinated barges and it was spectacular when they started. The technology is awesome and I'm glad I stayed long enough to see the smiley-face fireworks, but it also seemed a bit long. Maybe if I'd brought a radio.