Roadtrip East and a Celebration

I love road tripping! And when you can combine business (Rick's) into fun (for both of us), it's all the better.

We were headed East, the ultimate destination being Massachusetts, where we would be hawking his wares (software, that is) at a trade show. But the first day of the trip took us through Canada and into upstate New York, where we stopped for the night in Geneva, NY.



A dear friend had given us the equivalent of a dinner gift certificate at Christmas (we pick the restaurant!) and we decided to use the occasion to celebrate 20 years together. (Actually, 23 if you start from when we met!)

For all intents and purposes, you could call it an anniversary dinner, though contrary to popular opinion we aren't married and live in separate houses two blocks away from each other. We figure that this arrangement has kept us together when closer quarters may have failed! I think of Greg and Kevin, Rick's son's, as my practically-step-kids or loaner kids, as we've been together since the boys were 7 and 10!

We met when I went to look at the duplex he was renting in March 1993 (I didn't take it and ended up across the street). We were neighbors but not particularly close until after I moved a few blocks away a couple of years later. This occasion was really a celebration of two dates, three years apart!

So, the timing was right for us to use our gift while we were on the trip east and settled on Edgar's in the beautiful Belhurst Castle in Geneva as our celebration stop. And it was fabulous!

Belhurst Castle was actually build as a private residence between 1888 and 1892. It's an imposing building, located on Seneca Lake, one of New York's Finger Lakes. The brochure tells me it is built of sandstone in the Romanesque Revival style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (A more comprehensive history of this fascinating home can be found HERE.)

We only saw its main floor, with an imposing porch (converted into a dining area) and several smaller dining rooms. A cozy bar and a more informal restaurant were down the hall. The upper levels are used as hotel rooms (and no, we didn't stay there!).

It's earlier history included use as a Prohibition speakeasy, a supper club and a casino.

There are wonderful touches everywhere you looked. One of my favorites was the magnificent fireplace with a mosaic of Neptune.

And as you might expect, dinner was terrific, from the bread and crackers with three types of butter to the soup (seafood bisque), salad, main course (salmon for me, a super pork chop for Rick) and dessert (apple raisin bread pudding). We had looked at the steak and our server warned us that the night before someone had found it tough and since it was the same cut of meat, she wouldn't recommend it. I found that honesty refreshing.

When they brought dessert, it was accompanied by chocolate covered strawberries. That would have been dessert enough!

And yes, we were full. And yes, we were very, very happy! And yes, we'd return in a heartbeat!

Next time we'll visit a little more of Geneva. It's a wonderful place! (This post is linked to Thoughts of Home on Thursday! Check them out for other fun links!)