Sleepy Hollow and the City That Never Sleeps

"From the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of its inhabitants, who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers, this sequestered glen has long been known by name of Sleepy Hollow … A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere."

-Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 

Last weekend we took a trip with friends to the quaint and enchanting town of Sleepy Hollow, just 30 minutes north of the city. The small town comes to life this time of year, with candle-lit lanterns lining pathways, street festivals, hay rides through the historic graveyard and a mysterious headless horseman lingering in the woods. Irving and his characters who were based on actual residents were even buried in the old Dutch Cemetery.

The adventure continued that weekend from the little town of Sleepy Hollow to the city that never sleeps…

The weekend was full of late nights with great friends, a little shopping in Soho, and an anticipated visit to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. 

Our last stop at the 9/11 Memorial Museum was a solemn reminder of just how precious and fragile life is. September 11, 2001 was a day no one will ever forget. 

As always, we had a great time in New York City with even greater company and Sleepy Hollow will definitely go down in the books for the best place during the Halloween season!

A Visit to the Lone Star State

Everyone who lives in Texas knows that October is the best time of year, so it worked out that my high school reunion, an A&M game and my youngest brother's football game happened to be in the same week for a visit to the Lone Star State. 

The trip started off with a 5 hour delay that made for a long night, but we were able to meet a handful Texans, which we got to know pretty well, as we went from airport bar to hotel bar to running down the terminal barefoot trying to not miss our 12:40 am flight. 

Once we arrived in Houston, I was able to recuperate and spend some time with friends while Chris headed to College Station to watch his cousin, Ashlie Reaser play on the A&M volleyball team. 

On Saturday I met up with Chris, our friend Jorge, my dad and brother, Weston, to hang out in College Station and show my brother a little college atmosphere. 

Chris was excited to show Weston his alma mater and maybe one day have another Aggie in the family!

That night I planned to meet up with my friend Lindsey to drive back to Houston for our 10 year high school reunion. The only problem was trying to get a hold of each other among the 110,000 people that  practically wiped out cell phone service near the stadium. 

By the time we got in the car and arrived at the reunion we pretty much missed the majority of it... but we were able to catch up with some old friends which made it worth while. When we got back to Lindsey's house, we opened up her senior scrapbook and reminisced some of the best times we had together at good old, Clear Lake High School.

The next few days were spent in Houston where we had a great time, sipping on 59 Diner milkshakes (which are the best in Houston), painting pumpkins, visiting  with friends, a trip to Nasa, relaxing at the marina and lots of seafood and Mexican! 

That day there was a space walk on the International Space Station and my mom got us access to Mission Control to watch, really cool to see.

We left Houston and headed to Austin where we met up with Chris' parents and took our niece, Riley to the Capitol.

That night we headed to Lago Vista for some Friday Night Lights! It was so great to watch my youngest brother's football game with the whole family.

The next day we celebrated my sister and father-in-law's birthdays and enjoyed time together playing shuffle board and pool at the Goodnight Bar. It was a great end to an awesome trip. 

We had a blast with all our Texas friends and family and look forward to next time in the Lone Star State…y'all!

Pennsylvania Apple and Cheese Festival

I had been looking forward to the Apple and Cheese Festival ever since I saw a sign while driving to West Virginia where a nice Amish man told me it brings in thousands of people each year. So last Sunday Chris and I bundled up in our scarves and jackets (it was a brisk 58 degrees) and headed to Canton to check it out. 

Everyone was walking around with a cup of apple cider and candied apples, it felt so much like fall. We tried all kinds of cheeses from local farms and dipped pretzels in homemade sauces, we could have made a meal out of all the samples... but we did save room for the most amazing fair food I've ever had, Maryland crab cake sandwiches and an apple dumpling for dessert. 

After the festival we stopped at the apple orchards to get some pictures before heading to Wellsboro to check out the "Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania".

It was a great Sunday Funday in Canton and Wellsboro, now time for a bite of pumpkin whoopie pie...