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It’s funny reading this post now. It’s five and a half years later, and it’s been quite a journey. Since leaving New Hampshire, we have lived in six different homes on our way to finding our home(s). We did stay east of the Mississippi, although three of our kids have jumped across it and back. With a base in Florida (yay, warmer winters) and Kentucky (yay, horses), we are truly fortunate. As for this soup, I may have called it “Tastes Like Spring,” but it would be delicious with freshly picked summer peas as well.

The original post from April 2019

As I mentioned very briefly in Tuesday’s post, I am in Saratoga Springs, New York, for the week, seeing how we like the location. My husband and I have a lease in New Hampshire that lasts until the end of this year, and then we are ready to move. Our place has been fabulous for the past two or so years. It’s allowed us to live downtown, giving us a different setting than our suburban life with kids. However, in 2020 it will be time for a completely new location.

I’ve lived in New Hampshire since I was in third grade. I made the conscious choice to stay and raise my kids there. It’s been a wonderful place to live on many different levels, but now it’s time to experience home somewhere else. Thus, this year the thrust of travel for the hubby and me is to spend time in locations that could be home. And Saratoga Springs is on the short list.

I have a few considerations that helped create our list. First, it needs to be east of the Mississippi. Three of our four children are on the east coast, and flying north and south is much easier than traveling east and west. (Plus, our horses are in that same range as well.) Second, we need to be near an airport, ideally no more than 30 minutes. In the future we still will have business travel, and I don’t want to spend lots of time getting to the airport. Third, being near thoroughbreds is a nice benefit. Fourth, it needs to have a community that is lively.

So, here we are in Saratoga Springs this week. We’ve been here several times during racing season and know that we thoroughly enjoy that. Our question was- What’s it like in the off-season? So, here were are in late March, testing the waters.

I can sum up Saratoga in the off-season in one word: amazing. We arrived on a Friday and drove into the downtown for dinner. There was almost no parking to be had. That may sound bad, but we took it as a great sign. This town is full of energy and excitement year round. Next, I decided to check out local events for our week’s stay. Much to my delight I found (and enjoyed) several events.

Even better, I was able to do all of this while working. Because, yeah, although I’m on the road, I’m still working. So, on Tuesday I took a break from my work to enjoy a lunchtime talk. That night we also attended a science talk while eating dinner at a local restaurant.

The net-net: We’ve enjoyed what we’ve seen of Saratoga in the off-season. Even better, while we’ve been here we’ve seen the temps start to creep into the warmth of spring. In fact, it’s supposed to be a whopping 50-something today, which might be the perfect temperature for a bowl of Tastes Like Spring Soup. Scroll down, and give that recipe a try. If you want another pea-centric recipe, give this one a try.