What’s it like to go to the Corning Museum of Glass with kids? I heard its holdings were extensive and one could easily spend a complete day or two there, exploring the galleries. I thought they might be bored. Turns out they loved it. While others could spend days there, our visit was limited to 3 hours (including the “make your own glass” experience – separate post). And that was enough time to see much of the museum, even though we rushed through the very large 35 Centuries of Glass gallery, as the kids were running out of steam.
After years of hearing about and seeing pictures of the Renaissance Faire, we finally went. It was a 600 degree day. It was super hot (bring a hat, sunblock and water). It was a lot of fun for everyone.
Renaissance Faire in NY. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan
Ever since I went to Flagstaff Extreme a few years back with my family, my kids and I were dying to do it again. Especially since my son was now tall enough to do the full course (in Flagstaff he was too short/young). And my husband missed out on that experience and wanted to try as well. This “aerial treetop adventure course” has multiple courses of ropes obstacles and ziplines. On our recent trip to the Adirondacks, we booked some time at Adirondack Extreme near Lake George.
When you see the Hudson River in New York City, or even the Hudson River in the Hudson River Valley, whitewater rafting is not something you think about. But further upstream just past Lake George, you can raft in the white caps, over 17 miles of class III-V waves. While there are two handfuls of reputable companies, we went with Wild Waters, connected to the Glen River Lodge where we bunked. You can read our review of the Glen River Lodge here.
This outfitter has been around some 30 years, and on a busy Memorial Day weekend, we had several bus loads of eager paddlers joining us on the journey.
We were looking to raft in the Adirondacks near Lake George, and came across the Glen Lodge and Market when researching. Their rafting/lodging special was too good to pass up ($199/person for 2 nights’ lodging, breakfasts, rafting day and dinner). We came with 2 families, booking three of the lodge’s seven rooms.
The Glen Lodge in Warrensburg has seven rooms and a woodsy feel.
The rooms were all upstairs. They had plenty of space and were stocked with tables, chairs, toiletries and a hair dryer. While not fancy, it was quite comfortable and warm. One treat was Lake Champlain chocolates on the nightstand. Continue reading “Review: Glen Lodge in the Adirondacks”
Having visited the Grounds for Sculpture recently, I was keen to get outside and see some more when my parents visited me. My mother is involved in the art world, and when I told her Storm King wasn’t too far away, she was eager to go. And we’re so glad we did. Storm King is one of the premier sculpture gardens in the world. Set on 500+ acres, the 100 or so large scale sculptures have plenty of space for themselves.
Iliad by Alexander Liberman (1974-76). This piece is similar to another Liberman we had on my college campus. We affectionately called it “Dueling Tampons.’
Wear good walking shoes, because you’re going to do a lot of walking. And it’s hilly. Storm King recommends spending 4-6 hours on a visit, if you have the time, and that you won’t see everything. Our goal was to see everything. We thought we did, but later saw pictures on the guides of sculptures we somehow missed during the day. We were there about four hours, and our legs were tired by the end! (see the end notes for other ways to see Storm King, like on the tram or on bikes).
Maya Lin, who designed the famous Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., designed this Storm King Wavefield (2009), which is on 11 acres. Apparently, you can no longer walk on it.
If you’ve ever studied art history or art in general, you’ll recognize some of the artist names here: Alexander Calder, Maya Lin, David Smith, Nam June Paik, Mark Di Suervo, Richard Serra, Roy Lichtenstein, Sol Lewitt, Barbara Hepworth, Louise Nevelson, Henry Moore, Claes Oldenburg and more. They have works from all the heavyweight sculptors, focusing on monumental sculptures from the 1960s on. Continue reading “Review: Storm King Art Center”
With history buff family in town, we took a day trip this summer to visit two Hudson River mansions in Hyde Park, the Roosevelt mansion and the Vanderbilt Mansion. I’ll post separately.
The Vanderbilt Mansion. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan
Admittedly I knew little about the Vanderbilts before we went, so the history was quite interesting. I can confirm I already knew about clothing designer Gloria Vanderbilt (I coveted her jeans in high school) and her very cute son Anderson Cooper. As for the rest of the family, I get lost in the family tree, especially since half of them seemed to be named Cornelius.
