Fall Foliage Trip to New Paltz, NY

In my previous post about our first Fall foliage trip, Yes this is really New Jersey I briefly highlighted our tour of Western New Jersey.  In a similar vein yesterday Renee and I took a much needed leisurely afternoon drive to upstate New York to the scenic town of New Paltz. New Paltz was the ideal location since it was between the Catskill Mountains and the stunningly beautiful Mohonk Preserve.  These were the highlights of our trip:

Harvest Cafe, New Paltz.  For our first stop we decided to have a late lunch at the famous Harvest Cafe which was located in the charming Water Market. A great part of the allure of this Cafe was that the second floor possessed a fantastic view of the Mohonk House and Preserve.  Renee and I decided to brave the frigid cold by eating outside so that we could fully take in the view. (given Renee's cough and cold that she is sporting today, we may have wanted to re think that eating outside thing).  I had the Roasted Chicken Sandwich while Renee had Roasted Chicken Salad Platter.  Both meals were excellent, and fairly reasonable in their prices.

The Cheese Plate:  After eating our highly enjoyable meals at the Harvest Cafe we went next to The Cheese Plate. We purchased a thin slice of slightly aged Quebec Cheddar.  We both agreed that this might have been the best cheddar that we had tasted.   The taste had a slight, tart kick to it with a soft, unimposing texture.  We both highly recommend this cheese to any cheddar lovers out there.

Freer House, Huguenot Street. While we were driving around on our way to the Mohonk Preserve we discovered historic, Huguenot Street.  Huguenot Street was a street that contained a series of historic houses that were built in the 17th and 18th centuries. As the placard indicates this house was built in 1720.  To put things in perspective this was roughly 60 years before the Revolutionary War.

En Route to the Mohonk Preserve.  As we were driving up the formidable peak of the preserve we encountered many breathtaking views. This shot captured perfectly the setting sun, the boundless purple, yellow sky, the strikingly vibrant orange, red foliage, with the lovely backdrop of the Catskill Mountains.

 Mohonk Preserve.  As we were leaving the Mohonk preserve we witnessed the beauty and grandeur of the Catskills first hand on this scenic outlook. Most spectacular of all were the visible rays of the sun as they reflected off the mountain tops.
It all seemed surreal, it felt like we were in an entirely different country. The great news was that we were only 90 minutes away from New York City.  This view of the Catskills reminded us of our honeymoon trip to Quebec last year.  (Compare these two shots)

Quebec, near Malbaie. 

Mohonk Preserve: On our way back to New Paltz we stopped at this scenic outlook and took this shot. What made this shot so interesting was the fact that Renee was able to snap this perfect shot in just one try. Poor me, it took me nearly 40 shots to get just one worthwhile picture the entire day! Notice the old world stone walls that decorated the road with the fast approaching evening sky.






As we made our way back home we were grateful for the beauty that we encountered on this trip.  It felt so good to reconnect and to be rejuvenated by God through his majestic creation.  It was only an afternoon but getting away for a few hours and experiencing God's wild artistry in New Paltz was exactly what the doctor ordered.