Biglaan :: Mohonk Mountain Resort

ate cholie was restless one april weekend morning... wanting to go for a drive... to an adventure. a couple of clicks later... she saunters down the hallway and gleefully whispers, 'Let's Go!' and off to Le Paltz, NY we went for an overnight at Mohonk Mountain Resort.

just an hour drive from North Jersey, Le Paltz is a quaint town where tourists come to go antique-ing. and a few miles from town is the road that leads to Mohonk.

Mohonk is a 265-room Victorian castle, owned by the Smiley family since 1869. it's a beautiful resort where activities abound. families can choose from all sorts of adventures from simple dining, swimming, boating, fish-feeding, mini-golfing to the more adventurous trekking and skating. definitely a relaxing site to be at to rest and rejuvenate, the resort offers more than a luxurious facility to enjoy.
we were greeted by kind and attentive staff that were eager to help us out. we got two rooms for the five of us -- mom, kuyglenn, ate cholie, david and myself. one room was facing the mountains and the other had a beautiful view of the lake.

our first agenda was high tea. everyday, high tea is observed by all guests of the mountain house. they serve not only tea but lemonade and cookies. on the day that we arrived, we were lucky to experience a more extravagant tea ceremony where sandwiches and other sweets were served as the Smiley Family commemorates the house's 145th year.
after which, we went up the trails to the lighthouse and on the way caught sight of the skating rink which is open during the winter season.

from the trail and the top of the lighthouse, we were able to see the entire house which looked like hogwarts! it is massive! and definitely majestic. we even saw mom watching us from our room's balcony!

with the lake separating us from the property, it looked like it was miles away. as we headed down, we strolled around the gardens where the soil is preparing itself for spring. took pictures by the gazebos and at the same time, carved our names on the wooden planks, to leave a mark of a great afternoon experience.

our dinner reservations were set for 7:30pm and so we had to get ready. we had an amazing meal for dinner. each of us got different entrees, from fish to lobster, from duck to steak. had 2 appetizers each and a sumptuous dessert. it was an experience.

mom and david headed to the room to rest early while the rest of us headed down to the bar for some late-night drinks and kwentos. we didn't stay up long as we knew we had an adventure-filled day ahead.
we started off day 2 with a buffet breakfast. we all definitely had a breakfast for a king! mom had the best choices though!

not long after stuffing ourselves, ate cholie, david and i swam at the indoor, heated pool and listened to the soothing underwater music, while kuy glenn and mom lounged in the pool chairs. it was a good exercise after that big breakfast! soon, a water class was beginning their session so we had to shower up for the next activity...

david has been looking forward to the next event -- trekking up to the lighthouse through the crevice. yep, a crevice that ran along the side of the mountain. we had to go through, over, under, between, and across boulders and rocks, up and down ladders... just to reach the lighthouse that we saw the day before. mom had to stay behind but it was definitely an accomplishment for the rest of us. for me, afraid of scrapes and bruises, for ate cholie, afraid of heights, for kuyglenn, afraid of hurting his knees. we did it! and with great poise.

we had to rush back down after taking our time going up -- we lost count of the groups of people that passed us (!), because mom was waiting for us and lunch time was almost over! we got to the dining hall in the nick of time but thankfully, the buffet was still full of yummy food! after washing up and packing, we checked-out but stayed in the resort a few more hours.

we went boating... with kuyglenn rowing for us on our way to one edge of the lake and with david, rowing back. it was reminiscent of burnham park moments of my childhood! haha! but with a better view of course.

before heading home, we helped ourselves to more tea and cookies and lots more pictures to keep as memories.

all in all, it was a wonderful experience worth doing again!
i look forward to the next spur-of-the-moment trip!