So sorry about the concert. Just to be sure, you want to drive for a couple of hours and stop over night and then head to the Spa?

Cooperstown NY is very charming. There is a decent museum and a well regarded opera house. Plus, the baseball hall of fame if that interests you.

Yes, Deee, thank you. That's a great idea. The place I want to stay is prob booked, but I have to call them to see (old fashioned!)

When you call you can tell them your tale of woe. "I was supposed to take my teenager to see Meghan Trainor but that was cancelled so I want to take her to see the Magic Flute instead." How could they resist that request?

Are you staying at Mirbeau in Skaneatles?? I stayed there last fall! Loved it. And it's a pleasant walk to the quaint downtown. We are going back to Skaneatles in Oct. -- instead of doing parents' weekend at my DS' school, we're scooping him up and taking him to Skaneatles for a long weekend. (Not staying at the spa, tho!)

No help from me, just had to butt in when I saw Skaneatles!

Yes, we are, Sue. I thought I remembered you had been. It looks like a lovely spot, and I always wanted to see that area but it was never convenient to anything. Total aside, wasn't your DS changing schools, or did he decide to stay? I know you liked the idea of him being closer!

Deee, only very very sorry hotels avail in Cooperstown, plus DH would kill me if I went without him. He has been before but always wanted to take the family.

Well, we are leaving tomorrow so I didn't have much time to figure this out. I wa able to move my itinerary around a little bit. I have decided we will stop in Hudson for lunch and shopping but not to stay, then head up to Saratoga Springs for 2 nights. I found a really great in town hotel with nice suites (I love a kitchen when I travel). We will do the races and "take the waters", maybe get her a makeup lesson at the one spa I saw had it there. Then we will drive to Mirbeau for a few days, more spa, maybe some kayaking or hiking. On the way back from Mirbeau we will stay in Saratoga again, but I was able to cut that back to one night (could not cancel it). The second time is a different inn, and we might go see the Phila orchestra while we are there.

We looked into other concerts, but both of us really wanted to see MT. So we will keep track of that and hopefully another time.

Mnt its maybe three hours drive time. No way 10 hours... We drive up all the time from Pa. You can drive all over the finger lakes area in one day. Watkins Glen has a great hike at the falls state park there and a good restaurant at the harbor.

What a bummer! i am sure your daughter was looking forward to the concert-- I am sure there will be other opportunities to see her!

Sounds like you have a good plan. I've never been to Saratoga but my sister/BIL really enjoy it. I read your post early this am and while I think Hudson is a sweet town, I wasn't sure it was the best option for an overnight.

Love the hike in Watkin's Glenn but the town is one of my least favorites in the region.

Have a great getaway!

Funky, I know, right? I just also found this cool place in Saratoga where you do oil painting (kind of like those ceramic places). They feature a certain painting, and have an artist on hand to help people copy it. My DD is very artistic so this will be cool.

"Paint and Sip"; cool idea

Missy - No, this is correct, its google maps from our house. It's not 10 hrs one way; that is the total round trip with Saratoga and Hudson in there

PS We did Watkins Glen before; we have family in PA

Mtn, yes, he's returning to SU this fall but applying to two Boston schools for a Jan transfer, although we have all agreed that he may change his mind and decide to stay put once he gets settled this fall...or not...he seems pretty determined to transfer but he's changed his mind about a lot of things over the past year!

So there is no age limit at Mirbeau? Maybe I'll take my DD there for a pedicure or something when we are in the area!

My parents took me and my sister to Cooperstown when I was your daughter's age. To compensate, they got us a motel with a pool.

What about Rhinebeck for lunch and shopping? If it's good enough for Chelsea, it should be good enough for you. ;)

Have you been to the Vanderbilt mansion?

Sue, They have to be 18 at Mirbeau, but the spa in SS springs was ok with us having a "couples massage"; ie parent in the same room. My bet is Mirbeau would do the same. I've taken my girls to spas before and my sense is that the rules are to prevent gaggle of gigglers. But if you stay with your kid and if they are mature and quiet (and you aren't bringing in a party), in my experience they don't care. And outside of the US, it is no issue at all.

Mayflowers, We have been to Rhinebeck several times. Yes, it is lovely! We have not been to any of the mansions, that's a good idea. But I think it's the opposite direction.

My parents took me and my sister to Cooperstown when I was your daughter's age. To compensate, they got us a motel with a pool.

Do you mean because of the baseball stuff? But there's so much else to do. I hate sports but I loved visiting Cooperstown as a kid: the Farm Museum, the Grandma Moses museum, the Glimmerglass Opera... There's plenty to do there that has nothing to do with baseball.

Oh too bad that Meghan has a sore throat. Bad timing. I wish I could help with your dilemma, but it sounds like you have it figured out. I did spend a year at SU and had a roommate from "skinny atlas". We couldn't stand each other. All I remember is cute guys and lots of snow.

Thanks for your email address. I just wanted to thank you for your help. Still not 100 percent on my plans for the Maine trip (at least the return), but I did get a room in Portland for one night in a funky old inn. It's so hard making plans to visit a place for the first time.

I just go back from the Finger Lakes two weeks ago, having never traveled to that region before. I was with my 16 y/o dd while my son went to lacrosse camp at Syracuse. I don't have suggestions for stops along the way as we came from MD. We went on short notice and did not stay in Skaneateles, but we did stop there for lunch, walked through the town and along the waterfront. The lake there is crystal clear. I definitely recommend either kayaking or paddle boarding. I love paddle boarding (I have my own board at home) so you might give it a try if you've never done it before. There is an outfit there that brings the equipment (kayak and board) right to the waterfront downtown - I don't remember the name of it but found it by googling when we were there. We had great sandwiches from a local bakery that is on a corner one block off the main road. We took them down to the waterfront and ate outside. When we were there, they were setting up for an antique boat show so we walked along the piers and checked out the boats...even saw one from our hometown in MD!

we stayed at a B&B by one of the other lakes where we hiked around the gorges, one of them being Watkins Glen which I see you already visited. I agree, the park is beautiful tho crowded, but the town is easily skipped. Ithaca was smaller than I envisioned and we did our own little tour of Cornell which was a beautiful campus. Ithaca is about 45 mins from Skaneateles tho so not sure you want to head down there, but they have several state parks with nice hiking trails in that area around Cayuga Lake.

have fun. My dad and I really enjoyed the area. My only regret is that we didn't stay a couple extra days after Ds14 finished his camp. We had nothing pressing at home as dh was away and my other two at camp, but didn't consider the idea of staying until we were 2/3 of the way back to MD!

Writersblock, yes, we only saw the baseball museum, and I was unimpressed with Babe Ruth's jersey. And Mickey Mantle's ball. Or was it BB's ball and MM's jersey? MM's glove? See, it didn't stick. It was about 1967 so I don't know if the other museums were there.

If you are around Hyde park, I think you and your daughter might enjoy taking in a meal at the culinary institute. It is fun to watch the students and also gave a very good meal.

CIA

We are all set for now, but yes, we would like that. I am getting good ideas here for easy daytrips!

I live in Skaneateles and coincidentally grew up in Fairfield County. Hope you enjoy skaneateles-- it's beautiful right now. A couple of suggestions: dinner at the Krebs. Magnificent restaurant and not for profit. All profits benefit local charities. Mirbeau food is not that great. Breakfast is their best meal far and away. Sherwood inn has a great pub for dinner too. For a great home decorating store, stop by nest 58 on the Main Street. It's my friends store and she has an amazing eye. Oh, if you like a traditional fish fry, don't miss Doug's on Jordan at. Expect to wait, tho. Message me if you need anything or have questions--I'm around this weekend. Safe travels.

Jojo,

thank you for posting! I just booked Krebs for Sat nite. The chef worked at Eleven Madison, one of my fave restaurants in nyc. I'm looking forward to it, and the fact that it's for a good cause makes it all the more delightful!

will def stop at Nest 58. One good thing about the change in plans is we are driving our own vehicle now, and it's a big SUV with lots of room for shopping spoils ...

thx again , oh and sorry for misspelling your town!

Mtn,

you're in very good company – – everyone misspells Skaneateles. Most mispronounce it too. Think "skinny at last" and you are generally there.

you will love the Krebs. I am a writer and wrote a piece about the restoration for a Syracuse magazine last year. It has a wonderful backstory (Google adam/kim Weitsman) and most of the community is grateful to the weitsmans for restoring it. Their goal is to make it one of the top restaurants in the US, and they are well on their way. if you get there early, you can sit on the porch and have a drink. And I realize I wrote that the store is on our main street. The name of the street is Genesee Street. Not that you could miss it, we are a two traffic light kind of place. Literally. Have fun..

Howe caverns could be an interesting stop for someone looking for something different to see/do to in upper New York state. If you ever go, try catching one of the lantern tours at the end of the day if they still have them. On the way back they turn off the lights and everyone finds their way back at their own pace with their own lantern.

Cool, Grama, I will look that up!

So, Mtn, how was your trip? I hope Skaneateles was everything you hoped it would be.

Thanks for asking, Jojoco. The town was just lovely. I loved your suggestions, too. Krebs was an absolute delight. I did something I always wanted to do; we had no entree or dessert, we just ordered eight appetizers and shared it all! We created our own tapas menu if you will. There were so many cool things I wanted to try, and since it was for a good cause I could justify it, LOL. DD thought I was crazy. The green grape, celery and green pea gazpacho ws TDF. I also loved the sashimi with melon and jalapeno. My fave may have been the stonefruit salad with Brie and proscuitto. Lovely lovely. Nest 58 was my favorite gift shop of the many we wandered into on our entire trip. Great stuff. Too bad so much of it was specific to the town (zip code, coordinates, etc). I did go twice and got some things for me, plus a housewarming gift for a friend. Never got to the Sherwood because DD wanted to go a second time to Gildas (yum). The Mirbeau Inn was very nice but the decor is a bit dated, even for that genre. The spa was good but not great IMHO.

All in all, we had a lot of fun and kept busy. The Roosevelt spa in Saratoga is old but has a certain charm and has excellent massage therapists. I was this close to running away with Alex ... DD got a great makeup lesson. We did the painting thing there, too, and she won money at the track, on a horse called "Shopaholic"! We did do a lot of shopping. We had lunch (and shopping) in cute lil Hudson on the way up, and lunch (and shopping) in Rhinebeck on the way back.

The best part was talking in bed till 2am.