Winter Car Trip Part I

We decided to take a quick trip down South over the Christmas break and check out some of the places we had been wanting to see while enjoying warmer temperatures than New Jersey was offering.  We were only gone six days and one of those was a full day of driving so it felt like we only scratched the surface in many ways.  

We reached our first stop of Charlottesville late in the afternoon and squeezed in a visit to Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello.  We had just enough time to tour the house, explore the grounds and walk back down to the visitors center just as the sun was setting.  There is a family friendly tour that is about 15 minutes shorter than the regular tour but we just missed the last one.  

The shuttle bus takes you up the mountain and drops you at the back of the house.  We had time before our tour started to walk around and look at the outbuildings such as the kitchen, wine cellar and storage areas and take some pictures of the grounds.  

The kids and I (mostly me) were impressed at the "stove-top" in the kitchen and all the beautiful copper pots.

Seeing some of the slave's rooms generated a fair amount of discussion from the kids about slavery and how they were treated.  Sally Hemmings is mentioned during the tour as it is the belief of The Thomas Jefferson Foundation (which oversees the house) that Thomas Jefferson is the father of her children.  This necessitated a brief explanation for Jack but went right over Ava's head.  

The house tours are on a timed basis and last approximately 45 minutes.  They are informative but move quick enough to keep everyone's interest.  Pictures are not allowed inside the house so all photos are courtesy of The Jefferson Foundation.

                                                         Entrance Hall

                                                        Parlor

                           North Octagonal Room

As the tour ended, the sun began to set over the surrounding hills and we headed down the hill to our car.

Later that night we had a delicious dinner at Shebeen Pub and Braai, a South African restaurant in downtown Charlottesville.  The kids and I all had fish and chips which were fantastic and Alan had a tasty west african ground nut stew which is similar to a ratatouille.  I would also highly recommend the "hammies" appetizer which are small square-shaped yeast biscuits with harpers county ham and brown sugar butter.  

The next morning we looked around the UVA campus before setting off for Raleigh.  There are walking tours available when school is in session but we settled for poking around on our own.  The symbol of the university, the Rotunda, is undergoing restoration work and will not be open until next summer, but it was still nice to wander around the grounds.  All of the early university buildings were also designed by Jefferson and then, later, by Stanford White.  Everything was eerily quiet as it was holiday break but it was easy to imagine it bustling with student activity on a brisk winter morning.  There are shops and restaurants across the street if you are looking for a quick bite or to pick up some Cavaliers paraphernalia (we escaped with just a T-shirt for Jack).

Decorating a Gingerbread House

I've never been able to get it together enough to bake and construct a gingerbread house at home so I love any opportunity to turn up and decorate a pre-constructed house.  There are a few places nearby that offer this option and Chef Central is one that comes to mind.  When we were in Brooklyn, we discovered the Gingerbread Decorating workshop at the Church Street School in Tribeca (it is a fundraiser for the school) and went for several years until we moved out to NJ.  We decided to give it a try again this year and everyone was so glad we did.  You start out with a large house and a pot of icing for each child:

The candy shown on the plate is just the tip of the candyberg.  Elves come out constantly offering up more candy:  M&M's, Skittles, gummy rings, gummy penguins, marshmallows (big and small) and the list goes on and on.  Be prepared as more than a few pieces wind up in mouths rather than on the house!

If the kids are a little older like ours, you can sit back, hum along to the live piano player playing holiday tunes and enjoy a coffee.  Smaller kids will obviously need more hands-on help but even then the whole event is very low-key and a refreshing break from the holiday chaos.  

Once the house is completed and all the requisite pictures have been taken, they wrap it up nicely for you to transport home.  We spent about 1 1/2 hours here and then headed off for lunch and our yearly picture with Santa at ABC.

Pictures from our first time:

Percy Jackson at the Met

Jack recently read all of the Percy Jackson series and was enthralled with Greek mythology.  For those who are unaware, Percy Jackson is a tween living in Manhattan who learns that he is half-god, as his father is Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, and various adventures ensue.  Since the series begins at the Met, I thought it would be a good chance to sneak in some art under the guise of walking in Percy's steps.  Upon further investigation, I found that the Met was one step ahead of me and had an art adventure designed around Percy Jackson.  (For those who are not into Percy Jackson, there are many more art adventures available including Arms and Armor, Shall We Dance, and Young in America.)  All adventures can be downloaded before you leave home or you can get a copy at the information desk in the main foyer once you arrive.  As part of the adventure there are 8 cards which highlight with quotes from the book why the piece has been selected to be part of the tour.  There are also questions that make you look at each piece a little closer and a little longer to find things that you might have missed at first glance.  The tour takes about 1-2 hours but once we were there we lingered to look at more of the amazing Greek and Roman Art collection on display (as I had hoped we would).

We have found these types of museum trips to be perfect for our family as we can enjoy a little of the museum while still keeping the kids entertained and not overwhelming them.  Two to three hours (for a non-kid-centric museum) seem to be about the maximum we can do at this point so this works really well.  The Met's website is very helpful when planning a visit with kids offering the aforementioned art adventures, suggested itineraries and lots of guided family activities and tours.

The cafes at the Met are generally very good and offer a wide variety of choices but we wanted to head out and grab a bite nearby.  We always have a great meal at Le Pain Quotidien.  They have great lunch and light dinner options and the best Belgian waffle I have ever tasted.  Luke's Lobster is only a short walk from the museum although there isn't a lot of family-friendly seating available.  If the weather is nice you could always picnic in the park and there is a fantastic playground located conveniently right across the street from the museum, the Ancient Playground.  

Photo by Central Park NYC

Baseball in November

I know when most people think of Cooperstown they think of summertime, but we decided to check it out in the fall and it was lovely!  It was a beautiful drive seeing the hills dotted with early snow and some golden leaves still remaining on the trees.  There were no crowds clogging up Main Street, we easily got a dinner reservation and we could take our time and linger as we checked out the baseball memorabilia at the Hall of Fame.

We stayed at the fantastic Otesaga Hotel and I would have been happy holing up there for the entire weekend.  While I am sure the hotel is amazing in the summer, it was still pretty special in the middle of November.  

As you enter the front door, you are greeted by a large room with a crackling fire and lots of space to relax with a beautiful view of the lake beyond.

I only wish it had been warm enough to sit out here with a cup of coffee (or a cocktail)...

As we walked from the elevator to our room I felt as if we were walking back in time (in a good way), but our room was very modern while still maintaining the historic feel of the hotel.

Our room overlooked the heated outdoor pool and the lake beyond.

We, meaning Jack and Ava, took advantage of the pool Sunday morning.  They loved walking out in coats, stripping down to their swimsuits, and jumping into the warm pool.  However, it wasn't so thrilling to climb out of the pool and get dressed in the cold. 

After checking in, we headed over to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  The kids were given a scavenger hunt that required them to search each room for the answer to a trivia question and return the answers to the gift shop for a pack of trading cards.  This was great as it gave them something to focus on as we moved from room to room and held their interest all the way to the end.  

Along the way we took in some of the best parts of baseball history such as the first baseball, Babe Ruth's New York Yankees uniform, a Honus Wagner baseball card, and one of Madison Bumgarner's jerseys from the most recent World Series.

Downtown Cooperstown is small but has loads of charm.  On the day we were walking around, townspeople had come out in the rain to decorate for the holidays.  Each family took a lamppost and decorated it, with their own ladders in tow.  They were also getting ready for Santa's arrival by sprucing up his adorable gingerbread Victorian cottage, complete with a small potbelly stove inside.

While most of the shops sell baseball memorabilia, there are some great places to stop in to.  Schneider's Bakery sells freshly made breads, doughnuts and all kinds of delicious cookies and cupcakes.  For a latte or hot chocolate to go with your cookies, head over to Stagecoach Coffee.  They also serve breakfast and lunch and everything that was coming out of the kitchen when we were there looked yummy!

The Lemon Tree Shop has a well-edited selection of kitchen goods and gifts such as towels, candles, hand soaps and lotions.  They also had beautiful wrapping and tissue paper for the holidays.

For dinner, we went to Alex & Ika's and were not disappointed.  The menu runs the gamut and while there is not a kids menu, we found plenty to please everyone.  The old reliable, mac & cheese, is available as well as burgers and fish and chips.  The chef uses only local, sustainable ingredients and changes the menu seasonally.

On Sunday morning, we headed over to the Fenimore Art Museum, housed in a beautiful 1930's neo-Georgian mansion.  The museum's smaller size along with it's eclectic collections make it conducive for a stop with kids.  It has a nice American folk art collection and one of the largest Native American art collections in the country as part of its permanent exhibitions.  When we visited, they also had costumes from the Metropolitan Opera's performance of Madame Butterfly and a series of photographs by Dorothea Lange (both on display until December 31), which were very moving and sparked a conversation with the kids about the Depression.

There is a nice children's room on the third floor with lots of art books and supplies if the kids need a break from "look, but don't touch."  

Across the street is the Farmers' Museum, which is closed for the season except for a few seasonal happenings.  It is one of the oldest rural life museums in the country and is made up of several buildings such as a stone barn, a working farm, and a carousel.  It looks like a great place for families and we were sorry to miss it.  The museum store, Herders Cottage, was open however, and it is definitely worth a quick stop.  The cookbook selection is incredible and a large variety of locally-made jams and jellies are on offer.  The stone barn is on the National Register of Historic Places and I wish we could have at least gotten a peak inside.

On the way home we made a slight detour to Sharon Springs, home of Beekman 1802.  Fans of The Amazing Race will remember the owners, Josh and Brent, as the winners a few seasons ago, but this is what they do in their real lives.  The shop is perfect, anchored by products (soaps, cheese) made from milk their goats produce back at the farm.  They have a new furniture and linen line upstairs and I wanted to buy it all and completely redecorate our house, but I settled for some soaps, and one jar each of their small-batch peanut butter and raspberry rhubarb jam.