New York: Skyscrapers, Music, and Animals Everywhere

June 30 – July 4

On our way to visit my cousin Susan in Brewster, NY we stopped at Sturbridge Village, a live outdoor museum of Puritan life in the 1830’s. While Kevin worked, the girls and I walked around the village and took in all the ways life had changed as we watched the actors portray life 200 years ago.

We arrived at Susan’s place, which consists of 2 houses, a large farm, and a whole lotta trees. We got settled in the apartment above the barn where the girls could see some of the horses from their bedroom, a huge bonus for them. Susan has 49 animals, including 19 horses, 3 goats, and a barn cat named Mack, who we got to visit regularly. Zoey got to ride Sven, the largest horse I’ve ever seen, and Quinn rode Belle, a sweet black pony. We also played with the goats and got one to jump and spin off a platform. Scout had a little crush on Honey Pepper, maybe it was the matching red hair.

Susan’s son Christopher lives in the house near the barn along with his girlfriend, Morgan. There is an awesome music room with a gong, didgeridoo, and talking bowls among other cool instruments. We had fun playing with them all and Susan even hosted a jam session where Zoey and Kevin shared their talents. Quinn and I were the background dancers.

We could walk about 1/2 mile on a cool trail through Susan’s “backyard,” which was essentially a small wooded mountain, to get to the house where she lives.

We spent one day in New York City. We took an early morning train to Grand Central Station, then hopped on the Staten Island Ferry to get a closer look at the Statue of Liberty. We walked through the financial district and saw the NY Stock Exchange, the Charging Bull and Fearless Girl Statues, the 9/11 Memorial, and many other cool things.

We also went up the Empire State Building!

After taking in the view from above, we walked down 5th Avenue past all the fancy shops and found a place to rest with some pizza and beer near the park.

The highlight for the girls was the horse carriage ride through Central Park. Our coachman pointed out all the sites of famous movie scenes and where all the celebrities lived. He dropped us off at the Natural History Museum, where we met Susan and her partner Frank. It was a jam packed day!