Back in November, Andy and I headed to NYC for a weekend (sans kids!) Andy had been asked to be the best man for Kevin and Mandy’s wedding. Kevin and Andy had met first year at RIT and have been friends ever since :) We had the chance to cram in the tourist thing on Saturday and then enjoy the wedding on Sunday. Andy had never been to the city and it’s been over 15 years since I’ve been.
The first thing we did after getting to the hotel was grab some pizza!
Next, on my sister Gabby’s suggestion we found the High Line. It was a beautiful time of year to walk the converted rail trail and greenway.
We also explored Chelsea Market.
Next we headed to the World Trade Center memorial. It was beautiful and somber.
The Oculus train station.
That evening we had the dress rehearsal and dinner with Kevin and Mandy.
I chatted with Mandy’s maid of honor at dinner and she highly suggested we take a stroll down here after the meal. For the life of me I can’t remember where it was/what it was called but it was really pretty! A romantic, calmer, “quiet” side of the city I really appreciated.
Lastly that evening we snuck in a visit to Times Square!
While down in Naples we visited the Cumming Nature Center. The kids love the little eco education corner inside and trails were beautiful outside. Ben’s map reading skills were on point while Cassidy was all about the mud! Buds were just starting to pop on trees and we heard lots of happy birds. We also encountered a forestry class from FLCC who were marking and measuring in the woods, Ben was fascinated with their flagging and notes! I wish I’d known about jobs like that when I was a kid!
We needed a little help with the origami craft…
Ben also loved the animal scat molds and took the opportunity to have Bear make the black bear poop ;-) It’ll be a sad day when he doesn’t bring Bear on adventures anymore.
After playing outside and exploring the trails we watched a little bit of Planet Earth in the theater. Kids were SO tired by the end of our trip, it was a great day!
I first met Angela at Bristol’s garden center. She used to work there and every spring gets invited back to bring her animals and knowledge to their open house. The conversation started when I noticed a bag of Lakeview Organic grain next to her goats. I was working on a farm that used the same product and she seemed like a friendly enough person to chat with about it. We talked grain, organic farming and chickens while the kids jumped in the bounce house.
We stayed in touch and she included me in the online homesteading group she started. This week I finally had the chance to visit her farm in Naples. It was such a beautiful day for an adventure and the kids were super excited for the surprise.
Angela grabbed a bite to eat as we arrived, she’d been doing chores all morning.
The kids loved all the inside critters!
Her English Shepherd really wanted to come in and meet the visitors too!
Ben listened as Angela explained their different breeds of chicken and rabbit. Someday she’d love to run a farm camp/farm school on the property, I think it’s an awesome idea. Angela’s daughter Lexi also runs a daycare on the farm (best day care ever!) so those kids were listening and interacting with the animals too.
Next we headed outside to meet the chickens and turkeys.
And goats.
And pigs too!
We ate our packed lunch outside, what a view!
Ben said his highlight was all the barn cats, there were 7 of them. I’m not surprised, he’s also told us he’s never getting married and is going to live in an apartment with all his cats :D
Cassidy’s favorite part was meeting the club footed chicken named Cassidy!
I’d brought a bag of empty egg cartons and Catawba grape jelly for her and Angela sent us home with some beautiful eggs. We certainly went home with more than that. Angela, thank you for your hospitality and opening up your home to us. We had such a wonderful time!
Our friend Kevin invited us over for sledding and a cookout today. It was such a beautiful sunny afternoon to share with friends, I almost didn’t mind it was still winter. We enjoyed some hot cocoa and smores afterwards too, so much fun.
I even got to do a little impromptu photoshoot with Steve and his kids while we made smores.
Before fall turned to winter, we went on a few hikes together. There are so many great trails around here and plenty of geocaches to explore. For the most part whining on the trail has ceased, but there’s still the ever present “Are we there yet?”
No, no we are not…keep walking…
Some more photos that wouldn’t quite fit into my final project :)
One of the two barn cats that invited himself into the group.
Produce picked during the farm session.
Trainers exercising horses before lessons with participants.
The EquiCenter property is gorgeous!
Ben and Cassidy picked the last of the red raspberries on our volunteer day.
Flowers too!
