Boudreau's and New Lisbon adventure

Terry finally had a morning off and she wanted to go to Boudreau's in Laurens. I had just been there but I was game to go again. We both had french toast and ham.

I had plans to go to New Lisbon and look for an old general store that I saw on FLICKR.COM. I asked Terry if she wanted to accompany me and she did. With the help (or hindrance) of an Otsego County map we finally found New Lisbon. We found the old store:

General Store in New Lisbon, New York, a photo by JuneNY on Flickr.

We also found an antique shop that may or may not still be in business, and a building with a sign saying BEE KEEPERS SUPPLIES. On the way back to Laurens so Terry could get her car, we saw an abandoned house with an interesting outbuilding:


It was just a short outing, but that was fine since while we were out it started snowing.....yes snowing on April 21st!

Quaker Burying Ground: Morris, NY

Quaker Burying Ground: Morris, NY, a photo by JuneNY on Flickr.

Terry and I went to the lenten fish fry at the Columbus Community Church tonight. On the way there, we saw some Amish people in a buggy, so we decided to drive through the Amish area on Parker Road outside of New Berlin. The supper was was great! After that we drove around Columbus a bit and I took a few pictures. We went through New Berlin and I stopped to take pictures of the old feed store. I vaguely recall going into it once in the late 1980's to pick up something. Since the feed store closed down, it has been used as an auction house, but it appears abandoned now.

After I dropped Terry off, I stopped at the old cemetery on Route 23, just outside of Morris. I had always assumed that it was the old part of the newer large cemetery across the road, but I was wrong. The sign says QUAKER BURYING GROUND. I spent a few minutes taking pictures and plan to return to hide a geocache sometime soon.

Mini Geocaching Adventure

April14_2011Geocaching 002, a photo by JuneNY on Flickr.

Leslie and I met up at my house this morning.
I packed sandwiches for lunch and we took off. We headed to the Milford State Forest to look for a geocache that had eluded us a while back due to there being so much snow. We found THE BEEHIVE rather quickly and easily and then headed towards Arnold Lake to find HAPPY BIRTHDAY SNEAGLEEAGLE. We found this geocache rather quickly and easily, also. I took this picture at that cache site. The next geocache was found in a rock wall at the edge of Arnold Lake...........this one was called DAMP DUCKY'S CACHE. We had a bit of trouble with this one because it was hidden in a spot which we felt sure was on private property. Eventually, Leslie pointed out a spot where she thought it was, but she was hesitant to go after it. Anyways, it was there and we found it.

Here is a picture of Camp America, which appears to be a lodge, it is right on Arnold Lake.
I need to return when the blue tarps have been taken down.

We decided to do one more geocache: I've Lost My Head. On the way we stopped so Leslie could do some birdwatching. If she sees an interesting bird, she brakes and pulls over. Here is a picture taken at that spot.
We stopped for a couple of minutes and then headed on towards the next geocache. On the way there, I saw that we were approaching Lippitt Cemetery, which I had discovered on my way to Cooperstown a few weeks ago. I asked Leslie if we could stop there so I could hide a geocache. She pulled over and we looked around and found a good spot, and I hid my geocache. Then we headed out and when I turned on my GPS, it pointed back to the cemetery. I told Leslie that we had just left the area of I've Lost My Head and that I would probably have to retrieve my geocache. We returned and found the geocache, it is way too close to my hiding spot, so I went and got it. We had a bit of a laugh about this escapade. I knew it was a good spot! Actually, I just checked geocaching.com and the geocache was already hidden there the first time I went to the cemetery. It was placed there the day before! Here are a couple of pictures I took at the LIPPITT CEMETERY.
Apparently, someone put flags on these markers because they mark graves of men who served in a war. As you can see, one is so old that the name and information is not decipherable, and the other is a newer stone, which may have replaced an old one.

BOUDREAU'S and GEOCACHING ADVENTURE

Carol suggested we go geocaching this morning. I suggested we combine geocaching with a drive to Laurens to have breakfast at Boudreau's. I had heard about this tiny restaurant over the years and wanted to go for quite a while now. Carol agreed to my idea. She picked me up at 8:45 and we headed over to Laurens. Here is a picture of the outside of Boudreau's.

There were only a couple of customers there and a lone elderly man was running things by himself. He handed me a pad of paper and a pencil and pointed to the menu on a blackboard and told me to write down what we want and bring it back to him saying "I am too lazy to come and get it." We looked over the menu
and ordered scrambled eggs, toast, bacon and home fries. We took a seat at a table in the back and looked around. I asked the owner if I could take pictures and he said that would be fine.

This small restaurant is just the cutest place, and so old fashioned. Here are a few pictures I took inside. The highlight is the old wood burning stove,
but there are other interesting things to see.

Our meal took quite a while to reach us, I think he made the home fried potatoes from scratch. The meal was absolutely delicious. When I went up to ask for ketchup, he pointed to the refrigerator and told me I could get it out myself!!!

The owner said that they have had the same menu for 32 years. He said before that, the front half of the building was a tiny store with two gas pumps outside.

After breakfast (and we were both full to the brim), we headed into Oneonta for a morning of geocaching. The first geocache we found is at ONEONTA'S AREA 51, and I think the name is perfect! It is a bit of a mysterious area, around where the old roundhouse used to be. We saw this concrete structure and wondered what it was:

Then we went find one of the DUCKY DEAD END caches hidden on the end of River Street. This one was fun and interesting. After that, we found BASEBALL LEGENDS at a Little League field near River Street. I had looked for this one last winter without success. The final one was WHERE ARE THE WATER LILIES, in a tiny park at Hartwick College.

By that time we needed a drink and a bathroom and more gas, so we went to the large HESS on Main Street. We talked briefly about doing a couple more geocaches in Oneonta, but decided against that. We then talked about the possibility of going to Morris and finding SCOUT IT OUT, a cache we looked for in the winter but could not find. In the end, we decided to end the day before the predicted thunderstorms came.

It was a great day!

April Fools Day Adventure (short and sweet(

Carol suggested we go to a pulled pork dinner in Burlington Flats, New York. Neither one of us knew where Burlington Flats was and it is not on the Otsego County map. However, with the help of a flickr friend, I got directions.

I arrived early at the designated meet up spot in West Burlington. Instead of waiting for Carol, I drove around a bit and found this old empty store.

Old store in West Burlington, New York, a photo by JuneNY on Flickr.

I also found an old schoolhouse.
I took pictures and by time I got back to the designated spot, Carol was there.

We found our way to Burlington Flats and were pleasantly surprised at the clean, well kept hamlet. The village green is very nice and has memorials to men who fought in various wars. Here is one I particularly liked:
I took several pictures of the monuments and of the church, cemetery and interesting building adjacent to the cemetery.

When we were done there, we headed back to the pizzeria where we met. I went inside and got a couple of take out menus. Then we decided to find a geocache a few miles down the road on the edge of Edmeston. I actually found it before Carol got out of her car. It was the easiest geocache I have ever found.

The dinner was good, and I purchased a take out meal to take with me.

Taking the long way......

I had a medical appointment in Cooperstown in the middle of the day, and it turned out to be a nice day, so I left a couple of hours early and took some back roads instead of the usual direct root.

When I got to Mt. Vision, instead of turning left and going through the village, I kept going straight.........I ended up driving by Arnold Lake.........I could not find a place to pull in so that I could take a picture of the lake, so I only got pictures of two signs. After I went around the lake, I came upon a very old, very small cemetery LIPPITT CEMETERY. I got out and took a few pictures,
and the continued on my way.

I went through TODDSVILLE, and stopped to take a picture of the church, but I didn't see anything else very interesting there.

I arrived in Cooperstown with time to spare, so I looked for the old Delaware and Hudson Train Station and found it. It is a private residence now, with a long driveway. I walked partway up the driveway and took a couple of pictures.

After that, I went to New York Pizza and used a BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE coupon. I found a parking spot and ate a couple of pieces of pizza, then went to the bakery and bought some day old donut holes for desert. Then I went to the INN AT COOPERSTOWN. I inquired about the price of rooms and the woman working there showed me a couple. The prices are way to high to even consider ever staying there.

Then it was time to go to Bassett. Since I had a bit of extra time, I parked in the back parking lot and walked on the trail to the old stone bridge. This was my third time there (at least), but the first time I had my camera with me. I took several pictures. Here is one:

My medical appointment went very well, and then I headed home. I drove the back route through Hartwick and located the Hartwick Historical Society which is behind the library. I took a picture of the hours the library is open and a phone call later on confirmed that the historical society is open when the library is open.

Then instead of taking 205 all the way, I drove through South Hartwick, stopping to take a few pictures of an old cemetery that Leslie and I saw in February when we were exploring after seeing the old store.

South Hartwick Cemetery (S.Hartwick, NY), a photo by JuneNY on Flickr.

Then I figured out how to get back to 205 and came home.

Waltzing Horse Farm Adventure

WaltzingHorseFarm 008 a photo by JuneNY on Flickr.

Carol K has wanted me to go over to the Waltzing Horse Farm to watch her ride for several months. We tried to set several days and times to do this, but something always seemed to stand in the way.

She suggested today, and it worked out fine for me to meet here there. She told me to dress warm and wear my boots. I am glad I took her advice.

I met her there at 10:45. We went back to Sunny's stall, where he was eating his breakfast. After he was finished, Carol took him out and did some grooming and cleaned out an old injury in his groin. Sunny stood very well while Carol did this. Then it was off to the arena where Sara was giving a lesson. While she finished up the lesson, Carol got Sunny ready to ride. I was surprised at how much there is to this, and how long it took. Finally, they were ready to go.

First Carol walked Sunny around a bit, and then she got ready to mount him. This part was a little bit tricky, but she was successful in getting up on Sunny. I took several pictures and videos while she rode around the arena several times. After about a half an hour, she was ready to dismount. After taking the saddle, etc. off we took Sunny back to her stable.

Carol offered to treat me to lunch, so we went to NEW YORK PIZZERIA AND RESTAURANT in New Berlin.
(even though she was covered with horse hair). We shared a small cheese pizza and it was very good. I will put the pictures and videos on a "thumb drive" for Carol. I told her I will go over to "the farm" another time to take more if she wants me to.