After some welcoming bubbly and catching-up, we were whisked into downtown Saratoga Springs. What a great place; a small city with an attractive and active downtown area. First we had martinis at a specialist martini and whisky (!) bar. Then we headed for 1 Caroline Street for a fantastic meal accompanied by a pianist and singer. The restaurant is very much a family affair with 3 daughters working there, one of whom is a pianist singer/songwriter, who played for us late in the evening. Steve bought the CD for us, which we have enjoyed listening to on our road trip.
On Sunday, we headed from the Richards' impressive and rambling house for an expedition in the hills. A day expertly conceived and executed by Steve!
Saratoga Springs is on the edge of the Adirondack Mountains. We donned our kit, taking sandwiches and dogs (two springer spaniels, which made us feel at home). We aimed to climb Hadley Mountain, which seemed appropriate, but proved to be too ambitious due to a combination of illness and jetlag, the Richards having only returned from Hawaii a couple of days earlier, where they had their spring break.
Afterwards we headed for Lake George for a picnic lunch. We have become used to seeing spectacular vistas and huge lakes. Lake George was another.
One of my lasting memories of the area is the proliferation of Harley Davidson motor bikes. We arrived a week after serious storms with heavy snowfall to balmy summery weather. It seemed that every second person (man) had his “hog” out, banishing cabin fever, and was grunting it around the roads of Saratoga Springs. During our drive from Hadley Mountain to Lake George, they were all around us, literally.
I learned a few pointers to Harley Davidson etiquette, NY state style: you need to personalize your hog; your foot rests need to be as high as your hips; you wear black leathers and a black beanie helmet; you personalize your leathers also, possibly by having chaps with fronds of leather flowing in the wind or a suitably adorned cut off denim jacket over them; and if you are lucky, you have your “hog chick” behind you, similarly personalized.
I was not surprised to learn from Steve that there is an annual “hog fest” at Lake George where Harley riders from all over the world descend. Some hogs are apparently too precious to be ridden there are taken on trailers! It must be quite a sight.
Monday saw Sophia and me exploring the environs of Saratoga Springs and lunching with Carla. A really pretty area and great place to live. And what a day – the temperature climbed to 89 degrees! Even more extraordinary when you consider that New England had been under deep snow only a week before due to a storm that had delayed the return of the Richards from their spring break.
We had another impressive dinner with the Richards, at the Grey Gelding, and then had an evening stroll through the Saratoga Springs park.
On Tuesday morning we said goodbye to the Richards, pledging not to leave it so long before another visit, and headed off on our road trip…
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