Day Tripping with a 2-year-old, Day 2 (West Point & Bear Mountain)

I have to admit that I was a tad bit jealous that my 6-year-old was going to get to spend the day at Farm Camp, and I was responsible for road-tripping with my 2-year-old. "Moving sheep", going on a nature hike, seeding pots and making a bug box sounded like fun.

But I was only there to drop-off, since Stone Barns is open just to the lucky campers on Mondays and Tuesdays. I'd printed off a bunch of different maps, and the weather looked good. How about some cannons?

The major glitch was that I hadn't visited West Point post-9/11. So, while my memory was of popping on the grounds and taking in the breathtaking views...the reality is an $11, hour-long official bus tour. It was interesting (for me) and snack-filled (for my little one)...and we sat at the back of the bus so as to not totally interrupt the rest of the passengers.

Then we zipped over to Bear Mountain for a picnic, a carousel ride, and a walk through their little zoo. Note before you make any promises: the carousel is not open on Mondays or Tuesdays. Then it started pouring. And I don't mean drizzling. I mean torrential downpour. Thankfully the rain was short-lived so we got to visit the pleasant little zoo (highlighting local birds and animals) that meanders through the park, strike up a game of peek-a-boo with a Bald Eagle (really, you cannot make this stuff up)...

and take in the absolutely amazing views.

When we returned to Stone Barns, the children had done their task of moving the sheep, and they were bleating and romping in the fields.

Then we did a little exploring around the green houses that were wide open to let in the beautiful afternoon air,

and lo and behold, look what we found! The garlic the children had picked yesterday!