A Mid-Winter Hike at Sam's Point and an Outdoor Winter Picnic at Gaby's Cafe in Ellenville, NY
The weekend of February 12, 2022 was originally supposed to be a friend filled ski weekend, yet with the weather forecasting temps close to 60 degrees we all decided to rethink our plans and change things up to be a friend/dog filled hiking weekend.
We settled on a fun hike/walk at Minnewaska State Park - Sam's Point Preserve . It was a perfect central location for a group of our friends and it is quite dog friendly!
6 humans and 4 dogs pilled into the vehicle and left from our house. We were meeting a couple other friends with their dogs at the park.
Out of our 4 doggos ( 2 stayed with Dad at his house for this adventure) Bea, is the only one prone to major car sickness! All the boys ride great! Plus, out of the 4 pups we had with us for this trip, 2 get motion sickness. Ohhhhhh yeah....we had barf bags on the ready! And Jenneka had to keep Bea from watching every tree that passed…
Guys by God's grace everyone....humans and canine, kept all bodily functions within their bodies...okay maybe not in the gaseous department.
As we unloaded the clown car, Mattie and his dog Dixie arrived and then Esther pulled in with her pup Mo. Perfect timing!
Fam...it was doggy daycare at its finest!
The day was spectacular....
Blue skies picked up the white and grey hues of the melting snowy landscape creating some pretty stunning views!
The company was bar none! Thanks Patrina for capturing the above pic…all 3 of us sibs were in it🙌…haha
After completing the trail and snapping a few more fun pics, we were all pretty hungry! We had assumed we would only be able to order food and tailgate, but the original sushi spot we were thinking of was really out of the way from our friends' route home. Soooo, we decided to drive into town, found a parking lot and let Jared and Anthony scope out our options while we waited in the cars with the pups.
They returned, to astoundingly inform us that one of the restaurants we were scoping out " Gaby's Cafe" would be willing to seat all 8 of us! And our 6 dogs! We all questioned...."fellas, you did tell them these aren't lap dogs?!" Really only 2 of the pups could actually pass as lap dogs....the others not so much!
Jared had gone back once more to make sure it would be okay...sure enough 10 minutes later they had a long table set out on their front patio with a heater on full blast!
We strode across the street in anticipation!
Played a round of musical chairs...hahah, and got the dogs settled...
Then perused the menu while happily munching on complimentary tortilla chips and salsa!
First, we ordered drinks...
And toasted the day! To friendship and dogs!
A big thanks to Esther for capturing some great full table shots! Of course we had to order a couple appetizers...
Fresh Guacamole and Nachos...
Always crowd favorites!
As plates of our steaming hot food arrived at the table, Jenneka had to get a couple pics to document the moments...
Some of us (ehhh hemmm Jared) only had eyes for his burrito.
The pups guarded our table with ferocious loyalty....hahah okay its only because they were hoping some food would drop to the ground. Extra bonus for the restaurant....they greeted every passer by and warmly welcomed each guest as they walked up to the door!
We happily chatted with the owner Genaro (who is truly what his name means....generous!) Of course even after full plates of food had been devoured, there was somehow still room for dessert!
Maybe too much dessert....
Ehhhh can one ever really say too much dessert!
Nahhh... oh and let's not omit the coffees and hot chocolate.
We laughed and chatted until well after the sun went down!
We left Gaby's with full bellies, overflowing happy hearts and a slightly disheveled table that made for one of the best unexpected winter picnics we have ever had!
Gaby's which is a Family owned and operated business has 2 locations in the Hudson Valley, one in Ellenville and one in Rhinebeck, NY. We can honestly say that while this was our first time at this spot it will definitely, not be our last, Genaro and his family have a way of making all feel welcomed and yes, part of La Familia, furry friends and all!
Cheers to Family, Fur Babies, Friendship, and of course Food!
X ~ The Sibs
Janna, Jared and Jenneka
