Memorial Day Weekend

It may have been a soggy start to our summer kick off, but things are heating up in Greenwood Lake. We were the featured destination in the Living section of paper. Woo hoo!

By Monday there were people tubing out on the lake. And this week temps are forecasted to be in the upper 80s, the restaurants are in full gear and this coming weekend is the East Arm Rowing Club's Regatta, as well as the Spartan Race at Tuxedo Ridge.

Are You Tough Enough?

Maybe you've done some 5ks, a marathon, or even a triathlon, but have you conquered the Spartan Race? This wildly popular event held each year at Tuxedo Ridge Ski Center (just 4 miles from the Inn) is building steam, so much so that a second weekend was added. The weekend of June 1st & 2nd is sold out to racers, but spectators are welcome. There is still limited availability for the June 8th race. Want to be inspired? Check out www.spartanrace.com.

Home Brewing

I love that there are so many local microbreweries and wineries cropping up in our area. It seems crazy that we're only an hour outside of Manhattan, yet we're in the middle of wine (now brew country). Maybe that TV show Moonshiners is inspiring people to get back to the basics of brewing. Either way there are a ton of fun classes and tastings to do. The next beginner/intermediate brewing class at Mistucky Creek (in neighboring Warwick) is on April 20, 2013 from 10-1pm. The cost is $35/person. Topics covered will be everything from sanitizing through bottling, and you'll actually be brewing a batch. Classes fill up quick. To sign up email info@mistuckycreek.com or call 845-988-HOPS.

Make a weekend of it and stay at the Waterstone Inn. If you'd like to indulge in the local products we can arrange for a car service to and from the Inn.

Spa for Spring

Once again I've offered myself as a guinea pig for the sake of our guests. It's tough, but someone has to do it:) After a super busy week I finally took some time out for myself and went for a microdermabrasion session at Deirdre's Day Spa, which is right here on our little main street. To my surprise, Deirdre Rafferty, the owner, had formerly had a location in NYC then moved her business to downtown Greenwood Lake. I'm glad she did, because I enjoyed it so much that I signed up for the six-week plan in an effort to prep my skin for spring. I'm working on creating some spa & stay packages for the Inn. Stay tuned . . .

Book Early for Summer

I'm trying to catch my breath after this past weekend's World Fishing and Outdoor Expo. The Waterstone Inn exhibited as part of the Greenwood Lake Merchants Guild. Here's the long and short of it: over 30,000 people attended the show! We received an overwhelming response to what Greenwood Lake has to offer. We were in the mix with tourism boards from Maine, Alaska, Lake Ontario etc and I'll tell you this: People were shocked that we have pretty much everything that these other locations have, AND are less than 50 miles outside of NYC.

There's also been a lot of interest from journalists from the Outdoor Writer's Association that would like to feature Greenwood Lake in upcoming articles. All I can say is that we rocked it at the show and I'm sure it will be a busy summer season. My advice: Book Early. See you at the Lake!

Winter at the Beach

I never tire of looking out across the Lake, even in the dead of winter. This past weekend I took the boys down to the beach to do some sledding. I say this all the time, but I love where we live. As we were sledding the ice fishermen were getting set up, cross country skiers took to the frozen Lake and snowshoers strolled across the Thomas P. Morahan Waterfront Park to check the ice conditions. Looking at this photo you would never guess we're only 50 miles out of NYC!

Lake is Frozen!

It's been long awaited, but the lake is finally frozen. After a record warm winter last year everyone was anxious to get out there. This weekend we got the first glimpse of snowmobiles, ice fisherman and hockey players. This photo was taken just across the lake from the Inn. 

Play Hooky on a Thursday

Be spontaneous again, sneak away on a Thursday. Spend Valentine’s Day with the one you love at the Waterstone Inn.

To help you impress your significant other we’ve put this package together so you don’t have to.

1-night stay on February 14^th, 2013

Champagne toast and chocolate strawberries on arrival

In-room fresh floral arrangement

Candlelight gourmet breakfast 

$199+tax

Add the night of February 13 for only $99!

Corn Hole

Have you ever heard of corn hole? It's a simple game of bean bag tossing that's highly additive and fun. It seems to be catching on. There are ongoing corn hole tournaments at one of my favorite local places, Pennings Farm Market. Here's what's going on tonight via Pennings' Facebook page:

Corn Hole tournament tonight 8pm! Come down for some great beer tap, dinner from the grill, and some friendly competition! Now serving: Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale, Founders Red Rye Pa, Keegan Ale's Old Capital Golden Ale, Weyerbacher Verboten BPA, Southern Tier IPA, Greenport Harbor Black Duck Porter, PBR, and Hard Cider.

Ski Season is Here

It's a new year and time for some New Year's resolutions. One of mine is to blog more often about what's going on at the Inn and in Greenwood Lake. So here goes.

The local ski resorts are in full swing. With a decent amount of natural snowfall last week and freezing temperatures that allow for round-the-clock snowmaking, so far 2013 is shaping up to be a good season. Once again the Waterstone Inn is an official hotel partner of Tuxedo Ridge. Which means if you're a guest of the Inn you'll receive a 25% discount off the list price of lift tickets and rentals. We're just 4.5 miles from the base of the mountain and if the freezing temps continue, we should be able to get some ice skating going on our lakefront.

Nitrite-Free at Breezy Point

This past week I had the chance to spend some quality time here in Greenwood Lake with my cousin, his wife and their two young daughters. The best thing about  family and friends coming to visit is that you have an excuse to break from routine and play tour guide for awhile. After a couple of days here at the Lake, I think they can see why I chose Greenwood Lake as home. 

We ended their visit with a fabulous lunch at Breezy Point. I haven't been there with my own kids in awhile,  so I was happy to see that they now have nitrite-free hot dogs on the children's menu. I've tried to cut out all nitrites at home and it's nice to know that there's a local restaurant with an awareness and dedication to offering healthy food. Thank you Breezy!  ~Lisa

Spring Golf Deal

What an amazing start to Spring! The great weather has prompted some of the local golf courses to open early. Hickory Hill, which is less than 5 miles away from the Inn, is offering a round of golf with a cart for $25. That's a great excuse to dust off the clubs and get out there. To sweeten the deal, we'll take 10% off your stay at the Waterstone Inn if you golf at Hickory Hill in March and April.

Green Efforts in Innkeeping

Living in a lake community we're always aware of environmental concerns, especially those that affect the water. When we first opened the Inn four years ago we knew we wanted to do everything possible to conserve resources and to do business in a sustainable way.

Over the last couple of years we've done a significant amount of landscaping and maintain a lot of flowers around the Inn and down by our waterfront. For watering we bucket it out of the lake. Aside from being practical, the plants benefit from the nutrient rich lake water.

Most of the cleaning supplies that we use are naturally derived. Our ammenities (soap, shampoo etc) are packaged in recycled materials. In fact guests have become quite fond of our soap. Its unique design (with a hole in the middle) not only helps you get a better grip, but it saves on the amount of soap that's usually wasted.

The new initiative this year is composting. In the kitchen we're using all the vegetable and fruit scraps, egg shells, coffee grids and tea bags to make great garden soil. Now that our peak season is in full swing I'm amazed by the amount of scraps we produce. At home the worms are at work breaking it down and I'm glad that we can reduce the volume of waste going in the garbage. So far the results have been great. From what I've been reading, worm compost is five times more nutrient dense than average garden soil. Next spring we"ll have all the soil that we need for the landscaping around the Inn.

Birthday at the Winery

One of the benefits of living here in Greenwood Lake is that we're in the heart of NY wine country. So tonight for my birthday (I won't say how old), I'm headed to nearby Palaia Vineyards with friends and family. We're having an impromptu party in "the treehouse." (If you look at the picture to the left, it's the closed-in deck part of the building.) Here they have live music and a great little menu of tasting plates to complement the main attraction, the wine.

I simply love Palaia, it's a fun laid-back place that always has unique events. A favorite in the fall is the Lucy Grape Stomping Contest. Contestants dress up like Lucille Ball, jump in the grape barrel and do their best impersonation of the famed I Love Lucy episode. Can't beat that for originality. And in the summer there are music festivals galore. The Neil Young tribute weekend usually draws a big crowd. Palaia has also been known to host Toga parties, Star Trek night and of course ladies' night. Clearly it's not a typical winery, that's why it's one of my favorites.

Tonight is open mic night, so anything could happen. Can't wait to pop open one of Palaia's award winning wines and celebrate another great year! BTW, don't call too early if you want to make a reservation tomorrow morning :)

Lisa

Hooray for Local Produce

As a family business with a vested interest in Greenwood Lake, at the Waterstone Inn we're trying our best to support local merchants. The thing I love the most about Greenwood Lake is that we don't have any big box stores or shopping malls. We're a community of small businesses that are here because we love what we do and offer unique products or services. As the menu planner and cook at the Inn I was thilled when a produce market opened right on our main street. Reminicent of the markets that I miss so much down on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, (where our old apartment is) Monica's Fruit and Vegetables is exactly the type of business we needed here in Greenwood Lake. With no chain grocery store in town, if last minute guests checked in I'd have to haul over to Warwick or West Milford just to pick up fresh fruit and vegtables. Now, at a moment's notice I can head into Monica's and let her pick of the day be tomorrow morning's special. The fresh herbs are fabulous. My cheddar, chive and scallion omlette special was a big hit. ~Lisa~

Summer Planning

Greenwood Lake is gearing up for another great summer season. The planning is in place for the summer concert series, the 4th of July fireworks (probably the best in the Hudson Valley) and flower plantings throughout the Village. Tonight at the American Legion the Doo Wop group Magic Touch will be playing to help raise funds for the fireworks. A local favorite, Magic Touch always draws a great crowd when they play down at the waterfront park. If you haven’t come to Greenwood Lake yet for the free lakefront concerts, put it on the agenda for this year. The schedule should be published soon. We’ll be sure to post it on the Waterstone Inn website when it’s available.