Ithaca & Cooperstown Fall Foliage Camping in 2016

Our fall foliage trip this year took us to Upstate New York.  We spent one day in Ithaca, one day in Cooperstown and one day in Hyde Park.	Our huge Yankee fans were VERY excited to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
First stop on the itinerary was the Ithaca Farmers' Market (Mateo's first time!).	So many different vendors are present at the Ithaca Farmers' Market, including these farmers who grow flowers.
David discovered the Ithaca's Farmers Market while he was an undergraduate student at Cornell.  He is so happy to share one of his favorite places with his kids.	This was Mateo's first time at the Ithaca Farmers Market.  Sharon has been several times and it is one of her favorite places in New York State.
We had lunch at the Ithaca Farmers Market...and Alexi got to have his favorite food...PIZZA!	Mateo also had his favorite food at the Ithaca Farmers Market...PIZZA!
While in Ithaca we visited the gorgeous Taughannock Falls and hiked the South Rim Trail.	David loves hiking with his hijos in his former stomping grounds.
Sharon's t-shirt says it all(!)	Dinner in Ithaca that night was of course at one of the most famous vegetarian restaurants...Moosewood.
This was Mateo's first time at Moosewood...and our little foodie LOVED the vegetarian food here.	David and Alexi are twins in their matching grey waffle shirts at Moosewood.
David drove through the pouring rain to Cooperstown KOA.  Our first cabin had a leak in the roof, and raindrops were dripping on Alexi in his bunk.	KOA switched us into a neighboring bunk, from K1 to K2, which was leak-free.
Mateo slept in the lower bunk with his favorite stuffies.	Alexi slept in the upper bunk...and was happy to be warm and dry and out of the rain.
The following day the rain stopped, so we were able to venture outdoors and take a cruise of Otsego Lake on The Glimmerglass Queen.	Our family loves being close to the water...and we are always up for a new adventure(!)
Now you see where Glimmerglass got its name from...the surface of the water looks just like a reflecting mirror.	We spotted this mini-castle on Otsego Lake...it is called the Kingfisher Tower, built by Edward S. Clarke of the Singer Sewing Machine Company.
On our drive to our next destination, we saw this pumpkin stand by the side of the road.  Sharon loves seeing these vegetable stands sans people in upstate New York, and makes sure we *always* stop by.	David holds the giant pumpkin chosen by Alexi and Mateo to be our jack-o-lantern for Halloween this year.
The highlight of the afternoon was visiting Howe Caverns.  We found out about Howe Caverns from our friends Ellie and Kepfram.	As a family when we were in Mexico we visited Aktun Chen, rated one of the top ten underground walks in the world by National Geographic.  Howe Caverns are a smaller American version of Aktun Chen.
Howe Caverns was discovered by and named for the farmer Lester Howe, who noticed his cows gathered near bushes at the bottom of the hill on hot summer days due to a cool breeze emanating from a hole in the Earth.	The neon lighting in Howe Caverns dramatizes the beautiful stalagmites and stalactites.  Howe Caverns is the second most visited tourist site in New York State, after Niagara Falls.
Our family poses for a photo in Howe Caverns.	Our tour ended with a boat ride through the Lake Venus - totally fun and super cool.
We *always* play mini-golf on our fall foliage camping trip.	This "Mr. Shake's Mini-Golf Course" was truly beautiful, with many waterfalls and geysers, and Mateo was able to score a hole-in-one!
The following day our family headed to the gemstone of Cooperstown - the Baseball Hall of Fame.  We are all Yankee fans in this family, sporting our Yankees shirts and jerseys at the Baseball Hall of Fame.	Mateo and Alexi's favorite part of the Baseball Hall of Fame was the Kid's Clubhouse...a place filled with hands-on kids activities.
Mateo is SAFE at home plate because of the slide(!)  With his great arm and mad baseball skills he is a future Hall of Famer.	Alexi is a HUGE Yankees fan.  On another camping trip we visited the home of Babe Ruth, and at the Baseball Hall of Fame Alexi posed next to Babe Ruth's plaque.
Next stop of the day was to the Farmers' Museum.  This gem allows you to experience life in 19th century America.	We really were swept back in time at the Farmers' Museum.
We really enjoyed popping in the different houses and learning different crafts from early America.	One of the best parts of the Farmers' Museum were all the animals wandering around...including COWS, which are Mateo and Sharon's FAVORITE animals.
Sharon's favorite building at the Farmers' Museum was the one room schoolhouse.	Check out this blackboard with the daily lesson for students on September 29, 1845.
The Farmers' Museum has the Empire State Carousel.  Sharon got to ride a rooster(!)	Mateo and Alexi both got to ride carousel horses.
On our last day of camping we had our breakfast at the very scenic Three Mile Point, a beautiful cape formerly owned by James Fenimore Cooper before becoming a public park in Cooperstown.	Hot camping breakfasts prepared by David with our jetboil are the BEST!
We spent the last day of our fall foliage camping trip in Hyde Park.  A special lunch awaited us at the Culinary Institute of America.	Food as art at the Culinary Institute.
At the Culinary Institute we had dessert FIRST before lunch...Alexi is in heaven.	Mateo enjoys a delectable pastry sans hands at the Culinary Institute.
Our final stop on this action-packed fall foliage trip was to the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site.	Pictured here is the desk and study of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States.  He created the New Deal Program to alleviate poverty and was Commander in Chief during most of WWII.  He is Sharon's favorite President.	President Roosevelt is buried with his wife Eleanor Roosevelt at the site of his home in Hyde Park, New York.
In his first inaugural address as President in 1933, President Roosevelt articulated the Four Freedoms.  Freedom of Speech is one of the most important rights we have as Americans.	Freedom of Religion is one of the main reasons early settlers came to America, and many people today come to the United States to flee religious persecution.
Freedom from Want was so important during the Great Depression.	Freedom from Fear should be a guaranteed human right all over the world and beyond.
Mateo and Alexi hanging out with Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt.	History truly comes alive when you can touch it and experience it with all of your senses.
Our Yankee fans really enjoyed this fall foliage trip to upstate New York.	Sharon loves her little Mateo just as much as she loves fall foliage camping!