To The Races!

A very good friend of mine tied the knot this past weekend in Winnipesaukee, NH (congrats Caitlin and Ezra #MoniztoMoses!). But before all that went down, we celebrated her bachelorette in Saratoga Springs, NY. It was my first trip there as well as my first visit to the race tracks. I'll give you a quick rundown of what I learned at the tracks, where we dined and where we partied. So here goes.

A majority of the party arrived Friday. We spent some time at the pool and then headed to The Saratoga Winery for some wine tasting. We had the option to pair it with cheese or chocolate (I opted for the cheese). It was a beautiful night for such an event, as we were seated outside. We stayed for a little while longer, had dinner and played a few games of cornhole. There was a live band at one point!

I loved the presentation of our wines. How cute is this wine glass tower?

Following the wine tasting, the drink of choice seemed to be their frozen wine that came out of this little hut. When the sun finally went down, we grabbed cabs and headed downtown to Gaffney's.

Saturday AM, I headed into town with two of my buds in search of coffee. We found Saratoga Coffee Traders and it was such a treat. They had some amazing specialty lattes. We loved it so much we went back the next morning for more!

After our morning coffee, we had a little bit of time to pop into a few shops. This one was one of my faves: Silverwood Home & Gallery. It had the cutest gifts and home decor items. Oh, and accessories too. I nabbed myself a necklace from the sale rack. We also stopped in Piper Boutique - great place to find well-priced clothing and accessories.

It was off to the races we went! I had no clue how to place a bet. So one of the girls in our group showed me how to read the odds off the tv screens. I quickly picked a few horses with the best odds, went up to the window and made a $12 tri-box bet. What that means is, as long as the three horses place (in any order) I win. We watched the race. I thought I lost. The girl I was with thought otherwise. We both went up to the window, had my ticket scanned and....$195! Talk about beginner's luck! Let's just say that was the only winning ticket I had that day.

We lucked out with the weather. We all had an amazing time. I definitely want to come back next  year! After we had our fill of placing bets and watches the races, it was off to the Horseshoe Inn Bar & Grill. That seemed like the place to be! As people spilled out of the tracks, they all headed in that direction. 

On Sunday, before heading home, we made one more stop in town for coffee. I took that opportunity to stop in a few more stores. Pictured above is Saratoga Tea & Honey. The store smelled delicious the moment we stepped inside. There was plenty of tea and honey to sample.

Red Wolf is another cute store we visited. Full of gifty items such as soaps and candles as well as indy-label clothing. Definitely worth a visit!

So that's it for me! Saratoga Springs is definitely a good time. I hope to come back next year for the races and that my luck continues.