A nice article in the NY Times touting cool stuff happening
in Delaware County got us curious. Where is this "Delaware
County"? Is there shopping? What about lunch? You know, the usual
important questions before setting out on a road trip.
Zena and the Mistress of
the Hounds, with Sophie Super Puppy, left Glenmont on Saturday morning ready to
explore.
- WHERE:
Delaware County is southwest of Albany, containing a good part of
the Catskills, it is bordered by the Delaware River to the south
(separating us from Pennsylvania), and is the fourth largest county in
NYS. Also, it has the lowest population density outside the Adirondacks.
Thank you, Wikipedia.
And it is really beautiful. Rural,
hills and mountains, farms, small towns, lush with leafy trees and wildlife,
quiet, and filled with easy going, gentle folks. We took 32 South to 23 West
through the Catskills. Lovely.
- SHOPPING: Our first stop was in Windham, NY - still in Green
County - and we found all kinds of lovely little shops along Main Street:
antiques and art and crafts abound. This is a ski town in winter (if there's
snow, ahem ahem) so it's quiet this time of year. Check out the CatskillMountain Artisans Guild for soaps, ceramics, jewelry and other locally made
goods, The Gallery on Main, Garden of Stone, Twigs n Things
(antiques/collectables), and Spread the Light (candles).
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| Candle shop - not what you'd expect - go check them out |
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| Garden of Stone. I bought a little cement piggy. |
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| Lovely layout of interesting and sometimes odd antiques |
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| The Gallery on Main had beautiful paintings |
- LUNCH: We were getting hungry after all that poking around
and decided to eat at the Catskill Mountain Country Store. Mistress of the Hounds ordered the Emily salad
- dried cherries, pecans, warm goats milk cheese and organic greens with a
raspberry vinaigrette on the side - delicious, but could have used more greens
for the price ($10.99). I had the Big Cheese ($6.99) - asking for both
swiss and cheddar, on the server's recommended "pane paesano bread",
adding tomato slices ($1.00). I got perfectly melted beautiful flavorful
cheeses (no Uhmerican here!), deep red tomatoes, and amazingly crispy bread - a
big sandwich, rich and tasty. The fresh pickle on the side was pretty salty, as
were the corn chips, but the little cup of salsa, made with fresh jalapeno,
onion and tomato was crazy good.
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| The warm cheese cinched this summer beauty |
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| The sandwich was amazing. Sophie enjoyed the chips. |
Sophie had bacon, a treat from the kitchen.
Puppies get all the attention!
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| She was a very good puppy |
After lunch, we checked out the adjacent General Store, full
of jams and jellies (including a line of no sugar added) and local honey, maple
syrup, candies, crafts, homemade fudge, fresh bread, some fresh dairy - rustic
and fun.
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| Got fudge? |
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| Fun to explore |
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| More candy |
After we hit Grand Gorge we were in Delaware County, continuing on 30 South and making our next stop Margaretville. Home Goods of Margaretville is a fun place to poke if you like to cook. Don't miss Catskill Candies and Confections - I bought three dark chocolate turtles that I decided not to share. (:
We drove up 28 through Delhi (the county seat) and continued north on 10 because it was raining, pulling into the very small town of Hobart, known for their second hand book trade. I bought Ball
Complete Book of Home Preserving, and Pepper: A History of the World's Most Influential Spice -
both at a good price and in excellent condition - at Blenheim Hill Books.
Then home, about 8 hours to do the full circle, though we did take our time when we stopped. Don't hurry a trip like this - NYS has so much to offer, and the little hidden gems always feel special when you find them. Go explore. Upstate is really beautiful this time of year.
Zena, Goddess of Fire
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