Saratoga Springs, NY

The day after my birthday, Dan and I started our trip to upstate New York making our way to Saratoga Springs where he grew up. Saratoga’s race season runs from July 19-September 2 this year and we went up for opening day. There was little traffic but it is never easy to sit in the car for 7-8 hours and since we did our driving at night we ended up stopping and staying at a hotel for the night

When we finished the last leg of the trip we headed to a little town called Ballston Spa in Saratoga County. We had seen a house for sale on Zillow and wanted to see it in person. The house was an adorable purple Victorian on a charming street. It was a fun little detour and we ended up doing a bit of shopping and exploring in Ballston Spa. 

Victorian we loved!

Walking down the main street in the town, we saw restaurants, antique shops, and we stopped in a consignment shop where I did some browsing and bought a few little things. 

White painted furniture is my guilty pleasure

When we finished in Ballston Spa we headed to Saratoga and did a lot of walking and sightseeing. We walked around Congress Park and saw fountains, a carousel, baby ducks, and lots of people with their dogs. 

Congress Park

Hydrangeas everywhere

Baby ducks

Lilly Pulitzer ballet slipper

This cutie

We stopped by the house where Dan grew up and took a picture in front of it. I love being able to see and share parts of our past with one another. 

The cabin where we were staying was a little further away from Saratoga on Sacandaga Lake. On our way to the cabin we stopped and did some blueberry picking! It was a lot of fun and so inexpensive. There were some horses on the farm so we went over to see them. We nibbled on our blueberries on our way to the cabin. 

I made some blueberry muffins with the blueberries we didn't eat 

The cabin was gorgeous and so spacious! When we walked up the steps there was a screened porch with a table at one end and a rocking chair on the other. When we stepped inside we were greeted with an open first level including a kitchen, living room with fireplace, a bathroom, and two bedrooms. There was a spiral staircase that led to a loft with two more beds. One of my favorite things about this cabin was the color scheme. The walls were white wood and the hardwood floors were a dark brown. It felt so comfortable and cozy! They also provided everything we needed. There were pots and pans, plates and cups, tea leaves and infusers, and they even had a French press and coffee beans. I forgot to bring a hairdryer but they even had one there for me to use! The cabin is on Sacandaga Lake and we were welcome to use the kayaks and rowboats that were available as part of our stay. 

Table on the porch

Rocking chair on the porch

Fire place in the living room

Kitchen

Staircase up to the loft

View from the loft

Two beds in the loft

View down from the loft

Master Bedroom. I loved the white walls and yellow bedding!

Other bedroom

Kayaking

We went out to dinner and came back to unwind and rest because the next day was opening race day!

Reading on the couch

When we woke up, I went for a run around the lake before getting all dressed up for the race. It was gorgeous and peaceful. I love being around water, I feel very calm and at home.

Sacandaga Lake

It was so packed when we drove to Saratoga. We ended up parking on a neighborhood street and walking to the track. When we got inside there were even more people than we had thought. It wasn't hard to walk but there weren't any available seats. We bought our tickets for general admission and watched a race or two from there but wanted to keep exploring so we walked along the fence. Someone had opened a gate and we walked through it but when someone closed the gate behind us we were confused. Without realizing it, we ended up in the clubhouse seats which is a fancier section. It felt like we were doing something that we weren't supposed to (which is exactly what we were doing). We stayed there for a while and it was so fun! We bet on some horses and lost but I still had a good time losing! 

Floppy hat

Mr. Fancy Pants

<3 

Big bets

I took a picture with the trumpeter

We had some amazing food while we were in Saratoga. A few things I recommend trying would be Doughboys from Esperanto, milkshakes from Stewart's, and bagels and coffee from Uncommon Grounds!

Doughboys

Great coffee and atmosphere in a unique coffee shop

Before heading back to Northern VA, we decided to hike Hadley Mountain. This was the first mountain that Dan hiked as a child and I thought that it would be pretty easy. It wasn’t the hardest hike we’ve ever done but it wasn’t as easy as I thought! The whole trail felt like it was an incline and I got a little winded. We didn’t bring our water bottles with us and that was definitely a mistake. But, all in all it was a beautiful day for a hike and the views from the top were beautiful. Plus, we felt so great afterwards that we stopped to get a doughboy and a milkshake for the ride home! 

So many peaks!

Water off into the distance

Great end to a great trip!

It was a wonderful weekend and a great way to celebrate my birthday! We didn't take Maggie with us, but it was so dog-friendly that next time we will. It was nice to be able to go to the races and out to eat without worrying about her but it was so great to see her silly self when we got back! 

Coming home to Maggie is always a treat! 

Love,