Delaware Cruise: Day 2 of the Hudson River Valley on the BMW K1600

A few folks told us to ride into Cold Springs for the river ambience and cool stores.  It was not far from our home away from home so off we went.  From Haverstraw we just headed north on 9W I believe it was, and over the very cool bridge at Bear Mountain.  We passed Boscobel, which was also recommended to us.  When we arrived at Cold Springs, it was crowded.  We drove around and around and around looking for parking and finally it dawned on me that we were not hungry as we had breakfast in Haverstraw, didn't want to shop,  had seen towns like this all up and down the Delaware and it was not really worth the search.  We have the coolest communication system in our helmets so I suggested we backtrack to Boscobel and I am so glad we did.  We arrived just 10 minutes or so before the next house tour giving us time to view the informative panels in the visitor center.


What a view....

 

 

What a house...

 

 

The Tour of the house was about an hour and the guide was very well informed and able to answer all the questions posed by the small group.  

Delaware Hues of Red at the Space Farm Museum

Should I or shouldn't I?  Push on with the blog...Delaware Hues?  Perhaps go back and get down to the Corner of RED and FINE? 

More from the farm, since RED will do for now.

Amongst all the cool things about riding on the K1600 is frequent front row parking.

 

 

 

With the collection so wide and vast, attending to detail was not always easy.

 

The tricycle brought back memories...oh how fast little legs could go.

 

Peddle, peddle, peddle.... glide and fly.

 

 

 

Delaware Cruise on the BMW K1600 to the Hudson Valley Day 1

Gotta rethink this blog.  Been doing it long enough to have more than 41 followers and 700 hits a month.

It's Friday and I figure I'll tell you a little about our motorcycle ride and give you a little doggie love and foodie too.

Left the crossing at about 10 am last Saturday, knowing MaraBella was walked and fed, and would be in good hands with dog sitters.  Aaron has been giving her flying lessons.

 

It was a cool morning and beautiful day for a ride.  I found myself peeling off layers at each stop we made.  519 is a favorite route of ours and I have been wanting to stop at Space Farms which is on this route so it was easy to pick out the first leg.  We picked it up north of Stockton, but you can also pick it up just outside of Milford if you want to ride the river a bit longer.  If you decide to follow this route, I strongly urge you to look very carefully at a map before you go.  You can be driving along checking out the scenery and not notice that 519 might require a left turn, or right at a fork in the road.  We ate breakfast at home, but if you get an early start, I can recommend the Alpha Family Restaurant in Alpha, NJ, or Thissoldous Eatery in Belvidere, two places we have enjoyed before, serving good food at reasonable prices.  Meanwhile, if you do what we did and need a place to make a pit stop there is a Quick Check at the Route 80 intersection, that is clean.  519 gets particularly hairy around Newton, so keep your eyes on the signs.

 

Although we had no intention of visiting the Zoo at Space Farm, as it turned out we arrived just in time for feeding and were strongly encouraged to walk the grounds since all the animals would be in full view to eat.  I'm not a big fan of zoos although I love animals so we took the advice and did see some beautiful fox, huge bears, amazing wild cats, the black leopard was stunning, and a bunch of other critters.  The double fence cages were difficult to photograph through so I did not take a lot of animal photos.  The museum was a real treat with the car collection, a spectacular attraction if you are into those kind of things.   Buicks, Fords, Lincoln, a Jewett, wagons and some real one of a kinds.

 

There was also a nice motorcycle collection, toys, lots and lots of farm equipment, a gem collection, doll collection, taxidermy area, and more.  A real place to get a peak into American History.

 

Our visit lasted way longer than we had anticipated. Lucky for us they had a small little restaurant so we split a piece of pizza to hold us over until our next stop for a decent meal at Emerald Point.  BTW you are not far from High Point NJ, so if your only out for the day you can eat more than half a slice and head over to the highest point in NJ, before returning on the same route home.  Since we were planning a few nights out we put Emerald Point Restaurant & Marina into the GPS and were on our way, heading off 519 and into NY.

  What a fantastic setting on a beautiful lake.  Furman had a crab cake sandwich and I went with the home made vegie burger. Both plates came with fries and pickles and we were both stuffed when we finished.  Service was friendly.  I would definitely want to visit this place again.

 

 

From the restaurant it was a short ride to our Airb&b residence in the town of Haverstraw.  We were greeted by our most delightful host, unpacked, and took a stroll down the main drag to see the moon rise over the Hudson. 

 

 

Foody Friday: Delaware Chews at the Witherspoon Grill

Went to visit a friend in Princeton...Hi Jess... for a movie and bite to eat.  After sitting in the Garden Theatre for over 3 hours watching Boyhood, which by the way was very good and kept my attention for the entire movie, we were hungry.  We wanted to eat outside as it was a lovely afternoon. We  viewed the menu at the Witherspoon Grill, found it perfect to meet our desire and were seated outside as requested. Our server, Kennedy, was excellent.   The cocktails were very expensive so we settled on wine for me, and beer for Jess.  We started by sharing an appetizer of Artichokes Francaise. They were batter dipped and served in a light cream sauce with large chunk of very ripe tomato.  It was quite nice.  Jess had a salad, which she seemed to enjoy and I was delighted with a cup of lobster bisque, which was a very tasty, but spare with lobster. 

Delaware News: Can't Say I Did Not Try

Got the response from the gallery and other than learning that I did not have the majority of the member's votes, I did not learn much more.  They do not provide critique.  In fact, I was told it is just a vote and no discussion.  It would have been a lucky surprise if I was voted in and I am certainly glad I tried.  It would have been nice to know if it was a slam dunk NO, or I got any votes at all.   It also would have been nice to receive a WHY. but you cant say I didn't try!
Meanwhile, I submitted a story to the Uptight Suburbanite and I think it might be published. Unfortunately, the pictures I took were in a cave and too dark for the little newspaper. Now I need to find something that will work.

The Foils Foibles and Follies of MaraBella and Me

Got into a little fight with MaraBella.  I commanded her down and she defied me.  I could not think of any good reason for her to disobey.  After all I was only asking for a few minutes of her time.  Just a moment to comply before I let her drag me on our walk.  I thought about the importance attached to me being boss, dominant dog, alpha and all that stuff.

 

This is how it ended.

Delaware Issues Common Cents

Went to Parx Race Track to celebrate a friends 48th birthday and place some bets on the horses.
Common Cents would dictate that you cant pick your winners by the likes of their names.  I didn't use any common cents at all.  When I saw a horse in the running with the name Moe Larry Curly, I had to take a chance.  No common cents I tell you.  But we had a good afternoon out with friends and I played with Olympia Omde, and it was all well worth it.  So let me revise.  If you are going to place bets or gamble with your hard earned income I suggest you set your limit and stick to it.  We had a few cocktails, an enjoyable lunch with friends, placed a few $2. bets and had an afternoon watching the horses flex their muscles and run, for less then our pasta dinners last night at Plan B.  NOW THATS COMMON CENTS.