Blokus

Do you play Blokus? Blokus is a strategy board game that uses Tetris-like pieces. (If you want to learn more about the game and its many variations, go to the Rules of the Game page on the official Blokus website.) We bought the original game a year or so ago after reading many excellent reviews on Amazon and other sites. There have been many exciting matches at our house, and Aidan or I actually manage to win once in a while!

I bought the Blokus To Go game at Target on Sunday for our upcoming trip to the Adirondacks and for other times when we travel. What a nifty little game! It is only for two players at a time, and Aidan and I have been playing several matches each day.

After we concluded regular play this afternoon (Mommy - 2 games, Aidan - 1 game), Aidan decided to use the game to make pictures. Here is one of his art pieces:

Roam

Since I found out that Kate Pierson of the B-52s has a motel in the Catskill Mountains of New York (Kate's Lazy Meadow, if you are curious), B-52 songs have been playing in my head. Yesterday's theme song was most definitely Roam as we wandered around and about the area.

We started out just a few blocks away on the banks of the Seneca River, where the canal schooner Lois McClure was paying a visit. We were able to board the boat, go below deck, and talk with the volunteers who were available to answer questions.

Here is the Lois McClure, along with the tugboat C.L. Churchill, which assists the Lois McClure:



From B'ville we drove over to Cazenovia, a pretty village in neighboring Madison County. We had lunch at a deli, then wandered through the Saturday farmer's market. We bought tomatoes, corn, peaches, homemade cookies and some awesome cheese from Meadowood Farms. After sampling just about everything Meadowood had available to sample, we purchased their sheep's milk feta (which will be delicious on the tomatoes, drizzled with red wine vinegar and olive oil) and sheep's milk brebis with roasted red peppers. Yum doesn't even begin to describe how good their cheeses taste.

We then drove over to Chittenango Falls, which we last saw in the winter. Although not a particularly tall or large falls, it is still quite pretty:


I enjoyed dabbling my feet in the creek:


Our next stop was Beak & Skiff in Lafayette. Although the apple orchards aren't open for picking until next weekend, we consoled ourselves by visiting the winery and the distillery. We did not want to hurt the feelings of any of the shop employees, so we tasted several wines at the winery (purchased two) and then sampled and praised the apple vodka at the distillery (bought a bottle there, too). The gentleman at the distillery said no one would likely miss an apple or two, so James picked one for Aidan to enjoy:


As you can see, he enjoyed it immensely. The view there is spectacular and I look forward to returning when the leaves turn in autumn.

We drove on home and since I had put a meal in the slow cooker before we left, all we had to do was enjoy cocktails and prepare the corn. What a fun day of roaming!