Rhinebeck on a Whim and a Budget

Technically, the New York Sheep and Wool festival, but everyone calls it Rhinebeck, after the town in which the fairgrounds are situated. Last Monday, Kate asked me if I would be interested in going up to New York with her, and after doing some budget crunching, I agreed.

We drove up late Friday night (I'd had a prior party to attend) and arrived in Hastings at 2AM. Exhausted, yet full of excitement, we passed out cold at Kate's mother-in-law's condo on the Hudson River.

Lili, Kate and Becca's adorable little cherub, came with us. She perkily arose at the crack of dawn, and so Kate and I very groggily prepared for our day with the sheep and the wool, with an emphasis on wool.

It was glorious. The day was bright and mostly clear. Predicted rain did not happen, and so though there was quite a lot of wind, we remained dry as we traipsed from barn to barn. Once Lili became disinterested in wool, Kate took her off to do stuff and I wandered along alone in the crowd, happily browsing for myself, and doing some sock yarn shopping for Anna.

As I do with gambling, I set myself a $40 limit for yarn buying, and stuck to it. Anna had given me some money and a request to find her more sock yarns. And so, at the end of day, not long before the closing announcements went out over the loudspeakers, I had done all the shopping I could, and we set off for our home base in Hastings.

We drove through Sleepy Hollow, which was filled with folks wandering around, looking for horsemen or at least haunted houses. We saw so many gorgeous houses, beautiful landscapes, and wonderful little shops all around the area. It seemed that every other moment, we were laughing at something, and promising ourselves that we would come back up sometime with Becca and just hang out.

Today, we wandered around Hastings in the morning, stopping at a soda fountain in a drug shop for a treat. I had my very first egg cream, which has neither egg nor cream, but is nicely chocolatey and refreshing.

And then, we drove home, nibbling on junk food and giggling like schoolgirls. Best weekend adventure in a long time, and such a nice getaway! And I have the yarns to prove it!