FALL WEEKEND GETAWAY

For Hassan’s birthday weekend we wanted to do a little getaway. Since he was working into Friday it was difficult to find flights with such limited time and leaving the city on a Friday evening is a nightmare. So after deciding we’d leave Saturday morning I did a Google search to see what was around us. In one of the Timeout articles I found there was a list of places to visit that were a quick drive from the city. Reading up on the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, NY I knew that’s where I wanted to go. For Hassan’s 30^th birthday we spent it in Vegas with our friends and family, so for his 31^st the Catskill Mountains seemed like the perfect romantic trip (what do you expect if I was in charge of planning lol). 

Mohonk is an hour and a half drive from the city and the leaves were already starting to change color so the morning commute there was beautiful. It’s a historic lodge that’s been visited by, business and religious leaders and has maintained its 19^th century charm. With several different activities to choose from including hiking their trails, meditation classes, lake activities like kayaking and tours through the Victorian resort the days are filled with relaxation. We even enjoyed an intimate jazz band performance after dinner. The room we stayed in overlooked the mountains and we cozied up next to our very own wood-burning fireplace. While the price for the night was steep, included are 3 meals, all farm-to-table and my personal favorite was the Sunday brunch buffet. The lake activities and gratuity is also part of the room price. What we did pay extra for was the spa.   Awarded multiple times by Condé Nast and Travel & Leisure as a top resort spa in America the spa at Mohonk is worth visiting. With a dip in the mineral water pool followed by lounging in the beautiful solarium overlooking the grounds, unplugging for 4 hours in the spa while we sipped on tea was absolutely amazing.

There are over 85 miles of hiking trails overlooking the Catskill Mountains and what we really enjoyed doing was the Labyrinth. This is a trail leading up to the Skytop Tower that is 45 minutes of climbing and crawling through rocks. At the end of it we had breathtaking views and the leaves were starting to change color so loved experiencing the beginning of the Hudson Valley fall foliage. While I had originally planned for horseback riding, the stables had to cancel due to the rainy weather we experienced the next morning. So instead we went to the game room where we had a ton of choices for a rainy day and played Scrabble together (he won, should have stuck to Connect 4). Afterwards the fog and rain cleared up so Hassan rowed us around the lake to end our picturesque trip.  It was the perfect fall weekend getaway/birthday trip.