The day started out with a fabulous breakfast at the B&B. We had omelets with raw cow’s milk cheese from a local farm, wild mushrooms, and spinach. I just can’t say enough good things about the Cedar Hill Farm B&B–Mom, you would love this place!
For our first activity of the day, we crossed the Hudson River to Poughkeepsie and drove through the woods to the Sprout Creek Farm, which produces the cheese we had for breakfast. We bought some cheese, of course. Yummy. We also met lots of farm animals and saw our first Pig Waller. (”Look, those pigs are wallowing in there. That’s why it’s called a Pig Waller,” - a Dad with 3 pairs of socks on, teaching his son about farming.)
Next, we headed to Hyde Park, home to the Culinary Institute of America, to tour the Vanderbilt Mansion–a charming little 54-room cottage decorated in the style of the gilded era, situated on a hill overlooking the Hudson River. Those Vanderbilts were so modest and frugal.
Lunch was at Terrapin in Rhinebeck. Larry had an amazing sandwich–duck confit with brie on brioche roll. He was in duck heaven. My hamburger wasn’t quite as impressive, but it was still good.
We then headed to the Alison Winery, where we sampled wines and bought two more bottles. Bottles of Wine: 4. Gifts for friends and family: 0.
We crossed the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and arrived in Windham, our final destination for the day. The Catskill Mountains are very pretty here. This sleepy little town seems more suited for skiers than summer vacationers, but that just means we get our pick of the best table at the Windham Pub! Or maybe not…at dinner there last night, Larry was served some bad mussels. He didn’t eat them, thank god, but I’m not sure he’ll ever order mussels in a restaurant again.
The B&B in Windham is very cute, in a country sort of way. The breakfast was delicious–a spinach, tomato and feta frittata. We’re getting ready to head up to Montreal–more later!
Peace out.
