After taking a year off, winter has returned to the Catskill Mountains. We’ve had cold weather and snow since Thanksgiving, which is a welcome change from last year. According to the weatherman, we did have average snowfall this winter. There were over 2 feet of snow on the ground at one point, and the kids enjoyed every minute outside. Winter is coming to an end, and the weather is already starting to change. As we sit down to write this letter the weatherman is predicting we’ll have a record high-temperature today. 70o in February is very unusual for us.

With great sadness, we need to let everyone know that Joanne’s daughter, Krystal, passed away in January.  She had beaten Breast Cancer a few years earlier, but this last year cancer got into her liver and spread before chemo could get ahead of it.  Krystal was a young, hard working, ICU Nurse at Albany Medical Center for 20 years and is greatly missed by her many friends and relatives.

Here at The Thompson House, we’ve kept busy doing various renovations around the property, some roofs, and some bathrooms. Currently, we’re working in the Manor House redesigning some spaces to make better use of all that area.

We’re grateful for all the guests who were able to join us last summer. Whether it was to be part of a reunion, play golf, go hiking, or just relax by the pool, we hope you enjoyed your time in the Great Northern Catskills. It was also great to have you be part of our Thompson House “family.”

We are all blessed to be in good health. John and Mickey still go out for their exercise daily. They’re also busy helping volunteer organizations in the community and visiting friends and neighbors that can’t get out anymore. Although they no longer take their annual trip down south, they do enjoy short excursions with a local senior club and going off on their own.

Just last week we were excited to celebrate Aiden’s 1st birthday. He’s very fast on his feet and likes to get into everything. He’s doing his best to keep up with Maddox and Lada, and they’ll be running the games before you know it.

Deb and Eric are enjoying having their grandchildren over. They’ve forgotten how much fun it is to have little ones running around the house, and how exhausting it is.

Dasha, Kurt, Maddox, and Aiden went to Russia in November to celebrate Dasha’s Grandmother’s 90th birthday. It was Aiden’s first trip to Russia, and Maddox enjoyed introducing his little brother to everyone.

Brent and Evan are both doing well. Brent is finding out all the wonders of being a homeowner and making daily trips to the hardware store. Evan decided he wanted to spend his winter in Windham and has been working at Windham Mountain as a “Ski Technician.” His plan was to spend the winter snowboarding, but that came to an end when he broke his wrist snowboarding over Christmas Vacation.  The surgeon was pleased with his work, and he hopes for a full recovery.

Our doors open on May 26th this year for our 137th season, and hope you, your families and friends will join us for fun and relaxation in the Great Northern Catskills.  Give us a call at 518-734-4510 or send us an e-mail to info@thompsonhouse.com  if we can assist in setting up your vacation plans.

Warm regards,

The Goettsche Families

The Perfect Christmas Gift

The Thompson House apparel makes the perfect Christmas gift for your loved ones. For 2016, when you purchase 2 either tee shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts, or hoodies, you’ll get a gift certificate to The Thompson House Cafe along with your order. The amount of the gift certificate will depend on which items you purchase. See the chart below for gift certificate amounts, then contact today to place your order.

Gift Certificate amounts:

2 Tee Shirts or Polo Shirts = $5.00 Gift Certificate to The Thompson House Cafe

1 Tee Shirt or Polo Shirt and 1 Sweatshirt or Hoodie = $10.00 Gift Certificate to The Thompson House Cafe

2 Sweatshirts or 2 Hoodies = $15.00 Gift Certificate to The Thompson House Cafe

We have a variety of sizes and colors to choose from, so order yours before its too late.

Contact Us Today

Call us at 518-734-4510 or send an e-mail to start your purchase today.

Fine Print

Tax and shipping are not included in the price of the items. Contact us for a quote.

Delivery by Christmas or specific date is not guaranteed.

No returns or exchanges. All sales are final.

Cannot be combined with any other offers or specials.

Offer ends December 31, 2016 at 11:59PM.

The Great Northern Catskill Mountains

We’ve been talking about it since it first opened in 2013, but the Windham Path is one of our favorite things about being in Windham. Just a mile and a half loop through the fields, down by the creek and a long the woods, just about anyone can enjoy being outdoors. The fresh air of the Great Northern Catskill Mountain and all the beauty nature has to offer. The Windham Path is easy to access, half a mile down the road from The Thompson House on Route 23.

Now, the Windham Path has a second entrance, behind the Windham Pharmacy, only a quarter of a mile from The Thompson House. With the new entrance, Dasha, Maddox, and I (Kurt), walk around the Windham Path almost everyday. Maybe it is the fact we can get away for a little while, but still be close to home. It could also be how easy it is to get to the path from The Thompson House. Of course we can find the same beauty around The Thompson House, but there is something about the path that draws us to it.

Dasha and I like to talk about everything as we look at all the pretty flowers around the path. Maddox loves to watch the birds go in and out of their houses put up by Windham Area Recreational Foundation (WARF). Occasionally he’ll chase after a chipmunk that wonders onto the path. Sometimes we’ll go down by the creek and look for fish swimming around in the water. If you get out to the path just after a rain storm you may see a rainbow appear over the mountains. The beauty of the Windham Path is endless.

Follow The Beauty

If you don’t follow us on any social networks, you’re missing a lot. We post a lot of pictures and interesting information to all of our profiles. Of course following us on all social networks will give you the best chance to see everything we post. I think we post some really beautiful pictures to our Instagram account several times a week. (See the examples in the post) We also share information about events and special activities in the area. Not being a part of our social network is really a disservice to yourself and everyone you are vacationing with.

See you soon

We look forward to see you all this summer and hope you get the chance to enjoy the Windham Path as much as we do. Tag us in your photos taken around the Windham Path and around The Thompson House, so all your friends can see what a great time you are having in Upstate New York. If you use #thouse2015 we MAY even give something away at the end of the season. So go post, tweet, follow, like, and whatever else is out there, and countdown your time until you are back at The Thompson House.

By now I’m sure most of you have received the Yellow Envelope in the mail, which means it is time to start thinking about your trip to The Thompson House. I will be posting the spring letter soon, so  if you haven’t received the Yellow Envelope yet, we believe, it’s about to knock on your door. For now, don’t worry, there aren’t any spoilers in this post.

Hopefully, everyone had a healthy winter and stayed warm, wherever you are. As always we are looking forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new people as well.

The cold weather seems to have broken for now, and the snow may  be gone before we open on May 22. It was a long cold winter up here in the northern Catskill Mountains, and the summer can’t get here soon enough. Of course we love the snow and cold, but it seems like mother nature wanted to make it permanent. That doesn’t seem fair to everyone who wants to go swimming in the pool this summer. Now the sun is out, and all seems right with the world, or at least the weather.

We want to make sure everyone is always up to date with everything going on at The Thompson House. To know the latest and exciting news about The Thompson House make sure to check our blog often and regularly, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, follow us on Twitter, and circle us on Google+. I’m sure there will be 100 new social networks by the time you read this, and we’ll inform you of the links as needed. If you take a picture or have a post about, with, in, or next to The Thompson House, don’t forget to tag us. Share your favorite vacation experience with your friends and/or followers.

If you aren’t part of the Yellow Envelope Club, just call or e-mail us, and we’ll be happy to add you to our list for next year.

Again, stay tuned and check back often for everything about The Thompson House.

Not to brag, but this years foliage  has been some of the best in recent years. We are the peak right now and I can’t stop taking pictures. I wish I had more time in the day to take pictures of this year’s foliage. I you can;t experience it for yourself, I hope my photos give you a glimpse into the beauty of the Northern Catskill Mountains in the fall. I’ll be adding pictures as much as possible, so check back often.

Congratulations!

On September 27, John and Mickey Goettsche were honored by the town of Windham, with the T. Patrick Meehan Community Service award. Every spring letter we tell our guests of the work they do for Windham and the surrounding community, and now they have been honored by the whole town.You can read the wonderful article about the award and John and Mickey in the Windham Journal. We are so proud to be part of their family and feel blessed every day that they are capable to continue to do the work they do. Its people like John and Mickey that makes the world a better place.

We want you to enjoy the outdoors as much as we do. Mountain biking the Northern Catskill Mountains is one of our favorite things to do. Windham, NY has many multipurpose trails for you to explore the great Northern Catskill Mountains. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Every year hours of work go into adding new trails and improving existing trails. Just because you’ve gone mountain biking in Windham once, doesn’t mean you’ve seen it all.

If you don’t have a bike, just go down the road to Windham Mountain Outfitters for a rental.

Everyone know that a stay at The Thompson House is out of this world, but this was a surprise to Everyone.

When closing up the other night, Kurt stumbled upon something interesting

What in or out of this world is that?

And who are those people?

Oh, its The Thompson House beautiful fall display.

Much less spooky during the day.

Back in June a flamingo magically appeared at The Thompson House. We didn’t think anything of it, until it attacked Evan. After the devastating attack on Evan we thought the flamingo was gone forever. Sadly, we were wrong.

We noticed something strange in the top floor hallway of the Pines.

What is that pink thing in the window?

The flamingo is back!

Dasha tried to apprehend the flamingo, so that The Thompson House would be safe once again.

Dasha lost.

Flamingo Attacks Again