Jamie Thingelstad

Great sign for a brewery.

On our drive to Saratoga we spotted Kaleidoscope Cafe and decided the mix of BBQ and homemade Ice Cream was the perfect combination we wanted for lunch. We stopped in and Bruce, the gregarious owner, welcomed us and gave us a rundown of the menu. Everything here is made by him personally, except the hot dogs. He gave me a sample of all four of his BBQ sauces. I wanted to buy a couple of bottles to take home but he’s not selling that, yet. We had brisket and pulled pork and all of it was great. The mac-n-cheese goes perfect with the brisket.

We of course had ice cream as well. The Peanut Butter Infusion was amazing, but equally great was the Sweet Blue-Nilla which we tried in both scoop and shake options. Easily the best blueberry ice cream I have ever had.

We had a great time and heard some of Bruce’s story, and how he opened Kaleidoscope just last year in the middle of the pandemic. He’s powered through and pivoted a bit but is continuing to build out a great place for BBQ and Ice Cream. If you are in the area, you need to make a stop and say Hi! 👋

We took a walk around Studio Hill Farm this morning and checked out the Studio on the Hill. We saw people out working the fields, chickens doing what they do, and these sheep that had just gotten moved to a new pasture and were greatly enjoying all the fresh grass.

We took an afternoon sail with Hudson Sailing. We had a great, relaxing time sailing up the Hudson River. The wind was really calm but Dan, the owner and captain, was able to grab what was there and have a good time on the water. ⛵️

We visited the Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Buddhist Monastery outside of Woodstock, NY today. Unfortunately the buildings were closed due to COVID-19, but we saw the grounds, outside of the Shrine building, and the Eight Stupas.

Words we used to describe Vermont: Bucolic, Pastoral, Idyllic, and Verdant.

The bar is high. 😊

Sign in a storefront in Woodstock, NY.

I’m eager to read Michael Pollan’s newest book, This Is Your Mind on Plants. We listened to Pollan on Tim Ferriss’ podcast and found it interesting. We got the book at Mirabai in Woodstock, NY.

Blue and yellow sailboats on Rondout Creek connecting to the Hudson River in Kingston, NY.

We had some extra time this morning and saw a trailhead for Overlook Mountain Wild Forest. We stopped and had a nice little hike to start the day.

Great way to spend the afternoon. Sailing on the Hudson River. ⛵️

Ice cream at Sleeping Giant Ice Cream in Kerhonkson. 🍦

We have had a delightful time staying in the Modern Accord Depot in Accord, NY. Staying in a renovated train station has been a unique and fun experience. A Train Caboose in the yard to play in was incredible. A dance studio to have fun in as well?

We took a tour of Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, New York today. It was an interesting peek into this pocket of Calvanism in New York and the critical role that the founding 12 houses made in the area. We got a tour of a native Wigwam that was common before the Huguenots arrival. Then a recreation of a church. Finally we toured the Jean Hasbrouck house.

Painting on the side of a building in New Palz, New York.

This morning we rented bikes from New Paltz Biking and took a 16.2 miles round-trip ride on the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. It was a wonderful ride and the Trellis Bridge 160 feet above the Hudson River provided immense views. We turned around at the Ice Caves that felt like you were standing in front of a giant air conditioner.

Dune is perhaps my favorite sci-fi world. I read all six of Frank Herbert’s books in one summer and loved them. I saw Lynch’s 1984 version of the movie and watched it at least a dozen times on Laserdisc. I saw the Sci-Fi channel mini-series from 2000. I’m eager to watch the new 2021 movie.