Ithaca is Gorges

We went on a couple of hikes on our trip to Ithaca.  The first was to Taughannock Falls - Clare rode in the backpace and Sean walked alongside us - when he wasn't busy hanging back to examine every interesting-looking rock, stick, and leaf :-)

Sean picked up a really nice walking stick:

Family picture!

Our next hike was a mini-hike in the Robert H. Treman State Park, where we found this nifty little swimming hole:

Daddy and Sean dipped their toes in the cool water:

Whoopsie!

Cayuga Nature Center

One of our stops on our Ithaca trip was to the Cayuga Nature Center at the top of a "very tall hill," as Sean said.

We got there just in time for the animals' lunch. Sean got to pet some reptiles and we all watched the keepers try to feed the animals.

There were some animal skins for Sean to explore...

and Clare stumbled onto a few as well:

Meanwhile, Sean was making new friends...

And so was Clare!

We went outside to see more nature:

We went into the butterfly garden, but we didn't see too many butterflies.  Luckily the koi pond captivated the kids.

Then we headed over to the Nature Center's six-story treehouse and let the kids run around a bit while Mommy bit her nails - the treehouse was precariously perched at the edge of one of Ithaca's many gorges.

Labor Day Weekend

We took the kids on a mini-break up to the Finger Lakes region in New York State. I hope to write a lot more posts about this trip, but here's a summary: We set out right after work and daycare on Friday and the going was a little rough at first:

But we quickly rebounded and had a good drive up to the cabin our friends Erin and Demetri secured right on Lake Cayuga. On Saturday, we took a trip to the Cayuga Nature Center and got there just in time to see some of the animals being fed. Sean got to pet this "little dragon!" and watched him eat his lunch of worms rolled in vitamin powder - yum!

Later that afternoon we went on a hike through one of the many gorges in the area to see a waterfall:

We had cool, clear nights by the campfire...

and crisp, sunny mornings by the lake:

We went into Ithaca and hiked around the campus at Cornell...

and admired local artwork:

We also swam in the lake:

We went exploring with Elly Dog by our side:

We packed up on Monday but made sure to enjoy some local creamery ice cream before we hit the road:

And we took a side-trip up to Seneca Falls to visit the Women's Rights National Historic Park and stretch our legs before our drive home.