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.
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