i keep a diary

July 28, 2012

The Kaaterskills Weekend

After a big group weekend camping trip we'd planned got rained out, Ellen found an amazing house for rent up in the Catskills and we all headed up there instead!

Saturday, July 28th

jared, jeet
Jared and Gurj came by on Saturday afternoon and picked up me, Mer & Quinn in the East Village. We grabbed some ice coffees and then headed to the car.
walking ˆ jared ˆ jeet
jared, jeet, meredith, quinn
Two and a half hours into the drive, we stopped at a diner up 87.
diner ˆ food ˆ jared ˆ jeet ˆ meredith ˆ quinn
Deep-fried raviolis? Suuuuure.
food ˆ italian food ˆ treats
karen
The farm was difficult to spot from the road, so Karen had volunteered to stand out in field in her florescent-green shirt and act as a human landmark for us.
field ˆ tree ˆ karen
We have arrived!
After parking, we set off to explore the grounds.
Check out the gorgeous view of the pond and barn from our room!
barn ˆ fence ˆ pond
We decided to visit the animals before it got too dark.
hans
Hans hands horses hay.
horse ˆ hans
jeet, meredith
Gurj and Mer paddleboating!
paddleboat ˆ jeet ˆ meredith
biggy, hans, jenny c, matt
Hans, Matt, Jenny, Biggy & Zombie = Five-creature Capacity!
paddleboat ˆ zombie ˆ biggy ˆ hans ˆ jenny c ˆ matt
piper
After we'd finished petting animals and boating we decided to come back inside...
chair ˆ piper
jared, jeet, matt, meredith
...to play some LRC before dinner! Haha.
dice ˆ money ˆ jared ˆ jeet ˆ matt ˆ meredith
piper
Piper following the action.
dice ˆ money ˆ piper
biggy, matt, meredith
Matt wagers a Biggy.
money ˆ biggy ˆ matt ˆ meredith
jared, meredith, piper
WHO'S GOING TO WIN?
dice ˆ dogs ˆ money ˆ jared ˆ meredith ˆ piper
meredith
Meredith put Zombie in a bag and noticed that one of the framed pictures on the dresser...
dog in a bag ˆ dogs ˆ zombie ˆ meredith
sophia l
...was of Sophia!
meta ˆ photo ˆ sophia l
ellen, hans, jeet, karen
We had ourselves a pizza-party dinner...
food ˆ pizza ˆ ellen ˆ hans ˆ jeet ˆ karen
...and after we'd finished eating, desserts were handed out!
mushrooms ˆ treats
Magic chocolates!
chandelier ˆ mushrooms ˆ treats
ellen, jenny c
Jenny and Ellen relaxed...
ellen ˆ jenny c
me
...while Jared and I set out to explore the grounds.
buddha ˆ me
jared
Making friends with a hallway buddha we ran into along the way.
buddha ˆ jared
Thirty minutes later, I decided to leave the house-nest behind and set out to explore...
...the lovely outdoor world! The moon was huge in the sky and the house kept getting...
clouds ˆ moon
... smaller and smaller as I wandered further and further away. I eventually found my way to the barn and sat inside on the barn floor staring at the full moon in the sky and mirrored down on the pond in front of me. Suddenly, everything made sense for the first time.
clouds ˆ moon ˆ pond
After sitting alone for what felt like a long time, I heard the group leave the house in the distance and start the walk up to the barn chanting "NATURE MARCH! NATURE MARCH!" in unison as they approached.
barn ˆ blurry
Someone figured out how to turn the barn lights on!
barn
ellen, hans, jenny c, matt, quinn
LET THERE BE LIGHT (other than the giant paper globe that Matt was walking around with). I like this photo very much.
best ˆ laugh ˆ ellen ˆ hans ˆ jenny c ˆ matt ˆ quinn
hans, jenny c, matt, meredith, quinn
It looks like they're putting on a play!
blurry ˆ hans ˆ jenny c ˆ matt ˆ meredith ˆ quinn
ellen, karen
I made my way back to the house...
ellen ˆ karen
jeet, jenny c, karen
...and found these guys enjoying the knotted-wood ceiling together.
jeet ˆ jenny c ˆ karen
me
While they were admiring the ceiling, I became quite taken with a nearby mirror that somehow made my nose look enormous! (Turns out it wasn't the mirror!)
camera ˆ nose ˆ me
A little bit later, some explorer found a bathroom with a big bathtub and drew up a piping hot...
bath ˆ bubble
jenny c, karen, matt, quinn
...ankle-high bubble bath!
bath ˆ bubble ˆ jenny c ˆ karen ˆ matt ˆ quinn
jeet, jenny c, karen, quinn
Bubble party!
bath ˆ bubble ˆ laugh ˆ jeet ˆ jenny c ˆ karen ˆ quinn
This meeting of the Bubble Foot Council is now officially called to order!
bath ˆ bubble
biggy, jenny c, matt, quinn
Whatever you do in life, make sure you lean in.
bath ˆ best ˆ biggy ˆ jenny c ˆ matt ˆ quinn
karen
Karen got out of the tub and walked around with BUBBLE SPURS!
bubble ˆ feet ˆ karen
biggy
Biggy was interested.
bubble ˆ biggy
matt
Bubble magic continued on the balcony.
bubble ˆ matt
karen
Karen blending-in to the orange chair = Karenflage!
karen
Around midnight, we passed back through the pine cone gates and...
pinecone
... headed back outside to explore!
ellen, karen, matt, meredith, quinn
We found a fire pit near the barn and got ourselves a nice campfire going.
best ˆ fire ˆ ellen ˆ karen ˆ matt ˆ meredith ˆ quinn
matt
Matt and I played some light-up night frisbee. I threw one over by the barn and the friendly pig inside was oinking with curiosity about our strange green-glowing toy.
barn ˆ frisbee ˆ pig ˆ matt
Hans and Biggy enjoying...
...the dying campfire
Around 1am, we headed back inside and did some more exploring. Gorgeous plants...
plant
...and a house filled with beautiful art works.
art ˆ dragon
I got lost in this intricate woodcarving hanging in one of the hallways.
art
jeet
Back in one of sleeping rooms, things were starting to wind down.
jeet
matt, meredith, quinn
Meredith and Matt joining the slumber party.
matt ˆ meredith ˆ quinn
jared
Jared fell asleep first and someone got the amazing idea to start putting art in bed with him.
asleep ˆ bed ˆ jared
jared
French bulldog statue and sleeping bust wearing Jared's glasses.
asleep ˆ bed ˆ jared
jared
We kept imaging him waking up to see a stone face wearing his own glasses and laughing SO HARD.
asleep ˆ bed ˆ glasses ˆ statue ˆ wtf ˆ jared
jared
Turn your back on that creep, Peaceful Jared!
asleep ˆ bed ˆ jared
karen, matt
Nighty night!
mirror ˆ karen ˆ matt

Saturday, July 28th

We awoke to a foggy, rainy morning.
barn ˆ fence ˆ pond
ellen, jeet, karen, quinn
Left over pizza for breakfast!
best ˆ breakfast ˆ ellen ˆ jeet ˆ karen ˆ quinn
Snapped a few more pics of artwork I liked while we were packing up and cleaning.
art
Huge carved buddha head on the porch.
art ˆ buddha ˆ statue
If you're looking for a great weekend getaway, this place was awesome!
barn ˆ fence ˆ rain
Headed home.
driving ˆ rain
Rainy waterfall.
driving ˆ rain ˆ waterfall
karen
On our way home, we stopped in Phoenicia, NY for a not-so-quick but delicious brunch at Sweet Sue's. Here's Karen laughing about the size of her pancakes.
brunch ˆ food ˆ laugh ˆ pancakes ˆ karen
Corn pancakes are my favorite.
food ˆ pancakes
maddy
Ellen drew Meredith this adorable picture of Maddy.
best ˆ drawing ˆ maddy
Onward home.
clouds ˆ driving ˆ rain
Sometimes you can't see the forest.
driving ˆ rain ˆ trees
maddy, meredith
Before heading home, we stopped by Leigh and Randy's to pick up Maddy! See here modeling the latest in doggle eyewear fashion.
dogs in outfits ˆ goggles ˆ laugh ˆ maddy ˆ meredith

1 comment

  • ellenjanuary 7, 2015

    I missed this Jared set up, but am laughing so hard at the idea of it! What a great weekend <3