Hand and Foot at the Saratoga Rose Inn

On Tuesday night my friend Russ (who I work with) was invited to some friends' place for a 'game night'. He asked me to go along, and since my dance card is always full, I immediately said yes. Turns out his friends run the Saratoga Rose Inn & Restaurant in Hadley, NY. The plans were that we were to bring our own drinks and we'd all chip in for pizza. So, on our lunch hour we ran to our friendly local Price Chopper and picked up some soda. When we got back to the office, we put it in the fridge so that it would be cold by the time we left work.

We zipped out of work as quick as we could, only to wait in rush hour traffic. I parked my car at the Latham Mall and rode up with Russ. He lives in Troy, so we figured that was a good plan. By about the time we got to Saratoga, we rememberd the soda sitting back in the fridge. Luckily, the printed directions we had gotten, had us turning at a T-intersection where there was a Stewart's on the corner. Good ole Stewart's in a pinch!

We arrived at the Inn just before 6:30 pm. What a pleasant surprise! The Saratoga Rose is an 1885 Queen Anne Victorian mansion set on a wooded hilltop at the convergence of the Hudson River and Sacandaga River, between Saratoga Springs and Lake George. Six others had already gathered in the library and were playing a board game. Russ and I were given a tour of the grounds and the Inn and then joined the group. After introductions, we sat about a plan for dinner. Instead of pizza, we decided to order Chinese.


After feasting on about six different dishes we divided into four teams of two each to play a game of Hand and Foot. They said it was similiar to Canasta. I replied, "Is that the game with the board and the little pegs?" "No, that's Cribbage." I guess my card playing experience was beginning to show. I guess Pinocle, Old Maid, Slap Happy and Birds was the extent of my card playing. We used 8 decks of cards because there were 8 of us playing. It's a fun game and I've brought home a set of instructions. Anyone for some Hand and Foot?

Here's the library where we played. It struck me that the Inn would be a good place to play 'Clue'. There were lots of candlesticks around that could be used as weapons. And one of the guys did remind me of Professor Plum.