Howe Caverns and Cooperstown

On Saturday morning, we drove to Howe Caverns, which is located in the lovely Schoharie Valley of New York. The trip was a family outing for Aidan's Cub Scout Webelos den and we decided to expand it from a day trip to a weekend excursion.

The cave is 156 feet below ground and a guided tour lasts about 90 minutes. We rode an elevator down and then proceeded by foot and by boat. There are many interesting formations of stalactites, stalagmites and flowstone to see in the cave. It amazes me that the cave was initially explored back in the mid-1800s by lantern, with ropes tied around their waists and sometimes wiggling through tiny openings. Not me!

Howe Caverns also has a zip line and a ropes course. James and I decided to join the scouts and ride the zip line. Many of you know that I sometimes have a problem with heights; or, as my friend Dolores says, it is not that I am afraid of heights but that I am afraid of falling. The zip line, however, was fairly tame and not particularly high up.

Aidan was so excited and got into his harness first, and took off:


Too bad the photo does not show the big smile on his face!

I am proud to say that I enjoyed the ride and did not scream at all:


James, of course, had to show off a bit:


Aidan then started the ropes course. It was three levels of all kinds of challenging crossings. Look at the concentration on Aidan's face:


Soon he was nimbly navigating the entire structure:




We said goodbye to the other scouts and their families, and Aidan stayed on the ropes course. And stayed. And stayed some more - he must have completed the entire structure three or four times.

Once we finally pried Aidan off the course and out of his harness, we drove back to a small village we had passed through on our way to Howe Caverns. Sharon Springs was once a vibrant resort town built around the natural springs. Dotted throughout the village are gazebos, which I suppose were built over the springs:


The Hotel Adler was built in 1927 and catered mainly to Jewish families (who were not welcome in Saratoga Springs), and former NYC mayor Ed Koch was a busboy there in 1946. The hotel closed in 2004 and now sits empty:




It is sad when I think of what she was like in the past. Here is a close-up of the hotel from the historical plaque near the site:


We drove back down to Cobleskill, where we had a reservation at the Best Western. Aidan changed into his swimsuit and happily paddled around the indoor pool while James and I planned our dinner destination. We chose A Taste of Europe, which had very good reviews on TripAdvisor.com. Aidan was excited to try European food.

The restaurant does not cater to children and does not have a children's menu, so with the cooperation of the staff, we opted to get two entrees for the three of us. Aidan chose a dinner of German sausages and smoked pork, and we chose sauerbraten with spaetzle and red cabbage. Delicious! We finished the meal with chocolate mousse for Aidan and apple strudel for James and me. The staff told us that Aidan was very well behaved and could come to their restaurant anytime.

On Sunday morning after a hearty breakfast at the Cobleskill Diner, we drove over to Cooperstown. What a gorgeous village! We did not take the time to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame, but located it as we wandered around (and used their very clean and nice restrooms). We all agreed that we want to return to Cooperstown for a weekend.

As we walked back to the car, we saw this wild turkey wandering around:


We drove out of the village and down to Brewery Ommegang, which brews killer Belgian style ales. The "tour" was rather lame, but we enjoyed trying several brews in the tasting room. We ate lunch in the cafe, where we enjoyed pommes frites along with other tasty dishes:


From there we drove home. As we said several times then and since, we had a fabulously fun weekend start to finish.

In the kitchen with Aidan

Have you seen The Chew? It is a weekday talk show that focuses on food and food-related topics, and is hosted by Mario Batali, Carla Hall, Michael Symon, Clinton Kelly and Daphne Oz. I like to record the show so I can fast-forward through the commercials and any segment hosted by Daphne Oz. Really, I don't get the point of having her on the show, unless the producers think every show benefits from having on its roster a person who giggles incessantly.

Aidan was watching an episode with me over the weekend when he saw guest Aaron McCargo Jr. prepare Coconut Ginger Chicken Skewers with Honey-Scallion Sauce*, and he asked if we could please, PLEASE make that for dinner sometime. Sometime was last evening and Iron Chef Aidan joined me in the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Hands washed and properly outfitted, he is ready to start:


Using the FEB process - flour, eggs then breadcrumbs - he prepares each skewer:


One done, nine to go:


Ta-da! Here is the pan of prepared skewers, ready for the oven:


The chef with his final product:


We served the skewers with lime-cilantro rice and a green salad, and the meal was a hit; the coconut and ginger flavors in particular were excellent. We deviated from the recipe and did not deep fry but elected to bake; while tasty, the chicken did not get that nice, golden color. So the next time - and there will be a next time, based on last night's reviews - I make this recipe, I will pan fry instead of deep fry and we will dispense with the skewers.

*I would like to include a link to the recipe but The Chew's website is a pain to navigate and I can't locate the recipe, nor does the link I bookmarked now work. If I ever find the recipe again online, I will post the link. Nice show but lousy website.

Rhinebeck 2011

Yesterday was my second annual pilgrimage to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck. Unlike last year when I spent the whole weekend in festival-related activities, this year I elected to participate in a one day bus trip from my LYS, Sheep Thrills.

I was out of the house at o'dark thirty and drove to North Syracuse to meet the bus. When I boarded the bus, I found that each rider had a new Sheep Thrills messenger-style tote bag - very nice! We pulled out of the parking lot around 6:45 am and stopped twice to pick up additional riders to the east of Syracuse. Once all passengers were settled, our lovely hostesses brought around mimosas and pastries; later in the trip they brought us chocolates and granola bars.

As we neared the Dutchess County fairgrounds, traffic came to a dead stop. We sat in traffic for an hour and a half - the driver said it took an hour to go just three miles. I finally walked in the gate at noon and immediately met up with Geri, whom I had planned to meet for lunch at 11:30:


Note: In the photo, I am sporting my "Hello, my name is RowdyGirl" Ravelry button (RowdyGirl is my RavID) and my Rhinebeck Bingo button, since I was a square (shut up) in Rhinebeck Bingo. The names of participants or squares were randomly placed onto the bingo cards, which were then emailed to players before the festival. Players printed their cards to take with them to Rhinebeck, and searched for the squares. Strangely, only one bingo player came up to me all day but I did enjoy meeting and talking with Christine from Denver.

Geri and her friend Mo had arrived in Rhinebeck on Friday and were at the festival when it opened at 9 am. So after the two of us shopped and visited for a while, Geri and Mo left to return to their hotel. I went in search of the beer tent that I noticed when I first arrived at the festival (priorities, priorities), purchased a cold one and enjoyed some first class people watching while I took a break from dealing with the enormous crowds of people.

I met up with two of my other knitting friends, Laura and Jacqui, whom I know from the Ravely Motherhood Later group:


It was fun to see them again, although we were unable to make contact with another friend, Andrea, who was also there but had lost her mobile telephone at her hotel.

I bought very little, choosing to window shop for the most part. I bought treats for James and Aidan, and two yarns that jumped up and down and caught my eye.

When the festival closed at 5, we boarded the bus for return trip and, once again, sat in traffic. Our hostesses passed around wine and cheese, and about midway through our drive they handed out popcorn and Goldfish. We pulled back into the parking lot around 10 pm, and I was home by 10:30.

Overall, it was a good day. The bus trip, albeit long, was more fun than I anticipated and I enjoyed talking with Maureen, the woman who sat next to me. I liked seeing all the beautiful yarns and amazing handknits, and I especially liked spending time with friends. I think, however, that I will take a hiatus from attending Rhinebeck for at least a year. A day trip makes for a very long day, the crowds at the festival were overwhelming and the traffic woes were mind-boggling.

Summer's last hurrah

The past four or five days were absolutely gorgeous: warm, sunny and dry. It seemed odd to be wearing shorts so far into October but no one complained. We spent the weekend on both work and play: on Saturday, we visited a few Cayuga Lake wineries with two other couples, then on Sunday we worked on the patio and James did some painting and woodworking.

Aidan was off from school on Monday and Tuesday, Monday for Columbus Day and Tuesday for a teacher work day. I will never understand the concept of Columbus Day; just why should we commemorate the "discovery" of a continent that was already inhabited by people?

Nevertheless, Aidan and I picked up sandwiches from Subway and drove out to Beaver Lake Nature Center for a picnic on Monday. He clearly enjoyed his sandwich:


We hiked and searched for a few geocaches, and generally appreciated the beautiful day. Aidan enjoyed mugging for the camera:


As you can see, some trees are turning and some have already lost their leaves:


"Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn."
- Elizabeth Lawrence

And we did.

Always check the pockets before doing laundry

Aidan came in from playing outside yesterday afternoon and said that he had something to show me. He reached into his pocket and when I saw that the "something" was furry and had small feet, I nearly climbed onto the kitchen counter.

I still don't know what it was, other than dead, but I made him take it back outside, come in and scrub his hands, and then we talked about not picking up dead creatures.

Oh, the conversations that I never anticipated having with my child.

Music boy

B'ville friends and neighbors, we have not adopted an elephant. Nor a seal, nor a rhino. Those sounds coming from our house are from Aidan's trombone. Fourth graders may choose to learn a band instrument and Aidan chose the trombone. Yesterday the instrument (and related accessories) was delivered to him at school, and he was smiling ear-to-ear as he climbed down from the bus with his trombone case in hand.

He plopped down on the dining room floor and opened the case, eager to show me how to put it together:




Success!


So far, the only note he has been taught is B flat, so that is the note he practiced yesterday. I hope the enthusiasm he has right now for the trombone continues, and that he also soon learns another note!

Fall ADK weekend 2011

This past weekend we went camping in the Adirondacks with our friends Mike, Kelly and Ryan. As we did last year, we camped at the Old Forge Camping Resort but this year we chose to stay in camping cabins, rather than tents. A camping cabin has bunks, electricity and heat, but you still have to walk to the bathhouses. We had cabins side by side, so we only used one fire pit and going "home" at the end of the evening was a few short steps for both families.

Saturday was wet and quite chilly - in the 40s - but we made the most of it. We drove over to Fern Park in Inlet to hike and had the trails to ourselves. We were only a few feet into our hike when we encountered huge boulders. James climbed down into a crevice, which demonstrates the scale:


Wildlife was abundant and members of our group spotted deer, pheasant and a coyote. Mike also spotted this bear:


I adore how the bear has his paw to his lips to say "shh". The trail merged with a private road and if the Corasantis are reading this post, I wanted to respect the "private drive" portion of your sign and turn around, but I was outvoted. And if the Corasantis are reading this, you might want to remove that unnecessary apostrophe...I mean, the Corasanti's what?

As we hiked up the road, we saw these sculptures at intervals:




At the top we saw another bear, who was looking at the view:


And this was the view:


Gorgeous. The lodge was a rustic summer cabin but with scenery like that, who needs amenities?