Sunday, August 1, 2010

Adirondack Weekend 2010 :)

Adirondack Weekend July 28, 2010-Aug 1, 2010

    Well it was certainly wonderful being back in the Adirondacks. I figured it has probably been around 6 yrs since I’ve been there. :( I know crazy, right? We stayed at the Lakeside Motel. We usually stay in a cottage but since we booked so close to the weekend everything was already taken. Plus, cottages only rent out for week long stays and we only wanted a 4 day weekend. Part of the reason we chose Lakeside is they advertised that they have kitchenettes. Well, I don’t know about you but a kitchenette to me is a stove top burner, refrigerator, coffee pot, microwave. All they had was a smaller than dorm size fridge, microwave and coffee pot. :( We decided lets just bring my double burner just in case. Well, we are so thankful we did. It was hilarious because since there was no room for one on the counter we cooked on the floor. Lol.
    The first night made us feel as though the weekend wasn’t going to be a good one. We ended up picking Rugby weekend to come which was a bad idea. Rugby players are VERY loud and obnoxious and drink a lot. Well the first night they were SOOO loud and they were right next us. After midnight I was so incredibly frustrated I took it upon myself to go out there. I was like “would you guys please be quiet because we keep waking up.” They were understanding and actually quieted right down. They probably figured it was Thursday night and not many people were staying there. Well they thought wrong. The owner was hardly helpful the first day. We couldn’t figure out the wireless internet because it would say we were connected but than it wouldn’t work. All he said was he knew nothing about it. Sheesh. But in the end we found out ourselves that we had to be facing their house in order to get it. Weird huh?
    But Saturday was a thoroughly enjoying day. We went by boat to their local Farmer’s Market and it was so wonderful. We tasted Adirondack Style cheese and I bought some smoked mozzarella. Ironically I wasn’t a fan of it. I guess I prefer regular fresh mozzarella.  But the guy was very friendly and gave good sized sample portions. I found a booth where the woman had a certified kitchen in her home. Hmmm, sound familiar? :) Her business name was FriendChips Bakery. Very cute. The cookies were ok but not anything to right home about. I also bought a fresh baguette to go with our lunch. So after that we enjoyed a relaxing boat ride except for boaters SPEEDING by even though it’s a 5 mile and hour speed limit. Like anyone really follows that? We did but it was annoying having almost everyone speeding on by. Even a jet skier was going so fast but right before us he stopped. Thankfully!!  After the boat ride we enjoyed a lunch of the baguette, tomatoes, and cheese. Simple but pleasant.

The Adirondack Bean To
The most exciting part of the weekend for me was going to their local coffee shop called the Bean To. It was the best coffee I’ve ever had. I had a caramel Latte the first day and a hazelnut latte the next. Outstanding. I bought a brownie too and it was out of this world. I told the owner that their coffee was the best I’d ever had and that I wasn’t just saying that either. Now that Junas in Ithaca is gone all we have for local coffee is Gimme and The Ithaca Bakery (College Town bagels). Although, I must admit I was reminded by my sister of Ithaca Coffee Co. which is indeed local. However, I don't remember getting the feeling I got today from the Bean To. It tasted so homemade and the strength of the coffee was perfect. He was taken back by my compliment and said “wow, I don’t know what to say”. Than he said they don’t have comment cards but that he wanted to give me a free bag of their coffee. :) He didn’t have to do that at all.What is so cool is they have Pasta Stick Stirrers for their coffee! Pretty awesome huh?  The name was Hammer coffee. They also had Jack Hammer hahaha. He also let me take a picture of their roaster. That’s right, they roast their own coffee   He even asked if I wanted beans in the roaster for my picture. He was so friendly I couldn’t get over it. They do indeed have a facebook page so you know I’ll be becoming a fan on there  Everything in Saranac Lake felt organic to me this time. Mom and I enjoyed dinner at Nonna Fenna Italian Restaurant. Absolutely delicious homemade Italian food. Our rolls were right out of the oven. I had the stuffed shells which weren’t heavy at all and my mom had their fried haddock. It was lightly fried so again it didn’t feel so heavy. Usually Italian food you think heavy fillings of cheese but not this place. They know how to make Italian Food light  The restaurant was just 5-7 minutes to walk, maybe not even that long. We have little herbie with us so it always makes it more challenging. We can’t all go into a restaurant at the same time or anywhere for that matter. But we managed. He’s sooo adorable and irresistable. :)
    Saturday afternoon I went for a swim in their pool. That was another disappointment Friday night. It was advertised as a heated pool but he said how they were heated by solar panels. Which is indeed heated however, the panels were facing UP not down to the pool. The reason the water was warmer was because the sun was so hot. But it was perfect  I than lounged on their comfortable beach chairs. Saturday my parents got some perspective from the owner about the place. His family used to run it but than his children all moved to different parts of the country. His wife sadly has Cancer so now it’s just him running it along with two Chinese women. They are there for the summer to experience a different culture. He provides them room and board and pays them as well.. I can’t imagine how exhausting that must be. Also, even he said how he hates Rugby Players. They never grow up and they are just down right obnoxious he said. They were really rowdy Saturday night again and he apparently went out and told them to be quiet. We didn’t even call him about it. He had a few older people there and I am certain they wouldn’t be happy with that. They were on their side as well. Friday was amazing though they were as quiet as can be. We think they went ot the Pub in town and got drunk there. At least it wasn’t at the hotel. So after Friday night being so discouraging we left with a different perspective of the owner. It just proves to not judge a book by its cover. I tired really hard to not be frustrated and to not judge but being human that’s what happens.
    We’d probably stay there again now knowing what to expect. But prayerfully next year we’ll be back in a cottage for a week. That is what I truly missed this time around. In a cottage I can bring coffee out to the porch in my pjs still and look at the water. Here I couldn’t do that because of all the people around. I truly do love the Adirondack Mountains of NY and would live there if I could. But their winters are ROUGH and not much for jobs. The guy at the Cheese shop said it is very hard to find work there. Some people have 2 maybe 3 jobs to make ends meet. It’s sad for sure but the Economy everywhere is sad. I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog entry about Saranac Lake and remember, if you’re ever in Saranac Lake you must try the Bean To Coffee Shop. It’s on a side street in a little home. Their coffee is truly heavenly