Travel

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ADK Adventure 2018: In Town and On the Water

While the primary purpose of our Adirondack vacation was to get into the mountains and hike, we did other things too!  We specifically decided to make Lake Placid our home base, so we’d have access to water activities and Adirondack town fun.  I’ve always loved Lake Placid Village, and I was looking forward to introducing Steve to its charms (he grew up near here, but randomly had never been).  For our lodgings, we chose an Airbnb right on the lake.  The location was perfect – midway down the main street in town – and you can’t beat that view!  My only complaint was that I wished there was a balcony to sit on after the kids went to bed.  But you can’t have everything.  We had a fabulous sun porch and we enjoyed it all week.

Especially in the mornings!  The kids wake up before the crack of dawn, and I found myself getting up at 5:30 with them every morning and watching the sun come up over the mountains.  Spectacular.

We went out for dinner most nights of the trip, and it was easy to find restaurants – we just walked out the door and wandered along until we hit upon something that looked good.  We checked out the other sights in town along the way.  I always find the library!

 

Drinks and lunch on the peaceful lakeside deck of The Cottage, just before leaving to head back to Nana and Grandad’s house on our last day.  I’m planning to do a travel guide to Lake Placid with young kiddos in tow, since that was something I never found during my vacation-planning research – not all in one place, and not for the summer, at least.

The Village of Lake Placid is situated on Mirror Lake – Lake Placid itself is just over the road, less than five minutes away – and no matter where you find yourself in town, you will probably catch at least a glimpse of sparkling water.  There’s nothing like a mountain lake, right?

Mirror Lake has a beautiful public beach area, and we found ourselves wandering over there several times during the trip.  The beach has been recently improved – and it was lovely even before the improvements – and the soft sand and shallow waters made for a perfect place to take the little ones.  Nugget, in particular, is a beach boy – Peanut is more of an indoor child and can run lukewarm on the idea of swimming in something that’s not a pool, but Nugget (Pisces!) can’t get enough beaches and water.  Oceans, lakes, he’s not picky.

Peanut enjoyed wading in the shallows, too, and she even did a little swimming.  In general, though, she was happy to dig in the sand.

The beach also provides a couple of launch points for kayaks and paddleboards.  I was hoping to get out on the water a lot – both kayaking and SUPing – but the way the schedule worked out, we were only able to kayak once.  I made it count, though.  Mirror Lake is fairly small, and I paddled end-to-end (and back again) with Steve, then dropped Steve off back at the beach, picked up my mom, and paddled the kayaks back to the Airbnb to leave them on the grassy lakefront area.

Getting ready to launch!

I took Nugget out for a spin with his little paddles.  It wasn’t our most successful ride – we can fit in a single kayak together, but he got strangely afraid once we paddled out past the beach.  He’s never been scared to kayak before, so I don’t know what that was about.  The season is over now, so I guess we will find out next summer if it was a fleeting thing or an off day, or something that is going to continue.

I love paddling with this guy.  (Look at him, so responsible in his life jacket!  I stowed mine.  I couldn’t flip one of these kayaks if I tried – and I’ve tried – and I can swim.)

What’s this on the water?

Just an Adirondack loon.  No big deal.  (!!!!!)  I couldn’t believe how big these birds were, and how much they didn’t care about my kayak.

Steve and I paddled all the way down to the Mirror Lake Inn, one of the fancy expensive hotels in town.  We sent my parents here for their fortieth anniversary and have bought them gift certificates for the past few Christmases.  One of these days, I’ll get to stay here for myself!

Steve and I turned around and headed back to the beach, and I picked up my mom to deliver the kayaks to the Airbnb.  As it turned out, we didn’t make it back out on the water again – my parents did, but we didn’t.  But at least we got out there once!

By the end of the vacation, we were all a little wiped out.  What’s better than a lakeside park for napping?

Next week: the final hike of vacation.  Check in with me then!

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ADK Adventure 2018 (and 12 Months of Trails for August!): Hiking Big Slide Mountain

With a whole week to spend in the Adirondacks, it wasn’t a question of will we hike a high peak? but how many high peaks will we summit?  Steve and I are slooooooowly working on the goal of summiting all forty-six high peaks (loosely defined as the Adirondack peaks over 4,000 feet above sea level – but they were measured over 100 years ago, and more accurate measurements have since revealed that there are a couple of peaks under 4,000 and at least one 4,000-footer that didn’t make it on the list).  When I say slowly, I mean slowly.  At the rate we’re going, it will take us approximately 90 years to finish the challenge.  But it’s all about the journey, right?  (I’m not kidding.  It is all about the journey.)

Anyway, when we actually sat down and looked at our schedule for the week, we realized that there was only one day that was going to work for a high peak – Thursday.  Monday and Friday we didn’t have all-day babysitters, Tuesday was Peanut’s birthday (and high peaks are a grownups-only affair), and Wednesday looked to be gloomy.  Thursday it was.  We looked over our list of possibilities and decided on Big Slide Mountain.  Relatively short, breathtakingly scenic, and lots of people say it’s their favorite – sounds good to me.

Actually, I was nervous.  Steve has been running consistently all summer, but my time has been consumed by work for months on end.  I wasn’t in as good shape as I was when climbing our first three high peaks (Cascade and Porter, and Giant) and I was just hoping I’d be able to summit.  Anyway – we woke up at the crack of dawn and got ready to hit the trail.  It was in the low 40*s, so I decided to wear yoga pants and a flannel.  Steve went for mesh shorts and a tech t-shirt.  We’d see which one of us was going to regret our life choices.  (Spoiler: it me.)

The first 0.7 miles of the hike was moderate climbing through the woods.  Despite the climb being just that – moderate – and despite knowing that the altitude gain was going to slow down once we gained the ridge line, I complained the entire time.  I was actually kind of relieved when we started hitting some of the technical spots.  It gave me a chance to slow down and catch my breath while I thought about how best to tackle each section.

Whenever I plan an Adirondack high peak hike, I go back to every ADK46r blog I know and read their trail reports, but I’m rarely able to discern from there what to expect.  I finally figured out why that is: when you’re thinking about how to approach a section of steep and probably slippery Adirondack granite, you’re not taking photos.  My phone was in my backpack for most of the hike – until the views started.

Big Slide can be tackled from two directions: over three smaller peaks known as “the Brothers” or via Johns Brook Valley.  A lot of hikers choose to do the hike as a loop – up over the Brothers, down via the Valley.  We decided to stick with the Brothers for both ascent and descent, for a few reasons – it meant less distance overall, the views would be better, and the trail would be familiar so we probably wouldn’t get lost.  And ohhhh, the views.  Once we hit the ridgeline, it was all panorama, all the time.

We spent a lot of time loitering at various overlooks, pouring over guidebooks with our fellow hikers and trying to work out whether we were on one of the Brothers and if so, which one.

(see the big hulking monster about two thirds to the right there? that’s Giant, which we climbed last year)

(a view of the Great Range)

Eventually, even these breathtaking views started to get old, and I began to whine again.  I was a real peach!  If you’re wondering how Steve puts up with me, don’t expect me to explain it to you.  It felt like an eternity before we hit the junction with the Johns Brook Valley trail and saw this sign:

Just 0.3 miles to the summit!  At this point I knew there was no way I was turning back without reaching the peak.  Unfortunately, I also knew (thanks, research!) that the toughest part of the climb lay ahead.  In just a little more than a quarter of a mile, we were going to gain 700 feet of altitude.  Ouch!  My quads hurt just thinking about it.  Also, a good chunk of the altitude gain came via this freak:

Yes, that is a section of rock so steep that they put a Helpful Ladder up for hikers.  So, this is a weird thing about me: while I love heights, and will happily perch on a mountaintop precipice, I am weirdly skittish about exposure.  Steve, meanwhile, hates heights but isn’t bothered by exposure in the slightest.  Together, we make one confident hiker and one basket case.  Anyway, this ladder gave me the willies.  But–

I did it!  Adirondack high peak number four in the books!

The views were pure gorgeousness.  Big Slide’s summit, like Giant’s, is partially wooded – but there was plenty to soak in from the summit ledge.  Steve and I took off our backpacks, plunked down on the granite, and enjoyed a summit snack – some high protein nut and seed mix, Babybel cheese, apricots and mangoes.  We eavesdropped as a local hiker gave some French Canadian visitors the lowdown on which high peaks we were looking at, snapped more pictures, and thought about how lucky we were to have a beautiful day and grandparent babysitters along to watch the kiddos.  And then it was time to head back downhill for dinner and, after, hugs from our babies.

(Giant again!  Can’t believe I stood on top of that bad boy last year.)

If you’re wondering how Big Slide got its name – that’s how.

It was a beautiful, if exhausting, day in the mountains!  We booked it down the trail and took our sweaty, dirt-covered selves straight to Big Slide Brewery to celebrate our achievement with local beers and carbs.  (Steve had a burger, if I remember right, and I had pasta with Impossible sausage.)  The brewery staff didn’t bat an eye when we staggered in.  I think they’re used to seeing people just off the mountain.  They asked where we’d been hiking and seemed genuinely tickled when we said we were celebrating Big Slide at Big Slide.

Another high peak handled!  It’s been a couple of months now, so I’m already forgetting how painful it was and starting to think about the next one – Phelps, maybe?  Or possibly Nye and mighty Street.  Next week – a hike with less altitude but more drama.  Check back!

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ADK Adventure 2018: Wild Center Wednesday

When we looked at the weather forecast for the week we would be spending in Lake Placid, it looked like it was going to be mostly beautiful.  I had a hard time buying this, because it has rained pretty much constantly all summer in D.C., and I pretty much stopped believing that sunshine happened.  But the weather reports for the ‘dacks all promised that most of the week would be gorgeous, with Wednesday the only gloomy day.  So we decided to spend Wednesday morning at an indoor activity we knew the kids would love: visiting the Wild Center in Tupper Lake.

The Wild Center is part outdoor experience (there is a treetop walk with a gigantic pretend bird’s nest the kids can climb in – we didn’t do that because by the time we had finished the indoor part, the rain had started in earnest and the kids were hangry), part children’s science and nature museum focusing on local environments, and part small aquarium highlighting local species.  We entered the museum in the aquarium-ish part, and the kids were enthralled by the fish and amphibians.  There were even some adorable ducks!

We made it through the fish tanks and into a room with a lot of fun play activities designed to teach kids about environmental conservation – so cool!  Peanut got really into playing a game about healthy river systems, and Nugget found some blue sand to slop everywhere.  But he was over the blue sand much sooner than Peanut was ready to move on from her river game, so Dad hung with her while Nugget and I ended up doubling back and hanging out with the fish some more (which is why you don’t see Peanut in any of these pictures).

Total fascination.  Anyway, we all reunited eventually and headed outside to try to explore the Wild Center grounds before the skies totally opened up.

I loved the beautiful wooden bridge over the wetlands.  You all know I can’t resist a marsh habitat!

They had a beautiful little nature trail through a pretty wildflower garden.  The kids loved running ahead and reporting back on the scenery a few yards down the trail.  I did not count this toward my 52 Hike Challenge, because it literally lasted ten minutes.  Had we made it to the Wild Walk, I probably would have counted that.  But we had barely started exploring the gardens before it began to rain in earnest, as I mentioned above, and the kids were grumpy and complaining about their stomachs.  So we went back to the car, had a snack, and headed back to Lake Placid to let Peanut log some quality time with her birthday presents.

The Wild Center was a perfect kiddo activity for a gloomy morning.  We were able to get some fresh air exploring the gardens, but there was plenty to see indoors.  I loved the focus on local flora, fauna, and indigenous/First Nations cultures, and I think the kids learned a lot.  We’ll be back for sure!

Next week: Steve and I tackle our fourth Adirondack high peak!

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ADK Adventure 2018: Owls Head Mountain

Steve and I definitely each have our strengths when it comes to vacation planning.  He excels at logistics – knowing where we are going to be, how to get there, etc. – and so he’s usually the one who does things like booking plane flights and rental cars, planning driving routes, and all the other boring but necessary tasks.  I prefer (and think I’m good at) the part of planning that has to do with making sure everyone has a good time – picking good lodgings and especially planning fun adventures.  The Adirondacks was a test even for me, though, because there’s an embarrassment of riches when it comes to fun and adventures, but not all of those adventures are realistic for a family with small children.  So while we were planning to get out on an adults-only adventure or two, I also had to call upon all of my knowledge of the area and my fun-wrangling skills to find activities that were adventurous and/or scenic enough for the parents, but safe and easy enough for the kids.  As I searched, there were a few trails that came up over and over again, and one was Owls Head Mountain in Keene.

Owls Head is a lovely and charming little mountain, situated right off Route 73 – one of the main arteries in this part of the Adirondack Park – just a short drive outside of Lake Placid.  It’s a short and sweet hike – just over half a mile of moderate-grade, non-technical climbing to the summit, and the views from the peak are breathtaking.  It’s also technically on private land, and a couple of years ago the trail had gotten so popular that the property owners closed it to the public on weekends and holidays – after the hordes of hikers abused the landowners’ generosity by actually parking them into their own homes.  (If that’s not a case for limiting public use of natural resources, I don’t know what is.  What if one of the landowners had a medical emergency and wasn’t able to get to the hospital because they were completely blocked in?)

Fortunately, since we were in town for an extended stay, we had a week’s worth of days to choose from, and on Tuesday morning we headed down to Keene to check out the trail.  It was an absolute delight to hike, as you can see – enough of the Adirondack granite to make things interesting, but not so much that it was beyond Nugget’s abilities.

Little hiker on the trail!

The birthday princess hitched a ride on Daddy for the uphill portion of the hike.  Yes – this climb was our celebration of Peanut’s sixth birthday!

As we neared the summit, there was one steep/technical part of the trail.  Grandad helped Nugget navigate the terrain.  I have to say this for Nugget: he’s your typical rambunctious three-year-old boy, but he does seem to understand when it’s actually important for him to listen carefully and follow directions.  He did a great job climbing the steep terrain with his Grandad’s coaching.

There were a few false summits on the way up, which I never mind in the Adirondacks, because there’s no better opportunity to relax, take a deep breath and snap a few pictures of the gorgeous mountains all around.

Stunning views of the high peaks!

And then, before we knew it, we were at the summit!

Nana and Nugget relaxed and drank in the panoramic mountain views, while I dug through the pack for the trail snacks I’d brought along for the whole family to enjoy: little packets of olives, salt-and-pepper macadamias, delicious dried apricots, Babybel cheese, and brownie bites for the kids.  We all dug in and slurped on our water bottles while soaking in the scenery.

Family picture time!  Summit smiles:

After a good long rest and snack session on the summit, it was time to head down and get on with the rest of our day.  Nugget hopped into the backpack and Peanut put boots – errrr, sandals – on the trail.

Owls Head did not disappoint!  I can see why it’s a popular mountain, but I’m glad the owners are limiting access to the trail – we saw several other hiking groups, and one family rock climbing, and I can’t imagine what it would be like on a popular holiday weekend – probably so intrusive that there’d be no trail left.  Opening it during the week and closing it on weekends and holidays seems like a good compromise to (generously) allow people to continue enjoying the mountain without destroying the trail or seriously impeding the landowners’ movement.  Makes sense to me!  And as for the trail itself, it absolutely lived up to its billing as a perfect family hike.  There was enough climbing and terrain to keep it interesting, but it was approachable enough that my small children were easily able to manage it with attentive adult supervision, and it was short enough that we were able to get a late start and spend considerable time hanging out on the summit, and still be off the mountain in time for lunch.  Wins all around!

Next week: Wild Center Wednesday!

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ADK Adventure 2018: Brewster Peninsula and Mirror Lake

Finally, some vacation recaps!  It feels like it’s been forever, and it has been a year since our last trip of a week or more.  Last year, we flew twice – once to California for a wedding followed by a family reunion and vacation, and a month after that, to Florida for another wedding.  So my one criterion for this year’s vacation was this: no flying.  I picked four driveable locations – the Adirondacks; Maine; Smith Mountain Lake or Congaree National Park – and told Steve to choose.  He picked the Adirondacks, so we started gleefully planning a week of hiking in and around Lake Placid, New York.  We drove up to my parents’ place on a Saturday in late August, crashed overnight, then drove the rest of the way on Sunday morning – and on Monday, our first order of business was to hike.  For our first trail, we picked the Brewster Peninsula Nature Trail.  Steve signed us in at the trail register – an Adirondack must – and we were off.

First views of Lake Placid!  I grew up coming to this area all year ’round, but especially in the winter – for skiing, ice skating, and snow fun.  Our Adirondack summer fun was concentrated around the Sacandaga, although we did come to LP to kayak from time to time.  So it was a treat to get to immerse myself in the Lake Placid region for an entire week.

The sun was sparkling on the clear mountain lake.

Nugget and Peanut dove right into their favorite hiking activities.  Peanut immersed herself in tracking “the Blood,” a forest creature of her own invention (shhhh) and Nugget set up a camp kitchen.  We probably loitered by this stump for twenty minutes while he cooked up trail delicacies for the rest of the family – and the Blood.

Get your trail snacks!

I passed on the dirt pies in favor of a much more delicious trail snack – wild raspberries!  (Of course, you should never eat anything that you can’t identify.  But I grew up picking wild raspberries from the large thicket that grew around my grandparents’ camp on the Sacandaga, and I can easily tell them apart from less palatable trail produce.)  There were wild raspberries growing all over Lake Placid, and I plucked a few whenever I spotted them – which was often.

What a welcome to Lake Placid!  The Brewster Peninsula trail was fun and family friendly, but still an Adirondack trail – so there were plenty of roots and rocks to keep the terrain interesting.

And plenty of incredible views to soak in!  I kept pinching myself, because I couldn’t believe I was lucky enough to be looking forward to a whole week of this.

That afternoon, Nana and Grandad arrived to share in our Adirondack fun, and we all headed over to the municipal beach on Mirror Lake.  My memories of this beach are all wintery.  I’ve tobogganed down the hill and onto the frozen lake, and practiced my skating moves here on freezing February days – but I don’t think I’ve ever waded in on a warm August day.  Time to correct that!

The kids both enjoyed running and splashing in the crystal clear water.

In addition to being gorgeous and clear, the water was also quite bracing – refreshing, sure, and we did get used to it, but after a good dousing both kids were shivering.  Time for the action to move to the beach – good thing we were well stocked with sand toys.

Nugget enjoyed dumping buckets full of sandy water all over Grandad’s feet.  Meanwhile…

It’s not an official day at the beach until Peanut has a mermaid tail.  Thanks, Nana!

What a fun welcome to Lake Placid!  I’m already plotting a way to return to that bright mountain sunshine and sparkling water.  For now, more soon.

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12 Months of Trails: Bash Bish Falls in July, 2018

After we had an unexpected death in the family, Steve and I were both totally thrown for a loop and didn’t entirely know what to do with ourselves.  We’d been planning to take a long weekend and go up to New York State to visit my parents around the Fourth of July, which we thought about cancelling (they’d have totally understood).  Ultimately, we decided that we wanted the distraction and to be around family during a sad time for us, so we packed our bags and headed north, as planned.  We did the normal things for our summer visits to my folks’ – a day at the lake, pizza at Kay’s – and my parents also asked us if we felt like a hike.  We did, and they took us to one of their favorite spots – Bash Bish Falls State Park.

Bash Bish straddles the border between New York State and Massachusetts – so much so that there is one parking lot in NYS and one parking lot in Mass, and you can approach the waterfall from either.  We headed to the Massachusetts lot, because my parents told us the hike was more fun – down an actual trail, into a ravine.  (From the New York side, the approach is just a dirt carriage road – easier than the Massachusetts hike, but not as interesting.)  We loaded the kiddos up and started the hike down, down, down.

The falls were gorgeous!  And it was a hot day – the water looked so inviting.  There were people wading and swimming (despite signs warning visitors not to swim) but having kids on our backs, we stayed well up on the driest part of the boulders.

I had Peanut, who – as I told Zan on Instagram – only weighs one pound more than Nugget these days.  (Amazing.)  She’s actually a little easier to carry, because she’s taller, so her weight distribution is a little better (for me).  But since they’re basically equivalent, we just let them decide where they want to ride these days.  Anyway, even if she’s a little easier to carry, I was kind of regretting it, because she wanted to get down and swim – and when I said no, she had a good, solid tantrum right in my left ear.  Lovely.

Steve’s burden was much quieter.

Anyway, after listening to Peanut whine for 15 minutes (keeping it real, folks) I told her I was done carrying her and, also, time to go.  I plucked her out of the backpack and told her she was hiking out of the ravine on her own two feet.  Which she did, powered by her five-year-old rage, without breaking a sweat.  When we got back to the parking lot, the four adults were heaving out-of-breath and dripping with sweat, and she looked like she’d been sitting on the couch watching cartoons.  So unfair.

Bash Bish Falls, you’re lovely!  I’m so glad we got to visit and try out one of my parents’ favorite hikes – and to add another state to our total for 2018.

Have you hit the trails recently?

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12 Months of Trails: Minnewaska State Park and Preserve in June, 2018

Our June hike – and twentieth of the year, almost halfway to 52! – is definitely going to be one of the highlights of the year.  Lake Minnewaska is a small gem set in the Shawnagunk Mountains of New York – just a stone’s throw from New Paltz and an easy drive from downstate.  My mom vacationed there with her parents, sister and brothers as a little girl growing up on Long Island, but the lodge where they stayed burned down long ago and my parents never took us.  (We had the Sacandaga for lake fun and plenty of Adirondack and Catskill adventure closer to home.)

Still, my mom often shared her memories of summer vacations on Minnewaska, and after my grandmama passed away last year, I think it became more important to her to share this place with us.  We had a golden opportunity to hike at Minnewaska as a family when my brother and sister-in-law visited from Colorado a few weeks ago – and we were in New York to attend Cornell Reunion – so we all piled into the cars and drove downstate for some family bonding on the trails.

Our first glimpse of Minnewaska was from the picnic area on one of the many cliffs, but after we enjoyed our sandwiches we all made our way down to the shore.

What a treat to get to hike with Dan and Danielle!  We only see them once a year if we’re lucky, but since we’re all avid hikers we always try to make sure that we hit the trails at least once on those occasions.

The whole group!  (Minus me, behind the lens.)  My dad, Steve (well-hidden), Dan, Danielle, Nugget, Peanut and my mom.  All together in a beautiful place – it doesn’t get better than that.

 

After a few minutes of taking in the view at the water’s edge, it was time to climb again.  My mom explained that the trail circumvented the lake and stopped at several overlooks along the way – which meant it was time to go up, up, up.

The trail was beautifully maintained and marked – Nugget made it his mission to be the first one to spot every red blaze along the way – and the views were well worth the elevation change!

World’s best sister!  How lucky am I?  She’s the coolest.  (Thanks, Dan, for finding her.)

Stopped to take in the view at one of the overlooks.  (See how well-contained Peanut is?)  Uncle Dan decided to do a little impromptu bouldering.  Brave!

Wave hi to Steve!

 

Back on the trail – Nugget kept us all on track with his map.  We were all revolving doors of kid-transport.  Nugget and Peanut both made the rounds of Mom and Dad’s backpacks, hand-holding with Nana and Aunt Danielle, and hitching rides on Grandad’s and Uncle Dan’s shoulders.

Back down to the water’s edge, all the way on the other side of the lake.

We found a little friend!  This guy was hanging out in the shallows with about a dozen of his family members.  At first, Uncle Dan thought these were tadpoles mid-transition, but when Aunt Danielle scooped him up we realized he was a newt (or salamander? anyway, not a tadpole).

Back up!  The views from the other side of the trail weren’t too shabby, either.

I’m so glad I finally got to experience Minnewaska, after hearing so many stories of it (and seeing so many pictures of the lake resort in the 1960s, looking like Johnny and Baby were about to come tangoing down the trail).  And getting to hike it with the whole family was gravy.

Until next time, Minnewaska!

Where have you been hiking lately?

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A Weekend Far Above Cayuga’s Waters: Part II

Continued from last week: another photobomb of a post with the rest of our long weekend at Cornell, because I literally couldn’t fit all the fun into one post without losing all of my readers.

We were up bright and early on Saturday morning and found ourselves almost the first people in Collegetown Bagels.  (Yes, since you asked, we did go there every day.)  We filled up on bagels and delicious Ithaca Bakery coffee (iced for Steve, hot for me) before heading off to the “State of the ILR School” talk.

There’s interesting stuff going on with the school now, and a big group of alumni turned out to hear what’s up – it’s a small program, but well-known in most of our fields, so we all have a special affinity for the school and an interest in seeing it continue to do well.  The Dean told a story about a group of students taking over his office with a list of demands – later, I told Steve that occupying an administration office was a quintessentially ILR thing to do and almost a rite of passage.  We got a good laugh out of it, but I do love how passionate my fellow ILRies are about things.  (In my day, our planned takeover of Day Hall – to convince the University to sign onto a multi-school pledge not to sell sweatshop-made apparel in the campus bookshop – didn’t end up coming off, but if it had, I will have you know that I was put in charge of paper towels and orange soda, a grave responsibility.)

After the State of the ILR School, we killed about an hour hanging out with our friend Seth in the courtyard while the kids ran around and got their wiggles out, then headed to my sorority, Alpha Phi, to see what they’d been up to.

There was fresh paint on the walls and a new courtyard, but the house looked pretty similar!  Steve and the kids and I wandered around and poked our heads into my old rooms.

The Butterfly Triple (sophomore year), shared with my roommates Megan and Mary Allison.  I remember it being bigger?

And my room in the G-wing (junior year), shared with my little sis, Betsy.  So many fun memories in both rooms…

Now that I’m a mom, I’m a little more anxious about the idea of my kids joining the Greek system, but I have to say – I had nothing but positive experiences.  I mentioned that to the current Alpha Phi house mom, who was a sister when I was a pledge, and she was glad to hear that.  I was never hazed, because our international headquarters had a strict “no hazing” policy and our local chapter had a strict policy of following the international policy.  As the current house mom put it, they didn’t see any point to hazing – didn’t think it was a bonding experience and felt there was a better way to build sisterly bonds.  So instead of scrubbing floors with a toothbrush (or worse) I was taken on ski trips, showered with gifts from my generous big sis, serenaded in my dorm room by the most popular a capella group on campus (also courtesy of my big sis), and generally loved and protected by dozens of older girls as I was finding my way on campus.  No “sketchy boy” got within ten feet of any of the pledges, but we did have a fun trip downtown to go to the movies and dominate a Vermonster together.  And did it work?  Well… my best friend (and godmother to my children) is an Alpha Phi, and we all still love and support each other today.  So I think it did.

Enough waxing poetic about my sorority!  We had fun poking around – and the house mom showed me the secret stuff, which I can’t tell you about (sorry…).  And I went composite hunting!

Found freshman Jac, looking extremely wide-eyed.  Probably fresh off being rescued from a sketchy frat boy at a mixer.

And senior Jac, much more confident in her own skin.  But clearly, I didn’t have it all figured out at the ripe old age of 21.  You can’t tell from the picture, but I’m wearing electric blue eyeshadow.  Yowsa.  I said to the house mom, “What was I thinking?” and she responded, “You were thinking that it was 2003.”  At least I had something going for me: my bestie by my side.  Rebecca and I have been inseparable since sophomore year.  (She actually started trying to be friends when we were freshmen, but I was convinced she was way too cool to want to be friends with little old me and so she must have an ulterior motive – so I blew her off.  Fortunately for me, she kept trying.  And by junior year, I had the earth-shattering realization that I am actually cooler.  Let me tell you, that was surprising.)  Also: yes, I chopped off all of my hair junior year.  This was me starting to grow it back out after it occurred to me that I didn’t actually want to look like Annette Bening.

Post-Phi House, we met back up with our dear friend Seth for more ice cream, obviously.  The Dairy Bar was bumping.

Full of sugar-fueled energy, we clearly decided that a hike through the Cornell Botanic Gardens was in order.

WHERE IS THE TRAIL.

I recapped this hike on Wednesday, so won’t bore you with a repeat of all the pictures.  After wandering through the Botanic Gardens for awhile, it was back to the Phi House for a reception, then off to the lake for our final Class of 2003 dinner.

We were early, so we squeezed in another hike – this time around Beebe Lake, where I used to run as a freshman.  Memories!  I also used to swim in the swimming hole with my floormates from Jameson Hall and…

…jump off this bridge into the gorge below.  Yes, it is as high as it looks.  And apparently, as dangerous.

Whoops.  That plaque was not there when I was a freshman with a hobby of flinging myself into the lake from 35 feet up.  For the record, the worst thing that ever happened to me was a case of swimmer’s ear, and I’ve lost count of how many times I jumped that thing.  But still – don’t try this at home, kids.

Anyway!  Trail pounded and memories reminisced, we found our way to the final Class of 2003 dinner.  The Big Red Marching Band was there serenading all the small children with a lively rendition of everyone’s favorite hockey cheer: “We’re gonna beat the hell out of you!  F*ck ’em up, f*ck ’em up, go CU!”  I fully support the sentiment, but it did seem like a weird choice for the fifteen-year crowd, most of whom had their little kids in tow.  What’s wrong with the alma mater?

No worries!  Once the Dinosaur B-B-Q was open, everyone forgot about the music.

Nugget had a bit of a tough night, but it was nothing that couldn’t be solved by hurling rocks into Beebe Lake.  Although he wasn’t pleased when he had to stop his rock-throwing to smile for the class picture.  Life is full of disappointments, buddy.  For instance, your alma mater may lose to Bemidji State in the Frozen Four hockey tournament.  That’s a thing that can happen.  And it is very upsetting.

And so ended a blissful weekend!  But not the travel – we were off to Albany to visit with family, about which more next week.  And I’m sure we will be back to Cornell – every five years for reunion, and eventually I hope quite a bit more, because I’m planning to sell the school with everything I have when it’s time for my kiddos to apply.  As you may have guessed, my four years there were some of the happiest of my life.  My only regret is not sticking around an extra year and picking up a Master’s.  In many of the most significant ways, I became who I am at Cornell.  I met my husband and my best friend, chose a career, figured out what I like and don’t like and learned a whole lot about myself in the process.  I know and love every inch of this campus; it’s home.

Far above Cayuga’s waters
With its waves of blue
Stands our noble alma mater
Glorious to view

Lift the chorus, speed it onward
Loud her praises tell
Hail to thee, our alma mater
Hail, all hail Cornell!

Far above the busy humming
Of the bustling town
Reared against the arch of Heaven
Looks she proudly down

Lift the chorus, speed it onward
Loud her praises tell
Hail to thee, our alma mater
Hail, all hail Cornell!

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Three Hikes In Ithaca

Now that the high summer hiking season is finally here, I’m trying to be on the trail as much as possible – which, admittedly, isn’t much given our schedules that never seem to lighten up.  But a few days out of town was a golden opportunity to do some hiking, and we took advantage of it – hiking three times during our stay in Ithaca and once more in the Shawnagunks with my whole family (pictures to come next week).

Ithaca Hike #1: Robert H. Treman State Park

Treman State Park was one of Steve’s and my haunts during our Cornell days, but we usually just plunked down somewhere and hung out.  Since I’d read that there was a swimming hole and cool waterfall, I wanted to check out the hiking, so we added that to our reunion weekend agenda.

Sadly, the swimming hole was closed because there was no lifeguard on duty – maybe it was too early in the season.  (New York summers are glorious, but they last about five minutes – that was one of my biggest complaints when I lived up north.)  Ah, well, we weren’t wearing our bathing suits anyway.

I promised Miss Peanut that we would come back one day when the swimming hole was open.  (She is really into the idea of swimming holes right now – we’re going to have to find one for our summer vacation later in the season.)

Foot shot!

How did we never find this part of the park when we lived in Ithaca?

Ithaca Hike #2: Cornell Botanic Gardens

One of my agenda items that we didn’t actually get to was a hike in the Cornell Plantations.  Next time!  But we did hit the Botanic Gardens, which was almost as good – there were lovely trails to explore, our friend Seth was by our side (at least until he peeled off to go hear a talk about online dating???) and our tummies were full of Cornell Dairy ice cream.  Not bad!

Started out on a pretty grass path down from the Ag School into the gardens.

Note to self: order prints for grandparents.

Forgot how much I love this garden!

To keep the kids on the trail, we told them that the plants eat children.  Peanut was skeptical but didn’t want to risk it.  Nugget bought the story hook, line and sinker.

I AM STANDING IN THE EXACT MIDDLE OF THE TRAIL FAR AWAY FROM THE CHILD-EATING PLANTS.

Hey, you know what?  Whatever works.

Yard Woman: A Statue of Me.

I really wanted to explore the herb garden more (and get some ideas for my patio garden back home) but tempers were short and nerves were fraying.

Ithaca Hike #3: Beebe Lake

The final hike of the Ithaca leg of our trip was a spur-of-the-moment addition.  The final Class of 2003 dinner was scheduled for the lakeside tent (YES!) and finding ourselves with extra time on our hands, we headed over a little early.  As it turned out, we were the first ones there – so nerdy – except for the Dinosaur BBQ employees, who were still setting up.  With time to kill, we decided to walk the trail around the lake, where I used to run as a Cornell freshman.

The sun was still high in the sky, but was starting to dip a little bit, and the dappled light coming through the trees was just dreamy.

As we wandered around the lake, I pointed out my favorite spots and views.

Cornell is gorges!

I used to jump off this bridge with my floormates, freshman year.  (Yes, it’s as high as it looks.)  And there were usually people climbing the sides of the gorge and jumping down into the lake – as rainy and snowy as Ithaca can be, we knew how to make the most of nice weather.  Upstream a bit is a lovely swimming hole with little waterfalls that we would slide down.

So, this is a new addition.

Eventually we circumnavigated the whole lake and found ourselves back at the tent.  Ended the evening with Dinosaur BBQ, the Big Red Band, and my classmates, watching the sun go down on another reunion.  We exchanged hugs that had to last until 2023, and the next morning, we were driving east – toward the ‘dacks.

Where have you been hiking recently?

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A Weekend Far Above Cayuga’s Waters: Part I

Summer travel season is here, and with it – the first trip we’ve taken out of town since (I think?) December!  And it was a good one – up to Ithaca, New York for my fifteen-year college reunion.  Also: how has it been that long?  Get ready for a massive photobomb of a post…

We rolled into town around lunchtime on Thursday – the kids were excited.  We left Virginia at 6:00 a.m. and they were up, bright-eyed and raring to go, at 4:30, wanting to help us pack the car and demanding to know when we were going to Ithaca.  Keep in mind, these children had never been to Ithaca.  Our reputation for delivering awesome destinations is just that impressive.

Anywho, our first stop was a no-brainer.  Since it was lunchtime, we hit one of our favorite spots: Collegetown Bagels.  CTB, as Cornellians call it, is situated right at the intersection between Collegetown (technically off-campus) and Cornell proper.  It’s open early and late and was one of our regular haunts as Cornell students – especially after Steve and I started dating, we spent many a late night sitting at a table inside CTB, extending our evening and getting out of the cold.  The CTB patio was our meeting spot for dates, too; it was a good middle point between my sorority house and Steve’s grad student apartment complex.  Long story short, we love CTB.

Iced coffee and vegetarian bagel melts.  Clearly the bomb.

(This was my favorite order at CTB: veggie cream cheese, sliced tomato, and melted Muenster over the top.  Perfect.)

Post-bagels, the campus food tour (apparently) continued with a trip to the Cornell Dairy Bar for ice cream.  The best ice cream comes from the smartest cows, and the smartest cows come from Cornell.

The kids went with classic strawberry, Steve had “Big Red Bear Tracks” (vanilla with chocolate swirl and caramel pieces, I think) and I had “Ezra’s Morning Cup” (coffee! my favorite).  I can’t say that Cornell Dairy was one of Steve’s and my special places on campus, but I came now and then with my sorority sisters and ate way too much of this stuff in the dining halls.  Plus, we’re trying to convince the kids to follow in Mommy and Daddy’s footsteps (and go to Cornell – but not be lawyers, let’s not go crazy here), and ice cream is obviously the way to do that.

Tummies full of bagels and ice cream, it was off to North Campus for us – time to sign in at the Class of 2003 Headquarters.  (Fun fact: Steve is actually class of 2002, but he kindly goes to my reunion instead of his own.  I’ve offered to take one for the team and go to both, but so far we’re on my reunion cycle.)

Class HQ located, it was time to sign in, get our nametags and our schedule of activities, and see who else was lurking around.  Peanut put on a concert for the class volunteer crew while I chatted with a friend from my major who also happens to live in DC about her son’s awesome hockey jersey.  #ALLCAPS!  A group was gathering to watch the game that night (which ended up being the Caps’ Stanley Cup victory) but we sadly had to beg off – kiddo bedtimes and work beckoned.  We grabbed a small dinner at Wegmans, headed back to the Airbnb, tucked the babies into bed and then fired up our laptops for a long evening of way less fun than our classmates were having celebrating the hockey victory.  Boo.  What can you do?

Anyway!  We were up bright and early on Friday morning for more bagels, followed in short order by 9:00 a.m. ice cream to try to nip a Nugget tantrum in the bud.  It sort of worked.  Then we rushed back to the Airbnb so I could churn out a document and take a work call before we headed to Treman State Park – another of our favorite haunts from the early days of our relationship – for a hike, which I’ll recap separately.

We were all hungry after the hike, so we refueled at another favorite Collegetown haunt – Aladdin’s, a café serving up Greek and Mediterranean food.  Aladdin’s was an extra special place for us: the site of our first date!  I had to snap a picture of the little corner table where we sat for three hours one late August afternoon, eating fruit salad (me) and gyro (Steve) and talking about school, our families, and Altoids for three hours… and the rest was history!  We were sorry to see that they didn’t have their delicious artichoke on the menu anymore, but the dolmades and sangria made up for it.  Back to the Airbnb for more work and attempted (failed) naps, and then–

Back to campus!  Hurray!  Peanut and Nugget found a stage.  Obviously, singing and dancing happened.

We took the kids to the Johnson Museum of Art (super cool building designed by I.M. Pei) because I had thought that there were kids’ activities going on there all day.  Either I misread the schedule or we were too late, but we made the most of it by taking in the view of Cayuga Lake from the gigantic windows on the fifth floor.  I spent a lot of time at the art museum as an undergrad – first in my freshman art history seminar, and later just soaking in the peace and beautiful views whenever I needed to relax and breathe.  Peanut was pretty impressed with the view, but more impressed with the collection of ancient Chinese and Japanese decorative arts.  She asked for several of the teapots for her birthday.  (Sorry, kid, but that’s not going to happen.)

After the singing and dancing and art museum-ing, it was time for one of the events I’d been most looking forward to: the ILR reception.  New friends: ILR was my major, and while Cornellians like to refer to the school as “I Love Reading” because of the volume of reading assignments, it actually stands for Industrial and Labor Relations.  (I do love reading, though.)

I was so excited to be back.  Some of my happiest memories took place inside the walls of Ives Hall – lots of learning, studying in groups and alone in the depths of Catherwood Library, jamming to Vietnam protest songs in my “Recent History of American Workers” class, and plotting to take over the Administration building.

Home sweet home!  While I am hoping for two Cornell Engineers, I would not be sad if one or both of my kids ended up an ILRie.  Just like Mom!

We made our way to the Ives Hall courtyard, where there was a big tent full of familiar faces.  ILR ’03 turned out for this reunion, let me tell you.

We had promised the kids that there would be cheese and crackers at the reception.  Fortunately, ILR delivered.

A loved face!  That’s Julia, my sorority sister (not an ILRie, but we throw a great party so she came anyway) meeting my munchkins for the first time.  She has a little one of her own, but came from Texas for the reunion and didn’t want to fly with baby.  So she snuggled my kiddos instead.  Love!

After pretty much shutting down the ILR reception (party animals!), we wandered up to North Campus in a herd for a Class of 2003 dinner – tacooooooooooos.  I loaded mine up, sipped an Ithaca Brewery apricot wheat beer, chatted with more friends and watched my kids run around with the daughters of one of my sorority sisters.  (Does that make them my nieces?)  We hung out on the soccer field where my freshman intermural team (the Tower Pterodactyls!  Eeeeeeeeeaw!) suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Vet School (but I don’t want to talk about it, you guys) until the sun went down and we had two sleepy future Cornellians on our hands.

This post is getting out of hand, so I’ll save the rest – our Saturday adventures – for next week.