Beautiful Ballston Spa

Hi everyone! Last week-end my sweet husband and I took a drive to the nearby town of Ballston Spa, just outside of Saratoga Springs. This quaint town, a favorite of mine, is filled with Victorian homes, antique shops, and some great places to eat. As its name indicates, it contains mineral water springs that at one time offered the rich an opportunity to come for a visit and a soak, or two, or three. When Saratoga Springs became popular for the same reason, Ballston Spa went into a bit of a decline until some manufacturing opportunities developed.

Constant Companion Nancy and I recently had lunch at The Whistling Kettle Tea Lounge, and I’ve been wanting to take my husband there for a while. Just off the main drag (Route 50) on Front Street, it’s nestled right next to Daisy Dry Goods Antiques & Gifts.

Daisey Dry Goods offers antiques from many eras, and we enjoyed poking around for a few minutes while waiting for a table at The Whistling Kettle (TWK).

I love stores that put things out on the street because it gives me an idea of the kind of items they sell and at what kind of prices.

Even though the day was quite warm, we found it cool in the shade and decided to eat outside at TWK. This is the view of the street from our seats.

TWK offers high tea all day long, so of course, we indulged. You can select from almost anything on the menu: (1) any sandwich, specialty salad, or quiche, (2) soup or salad, and (3) scone, cake, or dessert special, plus any beverage. I ordered French press coffee, while Bob had the flavored ice tea–both were delicious.

As you can see, they served us enough food to feed a small family of four, or maybe six. Rest assured, food came home with us(!). This is a close up of my fresh crab salad on wheat–delish. Bob had a turkey club that he literally could not get his mouth around 🙂

After our leisurely stroll, we decided to stop into the National Bottle Museum located around the corner on the main drag through town (Route 50). But I’m going to tell you all about it in a separate post, coming soon.

I spotted this historic building on a map of Ballston Spa that we picked up at the restaurant, so we drove by for a look-see. We found a sweet little vintage shop, A Day at Abners, located out back, tucked in the walk-out basement.

The owner, just as sweet as can be, sold us a very vintage radio for guess who? My daughter Gracie, of course. The owner told us that if we discovered that it would not work properly with new batteries, we could return it. Wasn’t that kind?

Final shot of the day. I actually took this photo in town, but it goes nicely with the white barn theme. I’m lovin’ that stone wall–isn’t it gorgeous?