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An Unplugged Weekend in the Catskill’s

Grey Lodge

Well, I was wrong. We were NOT going to the Adirondack’s for the weekend, we were going to the Catskill’s! I never was good with directions/locations.

This is my friend Ted’s family house, and was built by his great grandfather in the very early 1900’s. He worked for many years in Japan as an attorney, and the Japanese influence can be seen everywhere in the home. Ted now shares the home with his siblings and cousins as a vacation retreat. It also had an absolutely incredible Japanese garden that includes an authentic tea house.

The Japanese Garden.

Unfortunately, as we were driving along the 2-1/2 hour drive to get there, the weather got progressively worse. The temperature hovered in the low 50’s all weekend and it sprinkled a bit on-and-off, although we did wake to a beautiful sunny day this morning for a brief period.

Ted took the kids on a tractor ride, and I hopped in for part of the trip down a dried up stream bed.


And Evan, who has been asking only for a lawn tractor for Christmas for the past 3 years, finally got to drive one. The girls enjoyed driving it, too, and Ted got a little lawn mowed at the same time.

Evan living his dream.



And I not only got to ‘unplug’ for the weekend, with the house having no cell service or internet, but I forgot my suitcase at home too! (A disputable misunderstanding between husband and wife.) So I got to unplug in every sense of the word, living in dirty clothes with no shower or makeup. Thankfully Lorraine had some pajamas she could lend me.

We had a picnic at one of the highest points in the area today with amazing views. The recent hurricane hit this area hard though and a lot of the trees lost their leaves early this year, making for disappointing fall foliage.

The view from our picnic spot.


The kids had a terrific time together (their son James is Evan’s best friend), not letting the cool grey weather deter them from any outdoor activities, including a good session of hill-rolling.


We had a great time there. I actually wish we could have stayed a little longer. I adore Lorraine and Ted, and it was a great opportunity for Jim to get to know them both a little bit better.

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