July 8, 2018 - Elisa's Two Days in Rhinebeck, NY and Can you travel with that???

Elisa's Daily Scoop
Covering Long Island & NYC Boroughs 
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 21 DAYS: SCANTON, PA
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Two Days in Rhinebeck, NY

Happy Sunday Guys!!
So grateful the hot, humid weather broke and it is just lovely outside.

I had a super fun time in Rhinebeck yesterday and Friday.  Have I told you how much I love short, overnight trips??

First of all, my kids are at the age where they pretty much complain about everything.  Each time I tell them we are going somewhere or doing something they have a great many comments, moans and groans.  

BUT, each time, they tell me "Mom, I didn't think this was going to be fun, but it is!"

I hope you enjoyed my "Video Overview" yesterday of the key highlights of my two-day excursion.

Let me fill in some details...

HISTORIC RHINEBECK

The Rhinebeck Post Office - President FDR oversaw the design process for the new post office and spoke at the dedication ceremony and helped lay the cornerstone (c) travelincousins.com

Beekman Arms -The Beekman Arms Inn—formerly known as the Traphagen Tavern, Bogardus Tavern, and Potter's Tavern and currently known as the Beekman Arms and Delamater Inn—is an historic inn within the Rhinebeck Village Historic District, (a historic district added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 as a cohesive area of preserved historic buildings.) The Inn is America's oldest continuously operated hotel (c) travelincousins.com

We had a wonderful car ride on Friday, despite the rain, but honestly, it was most enjoyable having the sound of the raindrops hit the car.

By the time we arrived in Rhinebeck, not only was it time for lunch (YUM!!) but, the sun was out and shining!

I found a spot directly across from the Rhinebeck Post office and me and my girlies walked around and took some pictures.  During it all, I was attempting to explain the history of Rhinebeck - not sure if any of it sunk in lol.

Street pics of Rhinebeck (c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

CLICK HERE
to read
10 Facts About Rhinebeck, NY

Beautiful marker in front of the Beekman Arms

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

LUNCH AT RED BISTRO
​AT TERRAPIN RESTAURANT

Terrapin Restaurant - within which is Red Bistro - our lunch destination (c) travelincousins.com

Caesar Salad with grilled chicken (c) travelincousins.com

Eggplant, Mozzarella and Pesto panini (c) travelincousins.com

Chicken and Rice (c) travelincousins.com

Lunch was quite delicious at Red Bistro.  The atmosphere was relaxing, with its bright and open space, amidst very high ceilings and lots of windows.

Our server, was a delight and we also found out she shared the same name as my little "Kelsey"!

I left not a morsel of my Cesar salad, however, my girls had to pack up the remainder of their's to go.  You can imagine my surprise when they both were quite enthusiastic about seeing a dessert menu and ultimately DEVOURED their choices! (Ok, I helped out a bit!)

Two great choices - Strawberry Shortcake and Chocolate Molten cake with vanilla ice cream.  Sorry folks, no pics of the cake - Kelsey dove right in before I could capture its lovely plating!

Strawberry Shortcake (c) travelincousins.com

Following lunch, we walked around a bit, making our way into the Antique Market and then headed to our hotel, located in Saugerties, which is actually over the Hudson River via the Kingston Rhinecliff  Bridge in Ulster County, about a 20 minute ride from Rhinebeck, in Dutchess County.

We stayed in the Comfort Inn, which was just perfect for an overnight, since we really didn't spend much time there and the price was right with my trusty AAA discount!
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HUDSON VALLEY HOT AIR BALLOON FESTIVAL - FRIDAY NIGHT

Walking from parking area to the Fairgrounds Barn, which led to the main area of the Fairgrounds to the Balloon Festival (c) travelincousins.com

After dropping off our bags, relaxing and freshening up, we headed back to Rhinebeck - this time to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds.

Like everywhere else, bag checks were done prior to entry after which, our trio made our way through the big barn (which was so adorable and pristine - damn, we walked through with the others visitors  quickly and I never got a pic!!) which led to the inside of the Fairgrounds.

It was all just so organized, clean and with an incredibly friendly staff!! 

Having pre-purchased tickets, my phone was simply scanned and off we went inside!

The main attraction for the evening was going to be the NIGHT GLOW - where the hot air balloons, are set up in the launch area, fully inflated, but grounded and against the darkness of the night, are lit up by the propane burners  to keep the balloons inflated with hot air. The sight is like giant lightbulbs - absolutely gorgeous!!!

Inside the Dutchess County Fairgrounds (c) travelincousins.com

Freshened up - ready to walk around, eat and see the GLOW (c) travelincousins.com

SPOILER ALERT - unfortunately, it was too windy, so the balloons could not be inflated and there would be no night glow.

Not to fear, they did instead do what's knows as Candle Sticking, where the propane burners are lined up and lit at the same time, which look like giant candles!!

After walking around, seeing the many vendors, getting a big bag of Zeppoles and then, a personal pizza, we settled into the Grandstand to enjoy the music of Aerophone, the community band of Hudson County.  Just beautiful too! They played patriotic music, along with big band tunes.  

I explained to the girls that many, many years prior, before radio and television, and certainly, electronic devices, people would come out and just listen to the music under the stars.

Everything was perfect.  Including an amazing presentation of some of the areas brave veterans, having respectively served in wars since Vietnam all the way through to the wars in the middle east.

Our plan was to get up bright and early yesterday morning to see the balloon launch. Just keeping my fingers crossed all night that the weather would cooperate!!

Just chilling in the Grandstand (c) travelincousins.com

Honoring our Veterans - The Warrior Wagon - very moving ceremony (c) travelincousins.com

Beautiful Patriotic Music by Aerophone, The Hudson Valley Community Band (c) travelincousins.com

Candle Sticking - I've included the video as well again since it is so cool (c) travelincousins.com

HUDSON VALLEY
HOT AIR BALLOON FESTIVAL
​SATURDAY MORNING

Well folks - the weather was GORGEOUS!!!!! Yup, I woke up and not only was it sunny - it was NOT windy - here we come Balloon Launch!

It was however, a bit nippy!  And we only had two sweatshirts among the three of us!! 

Luckily - I had the girls put together clothing they wanted to give away to the Salvation Army, and planning to drop these bags off before we left for Rhinebeck. 

​However, I forgot and they came along with us on the trip.  I was pissed off about this at first - but lo and behold, we dipped into the bags for sweatshirts yesterday morning!!! And boy, was I grateful I never made it to the donation location.

Three cold hot air balloon spectators bundled up yesterday morning (c) travelincousins.com

Great balloons!! (c) travelincousins.com

Ready to take off (c) travelincousins.com

Thrilled to see the launch (c) travelincousins.com

So magnificent! (c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

I loved this view! (c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

What more can I say??  
We stayed for a number of hours - took it all in and I snapped away!

If you happen to be in the area - it's a fun day out!  The festival ends today.  But, check out the official website for next year's festival!!

In summary - the festival is, to me, the right size to enjoy - with about 25 or so balloons launched, plenty of entertainment, great food vendors and in a one of the most loveliest of areas in New York State!!

Hudson Valley Hot Air Balloon Festival

​LITTLE ITALY IN THE BRONX
FOR CAPPUCCINO AT DELILLO PASTRY SHOP

Perfect Cappuccino (c) traveincousins.com

We took a vote and it was unanimous - we would stop in the Bronx in Little Italy for some cappuccino and pastries.

And that's exactly what we did!  Since Kelsey did not come with me and Gianna a few weeks ago on our excursion to the Bronx, we decided to introduce her to DeLillo Pastry Shop.
​(click link below to read about our day)

​Historic Fort Schuyler and A Cup of Little Italy Cappuccino

Red Velvet Cake - YUM!! (c) travelincousins.com

We headed back to Garden City and just relaxed the balance of the afternoon.

What a great couple of days!!

I'll be publishing a new article for tomorrow, entitled:
25 Reasons That Make The Hudson Valley Hot Air Balloon Festival Great.

That's it for now folks!!! Enjoy your Sunday!

-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop 
Covering the West Coast & the World
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 4 DAYS:
WASHINGTON DC/VIRGINIA

Can you travel with that???

Hey there folks!

I'm glad the hot, humid weather has broke back east for Elisa - hopefully the weather stays lovely for our visit as well!! COUNTDOWN: 4 DAYS

Meanwhile over here it's still hellish HOT!

Yesterday I was trying my darnedest to stay in the A/C - running around in and out of stores and such.

While Cosette stayed over along with some other choir ambassadors at the WCOPA hosting hotel - Westin Long Beach, CA and went to Boot Camp!

Westin Long Beach Hotel - Photo Credit: Westin.com

While she was busy at boot camp - which Dominic opted not to participate in. Dave and I went for breakfast at Mother's Market and Kitchen in Costa Mesa. Where I opted for an Acai Bowl and Dave ordered a Chickpea Scramble over Breakfast Potatoes.

The Acai Bowl from Mother's Market (c)travelincousins.com

The Chickpea Scramble from Mother's Market (c)travelincousins.com

After our healthy breakfast it was time to hit a few stores. Recently, I hadn't had the time to go and shop for Island Wear as I had been wanting to. 

But that all changed yesterday when I picked up these two very cute outfits!

Next stop - Island time!

Fun and citrusy!

• Turks and Caicos 
• Aruba
• Curacao
• Oahu
• Maui

HERE I COME!! 

COUNTDOWN TO THE CARIBBEAN - 32 DAYS!!
COUNTDOWN TO HAWAII - 68 DAYS!!

Being that flying and getting through airport security can be rather confusing these days in the sense of not knowing exactly what you can and cannot bring onboard in your carry-on. I always get asked the question about FOOD. 

CAN YOU TRAVEL WITH THAT??? 

Surprisingly most people are of the mindset that once you walk into the airport you have no choice but to buy over priced airport food.
Well this is NOT the case!!!

While you may not be able to get past the TSA security with drinks - and yes that includes water.
And you still can't take the gels, creams and lotions in your carry-on...3.4 ounces or less per item.

What you CAN BRING is food! And bring as much of it as you like!! I always bring food. Snacks. Full on Meals. You name it...

Just not a jar of Peanut Butter! It was considered and categorized with the liquids, lotions, creams and gels.

Yup I learned the hard way - TSA tossed my jar of peanut butter in the trash! 

*But you can make all the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that you like and bring those along with you. 

Point is, there is definitely some confusion going on out there and less seasoned travels just don't realize that FOOD is okay to fly with!!

Of course if you are traveling across borders be aware of taking fresh produce along for the trip - unless you eat them all up prior to going through customs!!

Now speaking of great on-the-go, quick and easy meals (or snacks - depending on how large your appetite might be) Cucina & Amore has recently come out with a variety of yummy riced Cauliflower Cups.
Just the other day when I spotted these I knew that they would be perfect for me... Since my life has been nothing short of uber busy and on the go!

While enjoying my quick and nutritious meal, it got me thinking about how easy they would be to pack up and take on a road trip or on a flight. 

Cucina & Amore also offers yummy Quinoa Cups that I've also enjoyed over the years. These cups even come with their own spoons! 

Not many quick and easy foods are good for you, so to me these are really a no brainer to pick up and stock your fridge with. Not only that, but sweetie pie me has even added a link for you to order from.
​CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO ORDER. 

CLICK ON PICTURE TO ORDER!!

CLICK ON PICTURE TO ORDER!!

So anyway, after boot camp Cosette went out to eat with her friends and then went to her friends house to cool off in their sparkling swimming pool.
Quite the couple of fun days she's had!

We picked her up and tried to go for Ice Cream, but  the Ice Cream shop (Hug Life) was closed due to having A/C issues. Then off to the bookstore. 
Eventually making our way home after grabbing a snack.

We've got a busy and exciting day ahead of us today. Today is the Parade of Nations and Opening Ceremonies for the World Championships of Performing Arts. The Champions Village and souvenir shops at the venue will also open.
Lots of pics will be on the way in tomorrow's blog.

And before heading back over to Long Beach, I'm heading to the Nail Salon for a new mani/pedi for the upcoming trip!!

I'm gonna wrap it up here. Have a good one and stay cool out there.
-Travelin' Tanya