Hi, friends!  I have been experiencing the beauty of a town called Saratoga today.  My dear friend, Lauri, picked me up at the hotel this morning and off on our adventure we set for a time of sharing.  Our first stop was to taste the mineral waters of Saratoga.  Lauri brought along two plastic cups for the tasting party and alerted me to only use the tip of my tongue since these waters were not what you might expect....she was right.  The water was quite salty, but it's part of the history of the area....the famous mineral waters discovered by the Indians and believed to possess special healing powers! 

We also visited the Gardens at Yaddo.  Lovely and beautiful, these gardens are open to the public and were originally a farm, gristmill and tavern operated by Jacobus Barhyte, a Revolutionary War veteran who fought at the Battle of Saratoga.  Many well-known writers of the 1830s and 1840s dined at his tavern, among them Edgar Allan Poe!  At the turn of the century Spencer and Katrina Trask (philanthropists) made this a working artists' community and the gorgeous mansion located on the property (rebuilt after a fire burned the main residence to the ground) is still open only to artists seeking uninterrupted time to work on their projects.  Among those who have used this hideaway is Truman Capote and Sylvia Plath!  The name Yaddo was given the Trasks by their young daughter.

There is a fantastic rose garden located on the property that houses numerous rose bushes of every color in the rainbow.  It was noted that Katrina Trask wanted the rose garden to reflect romance, as an expression of her own life.  Ironically, the Trasks' four children left no heirs and the properties were made into a corporation before they died.  Amazing...and beautiful.

Well, you can see that I love these types of historical experiences....we also visited the adorable little town of Saratoga.  Made famous for its horseracing, the architecture of Saratoga reminds me of yesteryear that today contains various modern stores and cafes, one of which we dined for lunch!  Okay, that's the report for today.  We're off to have dinner with our friends at their new home!  More reports tomorrow....might be heading into Vermont!!  God bless, my friends!