Today we escaped the hustle and bustle of New York by taking a day trip Upstate. Driving there was fun. Our resident expert on scenic routes James made us take a very nice scenic route, albeit going in a different direction of our destination. I was admiring the views so much that he had to yell STOP!!!!!! STOP!!!!!! STOP!!!!! as I was slamming the breaks heading straight into the congestion of cars at a traffic light which seemed to appear out of nowhere. The healthy eating apostle Joanna made James have mere 3 spoons of oat meal for breakfast which caused us to stop on the way.

Our first destination was Awosting Falls. As the picture here shows, we all made it there. It was just a short hike from the parking lot right outside the entrance to the Minnewaska State Park.

I finally tested the cool special waterfall effects of my camera. Compare this photo with this.

Then we drove to the other parking lot on top of the mountain next to Lake Minnewaska. We started on a hike along Castle Point Carriageway. The hike was a very easy one since we were walking along a road similar to the one in Central Park. But unlike the ones in Central Park, our road lead us to several spots which were especially enjoyed by our scenic expert. Sue and Joanna made the famous song by R. Kelly come into reality.

Joanna and I were planning to go Upstate for a while. We wanted to do see the Fall foliage, but with me going to Norway and other scheduling conflicts we only were able to do this today... which happened to be the exact same day when our friend Tim and his wife decided to stay at The Mohonk Mountain House. It is a Victorian castle built in 1869 which is one of America's oldest family-owned resorts. It is located just minutes away from Lake Minnewaska where we were hiking, so it was a great opportunity for us to visit this grand landmark of the Hudson Valley... for free. (Unless you are visiting someone who is staying there, the admission to the property on a weekend is $16 per person.)

After hiking for several hours, nothing beats coming inside a house and sit on the comfy chairs. We also got some free hot chocolate and cookies (not sure if we were supposed to eat that since we did not stay at the house, but no one checked) and chilled out in the rocking chairs on the veranda overlooking Lake Mohonk. Before it got really dark we walked around the surrounding areas along the shore of the lake. There were plenty of gazebos and rock formations. (Yes James, rock, not disco).

We took a tour of the house and saw several dining rooms, but ended up in a small private dining room of our own with self service right out of my backpack.

After catching on with the news and having heated discussions, we finally got ourselves together and headed out to New Paltz for some real dinner. I've been to plenty of White Tie affairs in New York City, but who would have known that this quaint town of New Paltz has them too!

Related Links:

• Minnewaska State Park Preserve
• Lake Minnewaska Website
• Mohonk Mountain House