It’s vacation season and as much as I love getting away for a while, the last few times I have traveled were so stressful just to get there with flight delays and cancellations that by the time we got home, you guessed it, we needed another vacation. One that didn’t cause stress while we were trying to escape stress! Of course we knew exactly where to go, our favorite place in all of New York, Emerson Resort.

The first thing we always do when we get here is to hit the shops.  We love their shops! We have been coming here for years and some of our favorite things have come from The Shops at Emerson,
like my mom’s favorite pillow, our soap holder shaped like an old fashioned bathtub, and so many candles – we pick a new one every time. 

Oh, and I can’t leave out the CANDY!

There’s also a cool store with Kaleidoscopes and Wind Chimes.  Here you can experience the world’s largest kaleidoscope…but also the SMALLEST one! It’s soooo tiny and cute!

Time to wander around the resort after dropping off our shopping bags…and to breathe the sweet mountain air that we love so much! I wish they could sell THAT at the shops! The sweet air coupled with the rushing water sounds of the Esopus Creek instantly transports us to heaven on earth.  And we didn’t even have to fly! It’s just total peace and natural beauty.

It’s a great place to do NOTHING, but there’s also so much to do! We had perfect pool weather, which was matched by their perfect pool! That’s one of our favorite ways to relax at Emerson, and you can see why:

There are also beautiful hiking trails and cool old fashioned bikes, so we had an awesome active afternoon. 

I’m sure you are asking yourself, how could this possibly be more perfect? Well, I have the answer.  Food. Or, amazing food in an amazing location, Woodnotes Grille.

We LOVE their salads! And to sit outside right by the creek rushing by us was extra special.  They have so many things on their menu it was hard to decide but we settled on this delicious risotto:

It was so creamy and flavorful, with bits of veggies and mushrooms….mmmmmm…but I have to say, I loved dessert even more!

Do I have to say anything more?? I don’t think so…you get the picture….we highly highly HIGHLY recommend Woodnotes Grille and plan to be back even if we don’t stay at the resort sometime in the fall. Until then I’ll dream about the food and that apple crisp!!

As much as we love all the outside things to do at Emerson, relaxing in the room is also something we love.  

It’s so relaxing to have the door open so we can hear the sounds of the creek, light the fireplace, and just do nothing……until it’s time for an air-jetted tub or rainforest shower, that is! More heaven…

Long lazy nights here at Emerson, in every season, are truly the best nights you can experience! We always bring board games and have fun together by the fireplace and make so many happy memories. Another thing we make there is art! They have a whole Art Room now and it was so nice to see Liz again and to paint our watercolors! Here are our masterpieces:

I don’t know about you but I can’t think of any other place where you can do all of this and be so close to New York City.  Every time I go to Emerson Resort, I love it even more than the last time.  I can’t wait to be back in the fall.  So if you need some time to unwind but don’t want to spend hours in an airport or on a flight, it’s definitely time to experience Emerson Resort.

Time for some peace at Emerson!