When we got really close, I had an idea of where we would end up, only because I had thought of the same place since it was on our list of places to go together. Sure enough, we drove onto the main strip of Saratoga Springs and Col announced we had arrived.
We hunted for a parking spot for the day, then found an awesome coffeehouse, Uncommon Grounds, with huge bagels for breakfast/lunch, and mapped out our plan for the day. We went to the park, visitor center, and then walked up one side and down the other of the main strip of shops, stopping down side streets to go into interesting places. It was fun to browse in all the stores, especially a used bookstore which wound through rooms and rooms of an old bank and was full of dusty, old books. I LOVE libraries and old bookstores, and Col was patient while I searched around and read handwritten names in books printed in the early 1900's.
Nothing was planned until 6:45pm (and no, Col wouldn't tell me what it was), so after making our way through everything we sat down to figure out a place to eat dinner. We first went to a small hometown sports bar, but after not being acknowledged and sitting at a table for 10 minutes without a word, menu, or visit from an employee, we left and made our way to an Irish/English pub, called The Local. I'm so glad we did because the food was delicious! I had a chicken sandwich on flat bread with sweet potato fries and Col enjoyed a burger. After dinner we went to the next part of the surprise, the mystery event at 6:45. It was...
...harness racing!! Who knew that it's free to go to these races (for non-bidders like us)?! Some of you might not know, but growing up I rode horses once a week with my dad, and basically a lot of things revolved around horses for me. I had (still have at my parents' house) a bunch of Breyer horse figurines/toys, my favorite book series was Thoroughbred by Joanna Campbell (the main character's name was Ashleigh - which is how my name would be spelled if my dad had his way), horse movies were (and still are) a favorite (hello Horse Whisperer, Seabiscuit, Dreamer, Flicka, etc.), one of my favorite costumes to dress in is a cowgirl outfit, and I have my share of other horse paraphernalia. So as you can see, I've always wanted to go to a race. Col knew this, and so this part of the surprise was amazing! We stayed to watch 4 or 5 races and it was such an awesome experience. Even Col, not a horse fanatic like me, enjoyed it. We would both like to go to a big race someday, but the chance to do this for free was unbeatable!
After the races, we stopped at Ben and Jerry's for some ice cream (which we got two for the cost of one somehow...), and headed out to our hotel for the evening. It was outside of Saratoga Springs and the people were very nice there. We enjoyed our king bed and HGTV :)
Sunday morning we slept in which was awesome (sorry Mendon, but it was nice to have a break from waking up early with your tongue in my face) and then headed out to stop #2, the Adirondack outlets! We shopped (I made out with some awesome deals on footwear), and then I found out that there was another place we were going. We drove a little ways more to Lake George, which I had never been to. First stop: lunch at Pizza Jerks. Col said his family went there once at their Vermont location and it was so good, but then closed down so they didn't get to go again. We ordered a small CBR (chicken, bacon, ranch) to split, and got blessed with a medium which they said they made by accident! It was delicious, and I'm kind of ashamed to say that we were able to finish the whole thing (don't judge...).
We then walked through the town of Lake George and went into the stores/boutiques that were open. Many were still closed or getting ready for the summer season, but it was kind of nice to be there while it was quiet. We walked down to the water and also drove around the lake to get a few more views.
In the later afternoon, we headed out, but stopped for a snack for the drive home. I saw this place while we were driving to Lake George and have always wanted to go to one of these! Guess this trip is giving you a glimpse into getting to know me a little bit more, but I love the 50's. I have often daydreamed about what it would be like to grow up then, and so, this fit right in! You park and they get your order and bring your food right to the car! We got some curly fries and chocolate milkshakes (sooo 50's!).
We had a pleasant drive back home and were greeted very enthusiastically by our pup who had a blast with Col's rents (we saw pics of her passed out in front of the fire and with her toys from her daily 2 mile walks). Major kudos to my hubby for planning and surprising me with it all! What a fun way to celebrate our 2 year anniversary!
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