Month: August 2017

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6 Reasons Why The Rockwell Museum is Perfect for Families

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(We were hosted by the Rockwell Museum and Corning and the Southern Finger Lakes.  All opinions are my own.)

The Rockwell Museum sits on Cedar Street in Corning’s Old City Hall.  The brick building looks similar to many of the structures surrounding it….except for the buffalo head protruding from the front façade!  This is fitting, since the museum’s diverse collection of paintings, artifacts, sculptures and photographs tells the story of the American experience from the perspectives of American artists. The core of the Rockwell Museum’s art collection was gifted by Bob and Hertha Rockwell.  (no relation to the artist Norman Rockwell). In November 2015, the Rockwell Museum became a Smithsonian affiliate, one of only 200 affiliates nationwide and the only one in upstate New York.

My kids are big animal lovers and especially enjoyed seeing buffalo, horses, moose and other animals in various forms. Although I have visited many museums during my travels, I was sadly unfamiliar with many early American artists.  I enjoyed becoming familiar with some of the works of famous artists like John James Audobon, Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt and Frederic Remington.  One of my favorite paintings was Judith Lowry’s Family: Love’s Unbreakable Heaven (pictured above). Hanging on the red wall, the colors in the piece seem even more vibrant.  Besides its incredible collection of art, here are 6 reasons why the Rockwell Museum is perfect for families.

1. Size – Compared to many other art museums that we have been to, the Rockwell Museum is comparatively small. This is not a bad thing, especially for families! Encompassing only three floors, you can tour the museum in a couple of hours.

2. Art Hunts – Children can pick up an Art Hunt board at the admissions desk, located in the gift shop, upon arrival.  During your visit, they try to find the images on the board that match actual museum pieces.  Once the board is completed, they receive a small prize.  My kids enjoyed participating in the Art Hunt and were able to complete their boards without difficulty.  I like that they were getting exposed to and having to closely examine the pieces of art.  Plus, it gives them some focus as we walked around the museum.  The Art Hunt has two sides, one each for the 2nd and 3rd floors of the museum.

3. The Balcony – The third floor of the museum leads to an outdoor balcony.  If your child is getting restless, you can bring them outside on a nice day and let them burn off some of their energy!  Added bonus, you get to take in some spectacular views of Corning!

4. The Family Exploration Studio – Located on the second floor of the museum, you can literally spend hours in the Family Exploration Studio!  The space is made specifically for kids to explore and enrich their museum experience. The space includes a book nook with art-related books, a magnetic wall puzzle of one of the museum paintings, a landscape drawing game and more.  The activities change seasonally, so there’s always something new to do.


My kids spent the majority of their time working on their Paper Blanket Stories, which connects to the current, temporary exhibit Blanket Stories.

5. Alley Art – After touring the inside of the museum, be sure to take a walk down the alleyways around it.  In a partnership with the High School Learning Center of the Corning-Painted Post Area School District, students work with Rockwell Museum educators and create a mural.  I’m a big fan of street art and was super impressed with the Alley Art projects that we saw walking around the village.

6. New York State Social Studies Curriculum Connections – The former teacher in me is coming out now! The NY state 4th grade social studies curriculum focuses on the state of New York.  Units of study including Native American Groups, the geography of NY state and the Westward Movement are depicted in various art forms throughout the museum.  Children can make connections with the museum exhibits and what they are studying in school.

If you visit the museum in late November through the end of December you will be treated to the special Gingerbread Invitational exhibit.  13 artists are featured in this special exhibit, where they create historic landmarks and architecture from the Corning region out of gingerbread!  Museum visitors get to vote on their favorites.

Children 17 and under are admitted free to both the Rockwell Museum and the Corning Museum of Glass. Admission tickets are valid for two consecutive days.  You can also purchase a combo ticket at a discounted price to both museums. A sample one-day itinerary might include starting your morning at the Rockwell Museum.  Then, have lunch and walk around the Gaffer District, adjacent to the museum.  Finally, take the free shuttle to the Corning Museum of Glass!

The Details:

The Rockwell Museum
111 Cedar Street
Corning, NY 14830

Parking:  Free parking is available in the rear of the building

Hours:  9 AM – 5 PM Daily, 9 AM – 8 PM (summer hours), seven days a week

Admission:  $11/adult, $10/55+, $10/AAA and military, $5.50/local residents and students with I.D.,Free/kids 17 and under.  Admission is valid for two consecutive days.

**Combination tickets are available for the Rockwell Museum and the Corning Museum of Glass.  A free shuttle bus travels between the two museums, allowing you to park once. Combination tickets are valid for two consecutive days.   Combo ticket prices:  $27.25/adult, $26.25/55+, $25.25/AAA and military, $21.25/college students, $14.25/local residents, Free/kids 17 and under

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California Globetrotter

Back-to-School Snacks From Hain Celestial

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{Sponsored post – all opinions are my own}

September is fast approaching and for those of us in New York state, that means the new school year will soon begin. This also means it’s back to packing school lunches. My kids hate when I give them the same thing to eat every day, so I’m always on the lookout for new snack options.  Hain Celestial kindly sent me a sample of some of their products which will make great back-to-school snacks for the kids!

Hain Celestial is headquartered in Lake Success, New York.  Celestial Seasonings, alba Botanica, Earth’s Best Organic, Garden of Eatin, Ella’s Kitchen, Soy Dream and Terra are only a sample of the companies that Hain Celestial markets, manufactures and sells. The company, founded in 1993, aims to, “make it easier for people around the world to adopt healthier lifestyles through foods they eat and the personal care products they use.” They use responsibly sourced ingredients and are mindful of their environmental footprint.  Basically, you can feel good about using their products.

Here is a review of some of the snacks that we sampled:

Garden of Eatin’ Organic Tortilla Chips – These tortilla chips are made from organic corn.  I find them to be thicker and denser than other tortilla chips on the market.  We tried both the nacho and ranch flavors of these chips. The nacho chips have a light cheese flavor.  We found the ranch chips to be more flavorful, but beware, they had a strong garlic flavor.  Be sure to have some mints ready after eating these!

Sensible Portions Stacked Veggie Chips – While our family is familiar with veggie straws (see below), we had never seen veggie chips before! These are stackable chips made with a combination of potatoes and vegetables.  We tried the sour cream & onion variety and liked them.  The chips are crispy with a light, sour cream flavor.  Other flavors available include BBQ, Sea Salt, Cheddar Cheese and Sea Salt & Vinegar.

Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Straws – My children are no stranger to veggie straws.  However, we had never seen flavored ones before.  They were excited to try these cheddar cheese flavored straws as well as ranch and sea salt.  We have found new flavors to incorporate into our veggie straw snack rotation!

Terra Plantain Chips –  I was already familiar with Terra and love the brand’s vegetable chips.   My kids are familiar with plantains and have had tostones and sweet plantains.  Although I’ve had plantain chips in the past, I had never tried the Terra brand.  After trying these, my daughter’s exact words were, “I’m addicted to these!”  These chips are small and bite-sized.  They are thinner than other plantain chips that I’ve tried but still tasty.

Thank you Hain Celestial for introducing our family to so many new items to add to our back-to-school snack rotation!

What are some of your favorite school snacks?

Food Truck Mash-Up At Empire City Casino

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Sponsored Post

Where are all my fellow food truck fans?  On Sunday, September 10, come join me and fellow foodies at Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, New York.  The Journal News Media Group is pitting the best food trucks from New York against the best of New Jersey in a Food Truck Mash-Up.  Your vote will help determine who wins bragging rights!

The current food truck line-up includes Carnivale Donut Bar (“over the top”shakes, ice cream donut sandwiches and stuffed mini donuts), Dough Nation (pizza), Farmers and Chefs (Hudson Valley, farm fresh, local, in-season dishes), Frites of NY (different kinds of street fries), Glazed and Confused Donuts (mini donuts), HAPA Truck (Asian Fusion- tacos, burgers, sides), Kona Ice (shaved ice), Los Viajeros (tacos, burritos, quesadillas),  Meatoss Food Truck (Brazilian churrasco),  Bacon Me Crazy (“hand wrap, roll & sprinkle your favorite foods with mmmm…..bacon!”), Empanada Guy (empanadas and traditional Latin dishes), Callahan’s Hot Dogs (hot dogs, burgers, fries), Walter’s Hot Dogs (hot dogs and fries), Three Little Pigs BBQ (BBQ meat, sandwiches, chicken), The Souvlaki Truck (Greek), Stuf’d Truck (gourmet sandwiches and sweet bites), Luke’s Lobster (seafood), Waffle de Lys (Belgian and savory waffles), CheezeN (gourmet grilled cheese), The Guac Spot (avocado-inspired eats), Jimmy Dawn’s Cheesesteaks (cheesesteaks and fries), Angry Archie’s (seafood) and Aroy’d Thai Elephant (Thai food)!

(Carnivale Donut Bar’s “Over the Top” shakes – photo courtesy of T.H. Waldman)

I’ve perused the menus and the hardest decision you’ll have to make is which trucks to try!  These are not your average food trucks, with most of them having accumulated multiple awards in the food truck circuit. The trucks will be offering their regular event menus at the Mash-Up.  Prices for food items vary with each food truck.  After taking a quick look at some of the menus online, many of the burgers, sandwiches, tacos, “mains” etc. average $6-$12 per item.  The trucks take both credit cards and cash. If needed, ATMs are available inside the casino.  After you’ve eaten your fill, don’t forget to vote for your favorite truck! At the end of the event, a winner will be crowned.

(Callahan’s Hot Dogs – photo courtesy of T.H. Waldman)

Are you ready to get your tickets to the Food Truck Mash-Up?  Tickets are available on lohud.com for pre-purchase.  Early admission tickets are available for $20 (online only).  This enables you to access the event at 12 PM and get $5 in Food Truck Mash-Up Cash.  Plus, there will be drink specials during these two hours.

General admission tickets can be purchased online for $5 or at the event for $8, with admission beginning at 2 PM. Kids under 5 are admitted free.  All pre-purchased admissions include $10 of free play at the casino.

Plenty of free parking is available at Empire City Casino.  The Casino also provides free shuttle service from the Mount Vernon West Metro-North train station. During the event, Rockland Nissan, sponsor of the Food Truck Mash-Up, will be giving away a 2 year lease on a new Nissan Sentra.


(photo courtesy of T.H. Waldman)

This is going to be a fun-filled family event! Daddy Pop and DJ Lax will be playing live music throughout the day and their will be carnival games and activities for the kids.  Bring a blanket or foldable chair so you can sit back, relax and enjoy a day of foodie family fun.

For tickets, directions, and additional info, check out the lohud.com site.

Touring the New York State Capitol

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I’ve been a life-long resident of New York state and somehow made it to my late 30’s without ever visiting our state Capitol.  Located in Albany, it is just a two hour drive from northern Westchester County. As the mother of soon-to-be 4th and 6th graders, I wanted to visit with the kids this summer.

After parking in the visitor lot, we took the elevator up to the main concourse and entered the Capitol.  Whether you enter the Capitol through the main entrance or the concourse, you must pass through a metal detector and all bags will be scanned. We arrived at 9:30 AM and went to the tour desk to sign up for the free 10 AM guided tour.  I was surprised that we were the only family from New York in our tour group.  Only one other family had children, but my 9 and 11-year-old were the youngest on the tour.

Our tour guide was very informative and we learned a lot.   Photography is allowed and encouraged throughout the tour.  Since our group was small, our guide even volunteered to take family photos at both the elevator and the Million Dollar Staircase.


The first stop on the tour is the Senate Staircase. This staircase went through a major renovation and the final results were unveiled by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2013.  The brightened space showcases the detailed stone carvings that decorate the staircase.

 

Construction on the Capitol began in 1867 and wasn’t completed until 1899, with a final cost of $25 million dollars. This made it the most expensive government building at the time.  Although a dome was planned, one was never constructed due to financial reasons.  This leaves the New York State Capitol as one of only a few state capitols without a dome.

The tour visits both the Assembly and Senate Chambers.  The Assembly Chamber, pictured above, is the largest room in the Capitol.  The 150 members of the Assembly vote on approximately 2,000 bills and resolutions a year using an electronic voting system.

My favorite part of the tour was seeing the staircases.  The Capitol has three major staircases that are the most beautiful that I think I’ve ever seen in-person.  This staircase is the Great Western Staircase, also known as the Million Dollar Staircase.  After fourteen years, construction of the staircase was completed in 1897. The staircase cost over $1 million dollars to build and employed over 500 stone cutters and carvers.  Carved into the staircases are the faces of 77 famous people including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Susan B. Anthony.

Near the end of the tour we visited the War Room.  The ceiling murals depict important events in the state’s military history.  Located next to the War Room is the Hall of Governors, where portraits of New York’s 56 governors are displayed.  Our tour ended here with the option of independently touring the hall.

The Capitol also has a haunted history.  Nightwatchman, Samuel Abbot, died in the 1911 Capitol fire, but his spirit allegedly remains in the building.  We saw the demon that a disgruntled worker carved into stone.  In October, special Capitol Hauntings Tours take place, where those interested can learn more about the spooky legends of the building.

While I enjoyed the tour of the Capitol, the 60 minute tour was a bit much for my kids although they admired the beauty of the building. The information correlates so well with what they have been learning in school. However, I think the tour would be better appreciated if they were older.

The Details:

New York State Capitol 
State Street and Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12224

Parking:  Metered street parking is available or there are several parking garages located throughout the surrounding area.  The V-Lot is located underneath the Empire State Plaza with a $10 fee before 11 AM or $5 fee after.

Weekday Walk-in Tours:  Free tours are given at 10 AM, 12 PM, 2 PM and 3 PM, sign-up at the Lobby.  Reservations are not required unless you have a party of 10 or more.  Visitors are welcome to take self-guided tours during building hours.

 

1

Five on Friday {Weekend at Home}

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And it’s Friday again!  The summer is flying by and we are going to be enjoying a rare summer weekend at home! Our daughter is spending the weekend at Hershey Park with a friend and we have our monthly supper club this weekend.  So, we will hopefully have a pretty relaxing weekend.  Here are five from this week:

1. Memorable Moment –  Were any of you constantly watching and awaiting for April the Giraffe to give birth like we were?!!  Last weekend we surprised the kids with a visit to Animal Adventure Park.  We got to pet and feed April and her baby Tajiri (“Taj”).  We also got to feed and pet many other animals including camels, llamas, goats, yaks and more.  There will be an post about our experience at Animal Adventure Park coming soon to the blog!

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2. Reading – I am finishing up Emma In the Night on my kindle.  I’m over half-way through and feeling “eh” about it.  I’m hoping for some big jaw-dropping moment at the end.  Once I finish this one I will be starting A Man Called Ove, which I’m very excited about after loving Fredrik Backman’s Beartown.

3. Eating –  Constantly being on the road in vacation mode we have not been eating the healthiest.  However, we have been eating some tasty food!  This past weekend on our last trip we enjoyed these square “sheet pizza” slices from Nirchi’s in Binghamton.  I of course had to go with the regional specialty, and get a Chicken Spiedie slice as well as a Buffalo Chicken Ranch slice.  And if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter than you already saw the Buttermilk Chicken Sammy I ate this weekend as well! When we are home, I am cooking healthy meals.

4. Alumni College Visits – This past weekend was centered around showing our kids our college alma maters.  We first stopped at SUNY Binghamton, to show the kids my husband’s college campus.  The next day we visited Cornell University where I graduated.  Yes, at 9 and 11, the kids are a little young, but I think that it’s never too early to get them thinking about their future.  Plus, Cornell is just a beautiful campus to visit!  This is Beebe Lake, located on the campus.  We walked a little bit of the trail around the lake and even did some geocaching during our visit.

5.  Another Memorable Moment – I wanted to visit Ithaca during the summer because several state parks are located in the city and have waterfalls that visitors can swim in.  We visited Robert H. Treman State Park where there is a waterfall that you can sit under and dive and swim in a stream-fed pool.  The water was a freezing 66 degrees so I didn’t go anywhere near it.  My kids braved the water for a bit and my daughter needed to get close enough to the falls so she could say that she touched them!

ICYMI this week on the blog:

Monday I wrote about the Saratoga Springs restaurant Ravenous Creperie.

Tuesday I wrote about our summer visit to the Olympic sites at Lake Placid.

Thursday I shared a peek inside our geocaching bag.

Linking up with Katie and Andrea!  Have a great weekend!

 

A Peek Inside Our Geocaching Bag

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Our family has been enjoying geocaching for over a year now.  It’s easy to use the geocaching app on my phone and there are caches hidden everywhere from local parks to hiking trails deep in the woods.  It’s a lot of fun to go on an outdoor scavenger hunt and we never know when or where we might be in the mood to find some caches!  That is why we keep a bag packed in my car with our geocaching necessities.  With the bag easily accessible, we are always ready to geocache whenever the mood strikes. Today I’m giving you guys a peek inside our geocaching bag. Hopefully, this can help you pack your own bag so you are always ready to geocache!  We store all of our supplies in a small book bag.  Any bag or tote will do, but we like having the zippers so things do not fall out.  Here are the items we keep in our geocaching bag:

Bag of trinkets – When you find a geocache, many times there are trinkets in the cache.  We always follow the rule of take one, leave one.  So, what kinds of things do you leave?  We have a large Ziploc bag that we keep in our geocaching bag filled with lots of goody bag favors including bouncy balls and small toys, stickers and temporary tattoos.  Some of the kids’ favorite treasures to find in a cache include pretty rocks or shells.

Pen and paper – Not all caches include a writing instrument, so we keep a pen in the bag to sign logs.  We also keep paper in the bag in case a log has run out, or we want to jot down notes.

Hand Sanitizer – I’m not going to lie.  Sometimes, caches are hidden under piles of wet leaves or wedged into a crevice in a tree trunk.  I like to have hand sanitizer at the ready, especially when the kids get hungry and want to have a snack.

Bug spray –  Most of our geocaching has been done in parks and wooded areas.  Some of these caches take us off a marked trail and into wooded areas.  Our kids are mosquito magnets and the bugs are out in full force come spring and summer.  It’s always good to have some bug spray on hand.

Suntan lotion –  Especially in the warmer months, we don’t do any outdoor activities without putting suntan lotion on.  It’s also good to have on hand in the bag in case you are out longer than expected and need to reapply.

Water and Snacks – Prior to going out geocaching we also pack some snacks and water bottles.  There is nothing like hungry or thirsty kids to ruin a good hike!

Are there any other items that you find helpful when geocaching? 

A Summer Visit to the Olympic Sites at Lake Placid

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{I received complimentary Olympics Sites Passports.  However, all opinions are my own.}

Lake Placid, a small village nestled in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, was the site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics.  While the town may be small, there is so much to see and do regardless of what season you visit.  My family and I took a road trip up to Lake Placid this summer.  This was our family’s first time visiting the area, but will not be our last!  It’s approximately a four-hour drive from northern Westchester County and there’s enough to see and do in the area to make it a weekend visit.

{The Olympic Passport, comes with a lanyard to wear around your neck}

If you plan to visit the Olympic Sites, than the Olympic Sites Passport is your best bet.  For $35, you get one-time admission to the Lake Placid Museum, Whiteface, Whiteface Veteran’s Memorial Highway, the Olympic Sports Complex and the Olympic Jumping Complex.  Plus, you get discounts on additional activities.  The passports are valid for one year, so if you don’t get to see everything in one trip, you can come back!

{Trying to keep pace with an Olympic speed skater}

Our first stop was the Lake Placid Olympic Museum.  The museum is located in the Olympic Center, where the famous 1980 “Miracle” ice hockey game took place.  The museum is small but packed with artifacts and information about the winter Olympics.  Some of our family’s favorite exhibits were the collection of torches and fashion from the various Opening Ceremonies and the mascot collection. We even got a peek at the 2018 Winter Olympic mascot!  We enjoyed several photo ops including a medal podium and sitting in a bobsled.  The museum has several hands-on exhibits, including speed skating and curling, which my kids enjoyed.

Olympic Jumping Complex

After a quick lunch which we ate by Mirror Lake, we headed to the Olympic Jumping Complex,  located two miles away.  We rushed to get there in time to watch the Summer Jumping series show, advertised on posters all over town, only to be disappointed to discover that it was not taking place.  We parked at the top parking lot and rode the chairlift down to the bottom of the hill.  For an additional fee, you can extreme tube down the hill on the left! We watched as several people tubed, and screamed, down the hill, but my husband and I were not brave enough to try!  Although the kids would have done this in a heartbeat, you must be at least 13 to ride the 90-meter jump.  The 20-meter hill available for children 12 and under to ride is closed until mid-August.

Although the Summer Jumping series show wasn’t taking place we did spend some time watching athletes practicing their jumps into the pool.  After seeing other athletes jumping off the traditional ski jumps we rode the chairlift back up to the top of the hill.  We took the elevator to the top of the observation deck where we watched athletes ski down the hill and got to see amazing scenic views.

We then drove to Whiteface Mountain base lodge, an approximately 15-minute drive from the Jumping Complex.  We rode the Cloudsplitter Gondola from the base to the top of Little Whiteface in the enclosed gondola.  We enjoyed the scenic views during the approximately 15 minute ride to the top.

The top of Little Whiteface is 3,678 feet above sea level.  From here you can see Whiteface Mountain in the distance. There is also an observation area that offers spectacular views of Lake Placid.  There’s an Adventure Zone that includes several different inflatables including a bounce house, slides and more.  Children can play for $10 an hour or $15 for the day.  After our gondola ride we left Whiteface.

At the last minute we decided to end our day with a drive to Whiteface Veteran’s Memorial Highway.  The historic highway, opened in 1936 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, takes you to the top of Whiteface Mountain.  We are so glad that we made this decision!  After passing the Toll House it’s a five mile drive to the top of the summit.  There are nine scenic stops along the way, which we decided to pass, and instead headed straight up to the top.  Once we parked the car we first took a quick peek in the Castle, where there’s a small gift shop and a cafe.

We then opted to climb the Alpine Nature Trail, a fifth-of-a-mile-long trail with both steep steps and rocks.   I wish I was more prepared with my hiking boots, but luckily, we were all wearing sneakers!

Once at the top, we were 4,867 feet above sea level and literally in the clouds.  We were at the top of the fifth highest point in New York state!  Unfortunately, it was a pretty cloudy day.  Regardless, these were the most breath-taking, scenic views of our visit.  After spending some time up here admiring the views we opted to take the elevator down to the parking lot.

The Veteran’s Memorial Drive was our last site visit of the day.  We were able to visit four sites within the span of a day without feeling rushed.  Summer is a great time to visit the Olympic sites in Lake Placid with so much to see and do!

The Details:

*The Olympic sites are spread throughout Lake Placid and the surrounding area.  A car is necessary to get from one site to another.

Lake Placid Olympic Museum
2634 Main Street
Lake Placid, NY 12946
(518) 302-5326

Hours: Open daily 10 AM – 5 PM
Admission:  $7/adults, $5/seniors, students and children (6-12), Free/children 6 and under

Olympic Jumping Complex 
5486 Cascade Road
Lake Placid, NY 12946

Hours: Please check the site, as dates and times vary
Admission:  $11/adults, $8/seniors, juniors, Free/children 6 and under Event Days:  $16/adults, $10/seniors, juniors, Free/children 6 and under

Whiteface Mountain – Cloudsplitter Gondola Ride
5021 Rt. 86, Scenic
Wilmington, NY 12997

Hours:  Peak season (June 30 – September 4) 9:30 AM – 5 PM
Admission:  $22/adults, $15/seniors and children (7-12), Free/children 6 and under

Whiteface Veteran’s Memorial Highway 
Memorial Highway
Wilmington, NY 12997

Hours:  Peak season (June 6 – October 9) 8:45 AM – 5:30 PM
Admission:  $15/vehicle/driver, $8/additional passenger, Free/children 6 and under, $8/bicycle

Tips:
Make sure to wear sneakers, even in the summer.  There is a lot of walking and if you visit Whiteface Veteran’s Memorial Highway, rock climbing and steps (if you opt to take the Alpine Nature Trail).

Pack water!  Lots of walking makes you thirsty!

Food and beverages are sold at Whiteface Mountain, Veteran’s Memorial Highway and the Olympic Jumping Complex if you are hungry or thirsty.

You may want to bring a sweatshirt or jacket with you to Veteran’s Memorial Highway.  Remember, you are 4,867 feet above sea level!

Ravenous Creperie {Saratoga Springs}

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On a recent visit to Saratoga Springs the kids and I were wandering down Phila Street looking for lunch.  Many of the restaurants have menus posted outside with most offering the usual burgers, salads and sandwiches.  When we stopped to look at the Ravenous Creperie menu, the kids unanimously voted that we eat lunch here.

Ravenous Creperie is locally-owned and serves lunch, dinner and brunch.  We visited on a Tuesday afternoon and arrived at 12:15, prime lunchtime.  The restaurant space is small and cozy and it was packed!  There are several tables in the middle dining space that can be pushed together to seat a larger group.  There is also counter seating with a great view of the crepes being made and window counter seats with views of the street.  We had to wait a few minutes to be seated and were given three seats at the window counter.

This was our first time eating at a creperie and we were not disappointed!  I told the kids that we’d split a savory and a sweet crepe and either an order of pommes frites or poutine.  
The pommes frites are a popular starter.  As I looked around the restaurant, almost every table had a paper cone atop it filled with the frites.  But, the kids opted for poutine, and I wasn’t complaining about that!   We ordered the petite-sized poutine.  The ceramic dish was filled with crispy hand-cut pommes frites topped with locally-sourced cheddar curds and a house-made gravy.  We devoured this in no time!

The savory menu has a crepe for every palate including several vegetarian options.  They also offer a daily crepe special, which was a kale and white bean crepe the day of our visit.  If I was ordering a crepe, I would have chosen the Monterey Short Rib (braised black Angus short rib with caramelized onions, diced tomatoes and Monterey jack cheese) or the Upper West Sider (Smoked Atlantic salmon, cream cheese and a choice of scallions or capers).  However, the kids decided on the Mama Mia.  Although it’s difficult to see in the picture, this crepe was filled with Herb and Romano sausage, roasted peppers and onions, mozzarella and a tomato-garlic reduction. All savory crepes are served with a salad of mixed greens that is dressed with Saratoga Olive Oil & aged Balsamic Vinegar.  This is only half the crepe and salad, as my daughter had already started eating the other half!  The savory crepes are served in what looked and tasted like a wrap, versus a traditional crepe, which wouldn’t have been able to hold all of the tasty filling.  The Mama Mia crepe is kid-approved.  My two were very happy with their crepe pick!  There was plenty of filling and the sausage was flavorful but not spicy.

The sweet crepe menu has twelve different crepes to choose from which include everything from fresh strawberries, lemon curd, chocolate-hazelnut spread, fruit jam, Ghiradelli brownie and more!  Four of the crepes come in a petite size, for those looking for just a little something sweet to end their meal.  The kids opted for the Pommes & Caramel crepe (Maple glazed apples and house-made sea salt caramel).  This crepe was delicious!  Caramel and apples are a great combo and we could taste the sea salt pieces in the caramel.  While this dessert was sweet, it wasn’t overly-so.

I shared these three dishes with my two children, ages 9 and 11.  We left satisfied but not stuffed.

Ravenous Creperie has a prix fixe menu where you can get a small pommes frites with dipping sauce, a choice of one of three different classic crepes and a petite sweet all for $16.99/person.

For those local, they have a Rewards program, where you can earn points for every dollar spent.  Online ordering is also available (with pickup only, no delivery).

If you are in the Saratoga Springs area, I highly recommend stopping by Ravenous Creperie for some tasty eats!

The Details:
Ravenous Creperie
21 Phila Street
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
(518) 581-0560

Hours:  
Closed Mondays
Tuesday – Thursday:  11 AM – 8 PM
Friday:  11 AM – 9 PM
Saturday: 9 AM – 9 PM
Sunday:  9 AM – 8 PM

Prices:  Most savory crepes are priced between $12-$14, most sweet crepes are priced between $6.59 and $8.59. Petite sweets (mini sweet crepes) cost $2.99.   Pommes Frites come in small, medium and large sizes ($3.49-$6.99) and poutine comes in petite ($5.99) and regular ($7.99) sizes.

8

Five on Friday {Already August}

Posted on by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Happy Friday!  I cannot believe we are already in the second week of August.  We’ve been having fun traveling around New York and I’ve missed several weeks of Five on Friday posts.  But I’m here today and happy to be able to linkup again and share what’s been going with us.  Here are five from this week:

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1.Reading – So, I finally jumped on the bandwagon and joined NetGalley.  I’m not a huge fan of reading on my kindle but the appeal of reading upcoming releases before they are published was just too strong.  Plus, with all of our traveling, carrying around a kindle is much easier than a bag full of books!  So, my first finished NetGalley read this week was Something Like Family.  This is a heartwarming family drama that will be published in September.  I’ll have a more detailed review in my monthly book review post September 12 (the next Show Us Your Books linkup). The next kindle read I started is Emma In the Night, a suspense/thriller, which is my favorite genre to read.

2. Bachelorette Finale– Of course Monday night I watched The Bachelorette finale.  I admit I was totally team Bryan in the beginning. He’s cute, has a good job and the chemistry between him and Rachel!  But after the hometown and seeing his mom I knew he was a total Mama’s boy and Rachel was always going to be second.  By the finale I was all about Peter and was hoping there’d be a surprise ending at the live finale.  Nope……and it’s obvious Peter isn’t the next Bachelor…..but I wonder who is!  Possibly Dean after Bachelor in Paradise?!

3. Eating – Traveling around the state we’ve been eating all kinds of deliciousness.  One of our recent favorite dishes was this Beef on Weck poutine that we had in Buffalo.  Beef on Weck is a regional dish of roast beef on a kummelweck roll.  Well, this dish combined the flavors of beef on weck with the french fries, gravy and cheese curds of poutine.  Yes, it was as good as it looks!

4. Movies – So this week we’ve been watching a lot of movies.  I watched The Space Between Us with the kids.  Then Wednesday I took my son to the Regal Summer Movie Express.  For $1 a ticket we saw The Spongebob Movie:  Sponge Out of Water.  I have never been a fan of Spongebob and my son chose to see this movie over The Adventures of Tintin.  After about 10 minutes of watching the movie, I just couldn’t anymore.  I have never been so happy to have had my kindle in my purse.  Luckily, the theater was pretty empty and I was able to read for the remaining hour and twenty minutes!  This week I also watched Table 19.  I’m a huge Anna Kendrick fan so I had to give it a try.  I’m not going to recommend the movie but I will say it’s not as bad as I expected.  My husband sat and watched it with me and agrees with my opinion.

5. #NYSummer2017 – Last weekend we traveled a long 6 1/2 hours to Buffalo and Niagara Falls.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t that great for most of the trip and we had a lot of rain.  However, we tried to make the most of it, since this was the kids’ first time seeing the Falls.  They really are a beautiful sight, especially lit up at night.  Besides taking a ride on the Maid of the Mist and getting up close to the Falls, we also enjoyed seeing the Friday night fireworks show.

ICYMI this week on the blog:

Monday I shared our experience cabin camping at Moreau Lake State Park.

Tuesday I shared my July reads and joined the Show Us Your Books linkup.

Wednesday I wrote about our recent trip to Six Flags Great Escape.

Linking up with Katie and Andrea!  Have a great weekend!

Family Fun at Six Flags Great Escape

Posted on by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

{We received complimentary tickets to the park.  All opinions are my own.}

Summer isn’t complete for me without a visit to an amusement park!  On our recent trip upstate, we surprised the kids with a visit to Six Flags Great Escape. Six Flags Entertainment Corp. is the largest amusement park company in the world and Six Flags Great Escape is their only New York theme park.  The park is an approximately 2 1/2 to three hour drive from my house in northern Westchester County.

It was a beautiful day for us to visit the park.  When we arrived near the 10:30 AM opening,  I was surprised to discover that it would cost us $20 to park, which I found to be a bit on the expensive side.  From the parking lot, it’s a short walk over a street overpass to get to the amusement park.

There are eight different areas in the park, including water park Splashwater Kingdom and International Village, the main shopping area.  Great Escape was formerly Storytown USA, and many of the historic icons are still in the park, including Cinderella’s Castle and the Pink Whale.

Even on a hot summer day, the park was crowded but didn’t feel especially so.  None of the ride lines were exceptionally long.  Great Escape is truly a family-friendly amusement park.  There are rides for everyone with Timbertown and Kidzopolis geared towards little kids and more than five roller coasters for thrill seekers.

My son loved riding all of the roller coasters and Flashback, a forward and backward looping coaster, was his favorite ride of the day.  My daughter, a fellow coaster lover, chose Steamin’ Demon, a multi-loop coaster pictured in the title photo of this post, as her favorite ride.

I have to say that Great Escape has some of the most fun ride operators that I’ve seen at an amusement park.  One of  my favorite rides was Marshal’s Stampede, the bumper car ride. Sassy, the ride operator, cheered the riders on: “Great bump #10!” and helping those who were “stuck”, directing them to turn their steering wheel.  Her upbeat attitude really helped “make” the ride.

I was really looking forward to trying out Acrophobia VR, the park’s newest ride.  It was scheduled to open in July, but wasn’t yet running during our visit.

Around 2 PM we started to get hungry and decided to eat lunch.  Since we were in Fest Area, we chose to eat at the Alpine Fest Haus. Even at a later time, this place was pretty crowded.  We opted to share a Pulled Pork Sandwich with fries ($11.99) and a German Burger ($12.99) with fries.  This burger, served on a pretzel bun and topped with Swiss cheese, bacon and mushrooms (canned) was surprisingly good.

There are many different places to eat throughout the park that serve the usual burgers, chicken tenders, pizza hot dogs and salads.  One of the more interesting eateries we saw was the Skillet Market where fajitas, quesadillas and other food was cooked in gigantic cast iron skillets!  You can also find all kinds of treats from funnel cake and ice cream to cotton candy and popcorn being sold throughout the park.

We visited Splashwater Kingdom after lunch.  The water park area has a number of slides, a wave pool (Lumberjack Splash), a lazy river (Captain Hook’s Adventure River) and two water play areas (Buccaneer Beach and Paul Bunyan’s Bucket Brigade. Since I’m not the biggest fan of water parks, I luckily found a chair and camped out with our bag and towels while my husband and kids partook in the water fun.

The trio really enjoyed Bonzai Pipelines, the newest water park attraction.  They raced each other down the colorful, twisting water slides many times.  In fact, these slides were my husband’s favorite ride in all of the park.  After a couple of rides around the lazy river, the rest of their time was spent in the large wave pool.  Many of the other water slides had fairly long lines that they didn’t want to wait on.

There are a few cons to Splashwater Kingdom. It’s not easy, unfortunately, to move between the various sections of the water park.  The walkway to the Comet cuts right through the middle. Also, empty chairs are hard to come by anywhere in this area.  While there are lots of chairs, most were claimed by towels but never actually occupied by people.  And finally, Paul Bunyan’s Bucket Brigade, pictured above, has seen better (and wetter) days.  The kids made a quick visit here, since most of the water fun aspects of the attraction (the large tipping water bucket and water guns) weren’t working.

Besides all of the rides included with admission, you can try Dare Devil Dive (Free Fall attraction) and Olympiad Grand Prix (Go-Kart ride, $8/person, $18/ride all day) at an additional cost.  Plus, there are also dance parties and live entertainment shows at the three different theater venues around the park as well as several arcades and game stands.  There is something for everyone at the park.

We spent the entire day at Six Flags Great Escape, staying until the 7 PM park closing.  We had a fun-filled day and I highly recommend a visit!

The Details:
Six Flags Great Escape
1172 State Route 9
Queensbury, NY 12804

Parking:  $20 (credit cards accepted)
Hours:  Check the site for specific dates/times
Admission:  Ticket Prices when purchased at the park – $59.99/general admission, $46.99/children under 48″, kids 2 and under/free
Lockers:  $16/Small, $17/Medium,  $18/Jumbo

Tips:  
*Purchase tickets online prior to your visit for cheaper prices.

*Parking costs $20.  Establishments outside the park offer parking at cheaper prices.  You may have to walk a bit more and I have no information on the reliability/safety/security of these places.

*Outside food and drinks are not allowed and food is generally expensive in the park.  I recommend eating a big breakfast before arriving, have a late lunch on site and then eat dinner outside the park.

*Purchase a refillable season drink bottle when you first get to the park.  It costs $15.99 but you receive a wristband for free refills on the day of purchase.

*Make sure to pick up a couple of park maps when you enter.  I found the park a bit difficult to navigate since it doesn’t all connect and you have to backtrack to get to certain areas of the park.  Refer to the map to make sure you get to all the rides you are interested in riding.