New Year's Trip to Saratoga Springs

This New Year's, we went to Saratoga Springs to celebrate the holiday.  Our goal was to go snow tubing on one day and to their awesome First Night on New Year's Eve, which has all sorts of juggling acts, puppet shows, and music for kids.

Unfortunately, on the very first night of our three-day trip, my husband came down with a stomach virus (the same one my mom and I suffered from weeks ago).  As much as he wanted to go out and explore with us, he was just too sick, and so he stayed in the hotel while Little Lewie and I went out. 

The weather, being very cold, windy, and raw, was not ideal for snow tubing, so we decided to spend one day going to the Children's Museum at Saratoga and another day going to the miSci Museum of Innovation and Science in nearby Schenedtady, NY. 

The good news is that the hotel and both museums ended up being a hit!  Lewie's two big fascinations in this world are elevators and trains, and so on this trip, he was able to have fun with both.  The hotel where we stayed, The Gideon Putnam, is an old resort from the 1930's that had both a modern day elevator and an old service elevator.  Since Lewie has never seen an "old elevator" before, that became the highlight of the hotel...nevrmind the fact that the hotel is unbelievably gorgeous, and that there was a wedding there right on New Year's Eve!  (I so wanted to be a wedding crasher.)

I loved their Christmas display!

A life-size nutcracker.

The old, still-functional, service elevator that Lewie adored.

 

Lewie was particularly fascinated by the working levers instead of digital numbers/buttons.

 

Couldn't you just see yourself getting married here?



How about getting married here now?

How about now?

I just love the view overlooking Saratoga Spa State Park.

 

The museums provided Lewie's second love--trains.  At the Children's Museum, Lewie had the chance to pretend he was the driver and conductor of a play trolley (complete with a ticket booth and actual tickets), and at the miSci Museum, Lewie had a chance to see a huge display of model trains up front and in-person.  I wish I had captured video of his very first reaction to seeing it because quite honestly, his excitement could be heard throughout the entire museum.  For hours, Lewie ran around the big train table following the trains.  (I do have some quick videos to show...)

Driving the trolley...

Tickets?  Get your tickets.

Lewie had fun running up and down the trolley singing the "Hot Chocolate" song from the Polar Express.

Preparing a meal in the "play" diner.

I love a man in the kitchen.

Of course, we had to treat ourselves to milkshakes afterwards--that's what the holidays are for!

Okay, so I had to take one more picture of the milkshake. 

Running into the miSci Museum on a snowy and frigid cold day.

A mini train and amusement park display--so cool.

The town and trolley on the opposite side of the train display.

Here comes the trolley!

Do you see four little boy heads peering above the train display?

Here are those four little heads again.

And one more time.  (They were standing like this for about 30 minutes...)
 

 

 

 

 

Finally, for New Year's Eve Day, my husband was feeling a little better, and so we had a chance to visit our favorite restaurants in the area.  We went to the Olde Bryan Inn (established in 1773) for brunch, and for New Year's Eve Dinner, we went to Ravenous, our favorite crepe place.  (Hubby and I came to Saratoga Springs before for New Year's Eve 2006, so eating at these restaurants have now become a mini-tradition.)

Eating at the Olde Bryan Inn.  (Can you tell that my husband still looks somewhat under the weather?)

The rustic restaurant.  I just love this place!

The Olde Bryan Inn from the outside.

New Year's Eve Day is downtown Saratoga.

Our favorite crepe place, Ravenous.

I think this is a private residence in downtown Saratoga.  It's big enough to be a Christmas village.

Ringing in the New Year at Ravenous with chocolate crepes...

All in all, it was a fun trip.  It wasn't exactly how I imagined it, but I was happy my husband was feeling good enough on New Year's Eve to come out to celebrate with us, even if just for a short while.  Lewie told me he would miss the hotel and the elevator, so for me, the trip was well worth it!