Maddie, Emily and I went on a short little jaunt up north this week.  I’ve been itching to get back “home” for awhile and thought the older girls would have fun seeing a bit of where our family used to live.  It was a lovely break from the usual and it went way too fast.

We stayed at a hotel in Saratoga Springs right downtown.  It was perfect.  The best part of the whole trip?  Getting to see my dear friend Shireen.

We went to high school together, and we live waaaay too far away from each other now.  Otherwise I can guarantee you we’d be inseparable.

We had really wanted to go on the Minne Ha Ha but they are apparently still only running it on the weekends.  That was a pretty big let down, but we still enjoyed the lake and the fort.

I miss getting to see this on a regular basis.  I also miss how wonderfully not – humid it was there the whole time, even right before a big rain.

Can you smell the balsam?  I am not kidding.  Standing there the air was thick with its scent.  This is along the west side of Lake George, just north of Bolton Landing.

Elephant rock!!!!  Also on the west side of Lake George, outside the town of Hague.

On the way to Ticonderoga.  We were going to tour that fort as well but it was late in the afternoon by the time we got there so we opted not to.

However we DID opt to pack quite a bit of goodies to bring home with us.  If you’re ever in Saratoga you must check out Mrs. London’s.  It is a European pastry shop with to die for food.

I won’t even tell you how much I spent there.  Let’s just say it wasn’t cheap.  But so very worth it!  The attention to detail in these lovelies must be seen to be believed.

It was tough leaving my animals and my little girls.  Neve told me on the phone every night that she wanted to be with me.  I just didn’t think she would enjoy the 12 hours in the car or the historic tours or the sightseeing.  I brought her back an Invader Zim tee shirt and that seems to have made it all better, just as the pastries bought me at least 6 months worth of gratefulness from my husband!

I’ve also been playing with Picnik – it’s a photo-shop style website for improving and playing with your pictures.  Bear with me as I get used to it and its features!