mini-moon, part 2
E really enjoyed her massage, so we headed out to Sam's Point Preserve, famous for Venkeeterskillmerdingerwing Falls (approximately) and ice caves. We hiked for an hour past some spectacular vistas and a landscape that was very much like Maine, complete with scrubby pine, blueberry bushes, and sweet fern.
We descended down a crazy rock formation into the tight passageways of the caves. No ice was in evidence, but there were beautiful little waterfalls everywhere and it was nice and cold.
An excruciating hike back to the car followed, so we were pretty much beat for the day after that. Dinner was at the only Zagat rated restaurant in Ellenville, which featured a few guys playing live jazz and some exceptionally slow service.
The hotel was a lot busier on Friday, as promised, with the ballroom dancers in town. We had breakfast with a sexagenarian who told us that she drove there every year from Iowa! After breakfast we walked to the f
alls.
I crossed the stream, went up the big boulder on the side of the falls, changed into a swimsuit, and got in... and slid in up to my neck because it was much deeper there than I expected. Good Lord was I cold. After walking around for a couple of minutes and not being able to feel my toes, I came out. Then I got E to go up with me again, but I'd left my swimsuit down at the bottom of the boulder. I decided to skinny it and was just about to take off my underwear, when a last cautionary impulse had me look back down and notice that yeah, there were people there. So that didn't
happen.
It is hard for me to explain how important these falls are to my imagination. In my mind, there should just be waterfalls around, not too far away, and people should be able to go in them without getting hassled or chased away by The Man. On some level it offends me that this is not the case. I'm sure that when the casino people get down to building up the Nevele again, a fence around those falls will be the first thing they put up. Nothing gold can stay, etc etc etc.
On the way back we chanced being on the "wrong" side of the fence in order to do a little exploration of the Nevele. I did see a car off in the distance, and I don't have it in me to get arrested for breaking and entering, so we contented ourselves with going into the circle and taking pictures of the main buildings - the Vacationer, the Empire wing, the Towers, and the Golden Gate. The Golden Gate was always where my family stayed for some reason, so it was our sentimental favorite. (I told my mom that it was going to bulldozed for the parking garage if they build the casino, and she cried
out, "oh no!")
It was time to leave. I decided we should skip Kutscher's this time because we had to worry about Philly traffic and spring the dog in the evening, so we just drove down 209 with the idea of finding some antiques places. (Strangely, Ellenville had very little antiquing, except for one place only open on the weekends.) We found some in Port Jervis, along with some marvelous midcentury modern chairs that would look wonderful in our bedroom if they didn't cost $3,500. Near Milford (top of the Delaware Water Gap, where we were a year ago) we came across an excellent diner, the kind that lives in your imagination: huge menu, great food, spotlessly restored.
Then it was home to fight through the epic Philly traffic and pick up the poor doggie, who was not happy at having been kenneled and who got a groomer's haircut that makes her look even more like a rat than usual.
Kids are still away, so we've had a quiet Saturday of hanging out and watching the episode of The Prisoner where he's in the Wild West. Now, off to add some pictures to make this post (and the one before) less boring! ETA: Done for a few at least, although I'm going to add a bunch more onto Flickr or something.
We descended down a crazy rock formation into the tight passageways of the caves. No ice was in evidence, but there were beautiful little waterfalls everywhere and it was nice and cold.
An excruciating hike back to the car followed, so we were pretty much beat for the day after that. Dinner was at the only Zagat rated restaurant in Ellenville, which featured a few guys playing live jazz and some exceptionally slow service.
The hotel was a lot busier on Friday, as promised, with the ballroom dancers in town. We had breakfast with a sexagenarian who told us that she drove there every year from Iowa! After breakfast we walked to the f
alls.
I crossed the stream, went up the big boulder on the side of the falls, changed into a swimsuit, and got in... and slid in up to my neck because it was much deeper there than I expected. Good Lord was I cold. After walking around for a couple of minutes and not being able to feel my toes, I came out. Then I got E to go up with me again, but I'd left my swimsuit down at the bottom of the boulder. I decided to skinny it and was just about to take off my underwear, when a last cautionary impulse had me look back down and notice that yeah, there were people there. So that didn't
happen.
It is hard for me to explain how important these falls are to my imagination. In my mind, there should just be waterfalls around, not too far away, and people should be able to go in them without getting hassled or chased away by The Man. On some level it offends me that this is not the case. I'm sure that when the casino people get down to building up the Nevele again, a fence around those falls will be the first thing they put up. Nothing gold can stay, etc etc etc.
On the way back we chanced being on the "wrong" side of the fence in order to do a little exploration of the Nevele. I did see a car off in the distance, and I don't have it in me to get arrested for breaking and entering, so we contented ourselves with going into the circle and taking pictures of the main buildings - the Vacationer, the Empire wing, the Towers, and the Golden Gate. The Golden Gate was always where my family stayed for some reason, so it was our sentimental favorite. (I told my mom that it was going to bulldozed for the parking garage if they build the casino, and she cried
out, "oh no!")
It was time to leave. I decided we should skip Kutscher's this time because we had to worry about Philly traffic and spring the dog in the evening, so we just drove down 209 with the idea of finding some antiques places. (Strangely, Ellenville had very little antiquing, except for one place only open on the weekends.) We found some in Port Jervis, along with some marvelous midcentury modern chairs that would look wonderful in our bedroom if they didn't cost $3,500. Near Milford (top of the Delaware Water Gap, where we were a year ago) we came across an excellent diner, the kind that lives in your imagination: huge menu, great food, spotlessly restored.
Then it was home to fight through the epic Philly traffic and pick up the poor doggie, who was not happy at having been kenneled and who got a groomer's haircut that makes her look even more like a rat than usual.
Kids are still away, so we've had a quiet Saturday of hanging out and watching the episode of The Prisoner where he's in the Wild West. Now, off to add some pictures to make this post (and the one before) less boring! ETA: Done for a few at least, although I'm going to add a bunch more onto Flickr or something.