This first one is actually semi-wedding related, maybe an easy place to start for me because it’s what I’m used to thinking about.

Mohonk Mountain House in New York’s Hudson Valley.

It’s an amazing place, and yes a wedding venue. It is so much more though. When hubby and I lived in New Paltz for four years, over apartment had a view of the Mohonk tower, right out the dining room window. When I was in college, we would go hiking at Mohonk and go through the “squeeze”, or go rock climbing at Mohonk Preserve.

Every year, Rivendell Winery would do an adult easter egg hunt. One year, Dan and I won a dinner a Mohonk. We went up early in the day, hiked up to the tower, explored the grounds and the mansion, then showered and went to their dining room for a splendid dinner.  The porches on the building are insanely beautiful with rocking chairs, overlooking Lake Mohonk. You can take out a boat on the lake, or swim.  Their are multiple gardens and views of the whole Hudson Valley.

Check out their website to see amazing photos.  One day soon I will dig through old film and find some of my own.

(I have never had the opportunity to photograph a wedding at Mohonk, and I would love to. Hudson Valley Brides: If you are having a Mohonk Mountain House wedding, email me to check availability and pricing. I will gladly travel at no cost to you for weddings at this venue.)

Photo courtesy of www.mohonk.com

I have a thing for unique downtown areas. The town I went to college in, New Paltz, NY, has a cool downtown area that goes downhill towards “the Gunks” (Shawangunk Ridge). It’s lined with funky shops. The town my hubby grew up in, Morristown, TN, has a two story downtown! There are sidewalks above the shops.

Back to our adventure in Hillsboro. I had asked a friend if she had any suggestions for where to look for wooden dollhouses, and she suggested Let’s Play.

As a mom who doesn’t like a lot of noise (kid noises are okay, it’s the electronic noises that drive me bonkers), picking out toys is difficult. I do not want to deprive my little girl of toys but also believe in creativity and games that use the imagination.  When we walked into Let’s Play, both the little one and I were incredibly happy.  It was filled with creative toys, wooden, original, and the electronic ones were few.

My daughter played with the dollhouse on display, and then moved onto the toy train set.  Around every corner, there was another toy open and welcoming play.  Eventually we made it up towards the counter, to find an amazing play kitchen filled with Melissa & Doug food.   I chatted with the woman working while Mackenzie made tea and microwaved some ice cream.

Customer service was excellent.  Every question I asked received a detailed answer, with enthusiasm.  When we needed a restroom, we were shown to a large beautiful one just behind the books section.  “This is comfortable, like ours at home,” is what Mackenzie had to say about the large changing table.  I was pleasantly surprised by the waterfall style sink, and was excited to show it to Mackenzie.

We smiled washing our hands, payed for our tea set, and headed out, with definite plans to return again and again.

My daughter spent her remaining energy dashing back and forth inside this perfectly toddler sized tunnel, and then slept in the back seat of the car next to Grandma as we headed back home.

We love road trips, and would rather drive most places than fly. This was my two year old daughter’s first time in the car for more than three hours. We rented a mini van, complete with dvd player. I have always in theory been against giving kids movies to watch in the car but wow was I thankful to have it! With stops, our ten hour drive took 14 hours. We danced inside rest stops, ran around picking out snacks, looked at Christmas trees in the local businesses, and of course played a little beep beep (the little one got to pretend she was driving while we were parked).

It was a very different experience than our past road trips. We had some tears and made some mistakes, like driving to through the Poconos on a snowy night. Overall our little girl made a great road trip companion, and there will be more to come.

After a couple days in NJ, we drove to Connecticut, to visit my family. My hubby and I left the grandparents to babysit one afternoon. We took a side trip to New Paltz, New York, where we used to live, and where we got married. We stopped at P&G’s restaurant, an old cornerstone of the town, for a quick black and tan. Then we walked up and down Main Street, covering all of downtown New Paltz. It was a crisp day so we retreated to the car instead of walking on the Rail Trail, where we used to spend a lot of time.

Besides the all important stop for a NY slice at Village Pizza, we toured Huguenot Street. This is where we got married. We had our wedding ceremony at a historic church owned by the Huguenot Historical Society. It’s this tiny brick building with a lawn on one side and a cemetery on the other. Inside it has a simple beauty. The church, Crispell Memorial French Church, is a replica of the original 1717 building.

This visit made me think, why did we choose to get married here? I often ask brides why they picked their wedding location. Some brides choose a wedding venue for convenience, others for price, some because they had their first kiss there. To us, it seemed right. I go a lot on just how something feels and my instinct. As I mentioned earlier, we used to take walks that would start out on the Rail Trail and then end up on Huguenot Street. It was part of daily life at the time.

One day we were out on a walk and I saw a tent in the field next to one of the historical buildings. I had more than driven my hubby nuts by this point in trying to choose a wedding location, and had never imagined renting a building on this historic street in our town. The next day I was on the phone with June at the Historical Society, who quoted me shockingly affordable rates, and was super sweet.

It was a damp night and already dark as we stood under the tiny awning outside the church, while June got the keys to let us in. By this time, I had lived in New Paltz over five years and had never had the chance to see the inside of any of these buildings. We stood there alone in our rain jackets as it drizzled and I just knew it was the place, even before the door opened.

We’ve been married almost six years now. This outing was our first real date since our daughter was born. On the hour drive back, we started wondering how everyone was doing. Back in Connecticut we found tired but very happy Grandparents and toddler.

A few more days visiting wrapped up our trip. We made our way through new even more heightened security at the airport, chased Mackenzie around by the gate for two hours, and were grateful by the time we were able to board the plane. We were even more grateful when they shut the lights out inside the cabin and our little girl napped the entire flight.

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Having grown up in New Jersey just outside New York City, I’m a city girl but just love the country too. When I was 20, I drove upstate New York for the first time to a small town, New Paltz, to check out the state university. I took piles of pictures of the country scenes and came back home asking my mom what type of trees they were. I was 20 and had never before seen an apple tree! I ended up living in New Paltz for almost nine years, and it still holds a dear place in my heart.

Back to the wedding, I get amazed still sometimes by open fields and things that might be second nature to others. The setting for Melanie & Adam’s wedding was one of these times. As we were taking their portraits a horse was running by in the background!