My biscuit (r)evolution

Once upon a time, I could not make a decent biscuit to save my life. I really like a hot, fresh-from-
the-oven biscuit but making them from scratch yielded gummy, dense discs. Those things in the can are okay but they really aren't biscuits, they are biscuit-shaped rolls. While I like Bisquick for making pancakes and waffles, I had no success using it to make biscuits (see above "making them from scratch"). When Pillsbury came out with the frozen Grands! Buttermilk Biscuits, I finally could bake a decent tasting biscuit that wasn't the density of a manhole cover...but it still wasn't quite right.

Then I saw Jeff Mauro on Food Network's Sandwich King show, baking biscuits to use as buns for a sandwich. He uses his mother-in-law's recipe and he talked about the keys to making her delicious, light biscuits: self-rising flour, buttermilk, and cold, cold, COLD butter. I decided to give biscuit making another try and printed a copy of Grapevine KY Buttermilk Biscuits.

My first attempt was messy. Like I always do with a new recipe, I followed it exactly and ended up with a big bowl of gooey dough. I managed to work some of it into biscuits and they were pretty darn good, better than anything I had ever baked. I learned two things from that first attempt: first, a full recipe made far too many biscuits for us, and second, adding in the recipe amount of buttermilk was a mistake. I needed to gradually add in the buttermilk until the dough looked and felt right.

Now a word about buttermilk. I had long relied on powdered buttermilk as a substitute for fresh buttermilk. While convenient, the powdered version just isn't the same as fresh; not in the viscosity, not in the tang. I now keep fresh buttermilk on hand and use it not only in biscuits but in bread baking and for making cornbread.

Back to the biscuits. Once I got the hang of adding just the right amount of buttermilk to make the dough come together but not get pasty, producing a delicious biscuit was easy. I bake biscuits on a cast iron griddle pan that I coat with a thin layer of bacon grease, then place in the oven to heat. The biscuits make a faint sizzling sound when placed on the hot griddle and develop a satisfying crisp bottom.

We were very happy in our version of Biscuitland when one of my favorite food bloggers, Foodie with Family, wrote a post about buttermilk biscuits. She attended a King Arthur Flour demo as we did last year and while we learned about making pies and scones, Rebecca learned about pie crusts and biscuits. One of the eye-opening tips she gained: as with pie crusts, you should add the butter in two different sizes/steps, which yields a biscuit that is tender and flaky.

Rebecca also folds her dough over several times to create layers within the biscuit. This can be a bit tricky because you never want to overwork biscuit dough or you end up with the bread equivalent of a hockey puck. I was a bit nervous the first time I tried her method but the biscuits turned out beautiful with lots of flaky, tender biscuits.

The final tip I learned from Rebecca is to brush the tops of the biscuits with buttermilk before baking to give them a glossy brown top. I had previously brushed the biscuits with melted butter as Jeff Mauro does, but we found that we like the buttermilk version much better.

Note: I am not a food blogger, so I don't write step-by-step instructions illustrated with photos. Foodie with Family is, however, a food blogger (and a very good one) so go on over to her buttermilk biscuit recipe and tutorial to see and read how to make perfect biscuits.

With the help of Jeff and Rebecca, it is now quite easy for me to produce beautiful, delicious biscuits:

As you can see in the photo, I deviate from Foodie with Family's recipe by continuing to bake my biscuits on the hot cast iron griddle rather than a parchment lined sheet.

Smothered with sausage gravy, stuffed with country ham and drizzled with honey, or slathered with just butter, there is hardly anything tastier for breakfast than a hot buttermilk biscuit. I learned from two excellent teachers and, who knows, maybe my biscuit method will evolve again with another source of information.

Good golly, it's winter

Although the weather has turned colder and we've had a few small snowfalls, I am still trying to get in power walks around the village. As long as I'm bundled up properly, the cold doesn't bother me much and I usually work up a sweat by the time I am done. But one recent day, it was very windy and the cute sparkly beret I was wearing almost went airborne, more than once. I soon realized that I needed a hat that would hug my head better so I set about to find a cute hat pattern.

I don't know that anyone has noticed, but it has been quite some time since I talked about knitting. I've been knitting, but not with much enthusiasm. I will knit a few rows on a project then ignore it for days, even weeks. There is one project that hasn't seen the light of day in months but I'm not sure that I want to frog it. Using the yarn I received in the Top Chef pool, I cast on a kerchief and while I really like the way it looks, I've still been rather fickle in the attention I have paid to it. A hat is just the thing to ignite knitting fervor. It is quick enough that it almost provides instant gratification; for slow knitters like me, it still may take a month but at least at the end of the month, I have a new hat.

After perusing the many hat patterns on Ravelry, I found Molly by Erin Ruth. I liked that it is slouchy without being a beret, that there is texture in the body and that it has a frivolously fat single cable that runs from the ribbed edge to the top. I chose Cascade Yarns Alpaca Lana D'Oro yarn, which is 50% superfine alpaca and 50% Peruvian Highland wool. I wanted a colorway that would complement many different colors and ended up choosing a dark grey and medium grey twist that is quite similar to the color shown on the pattern.

The pattern is well written and easy to follow but has one small potential hiccup: the body is a three row pattern combined with an eight row cable pattern. To eliminate confusion, I did a quick Excel spreadsheet to show which cable row I needed for each regular row. Since the pattern was free, I didn't mind doing the extra work and after that, it was easy peasy.

Ta da! I now have a new, cute, snug-but-not-too-snug hat:

Despite fleshing out the cable repeat, one or two of the cables ended up a bit wonky so this photo is as close-up as I will show:

If I knit the pattern again - and I just might - I am going to try one needle size smaller and maybe eliminating a few rows so it won't be quite as slouchy. I have some lovely Dream in Color Classy in a gorgeous purple that would show off that cable. Of course, I would pay more attention and not let the cables turn out wonky!

Forest surprise

After a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with delicious food from breakfast to dessert, we all needed to get out on Friday and stretch our legs. We drove to Beaver Lake Nature Center to hike off some turkey and trimmings, and to enjoy the gorgeous day.

We received snow on Thanksgiving, and the brightly shining sun made the fresh powder sparkle:

We saw our friend the grouse (or his cousin) but he was busy getting a handout from some children and I did not stop to say hello or get pecked.

Aidan likes to stand under tree branches that are laden with snow, then have one of us pull on the branches until the snow showers down on him:

 

Can you see the smile peeking out?

It is interesting that no matter how many times we have walked a particular trail at Beaver Lake, each season we see something new, like this tree:

As we got closer, we noticed that there was something nestled underneath the exposed roots:

 What a lovely surprise.

Pho-nomenal

Why it took me long to try pho, I really don't know. The important thing is that I have now tried pho, eaten pho and am quite smitten with pho. If you are not familiar with pho, it is a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and meat.

On Saturday, Aidan attended a Boy Scout merit badge workshop in Clifton Springs, which is just off the Thruway between here and Rochester. Once James and I got Aidan settled in his cinematography class, we continued on towards Rochester, where we had a few hours of fun planned. Our first stop was Trader Joe's, and it was our first trip to a Trader Joe's since leaving the Atlanta area. How I adore Trader Joe's, miss Trader Joe's, and wish that we had one in Syracuse. We left with a big bag full of goodies and only spent $20. Sigh.

In the same shopping center as Trader Joe's, we spotted an Orvis store. James' eyes lit up with delight when he saw the sign; he claimed not to know that the store was there and he was correct, because this past weekend was the grand opening. He spent some happy time examining the men's clothes and the fly fishing gear while I tried not to get trampled by well-heeled patricians intent on getting the perfect boiled wool vest. Nicely made clothes for sure, but not my aesthetic.

James had researched places for lunch and when he told me that he found a Cambodian restaurant with excellent reviews, I was sold. I have wanted to try pho after seeing it featured on numerous food shows, most recently on Top Chef New Orleans. So after a stroll around Historic Pittsford, including a stop in The Yarn Source, we drove to The Soup Spoon.

The proprietors of The Soup Spoon were friendly and helpful. Since pho is traditionally a Vietnamese dish, I asked about the difference between Vietnamese and Cambodian cuisine. The nice guy behind the counter told me that the two are very similar with only slight differences in ingredients. He then emphasized that the pho they serve is his family's recipe, and that every family has their own way of making pho. Every recipe starts with slowly simmering beef bones, but everyone adds their own favorite ingredients to make it their own. It is kind of how everyone makes chili a bit differently from anyone else.

James and I both ordered our pho with steak, and we also got an order of veggie spring rolls. In a word, lunch was delicious. The spring rolls were fresh and crunchy, served with a spicy-sweet sauce and a peanut sauce. The spring rolls, however, were quickly forgotten when the pho arrived.

The aroma coming from that bowl of soup was intoxicating. The server suggested that we customize our pho with the selection of condiments - sugar, pepper, fried garlic - and scallions, sprouts, cilantro, and lemon wedges. I added the pepper, garlic, scallions, cilantro and lemon, breathed in the delicious aroma, and dove in. Although I quickly identified the flavor of lemongrass, I gave up trying to figure out any other flavors and just ate.

I forgot to take a photo before I started to eat, so here is the partway through photo:

It looks like a fairly generic bowl of soup but trust me when I say it was not. It was astoundingly delectable, rich in flavor and if-I-die-right-now-I-will-die-happy delicious. I alternated between using the spoon to sip the broth and using the chopsticks to eat the noodles and steak.

How I wish The Soup Spoon would open a location in Syracuse - right next door to that Trader Joe's would be perfect. Until I can get my next pho phix at a restaurant, I am going to try and make it at home.

It's all in the wristlet

Plain and simple, I adore handbags. I try not to buy too many and keep the cost of my handbags fairly reasonable, but a new hobo/tote/crossbody/satchel is always a temptation for me. One of my current favorite brands is Vera Bradley - you know, the colorful fabric handbags. Inside Stitch, the Vera Bradley blog, is one of the many company blogs that I follow on Facebook; it's a great way to learn about new product releases, special promotions and contests. Emphasis on CONTESTS.

Several weeks ago, Inside Stitch held a customer appreciation giveaway. All you had to do was comment on the blog post and five winners would be chosen at random to receive a Vera Bradley Smartphone Wristlet. And I was chosen! (I just looked at the blog post and saw that 2,545 comments were left on that post - wow.)

I got to pick the pattern for my wristlet and I chose Bittersweet, which is a bright red, rusty orange, golden yellow and warm umber floral print with a black-and-white houndstooth accent pattern. I do love houndstooth!

Today my prize package arrived, much to my delight:

The card, from the Vera Bradley stationery line, contained a handwritten message:

 

The cellophane bag contained my new Smartphone Wristlet and a set of emery boards (in the Summer Cottage pattern):

Just for the record, I do not have a smartphone. But my LG dumbphone fits in my new wristlet just fine, in its own little compartment secured by a snap flap:

In a separate zip section, there are three card slots, a bill compartment, a gusseted coin purse and an outer ID window:

When I run out for a quick trip, such as picking Aidan up from an after school meeting, or when I'm toting a knitting bag and don't want to also tote a handbag, a wristlet is the perfect bag to carry. And a free wristlet is even more perfect - thank you, Inside Stitch!

Sew proud

In addition to the standard core classes, Aidan also has an "encore" class each marking period - music, art, technology and FACS. His encore class this marking period is FACS, which is Family And Consumer Science; in other words, home economics. The main focus of this nine week session is learning the basics of sewing, and using those basic skills to make a pillow. I think making a pillow is a very smart idea, a gender neutral project that is useful.

Each student had to bring in fabric of their choice along with a coordinating color (or colors) of felt and a spool of thread. We had a fun time in Jo-Ann Fabric looking at aisle after aisle of fabric before he settled on a pirate/treasure map print.

Aidan has really enjoyed learning to use a sewing machine and I am proud to say that he had absolutely no problem with learning to sew. He has watched enough episodes of Project Runway with me to know that men absolutely do sew. Almost every day he came home with a story about what he learned, how he had to redo part of the pillow and how the project was progressing.

Yesterday he came home with the finished pillow:

 

Aidan did a great job on the pillow and he is [rightfully] very proud of it. Don't ask me why a pirate treasure map pillow has a duck applique on it because I don't know...quack marks the spot? It seems that each student had to make an applique out of felt and there were templates or stencils available from which to choose, and he chose a duck. And why not a duck?

Pumpkin tats

One of the many aspects of village life that we like is how many people decorate for holidays and Halloween is at the top of that holiday list. On my morning walks, I see orange lights, giant cobwebs with spiders, ghosts, tombstones, zombie hands emerging from the ground, and jack o'lanterns. Numerous jack o'lanterns.

We like jack o'lanterns but we don't like carving them, and haven't in several years. We don't like the mess, they never come out quite like we envision, and there is always the opportunity for someone to get injured. And by "someone", I mean me; my palm is still healing from an unfortunate mandolin accident about a month ago. Let's just say I have major trust issues right now with sharp kitchen tools.

So when James spotted these pumpkin "transfers", we knew we had our answer to pumpkin decorating:

 

Transfers, schmansfers - even the directions state "apply with water just like a temporary tattoo."

After dinner last night, James and I got to work on the two pumpkins we bought earlier in the day (Aidan was too busy playing his allotted computer time to help with something as silly as pumpkin decorating). The transfers are incredibly easy to apply, even on uneven pumpkin surfaces, and stand out well against the orange. We had enough transfers to do two different faces on each pumpkin for a Jekyll and Hyde effect.

Pumpkins, sides A:

Pumpkins sides B:

Although we can't light them and enjoy the flickering jack o'lanterns at night, we are still very pleased with the results and will take this pumpkin decoration route again. Thank you, Martha!

Best family camping trip EVER

We wanted one more family camping trip before storing the popup camper for the winter, so last weekend we headed out to West Canada Creek Campsites in Poland, NY. It was our first visit to that campground and we chose it because of its location - just outside of Utica - and excellent online reviews. It took just an hour and fifteen minutes to drive there and although we had to set up in the dark, we soon had the camper open and a campfire burning.

What a great weekend we had. The campground is very nice; the owners are friendly and helpful, the bathrooms are spotless, there is a large open area in which children can play and the sites are spacious and flat:

Aidan soon made friends and played football, kickball, soccer and everything else under the sun. The campground is set in a bend in West Canada Creek, so James had easy access for fishing:

Aidan joined James for some dad and son fishing time:

I was happy to stay at the campsite where I read Misery Bay by Steve Hamilton (one of my favorite authors) cover-to-cover, knitted and enjoyed the splendor of autumn in New York:

The weather was spectacular. The days were warm and sunny, and the nights were cool but not freezing, just cold enough to enjoy the campfire (and the heated mattresses in the camper!). We feasted on sausage gravy over buttermilk biscuits for breakfast on Saturday morning, hot dogs cooked over the fire for lunch, and steak shish kebabs and campfire cones for dinner. After packing up on Sunday morning, we stopped at a nearby diner for a hearty breakfast before making the short drive home.

The combination of excellent campground in a great location, fun together and fun apart in our own activities, and lovely fall weather made us all agree that it was our best family camping trip ever.

A place of his own

While Aidan and I were visiting my family in Michigan, James put the finishing touches on Aidan's treehouse:

 

In addition to being a place where Aidan can spend time alone or with friends, it is a work of art and the subject of much envy. 

Aidan has long wanted a tree house and I told James that if we were ever going to build one, it needed to be soon before Aidan gets too old to be interested in playing in a tree house. And while we have a line of trees on the border between our house and the house next door, it really wasn't feasible to build a tree house in a tree. We decided to build a freestanding structure near the trees and broke ground on April 27:

James - with assistance from Aidan and me - worked on it from late spring through the summer, with breaks for weather, vacation, camping trips and the MacKenzie-Childs barn sale. As the tree house took shape, we became accustomed to cars driving slowly by the house so the occupants could get a better view, walkers would stop to talk with James and ask about rent (!), and a photo even appeared on Instagram, although none of us have Instagram accounts.

This is not a plywood box on stilts; James took great care to make it sturdy and as weather proof as possible with shingled walls and a real roof. The windows have shutters that open out:

 

Inside there is a small shelf, a coat hook and a bench that provides storage and seating:

The storage bench also makes for a great place to hide:

One day Aidan got in, pulled the lid down and scared the life out of James, who did not know he was in there!

James added railing caps that have solar powered lights:

Glass blocks near the peak at either end also have small solar lights, which make the tree house look great even at night:

In case of a zombie apocalypse, you know where to gather:

The view from the front porch is beautiful:

 

We put a lock on the door and the ladder can easily be removed and stored in our garage, so that the tree house doesn't get occupied when we are not around. About the only things this marvelous tree house does not have are electricity and plumbing, but there is always next summer...

Envy

Today I received a wonderful package in the mail containing these lovely items:

Just what, pray tell, did I do to deserve such riches? I participated in a Top Chef Masters' pool on Ravelry, that's what. Prior to the start of the competition, each participant posted what item they were contributing to the pool and then that participant was randomly assigned a chef. Based on the order of the chefs winning or leaving the competition, each participant then chose what prize they wanted. The person who had the winning chef picked first, the person with the second place chef picked second...you get the idea.

My chef was Odette Fada and she was the fourth chef (out of fourteen) sent home. And while it usually isn't great to be the eleventh person to pick a prize, all the participants posted such great items that there was still good stuff when it came my turn to pick.

I chose the prize contributed by Susanna from Huntsville, Alabama and wow, did she put together a great prize pack. I received:

• a project bag in a fun chili pepper print
• Skein DK 100% superwash Merino yarn in the Envy colorway, which is a lovely turquoisy-aqua color
• a lavender lotion bar from Coyote Cove Farm
• a double bar of Icelandic chocolate (how did she know that I am fascinated by Iceland?) 
• a pair of scissors for my notions bag; and,
• a custom made friendship bracelet, which is hilarious if you happen to watch The Real Housewives of Orange County (not that I do. Ever.).

The yarn is gorgeous:

And should I share the chocolate, or squirrel it away?

Small world story: as I traded messages with Susanne regarding my address and her shipping schedule, I learned that she is currently not working due to the shutdown of the federal government (boo, hiss). She works at Marshall Space Flight Center and when I told her that Dad retired from a long career at NASA, she said that her dad had also worked for NASA, on the Saturn 5 project. How cool!

So now the fun really begins...planning how to use that luscious yarn. Today I prepared my own prize package for shipping (Three Irish Girls yarn, a project bag, a wine "sippy cup" and cocktail napkins) and I hope Jenn in Maine likes it as much as I liked mine.

What would Bear Grylls do?

Kids, don't try this at home.

James and I recently watched the television series Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls, a reality show in which ten teams of two people competed to "survive" the wilds on New Zealand. Bear Grylls, former member of the British Special Forces, served as their guide, mentor and judge as the teams competed in a series of strenuous outdoor challenges. Each week, one team would be sent home by Bear with the statement, "You wouldn't get out alive." While the show featured extreme physical tests, teams were judged just as much on their attitudes, problem solving skills and emotional fitness.

We became familiar with Bear several years ago when he appeared on a show called Man vs. Wild. From Wikipedia: "The series features Grylls dropped into inhospitable places, showing viewers how to survive...The show has featured stunts including Grylls climbing cliffs, parachuting from helicopters, balloons, and planes, paragliding, ice climbing, running through a forest fire, wading rapids, eating snakes, wrapping his urine-soaked t-shirt around his head to help stave off the desert heat,"among other even more disgusting things. The show seemed designed to show Bear shirtless (or more) as much as possible.

This morning I returned from an almost one-hour brisk walk around the village to find that while I had a key in my pocket, it was the key to Aidan's treehouse. And since there is no wormhole from the inside of his treehouse to the inside of our house, I was locked out. I was locked out with James at work almost an hour away.

Our neighbors are building an addition on their house and I've met the guys on the crew while checking out the progress (and joking with Bridget, one of the homeowners, about hiding bodies in the newly dug basement. Not that I would, of course, but it's always good to have contingencies, albeit temporary ones, for all of life's circumstances). I walked next door, explained my dilemma, and asked if any of them knew how to jimmy a lock. A man named Dave volunteered to try and while I should be somewhat relieved that he was unsuccessful, the fact remained that I was still locked out.

Then I remembered that the window in the upstairs bathroom was open a small amount. I asked Dave to bring over a ladder; he propped it up against the house and held it steady as I climbed to the window, pushed up the screen, opened the window and wriggled through. Poor man was just being helpful and he was treated to the view of my 50 year old tookus wiggling through a window - I hope he does not have nightmares.

While I was impressed with my ingenuity and survival skills, I will be going to the hardware store today to have a spare key made for us to hide somewhere outside. What would Bear do in the same situation? He might have rigged a zip line from the treehouse to our roof, or climbed onto the garage in order to jump over the open window, or parachuted from an airplane, but I think my solution worked just fine.

Best Scout trip EVER

This past weekend, James and Aidan went camping with the Boy Scout troop to Indian Lake, in the Adirondacks. When they arrived home yesterday, Aidan ran in the house, gave me a big hug and said, "That was the best Scout trip EVER!"

What made it the best Scout trip ever was the exploration of caves on Chimney Mountain. They hiked about a mile to the top of the mountain, where they enjoyed the 360 degree view, which is unusual in the central Adirondacks:

At the top of the mountain, there is a series of caves that the Scouts explored. Aidan loved crawling through the crevices:

 

There was one place that they had to crawl up in order to get out, and Aidan did it with a smile on his face:

They were tired and dirty when they arrived home, but isn't that one of the hallmarks of a fun Scout camping trip?

Connecting with something warm

Several months ago I learned of a community charity project, "Connecting With Something Warm", which is a part of a gallery exhibit titled: Spoken Threads: The Art of Craftivism. Local installation artist Mary Giehl asked knitters and crocheters to make something warm - hats, mittens/gloves, scarves - that she will package in plastic bags and place around the area for people to find; drop-off locations will be in public areas, bus shelters, walkways and on park benches. Included with each item will be a stamped, addressed postcard that details information about the project and an invitation to meet the knitter or crocheter who made the item at the opening reception for the exhibition. The recipient is also asked to mail the postcard back to ArtRage Gallery as a record of the connection.

Ms. Giehl's goal was to collect 500 items. At this morning's meeting of Twisted Stitches of CNY knitting guild, she announced that she has met the goal and then some, not including the items that were collected at the meeting. Today's contributions included the hat that I made for the project.

I decided to make a man's hat; I had a conversation with Ms. Giehl through Facebook and learned that she was receiving more feminine items than masculine items. I chose the Turn a Square pattern by Jared Flood, which is a simple striped beanie but the style of decreases at the crown turns the stripes or "rings" into diminishing square shapes at the crown. The pattern recommends one self-striping yarn and one solid color yarn used in the alternating row pattern, but I went with two different colorways of self-striping yarns, just to see how the two randomly came together:

The yarn is Mochi Plus by Crystal Palace Yarns, and the colorways are Feldspar and Lake Trail. The fiber content is 80% Merino and 20% nylon, and is machine washable. While the yarn felt very soft and comfortable to me as I knitted it, my skin had a reaction to it that caused what looked like burns on my fingers. The patches did not hurt except that they were very dry and rough. I doubt that the fiber itself was the source of the irritation, but rather something in the dye that my hyper-sensitive skin did not tolerate.

Despite the temporary condition of my hands, I really like how the hat turned out:

It is warm and functional but also attractive and interesting. I hope to attend the opening reception for the Spoken Threads exhibition in November, and maybe I will see someone sporting my creation.

Middle school

Yesterday was the first day of school and we were all ready for it. While Aidan put up the expected child facade of dreading the start of the school year, he was actually quite happy about it. Just in the last week did he seem to be bored with everything and everyone, and he was primed to see new faces, renew acquaintances and just do something new and different.

Middle school starts much earlier than elementary school and the scheduled bus pickup time is 7:07 am. Aidan easily got out of bed at 6, dressed and ate breakfast in plenty of time, and even allowed me to take a first day photo:

When he got off the bus in the afternoon, he was all smiles and very excited about his day. Aidan was thrilled to see friends from the first elementary school he attended here, see friends whom he had not seen over the summer and even more thrilled to learn that She Who Shall Not Be Named is not in any of his classes nor riding his bus. Not only did he find his locker, he managed to work the combination lock and get it open, something about which he was concerned. He only got lost once, went to the wrong class once but all in all, had a great day.

We think that Aidan is going to enjoy the challenges of middle school both academically and socially. Elementary school is so last year.

All aboard

Since we moved here, we have wanted to ride the Adirondack Scenic Railroad from Utica to Thendara, which is just outside of Old Forge. We took advantage of a Groupon deal and finally made our railroad trip last Saturday. The deal was for two adults and two children, so we asked one of Aidan's friends to come along.

You can read the history of the ADK Scenic Railroad on their website, but the condensed version is that the railroad tracks were constructed in 1890-91 to take people to the Adirondack great camps, and then later freight service was added. In its heyday, the railroad went all the way from Utica to Lake Placid. Service started decreasing in 1961 and the line was completely abandoned in 1977. In 1992, a group of railroad enthusiasts founded the Adirondack Railway Preservation Society and started rehabilitating the line. The railroad now operates from Utica to Thendara, and between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, and is staffed by volunteers.

It was a drippy grey day in Utica when we boarded the train:

It takes a little over two hours to make the trip to Thendara. Aidan and his friend played Nintendo most of the way (sigh) while I enjoyed the scenery out the window; the rocking motion of the train made knitting impossible for my stomach to handle. James spent most of the trip north in the baggage car, known as an "open air" car because large side doors remain open:

He took all of these photos from the open side:

He even managed to get a photo of a moose:

 

So it was a cutout decoration in the back of someone's yard - it is likely to be the closest we get to a moose!

I really liked how people came out to wave at the train as it passed:

Once in Thendara, we took the shuttle bus to Old Forge to have lunch at Tony Harper's - love those SRQ chips! We then rode the chair lift to the top of McCauley Mountain:

 

Despite the drizzle and mist, the views at the top were beautiful:

 

On the ride down, one of our darling child's sneakers fell off. Of course it was an "accident", which is Aidan-speak for "I was goofing around". James and I were livid, and came very close to making him walk around with just one shoe on. James rode  back up, climbed down to the shoe, climbed back up and then rode the chair lift down while I made the two boys sit down and be silent. It was the only time of the entire trip that they stopped talking. The men who run the chair lift were very nice; they did not charge James for the extra trip and they traded inane boy stories with me.

The rest of the day was, thankfully, uneventful. The skies cleared as we rode back to Utica and we enjoyed the scenery again, this time with the benefit of abundant sunshine. It was a fun day; I adore train travel and we liked seeing the sights that you can only see from a train. If we ever do it again it will be just James and me (and we hope by then to go from Utica to Lake Placid), and there will be no chair lift involved.