Day Trippin' Sharon Springs NY-Part Two

This is 'Part Two' of the pictures that I took on Saturday at the Sharon Springs Fall Harvest Festival. This is the post that will show you the pictures of the Fabulous Beekman Boys, Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Dr. Brent Ridge, formerly of Manhattan, NY and now (at least part of the time for Josh) residents of the Beekman Mansion in a beautiful rural community by the name of Sharon Springs, NY.

This photo was taken in front of the Cafe'

on the main street in town, NYS Route 10.

The banner flew high reminding the townspeople

that the 2nd annual Harvest Festival is upon them.

We got to the festival around 11 am and the streets were already filling up. We decided right then and there that our first stop would be the "Beekman 1802 Mercantile". Best move we could have made as the wait to get into the store wasn't too bad...we got to chat with the gentleman/artist who hand crafts the Britannia Fruit Spoons that are sold exclusively at the Beekman 1802. The spoons are beautifully made of "Britannia, a metal alloy that was common in the 18th century" (according to the authentication I got with mine). "The alloy becomes molten over hot coals and is then hand-poured into an original, authentic 18th century spoon mold." It is essentially, a type of pewter and it will make a very nice gift! Well, that's what I got it for...we'll see...it's beautiful.


This poster was hanging in McGillycuddy's Natural Soap store.
Loved that store! Smelled wonderful and they have so many 'flavors' of soap!

This poster of the goats (my favorite) was just inside,

at the entrance of the Beekman 1802.
It's just such a cool photo!

This is the signage for the beautiful scarves that they carry.

Inside the store (which looked bigger on TV) we all snaked around the center display table and it worked like a charm! We all saw the merchandise, the clerks were so very nice and when we were there (a little after noon) they still had merchandise to sell! I bet that by the end of the day they sold out. The TV crews were milling about and filming while we were there. You can see them in this photo. They blended right into the background and it was really easy to forget they were even there!

You see the double tiered display in the center of this island table above? This is where the Blaack Cheese was displayed. All of the bigger rounds of cheese were gone by the time we came around the table and they brought out the last two (smaller one pound) rounds. Judy and I pretty much looked at them, decided that we'd get one and split it. We had tried it, they had samples, and it's really good my friends! So...bottom line...we got the next to the last cheese round. At least that was the buzz while we were snaking around the inside of the shop.

We chatted with this couple inside the shop. So...let's see...Judy and I each purchased a t-shirt, Josh's book 'The Bucolic Plague' and we got the cheese round to split! Not bad!

Outside the building that housed the shop,

Farmer John's goats were having a wonderful time!

As you exit the shop, Brent was there on the porch

to sign autographs and chat a little.

Nice, nice guy. Truly enjoyed talking to him.

As time went on, the lines to get into the shop and see the 'boys' snaked all the way down the street. Thank God we had the smarts to do that first!

The Roseboro is in the same building and between there and the shop there were more great t-shirts, mugs etc. for sale. I was planning to go back for another shirt, but kind of forgot.

Not sure when Josh joined Brent.

He wasn't there when we went to the shop...

This picture (above) is the picture from the TV show website. This is the front of the Beekman Mansion. The rear of the building faces the street. (Brent told us how to find the mansion...) Since nobody was permitted access to the property (they had security guards...smart!) I had to borrow this picture to show you the perspective. We couldn't see this view of the house from the street.

I took this shot from the street. How grand is this place, huh? No wonder Josh and Brent fell in love with this place! and this is just the side of the house.

NYS officially says this is a historic place...

This is the view from the street, the 'back' of the mansion. Not too shabby the the rear entrance!
So...we had a great time, the weather was perfect and I would attend this festival again.. Look for the TV show on your Planet Green TV channel! According to the card I picked up in the American Hotel (love that building...took enough pics so I can paint it...see previous post) ...the 'Boys' will have a holiday special and the show will return again in the spring of 2010.

Day Trippin' - Sharon Springs, NY-Part One

On Saturday, my friend Judy and I took a short 2 hour trip to a beautiful town called Sharon Springs, NY. Some of you may know that this is the beautiful upstate home of Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Dr. Brent Ridge of the Planet Green TV show called 'The Fabulous Beekman Boys' that began it's first season this past summer.

Sharon Springs is about 50 miles west of Albany, NY and is only about a half hour from Cooperstown, the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Settled in the late 1700's, Sharon Springs grew into a highly fashionable spa during the 19th century and boasted several beautiful hotels that were used as summer resorts for the guests of the healing waters. For more of the fascinating history of this picturesque small town, please visit here.

Last year, the residents of Sharon Springs, with the help and prompting of Josh and Dr. Brent, held their first annual Fall Harvest Festival to showcase the local farmers and craftsman in the area. (Pictures of the Roseboro Hotel)

This years festival was held this past weekend. Since (for a change) we were close enough to actually attend an event that we've heard about on blogs or national television, we thought it would be a great day trip! I mean, come on...Upstate NY in early autumn? Can't get much better than that! Breath-taking views and quaint towns...old original architecture, country roads...you have to love Upstate!

Look at this awesome building! It held what used to be a grand hotel and several small businesses. This is the building that the Beekman 1802 Merchantile , owned and run by the Beekman Boys themselves, is now in. The shop takes up only a small space in the center bottom floor of this enormous building.

This and the next three pictures are of the 'American Hotel' which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is steeped in history. It is beautiful inside. We couldn't hang around too long because they were very busy and we didn't have reservations, but the lobby is beautifully decorated and the wonderful aromas seeping from the award winning restaurant was incredible! Wish I had pictures of the inside. My friend is planning to make a reservation for her anniversary as a surprise for her husband next spring. Shhhh....don't spill the beans!

This was the booth of a fiber artist.

She had gorgous handmade items for sale!

Looking north on State Route 10 through the village.

What a great antique desk!

A quartet played music in the park's gazebo during the afternoon.

FRESH ORGANIC veggies!

Have you ever seen such a sweet face? This is one of the Alpaca's that were at the festival. There were plenty of working dogs with their owners and there was even a miniature horse wandering the streets and sidewalks of town.

Yards and yards of newly spun wool yarn!

Stay tuned for part two of our trip to Sharon Springs Fall Harvest Festival and hear about how we met Dr. Brent and pictures of their historical mansion!