Our first weekend

Well our first weekend is behind us - and I just want to say, it was a blast! Let me tell you all about it, but first, an introduction. We are the new Innkeepers, Valerie and Eric. And joining us are my parents, Victor and Victoria. We are the new Journey Inn - just as wonderful as the old Journey Inn of course!

After two weeks of frantic unpacking, decorating, landscaping, cooking - we opened to a full house. We had folks from New York, New Zealand, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio. Some were just getting away for a weekend, others on a tour of the east coast, some folks taking a course at the Culinary Institute of America, and two sisters just wanting to spend some time together. And a good friend who wanted to share our first weekend - thanks Liz and Charlie!

What a great weekend it was. The weather was beautiful; the conversation was lively and fun. I do believe a great time was had by all. Our first breakfast was herbed scrambled eggs with roasted asparagus, blueberry muffins, local breakfast sausages, and strawberries with crème fraîche and brown sugar. I will never forget that first meal.

On Saturday, a nice glass of champagne was shared to celebrate the reopening and our new life as innkeepers.

Thanks to all the wonderful guests who helped make it such a memorable weekend.

Well today is the day, April 11,2013 that the keys have been passed from us, the old and original owners to the new owner of Journey Inn Bed & Breakfast.And what a day is has been! 

This morning, as we did our final walk through,so many memories came flooding back. It has been a fabulous and glorious adventure these past 16 years and now it is time for new eyes and fresh ideas to make their own impact and we know she will!
If she has half as much fun, laughter,and joy mixed in with those...'oh my...now what do we do" moments, she will have a blast.
We have met the most amazing people during our stewardship and learned so much from our guests. We have always said that we have be so fortunate to have the best guests and that is what makes this business so special.

We wish her and all future guests a warm and comfortable stay @ Journey Inn Bed & Breakfast and may they return again to the Hudson Valley.

The new Bocuse Restaurant  at The Culinary Institute of America is now open. The menu has a  modern French twist and the stunning surroundings, it feels like you are in a Parisian cafe or a country-side bistro. Be the 1st on your block to experience this fabulous restaurant .....you'll be the envy of all!

Happy New Year! No winter doldrums here in Hyde Park....come and see these artists' latest showing.

Artists' Collective of Hyde Park presents New Beginnings A New Year for New Beginnings. Join achp gallery as it proudly presents a new and dynamic exhibition featuring art from the most respected artists and emerging talent in the Hudson Valley. This vibrant exhibition runs January 5th - 27th, 2013. Opening Reception January 5th, 2013 2:30p-5:30p * drinks and nibbles served. learn about achp  » Follow on Twitter | Friend on Facebook | Forward to Friend  Copyright © 2013 Artists' Collective of Hyde Park, All rights reserved. You love art, we are art! You are receiving this email because you signed our guestbook at the Artists' Collective of Hyde Park Gallery. Our mailing address is: Artists' Collective of Hyde Park 4338 Albany Post Rd Hyde Park, NY 12538 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences

 

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

It is definitely that time to start thinking about decorating for Christmas.Like all good innkeepers, Thanksgiving weekend is the time to bring the boxes up from the basement or down from the attic, rearrange the furniture and promise not to put up as much as last year, but that promise is rarely kept.
 For us the best part is going to our local Christmas tree farm, Primrose Hill Farm,which has been in the same family since the 1730's and they are the nicest folks you'll meet.  We take this job of chopping down our Christmas tree very seriously.......1st you get your cart( that they provide) so you can lug back your downed tree and they'll even loan you saws, though we do bring our own and don't forget the heavy-duty  gloves.. As you walk out onto the tree farm, you need to peruse the various types, sizes, check the branches and then make sure you take a whiff of that wonderful smell of Christmas.

We keep to family tradition....one year I pick ...the next year she picks... it just doesn't matter how old you get..... weren't you raised the same way?! It is a sight for sore eyes to see these city girls chopping away at the tree...... it ain't a pretty sight but we do get the job done and rather quickly I might add.This year we were lucky, the weather was beautiful, mild and sunny, unlike other years when we have tramped through snow, rain and blistering winds.
We have also bowed to the times where "less is more" and we can now decorate the entire B&B in 1day, a real feat for us.So we are sitting down with our cup of tea and hot coca this Sunday afternoon of Thanksgiving weekend, our home is decorated, inside and out and now it's on to baking those Christmas cookies by the thousands, the cookie dough is the best part! Christmas is so much fun and we haven't even gotten to the giving of the gifts!!
We wish you a most bountiful holiday season and an exciting and adventuresome New Year!

Come and discover the fabulous photo exhibit at FDR's Presidential Library. You will not be disappointed. It's like looking at any American  family's photo album.........however, in this case it's the Roosevelt family!

"THE ROOSEVELTS:
PUBLIC FIGURES, PRIVATE LIVES"
From May 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013—while our permanent exhibit galleries are closed for the final stage of the Library’s renovation—the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum is presenting the largest photography exhibition ever assembled on the lives and public careers of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. "The Roosevelts: Public Figures, Private Lives," is a new and very different kind of exhibit that takes visitors on an immersive photographic and film journey through the lives and times of the Roosevelts. The exhibition features nearly one thousand images that vividly depict both their public and private lives.
These photographs include famous and familiar images, many reproduced in dramatically large formats. But the exhibit also presents visitors with new visual perspectives on the Roosevelts through large numbers of unique and rarely-seen personal photographs from the unparalleled photographic collections at the Roosevelt Library. Shot by family members, friends, government officials, and other insiders, these images offer fascinating views into the private lives of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and their family and political associates. These include childhood images, candid snapshots of family life and trips, humorous moments, behind-the-scenes views of famous figures, and unusual perspectives on historic meetings and events.
Special audiovisual programs accompany the photographs and include projections of little-known film shot by Roosevelt family and friends that depict their more unscripted moments. The highlight of the exhibit is a multimedia presentation featuring original audio recordings of Eleanor Roosevelt speaking about her family life.

SAVE YOUR TICKET!
Purchase a ticket to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum’s special photography exhibit "The Roosevelts: Public Figures, Private Lives" between May 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013. Tickets dated in this time period will be honored for an additional visit after the Library and Museum opens its new permanent exhibition in late summer 2013. We look forward to seeing you again when the Library brings a new deal to a new generation.

Autumn in Hyde Park holds a special spot for us, because it was in the fall that we 1st found our home. We had been looking for almost 2 years, we had seen every possible home that was on the market and we were just starting to get a little discouraged. We had a particularly disastrous weekend in late August, when we received a call from a Hyde Parker, (whom we had confided in what we were looking for) & she said "I think I found something for you here in town. I don't know how many bedrooms or bathrooms it has and I don't know the price but Joe, the owner, had a lot of children, it's a big house and it's right across from The Vanderbilt Mansion."
Out of courtesy  to Marie we called and made an appointment to see the house in Sept 1995 @ 5pm. Having seen one disaster after another that day, we mumbled and grumbled all the way to the house. I said, the 1st question we'll ask is how much are they asking for the house and my sister ( you'll be able to figure out who the older one is by this response) said" Now be nice when you say that!). We went through the house once and we looked at each other and said ..."let's go through it again" but we knew and while it had no charm, no architectural interest, it had a very comfortable flow, the number of rooms we needed, and the location doesn't get better then this. Most of  what was needed was cosmetic work and we could add the details, which we have done. By mid-October we had agreed to the price and we went across to The Vanderbilt's and looked at that magnificent view and realized these were our new neighbors!
The house was built in 1964 and it looked liked time had stopped in 1968......wood-paneling throughout much of the home, florescent lights, gold-brocade carpeting on the staircase and in the hallway. Wait....it gets better......we have the pink bathroom, the blue bathroom and yes...the yellow bathroom. When you come, we have the "before" photo album to share with you. We had fleetingly thought of leaving the house exactly how we found it and call it "The Pink Cadillac" and play '50 & 60's music! Alas, saner heads prevailed, but we do have a miniature "Pink Cadillac" on our kitchen window sill!

So for each of the last 15 years, when that 1st smell of the  fall leaves is in the air, we look around at our labor of love, think back to how it all started, go across and visit our neighbors and offer a toast to everyone who has helped us along the way, for  this journey could never have been accomplished without them. What a fabulous time we have had!