Whatever Happened To The Clovettes?

Living in the small town of Saugerties in upstate New York comes with all sorts of perks, one being it's the home of The Hudson Valley Garlic Festival. As with all small towns it's not what you know, it's who you know. So when a friend called me up and asked if my kids would be interested in working at the Garlic Festival, I thought, what the heck it sounds fun!



In 1989, Pat Reppert of Shale Hill Farm and Herb Gardens organized the first Garlic Festival held in the Hudson Valley. It was started to promote Repperts herb business and NYS grown garlic. Pat's newsletter the "Notes from Shale Hill Farms" was the only publicity aside from a local newspaper picking up the story. Through word of mouth the attendance of the first Garlic Festival far exceeded the estimations.



By 1990, over 425"garlic lovers" attended the event, and by 1991 tickets where pre-sold to try and control the crowds. Reppert had over 1,500 phone calls from crazy people trying to gain admission to the new popular festival. It was then that Pat " cried uncle" and approached the Saugerties Kiwanis Club for help in managing the festival.



in 1992, the Kiwanis Club of Saugerties held the first Garlic Festival at Cantine Field in Saugerties.



The word was out, and the numbers began to grow faster than the garlic. I like to think that the heightened attendance had something to do with the entrance of "The Clovettes". My daughters, Moorea, Hayley, and Hannah all worked the festival from 2003 till 2007, when sadly the board of directors did away with the clovettes for unknown reasons. The girls where a hit! They even got there picture in The New York Times. They dressed in homemade Garlic Clove outfits with garlic head crowns and garlic necklaces with sneakers on there feet. They walked the crowd with Mr and Mrs Garlic, they greeted the folks with big smile's and posed for 1000's of photos, this I am sure of.



As the years pass, the festival keeps growing, 2007 the last year of "The Clovettes" proved to be the largest garlic celebration ever with numbers reaching around 53,000. I'm convinced the people where coming out to see the beautiful "Clovettes!" Hail to the fallen Clovettes! I know they are busy growing up and going to school. Personally I miss seeing the cute Clovettes in there garlic sac dresses with there skinny stocking legs sticking out of the bottom and there little sneakers that got them through the mighty crowd, but all good things must come to an end. Reguarless, I'm sure I would have NO chance at getting back into those cute little outfits ever again.



The two day festival has had it's ups and downs, rain being the biggest hurdle.



In keeping with tradition in which it was born, the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival continues to be a fun celebration of the harvest of what garlic lovers all around the world lovingly refer to as the "Stinking Rose."
hvgf.org

Whitewater Rafting Family Style

Recently, I was lucky enough to visit the Vail- Beaver Creek area of Colorado for a family wedding. My Niece Kelli found her true love Rob, and they tied the knot at the Lazy J Ranch in Colorado. So I packed up my family and we headed West, to join in the celebration of love and family.

While we where there we looked into some day trips, I wanted the kids to get a sense of the beauty that Colorado has to offer. My husband, not being a great swimmer was weary of the rafting idea at first. My three daughters, ages, 10,13,and 15 were ALL IN! Needless to say my husband followed and we ALL had a blast!

I did some research and found Lakota River Rafting, they have offices located in the Vail-Eagle Valley area and also Aspen and the Arkansas River Valley. Lakota has been in operation for 30 years, and has offered family fun trips as well as crazy adventure seeker trips. They offer trips for beginners, intermediate, advanced and expert. You decide what level of fun your seeking, or if you want a half day or a full day filled with adventure and tons of fun. The highly trained professionals and well skilled staff at Lakota consists of hikers, mountain bikers, skiers, snow boarders, and college students. Safety came first, all guides have to go through a series of training classes, and all know CPR in case it's needed. I felt very safe! Everyone was fitted with a helmet and PFD (personal floatation device).

Our choice, the half-day trip down the Shoshone Canyon River Valley. And what a choice it proved to be, the Shoshone River valley offered excellent rapids, beautiful mountains views, blue Sky's above and areas where if you looked hard enough you could see wildlife at its best. Paul, our guide was amazing, even though he didn't warn me of the big drop off when I was thrusted downwards into the base of the raft landing on the spare emergency paddle. In hindsight I guess it was better to fall in, than to fall out. Our adventure twisted downwards and ended in Glenwood Springs; Lakota offered a fabulous fajita lunch complete with cookies and soft drinks for the hungry rafters. They even offer a professional photographer that follows your raft from the land, he captures the big toothy grins on every ones faces as they go over the rapids and down the Colorado River. During lunch he plays a slide show of your adventure for all to enjoy, you may purchase a cd disc of your raft trip for a reasonable amount of money. I bought one, and loved each and every photo! What a great memory for my family to have. I can't remember ever looking at pictures of an event when every person in my family was smiling and laughing all day long..

So, if you've got kids and your looking for the next family fun trip, check out Lakota River Rafting, you will not be disappointed.

Lakota River Rafting

http://www.lakotariver.com/

also

White Water Photo's

970-470-2666

http://www.douglasbrownimages.photoreflect.com/

The Witches of Ogulin

There is a little fairy tale town in Croatia called Ogulin. The town is small and the people are friendly. Fairy Tales are for children you say, not true say the people from Ogulin, not true!
I stayed at The Hotel Frankopan during my visit to this magical little town. The Frankopan is located in the very heart of the fairy tale town next door to the 16th century Frankopan Castle.
Ogulin grew around The Frankopan fortress-castle, which was built by the aristocratic family Frankopan. Prince Bernardin Frankopan, son of Stjepan, in his town of Modrus around 1500, issued a document to the newly built town of Ogulin, by which he marked the boundary between Modrus and Vitunj on the first geographical map of Croatia, Ogulin was called Julin Grad, linking the name of the town to the legend of Dula, who threw herself into the gorge of the River Dobra due to a broken heart.
The flow of the River Dobra ends in a canyon passing through the very center of town. The river disappears through a huge opening under the sharp cliffs. The abyss of the River Dobra got it's name from this young girl Dula. The legend dates back from the 16th century. Dula was of notible origin and her parents promised her to an elderly nobleman. However, a young handsom Captain, Milan Juraic arrived in Ogulin and stole Dulas heart. It was love at first sight! Milan was killed in battle while defending the Frankopan Castle and when Dula heard the news she couldn't bare the thought of life without Milan and threw herself into the abyss of the River Dobra. If you look closly at the rock above the abyss you can see the profile of a man looking down into the deapths. The people of Ogulin believe that this is the face of Milan gazing towards his beloved Dula. Legend says that if you listen very carefully, early in the morning you can hear Dula's spirited sobs echo from the canyon.
Dula is not the only women to have had her heart broken by a man, but she is the only one to still show her spirit in the canyon of the River Dobra.
The near by Mountain of Klek has also been inspired by folk imagination, resulting in the legend of the 'Witches of Klek'. According to the legend, in the midnight hour on stormy nights, Klek becomes the meeting place of witches,warlocks, fairies, and elves from around the world. It is said that they fly down from the mountain and storm through the village and if you listen very carefully you can hear the mighty rumpus from the mountain echo through the town of Ogulin
During my visit to this cute little town I never heard Dula's cries nor did I see any witches in flight, but I did find some spirited fun locals to visit with at The St Hubert Hotel.
My time spent in Ogulin was short, but my memories will last a lifetime. I remain in contact with a few special people from Ogulin. My last night out on the town will forever stay in my memory and I still laugh out loud today when I think about the fun that was has in the samll little town of Ogulin. KAAATSIEEE!!!

www.hotel-frankopan.hr
www.sthubert.hr

INDO...The best Sushi in Myrtle

While spending time in the Myrtle Beach area this past summer I was craving some sushi. I noticed a cute little place in a strip mall across from where I was staying, but my schedule didn't permit the time to check it out while I was there. So, while I was sitting at the airport waiting for my flight back to New York; Sushi was on my mind. It was then when I herd the announcement that my flight had been cancelled due to crazy lightning storms in New York, I knew at that moment in time exactly where I was heading for dinner.

I had the cab driver take me back to the hotel just so I could secure my bags and then I made a bee line for the cute little Thai restaurant across the way.

Skully, my good looking American bartender poured me some Saki while I had a chance to look over the menu. I decided on the Fresh Rolls, they were to die for, but the Pan Fried Grouper was something out of this world! Smothered with portabella mushrooms, asparagus, and avocado topped with a Thai red Curry sauce that will keep you sippin your Saki. The homemade Miso soup was a hit as where the Spider Rolls. Greg my sushi chef out did him self! Fresh ingredients made all the difference in this culinary experience.

Laura Smith, the owner of INDO was a most gracious host. She checked on me and made me feel like family.

As I watched the rain pour down in buckets outside, I was warm and dry with my Saki and new friends inside. I had a great meal, and soon rest would follow, only to wake in the morning and attempt my journey home once again.

It has been months since my wonderful meal at INDO, but it is still fresh on my mind.

Thank You Laura for the great eats, and super hospitality! Skully, Thanks for reducing the stress level from my canceled flight. I couldn't have had a better last night out in Myrtle had I planned it that way.

I regret that my camera was back at my hotel, so you will have to take my word for the beautiful presentation of my food. When in Myrtle, check out INDO, and while your there say hello to Skully for me!



Indo, Thai;Sushi;Hibachi Restaurant

980 82nd Parkway, Myrtle Beach, SC 29572

Laura Smith;Owner

Tel: 843-629-7000

Fax:843-692-7020