Right before I found out I was pregnant, we went on a weekend trip for our 1-year anniversary. The short trip was part pampering, part adventure. It was almost as if I had an idea that my life was about to change so I planned a weekend that would merge the old and the new. But little did I know that I was already a few weeks into my pregnancy at the time. This baby and I did a LOT of walking during my first trimester, and I like to think it was helpful, given the number of doctors that have exclaimed “nice heart!” while doing an ultrasound.
Everything about it was familiar and yet new at the same time. I’ve stayed at many an AirBNB spot before, but never one with a hot tub and dogs to pet. I’d hiked Mohonk Mountain House before, but not in the fall. I’ve taken a photo of this view before, but it wasn’t quite the same…
We started our weekend with the 4-hour drive to Wappingers Falls, NY, where we were staying the night at a room in somebody’s log cabin.
They had a grill so we decided to BBQ for lunch, doing a caprese side salad with prosciutto, sesame slaw, and some burgers and ribs. Simple fare that didn’t disappoint.
After eating we chilled a little bit and hung out with two of the highlights of the trip: the owners’ two dogs, Jake and Asia. I like to think I got along famously with Asia because his (yes his) name is similar to mine. My one regret is I never got to take a photo of him. He actually looked forlorn as he watched us drive off on our last day. I hope he’s having fun somewhere right now. Anyway, here is Jake in all his chill glory. I’ve come to love staying at AirBNBs with dogs because I sure miss my little Gizmo…
Before dinner we hit another highlight of our trip, the owners’ newly installed hot tub. Fall weather + hot tub + nature = hiker’s heaven. The only way we could have done this better is if we were able to hit the hot tub after a hike. As it stood we made the most of it. There really was very little to complain about at this moment.
It was dark out by the time we left the tub, and we had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant in the area called Aroma Osteria for our anniversary. Aki had their Orecchiette Rustiche – orecchiette with sun-dried tomatoes, fennel sausage, broccoli rabe, EVOO, and garlic. I had the osso buco, because I can’t really pass on ordering this when I see it on a menu. The meal was lovely and the waitress super attentive. She rushed to put in our ordering knowing there was one last osso buco in the kitchen.
Osso Buco 
Orecchiette Rustiche
For dessert we tried out a place called Towne Crier Cafe. They have live music in the back, and the place was jumpin’ even though we got there pretty late. Instead of staying, we got the dessert to go and had them with some spiked cider (+rum and Fireball, remember I didn’t know yet!). Yes, we were feeling old and had no regrets lol. I had a Hazelnut Dacquoise (I highly recommend this. It’s like a hazelnut sansrival.) If you’re not sure what a dacquoise is, it’s layers of almond or hazelnut meringue alternating with buttercream or whipped cream. So yeah, it’s very similar to sansrival. He had the Belgian Chocolate Walnut Brownie.
Towne Crier Cafe Brownie 
Towne Crier Cae Hazelnut Dacquoise 
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We had an early start the next morning and were served some better-than-usual breakfast fare by our hosts.
After fueling up we hit Mohonk Mountain House for an amazing all day hike. We actually caught the last available day-visitor parking spot for the day because it’s such a popular hike in the fall. Keep in mind that if you want to do this hike you don’t actually have to stay at Mohonk. You can get a day pass to hike the day trails (like we did). Although they do have some trails specifically made for people staying there. Someday I’d love to see those, but in the meantime, here are plenty of photos of the trails available to day visitors.
After a long but lovely hike, we decided to wander over to New Paltz (the town closest to Mohonk Mountain House) to get some grub. There’s no lack of nice restaurants there, and we certainly were not disappointed with our choice. We tried Huckleberry, which is a bar with some good food. We opted to eat inside, but the outdoor area is super charming. If you’re a group of hikers looking to have a good chat around a fire, their patio is perfect for just that.
Chatting over some fried chicken with honey-bacon-butter sauce and what appears to be a burger (hey I can’t remember everything :P) I vividly recall talking about our future and what our plans would be (career-wise, financially, logistically) if we ever had kids. We talked about how feasible it would be for us to be hiking that trail when we’re in our 70’s. (We saw a group of silver-haired Koreans conquering the trail when we were there). I wondered if any of it would ever come to pass. And then around 2 weeks after this trip, I found out I was pregnant. Ain’t that a kick in the head?
