Daytripping: Tuthilltown Spirits

I've been dying to check out Tuthilltown Spirits in the Hudson Valley.  It is New York's first whiskey distillery since Prohibition. They produce batch-distilled spirits including vodkas, rum, and whiskeys, including New York's first bourbon, Hudson Baby Bourbon, distilled from 100% New York corn.

Barrels and barrels of sweet, sweet, whiskey.  To hasten the aging process, Tuthilltown custom designed smaller white oak barrels.  The Baby Bourbon Whiskey was born.

 

Whiskey is a shortened form of the Gaelic word meaning "water of life."



The Still

Whiskey tasting!
I tried the NY Corn Whiskey (yikes), Baby Bourbon (not bad, zippier than Makers), and the Four Grain Bourbon (eh, not as nice as the Baby Bourbon). 

The Tuthilltown Gristmill is right off of the distillery property.  It was built in 1788 and was the oldest continuously operated grist mill (where grain is ground into flour) in the state. In the 1980s it becan producing kosher flour for matzoh.  It was recently opened as a restaurant, and was where we had dinner. 



Daytripping: Breakneck Ridge Redux

It was perfect hiking weather for a return to Breakneck Ridge!

Between the four of us, we brought enough food to last a few days. The hike lasted a few hours.

Daytripping: North Fork Wineries

It was a weekend of daytrips--you couldn't ask for more beautiful fall weather! We took a drive along the North Fork of Long Island to check out some wineries. We had done a similar trip 2 years ago, and honestly, the wine has not improved since then. And this time, our beloved Dr. Christina was not present.
However, we serendipitously got a private wine tasting for free--with food parings, AND, we also got to see some mini-donks! The two donks the winery had were smaller than Doobie, the one we met upstate, but still larger than I'd want on the donk ranch.

Old Ladies Do Dallas

Vickie, Jamie and I have been planning a trip to Texas for many months. We were all going to the same conference in Dallas and figured we'd fly in a few days earlier for a mini-roadtrip down to Austin.

Unfortunately, Jamie couldn't come and had to be quarantined, so it was Old Lady Spring Break Texas Style!

Texas is a scary place. But I respect that Texans LOVE Texas. It makes my MN pride seem trite. The two highlights of the trip were the stop at Round Rock Donuts for a Texas sized (read: 14 inch) chocolate frosted donut and a visit to the Texas State Fair.

 

Everything is definitely bigger in Texas!  14 inch donut for only $5.99!!!  Worth every penny.

Austin Donut Massacre.  After 48 hours, we only made it through half of the giant donut.  Granted, we got half a dozen of the normal sized donuts--we HAD to try all the flavors!  Sooooooooooo good.

Texas State Fair!  Supposedly the biggest in the country (#2 is MN).  Meh.  I was not that impressed.  MN State Fair definitely has better food.

Piglet races!

The Happiest Place on Earth (sort of)

It was a rough summer for the family, so it was a nice that we had planned a trip down to Disney World.  I've only been there once, when I was about 5 years old. I don't remember much, except I cried because I was too little to go on Space Mountain.  My mom had promised me that when they opened Epcot that she would take me, but when the time came, I had to choose between a trip to France or a trip to Epcot. 

I'm not stupid.

So I was excited for this trip and that I was FINALLY going to go on Space Mountain!!!  Anyone who has been on Space Mountain as an adult will know that I was very disappointed.  It's basically a crickety old rollercoaster bouncing around in almost complete darkness. 10 year old boys were coming off the ride yelling that it was the best. thing. ever. I guess it could be when you're only 10.

Overall we had a great time--we rented a house with a pool and grilled every night, went to Magic Kingdom, Universal (Harry Potter ride: cool, but makes one queasy), and last but not least, Epcot.  I should also mention that it is damn hot down in Orlando. I don't understand how people can live in those conditions.

Magic Kingdom

With Pooh and Tigger. They were surprisingly clean.

 Ripsaw water ride. We got drenched

.

This one is Dale, I think.  When I was younger, my sister told me he had a red nose because he was a drunk. I didn't realize until my 20s that she made that up.

Hogwarts Castle

Greetings from the pool!