A Trip to the Catskills

 

Three months after Christmas, we finally gave Dan and Alex their promised gift--dinner at a restaurant of their choice. Their choice was Garvan's in New Paltz where we had eaten with them three years ago.  That occasion was memorable in that we planned to eat outside because of Covid fears but it was so terribly windy that we reluctantly asked for a table inside.  

Jim and I drove 2 1/2 hours north and arrived at Aumick Road mid-afternoon. There was time before our dinner reservation so Dan and Alex showed us Huguenot Road, a short street of historic homes and churches in New Paltz.  The stone buildings dated from the late 17th century. The large Reformed church had been a place of worship for 300 years.  I need to read more about the immigration of these "patentees" as they called them and how they ended up in this Hudson Valley area. 

We had a very nice dinner in what turned out to be a very busy restaurant. Apparently it was "restaurant week" with a prix fixe menu.  However, we all ordered from the regular menu.  There was a group performing Irish music in another room. 

Dan and Alex have made so much progress in making their house a home with photos and paintings on many walls.  I think there is a view of a mountain ridge from virtually every room in the house with the exception of bathrooms!  Jim and I both were awake this morning to see the sun rise over the hills (and then go back to sleep.) 

It was a great visit and a chance to catch up on their lives since both of them have made big changes and left their previous jobs. Alex has found several part-time options some of which use her bilingual abilities. Dan is enjoying hiking various Catskill peaks as a part of a club challenge and revising his Typescript book and will probably do some consulting.  

Of our three children and their families, Dan and Alex live the farthest from our apartment but we made the trip easily even though traffic was heavy on the interstates in New Jersey and New York.  We hope to see them again for Easter dinner at the Conway's.