Browsing Category: Go Visit: Family Friendly New York
New York is our current home state and our main playground and there is plenty of family friendly stuff to do in New York. We live in an area called the Hudson Valley and in fact, my sister blog at Hudson Valley Parent lists a new place almost every week of things to do in just the Hudson Valley area.
However, the Hudson Valley is just a small piece of the puzzle that makes up New York.
In this category, readers can find both day trips and longer trips to do with their families in New York whether it is an outdoor adventure such as wandering the Appalachian trail, going to an orchard or catching a show.
We will also highlight towns we visit. There are so many small towns in New York with a lot to explore with your family. When people think of New York, they often think New York City and while yes, we will write about the city, there are also small towns to that are great options either for an extended weekend or a day trip.
One place you will find a lot of information on in this category is the all-inclusive resort, Pine Ridge Dude Ranch. It’s a great trip anytime of year whether it’s for a day, weekend or week.
Also in New York, you will find we write about a lot of trails. We spend a lot of time in the woods. In fact, Abby girl and I have traveled over three hundred miles in the last four years. We even have a separate page dedicated to reviewing different trails we’ve been on.
So come read about New York and all the family friendly options it has to offer for some amazing adventures.
It’s with great excitement, I share that the Get Fit Challenge is back. I had written about this adventure a few blog posts back. We basically have different locations throughout the Hudson Valley and Litchfield County where we have to log workouts. In turn, you have a chance to win awesome prizes.
Noodles getting fit
Our first workout took a lot of motivation for me. My daughter was ready to go. I was not so much. I have been really unmotivated and worn down since my hiker injury beginning of August. We even took our dog, Noodles.
We headed to the first workout location on the list which was the Appalachian Trail. It was cold, damp and windy but Noodles and Abby were ready to go. I carried Abby most of the trip. However, Noodles had a spring in her step I have not seen in a long while. She was running like a puppy again. She even made a group of hikers crackup when she decided to jump in the water by the bridge where the group was observing the swamp. I told them that Noodles was skinny dipping.
This was also an in your face do over hike for us because last time, Abby fell on her face off the boardwalk requiring a doctors visit and a split frenula. It was also the trip where a half a milk knocked over in my car as my check engine light went on.
This time around, was rather uneventful. We met some nice people and encouraged a couple to join the competition. Took some great pictures and had a good workout. We are excited to see where else this challenge will lead us. Highly recommend this section of Applachian Trail!
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Ghosts on hike. This was a memorable hike adventure for us that happened a little while back. Boo Ghosts or as I like to now call it, the Bermuda Triangle of Dutchess County, New York.
So we start driving to our location and my car has just been reset so I should have a couple days before it decides to be stupid again. I get maybe halfway to the location and my light goes on. That is followed by my fan blasting because it thinks my car is overheating when it isn’t. I was at a point where I just didn’t care as I was already closer to the hike than home. I made a quick stop at a garage sale where my child decided to be completely antisocial and didn’t want to talk to the lady. Abby just wanted to get to her adventure.
reading the trail map
Arrival-
We get to Fern Cliff Forest and I get her out of the car. She grabs her duck water gun to walk with and of course, Abby needs her map. We stop for that before heading up the trail. However, halfway up the trail, it happens. She sees the Porta- potty. Of course when she sees the Porta-potty she’s got to go. I avoid them like the plague. She views them as some sort of twisted adventure. Maybe she thinks it will transport her to another land. Instead of entering a closet like in Lion, Witch and Wardrobe, we enter through the elusive Porta-Potty.
I very cautiously open it up because you never know what you’re going to find in one of those things and actually surprisingly, it wasn’t too horrible. She went to the bathroom and I went the bathroom and then we went play by the lake.
I looked at my cell phone and my map GPS tracker was going ape shit haywire. So I just delete that hike and I tried again and it proceeds to keep doing the same thing. I had no idea what was going on but it will not properly recording my hike at all. It just kept jumping around from 1.6 miles to 3.2 mi, 2.64 miles. I knew we only had walked maybe a half mile. It was very strange. This has only happened once before at a summit and did it only once before going back to normal. I could not get my GPS to act normal. Multiple attempts and it just wouldn’t work.
Such a pretty setting for such creepy stuff
I make the decision to stay at the lake and I tried to teach her how to use the water gun but she still couldn’t figure it out. So we played a game of chase where my daughter ran and I went after her with her ducky water gun. She thought it was hilarious. Abby kept screaming ready and that meant game on.
Then we go by this little cabin which just looks kind of creepy right next to the lake. Very reminisce of Jason. My daughter starts saying ghost all serious. She never learned about ghosts from me but had recently been going through a phase with two ghosts she claimed to see around, Baby Ghost and Petey who is Baby ghosts dad. So at first, I wasn’t too concerned.
But, she seemed different this time and really fixated on this cabin. I, for awhile before this even started happening had a very off feeling. So, when my daughter decided she didn’t want to go anywhere near the cabin and personally turned herself back to head to the car, I was done. The feeling was so ominous like something didn’t want us there or something would have happened. I firmly believe in trusting your inner self. So, as the bad feeling got worse, and Abby confirmed my feelings, it was time to leave fast. https://youtu.be/0uPNhocSTSc
Conclusion-
That was one short adventure but there was enough stuff packed into it that I was fine with a short trip this time. We get back to the car and by this point, her sandals were off and she needed to change her wet clothes. But, my free spirited child wanted to be naked. At this point, I didn’t care. I just told her she needed clothes before we went in the store. I just hung her dress off my side mirror so it would dry in the breeze.
Finally, after she helps me put the key in the ignition, get ready to go and she starts yelling. Someone was eating melted dashboard chocolate covering her in it. I take her naked self back out of car and clean her all up. Get her back in the car seat after a short battle.
We drive only minutes down the road and she starts yelling potty mama potty like her life is depending on it. We pull over and i rush to get her out of the car again and onto her little potty. Can I tell you, that all the dramatics were for the world’s smallest poop? This concluded our Fern Cliff Adventure. Now I had to just survive errands. How difficult could that be?
History Facts-
If you are a history nerd like me. I have included some short facts about Fern Cliff Forest below. It might explains the whole ghost thing. Enjoy!
-Land originally belonged to the Sepasco Indians
-Few took interest in the highly wooded, dense land
-In 1900 it belonged to a struggling farm colony.
-In 1912 the main owner died on the sinking of the Titanic. The son inherited the land.
-Eventually, the Rotary received for a forest preserve and game refuge
-In 1964, Brooke Astor deeded the land to the Rotary, stipulating that it must remain “forever wild.”
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I owe a lot of my desire to start this blog and going on adventures to the Get Fit Hudson Valley, challenge brought to the area by Nuvance Health. It was something awesome I could do with my daughter because there were so many locations we could go to log a workout. For us, it has been hiking different spots on the list as we can do that as a team.
don’t forget to stretch!
In a six-week time span, if you can log more than twelve workouts than you can win prizes. I think it was the second round of the challenge, I was picked as a level winner. Thanks to that win, I got awesome innersoles for my boots to keep them going for many more miles as they were worn down.
I then signed up to become an ambassador
After this, we doubled the number of hikes I did. My daughter even became an unofficial ambassador. We love rocking our t-shirts. As an ambassador, we get to post all over social media and encourage others in our area to get fit as well. I love that I can inspire other moms also. Many outdoor locations don’t require any money besides gas to get there and snacks and water for your walk. My daughter has learned and grown both mentally and physically during these challenges too. So much better than sitting in front of a television.
TIP: Bring a water bottle and snacks from home. We got an awesome one from REI. Abby’s trail recommendation snack is Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches.
The Writing Began
After a couple challenges, I became inspired to start writing about our travels and adventures. I figured then I could reach even more people and share our adventure journey. That is how Adventure of Abby Girl was born.
The next Get Fit Challenge begins this fall and I am really excited to visit new locations and become even more challenged with my Abby girl by my side. We are going to be adding a new twist this challenge. Shhhhh, can’t share yet. Another get fit person has inspired us. We have also met some great people and getting out there during the challenges.
Get Fit Hudson Valley
So I encourage everyone reading this to join this challenge if you are in the Hudson Valley or look for one near you. If you don’t have one, start one! Also, don’t forget to look around at other pages on here and subscribe to my blog. I’m also on most social media channels including YouTube! Peace, Love and French Fries
More info about the Get Fit Challenge, visit link below!
There have been several Get Fit Challenges since then. That spring we stepped up to a new challenge of 100 miles in six weeks. We ended up at around sixty. We journaled every week. Each week can be found here as well as a final follow up post of what we learned. Abby Girl completed a lot of the miles herself. So, we continue to inspire and hike on. Spring Get Fit CHallenge should be starting next week. However, with the current social distancing rules, that remains to be seen. We will keep everyone posted via the blog and social media. Follow or subscribe to learn of the upcoming updates and future of this challenge.
Get Fit June 2020 (postponed from April due to COVID Crisis)
The Get Fit Challenge is finally back! It was postponed due to COVID from its original start date in April. However, now it begins June 6th and will last six weeks. The idea is the same where you log so many workouts and when you reach certain tiers, then you’re entered to win a prize for that level. Once again, you must workout for at least thirty minutes.
Some things have changed. There are no locations to actually go to and log in from as many places are still closed or people are still not ready to be out in the world even on trails. It’s also now Nuvance Health and not Health Quest. If you have done this challenge in the past, you might need to re-register. I know my account as well as several other ambassadors was not found.
We personally are looking forward to the workout of the week and of course we will be seeing how many miles we can hike in six weeks. We have to beat our last amount of miles we hiked during this challenge in six weeks last year. Read about what last year’s experience taught us and how many miles we have to beat.
Welcome to the new Get Fit Challenge. Remember to sign-up and working-out. Bikini season is just around the corner.
I really thought because of all the mishaps following up to us leaving, this would be a crazy trip … However, it was fairly low key and proved that camping with a toddler is feasible and actually a lot of fun!
We got to the campsite and my lovely husband was complaining. Nice change, I’m usually the complainer. We got all set-up and noticed that if someone showed up to the site next to us, we would literally be on top of each other. I’m not a huge fan of strangers and still remember the camping trip we took on an anniversary years ago where the family right next to us had a boatload of rude children and one literally ran around our tent, got his foot caught in the tent rope and fell. Shook the whole tent and let’s just say, not a romantic anniversary weekend.
We got to see the forest rangers show-up in their bulletproof vests that night. I was wondering why they were walking into the trail by the dumpsters. I later found out they had a tranquilizer gun and were looking for a bear. Now, the bear around here are not grizzly’s. I mean, they aren’t Yogi either and so they need to be taken seriously. Like don’t leave your pic-i-nic basket in the tent, don’t go poke the bear, etc. But, I had to chuckle when a couple walked by and said under their breath, but loud enough to make a snarky comment I would hear, “let your dog run loose, they will become bear food.” I kept picturing this ninja bear jumping out of the forest. My dog is a pit mix. She sounds huge and scary. We would know if a bear was in the area.
We never saw the bear, I even went on a twilight hike with Abby the next evening and no bear. Chipmunks, no bear. We did possibly hear the bear trying to get into a dumpster that following night. I kept saying it would make cool footage for my adventure blog. The only bear noises we heard was my husband. He said, did you seriously think the bear was taking a nap in our tent?
The First Night-
That first night in the tent was the first night Abby had ever slept away from home … It was a little rough getting her to settle down. I was hoping for some quiet parent time by the fire … But, that didn’t happen Friday night or the rest of the trip. We all ended up going to bed at the same time and dealing with the mattress not being able to hold our weight. It was like being on the sea for two nights. We don’t have much luck with air mattresses …
Hiking in Heat
The Next Day-
The next morning we started our hiking. I asked the hubby if he wanted to go and he said no. He wanted to spend his father’s day relaxing. So I took the dog and the little one and headed into the forest. My dog has been sick and injured so I have to really watch the degree of difficulty and distance with her. So we headed 3/4 of a mile in and followed this long winding stream up.
We spent time playing in the water and me making a wet turban from my long sleeve shirt because the temperature was quickly climbing. Then my daughter dumped her sweatpants in the water to be like mommy. So After attaching all wet stuff to pack and putting the child in too, I began heading back to camp.
stylish bandanna top
Once back at camp, was when I thought I heard a bear, but it was just Brian. He got a magical spring in his step and decided to go drive to the other park up a little way and hike Bash Bish Falls. I’m glad my car made it as the computer keeps acting up and thinks my car is overheating. The fan goes on and everything. Very annoying.
Bash Bish Falls-
It was so touristy. We were the first ones there to have to park in overflow. Even though it was a fairly simple hike, my legs were burning as this was the second uphill hike in one morning. We got to cross the border into Massachusetts which was pretty cool and let Noodles splash in the water.
We made it the falls, and they were beautiful. Brian is more the worrier parent and didn’t want to do the steep stair climb down to the falls. So we headed back after he used the lovely Porta-Potty and we took pictures like all the other tourists and started hiking back. We let Abby stop and play with Noodles in safer water. It was so cold. She didn’t have a spare top, so I mavericked one of my bandannas. I put on social media that bandannas are for boo-boos and boobies. Then after a stop for pizza, we headed back to camp to eat it.
Back at the Site-
We hung out and relaxed. Brian took Abby to the beach and playground and let me nap. Napping wasn’t working too well as my dog kept barking at everything … But, it was awesome to just relax ALONE. It is one of those mom luxuries. I played with the fire and ate snacks without little fingers all in my food.
fire
That evening, Abby decided she wanted to go on a hike and even got the pack. So we went on a short hike in the opposite direction we had gone on that morning. We walked around part of the lake and headed back. Another 1.5 miles. The woods start getting creepy as the sun is setting and less and less light is filtering through the trees.
At some point, people showed up next door on that Saturday. Like a whole big family that looked like they just arrived from the city. We would find out my guess was right, they were from Midtown Manhattan. But, they ended up being nice and we pretty much did our own thing. But, that night, their son came over and offered Abby S’mores, so we went over and ate S’mores. Well, not Brian, he doesn’t eat S’mores. I guess he’s watching his figure. Bhahahahaha.
Last Day of Camping Trip-
“I’m ready to go”
The next morning, we started packing up after our very unhealthy donuts breakfast. Then Abby went to the trunk and started tugging at my pack. You guessed it, another walk in the woods. So we did another 1.5-mile walk and found a small waterfall. I started following Noodles up this new trail … But it was so steep, I had to slide down on my hip with Abby on my back. We went back to camp, packed up and that was it.
Some other fun highlights–
Abby decided by night two that she didn’t want her little potty in woods. She wanted to use the big potty. I hadn’t taken there, so I am not sure how she knew where it was.
cheese
Learning and talking to other people can be very interesting. There was a man there that had fake flamingos and they all had names. Even though two he has at home. He had an awesome light show display. Stories courtesy Brian who chatted with him.
My daughter somehow learned that when she went to the cooler to get herself a juice box, she would also say “mommy drink” and bring me back a bottle of Redds. I seriously hardly drink, so I found that amusing.
The clothing line of clothes
Pack more clothes then you think you will need if camping with a tiny human
-Always pack extra things for a child to do and have backup activities planned. We did Yoga and made a nature craft.
This post is dedicated to my lovely Husband and dad! This camping trip was for him and he enjoyed it a lot. Happy Father’s day. Already planning the next camping trip!
Conclusion
Thanks for reading our little journal entry. We also have some cool posts about topics on how to winter hike with children and an awesome child-carrier called the Freeloader allowing families to carry their child a lot longer beyond the toddler years. Our review is here. Thanks for stopping by!
They say there is a first time for everything. So we picked one of my husband’s favorite activities this time and went camping with our two daughters, Abby and the much hairier daughter, Noodle Bean. We only went a short distance away to Millerton, NY. An awesome little town with lots of cute shops. We stayed at Taconic State Park, Rudd Pond Area in NY right over the Connecticut Border. I actually cringed because I had to make the reservations two weeks in advance through Reserve America and didn’t want to lose the money (all 47 dollars approx.) if the weather was crappy. If you didn’t guess, I’m a tad cheap. I like to say, thrifty, money cautious. Sounds better than cheap.
Getting Everything Together-
Next thing I did before we even thought about leaving, was making a list. I’m kind of like a scatter brained squirrel. So I need a list to stay focused and I just keep adding to it and adding to it. Then, I cross things out.
I wanted to wake up and get packing the day we left. It probably would have been smarter to pack the night before. However, we couldn’t find our air mattress (we think we popped another one-don’t ask), our lantern was missing glass and we needed batteries or someone (ahem hubs) would have been blowing up the queen size mattress.
So, that morning, I ran into Dick’s sporting Goods quickly and grabbed everything less the batteries. I called my husband he told me the battery powered lanterns are crap and to return it. So I let out a low grumble at him and decided to return them after church mom’s meetup-playgroup with my friend, Carol and her daughter-Abby’s bestie, Ju Ju. Yes, I have awesome time management skills (sarcastic) and figured, “hey why not go play for a few hours? I only have a list as long as a giraffe’s neck? What else could go wrong?”
Plenty more can go wrong #momlife
So when we got back, I returned the stupid lantern to the store, went to Target, found nothing and was just about ready to leave, when Abby started signing she was hungry. So, we had to stop for food court teriyaki chicken and green beans. Then off to the grocery.
I did the fastest grocery shopping for a trip you have ever seen. It was like mommy dash 2018. I get everything in car. All ready to get out and get home and now the sign for potty. It’s pushing 90 degrees, I have things that will perish and my kid needs to poop. Are you serious? So I rush her into store and into bathroom. Once, that ordeal was over and yes, she made it. Thank God. We headed home. Oh but wait, not just yet … We had to stop for gas and I had to text my husband I was done and he needed to get the ice. At this point, I was carrying a completely passed out child in my arms and trying to pump gas. Yep. Dead weight. Her face was plastered into my left boob. I don’t know why I need to specify. But, yeah.
back home …
So I get home, and go to put blankets in dryer and realize, I had wet crap in dryer and I needed blanket dry from washing machine. So I literally slung everything from dryer all over my house and got the blankets drying. I get everything packed that I can and I my husband gets home from work. He looks at me and says “would you rather go in morning?” Let’s just say, I had some words and went a taaaaad crazy. In a nutshell, this car was leaving within the half hour-No ifs, ands or buts … So off we went on our first Camping Adventure.
