White Plains rain

White Plains rain
Originally uploaded by maggie_gem

200/366

A road trip with my daughter and a visit with my brother... afternoon rain was welcome as it cooled down the 99 degree temps.

Travel Dreams

131/365 Travel Dreams
Originally uploaded by maggie_gem

Spring has sprung and with it the travel bug has arrived! While dreams of seeing the world struck last week, the reality is I'll be staying local this year.

Don't get me wrong there is plenty to explore and see right here close to home. New Jersey and New York provide for some very interesting backdrops. I just need to plan some trips and then get out and do it!

Hopefully there will be many day trips now that the cold and snow are gone... looking forward to the sharing with all my friends!

Historic Track

July 4th weekend was a great time to take a trip out to Goshen, NY where the town was celebrating their Great American Weekend. We took a trip up on Saturday to visit the Historic Track, America's oldest track! Part of the week also included vendors and activities around the town.

A few pictures from the afternoon at the track - 

Ulysses S. Grant once watched the races from the loft of this barn

The refreshment stand is located under the Grand Stand, and proudly displays it's National standing

The band stand and judges stand are prominently located where all can be clearly seen from the Grand stand

The town library participated in the The Great American Weekend by hosting a book sale, there were quite a few people gathering around for the sale.

Despite the heat, we enjoyed the day and may go back again in cooler weather to take the quick Walking Tour offered by the Chamber of Commerce.

Clinton in Spring

I've fallen in love with Clinton NJ... one of the beautiful, quaint towns that gives one a better view of the "Garden State" than the dismal NJ Turnpike could ever do. Hidden along the Raritan River, way out west past the Watchung Mountains is a gem I've been enamored with since my first visit last November.

Last week I had the great pleasure of introducing my brother to Clinton. He was quite impressed with the lovely little town in the NJ Skylands!

Across from the Red Mill on the east bank of the South Branch of the Raritan River, this stone mill now is home to the Hunterdon Museum of Art.

After taking a few shots we strolled Main Street and enjoyed lunch in a little coffee house right on Main Street. Tree-lined Main Street is home to many shops keeping the Victorian shops in order

With many shops maintaining the welcoming touches of potted plants adorning their store fronts

Spring in Clinton is as beautiful as Autumn and Winter, I'd recommend a drive to anyone in the vicinity for a relaxing, enjoyable afternoon!

Maywood Station

A quaint little town in Northern N.J., Maywood remembers how important this railroad station is to the development of the area. There is always so much to learn from remembering the past!



Read all about the stations and it's restoration at http://www.maywoodstation.com/.

Sunday Drive

Steve and I have been taking little Sunday trips over the last month. And of course I made of point of having my camera with me every step of the way. Seems to me the month of October just went flying by! Our first Sunday drive was to Lambertville.

Lambertville Station has been converted into a restaurant, a complete 19th century restoration has made this a must see stop for visitors to the town.

Canal-side dining is also available, enjoy the calming sights and sounds of the D & R Canal.

This was our very first trip to this quaint and historic town located on the Delaware River. Formerly known as Coryell, George Washington's troops crossed the Delaware into Pennsylvania from here. There is a brief and interesting history of Lambertville provided by the Lambertville Historical Society.

The town saw a resurgence of popularity during the 1970's - 1980's when many artists were drawn to the town.

Today the town is full of quaint little antique shops, proud of their location and decorating to keep up appearences.

Shops with antique bicycles and building clocks

Shops that offer the best of the confections

Or maybe just a glimpse of the owner's own treasures

A place where one can clearly see modes of transporation from bygone eras

Waterways

Rails

and Automobiles

A truly enlighting autumn day in the Garden State! More photos can be seen in my Flickr Lambertville Set.

Until next time ~ Live, Love, Laugh!

Road Trip - Part 4

The Hollingsworth Family Settlement was just the beginning, Old Town Winchester was a real treat. We left the Shenandoah Tourism Center armed with a "Brand New" Self Guided Walking Tour pamphlet. Please click on the photos to enlarge.

(My photo buddy Rosie at the Daily Grind)

The walking tour was comprised of 29 locations, some of my favorites are what I've added to this page to share.



George Washington's Office Museum, built around 1748 and presently operated by the Winchester-Fredrick Ccounty Historical Society served as Colonel George Washington's headquarters from 1755 t0 1756 during the French and Indian attacks.




The canon above was used by George Washington to protect Fort Loudoun in 1756.


Washington's political career also began in Winchester. At the age of 23 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses where he represented Fredick County for two terms. According to the tour guide his career began at Old Fredick County Courthouse on July 24, 1756.





Old Town also has a Pedestrian Mall on Loudoun Street, with many shops and buildings with historical architecture highlights.

We were entertained by local artists and musicians as we enjoyed coffee at the Daily Grind.

Needless to say we a great time, there are tons more sites to see http://www.flickr.com/photos/maggie_gem/sets/72157620477803465/ and I'm hoping we can make another trip in the fall when the leaves are changing color and the apples are being harvested!

Until next time - Live, Love, Laugh

Road Trip - Part 3

Shenandoah University's History and Tourism Center is a great place to get acquainted with the history of the area and find some points of interest. The center is located on the land of one of the first settlers in the Shenandoan Valley, Abraham Hollingsworth. The Hollingsworth Family Settlement consists of Abram's Delight, built in 1754 it is the oldest house in Winchester.


The house was built by Abraham Hollingsworth's son Issac near the stream that Abraham is said to have commented was "a delight to behold". The stream is the main reason Abraham purchased the land for his family home.

Abraham's great-grandson built the stone mill building on the grounds in 1833. This building replaced an earlier mill that was worked by the Hollingsworth family since the mid eighteenth century.


The nearby pond looks like a nice place for ducks to enjoy the surroundings too.


Until next time - Live, Love, Laugh

Road Trip - Part 2

On day 2 of our jaunt we made a short trip through Front Royal to the north entrance of the Shenandoah Nation Park

One of the highlights of this area is the Skyline Drive (those AAA Guide are very useful!), a 105 mile highway that runs the entire length of the park along the Blue Ridge Mountains. There are many overlooks on both the South and North bond sides, we stopped at overlooks on the South bound side between the North Entrance and Thorton Gap which is the first exit point at about 32 miles. The highest point we reached was about 3,385 ft. , the highest point in the park is Hawksbill, 4,051 ft located off the drive to the west at about 46 miles. The day was like the majority of June, overcast and rainy.

Our first glimpse of the Shenandoah Valley

I must admit, I did not like this over look point because that was some drop! Not the best time to remember you're afraid of height! :-0

A tiny break in the clouds gives a bit better view of the valley

Road Trip - Part 1

Now the 4th is behind us and I've been thinking it's time to share what's been going on over the last few weeks. I've shared that we took a short 4 day road trip in June and I'll be posting pictures from the trip over the next several posts.

Steve and I had a great time. It was nice to just get away from the routine of the day to day and spend some time together, despite the weather that covered the entire Eastern US over a very long period. Including during our trip.

Our first stop on the journey was Charles Town, WV (more like the main event). Great place, they have a HUGH casino along with the racetrack. Seems like everyone is competing with Atlantic City these days and adding slots to the racetrack. Anyway, the night was fun but pretty wet as you can see from these photos.

A shot of the track from the field level



The horses were beautiful and ran their races despite the muddy track. (I thought they were pretty sloppy, but Steve said "No, just muddy.")

The casino was also where we had dinner. They had many places to choose from but we just went to the buffet. We enjoyed!

Until next time - Live, Love, Laugh

Back in the groove

Three weeks have passed and this blog has been very lonely. Well that trip was planned, booked and taken! Where does the time go?

The trip was great, we had a wonderful time exploring Virginia; Winchester was full of history, Old Town Winchester was very quaint and the Skyline Drive was fantasic. I want to go back in the fall when the colors are at their peak, I'm sure it will be simply breath-taking!

The nights, well they were mostly spent in West Virginia at Charles Town Races and Slots. Steve had a great time, he loves to watch the horses. One thing I can be sure of: I can go anywhere in the world, as long as there's a race track!

This statue of George Washington is located at the George Washington Office Museum in Winchester, VA.

More updates to come, come back soon!