Finding your "Happy Place"

Thursday, April 17, 2014
Do you have a "happy place"?   A place you always go on vacation?  A place you like to go to "think"?  A park, a restaurant, a store, or maybe church?  I think we all have one of those places, some of us have a few, maybe many.  For many people I know it's the beach......listening to the roar of the waves, walking in the sand, listening to the sound of the gulls.  I love the ocean but unfortunately I don't get there as often as I would like.  In the spring and summer I find peace and tranquility sitting in my backyard enjoying my garden, listening to the birds or just savoring some quiet.  I have several destinations that I can count on for renewal (and great pics), but one of my favorite "happy places" is actually a ROAD.  Yes, a road!

Not far from Harvest and Hearth which I featured in a previous blog post is Fitch Road.  Fitch Road begins on Route 9P on Saratoga Lake and runs all the way to Staffords Bridge Road.    It isn't even 'the road' that I love really.....it's what's on the road. 


All along Fitch Road lies rolling hills, sprawling pastures, miles of fences, and one after another horse farm.  This stretch of road, brimming with all that "country" might personify is soup for the country lovers soul.  Whether you travel down it in the fall when the leaves are brilliant gold, or during the dead of winter when the landscape is a snowy white, or in the spring when the pastures are sprinkled with mama fillies and their foals, Fitch Road is a sight to behold.




















One of the largest horse farms on Fitch Road is McMahon of Saratoga's Thoroughbred Farm. McMahon of Saratoga was founded in 1971 with the purchase of 100 acres on Fitch Road in the town of Saratoga, New York  by Joe and Anne McMahon.   McMahon's is the birthplace of famous thoroughbred, Funnycide, winner of the 2003 Preakness and Kentucky Derby. 


There is nothing more inspiring and more heartwarming than a drive past McMahon's anytime in late winter/early spring when the sight of these beautiful animals adorns the pastures with their young, wobbly-legged offspring.  This season alone, McMahon's has welcomed over 80 new foals!









No, I'm not a "horse person".....although I did ride a few times in my youth (when common sense was replaced by peer pressure and both were replaced by absolute fear), but it doesn't take a horse lover to be able to appreciate the beauty of these beautiful creatures.  And anyone that is not moved by the sight of a young foal......well, let's not even venture to understand that person.  Springtime on Fitch Road is understandably a wonderful thing.  I think you'll agree!  But even in winter......there's beauty and peace in every direction.






The next time  you need to be reminded of what lies outside of the busy, bustling city; when you feel the need to get 'away from it all' and observe the lives of those hardworking but lucky country folk, head towards Saratoga and set your GPS to Fitch Road.  Trust me, you'll go back again and again, season after season and marvel at the splendor and joy can be found on just one road! 




And just when you've reached your happy quota and you think it can't get any better, drive to the end of Fitch Road, take a left onto Staffords Bridge Road, and just down the little hill turn into Harvest and Hearth for a delicious dinner!  If  you're really feeling like you can stand a little more, rent a kayak from the Kayak Shack and enjoy the serenity as you paddle down Fish Creek.  I know you won't be disappointed!
By the way, if you click on any picture,  you will be able to see each picture larger and click from one to the next.



1 comment

  1. My happy place is always the water. Preferably the Atlantic Ocean. But I canbe just as happy on Lake Michigan, so I'm finding. It seems as big as an ocean and still gets waves, just not salt.

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