Rows & Rows of Pumpkins

In the (almost) 6 years that Sal and I have been going out, we've done our fair share of fall activities, but each year we always find a way to change it up, whether it's by going to a different location or trying new things. Sure we've gone pumpkin picking before, but every year we go to a different farm. I don't think we've ever been to the same place twice. We decided to check out Alstede Farms this year, a place that Sal's former place of employment took their employees to last year. His friends suggested it to him, and I was certainly up for the ride.

I may have skipped as we walked past the bales of hay stacked up high, with the cloudless sky above us. I felt young and refreshed as I took a deep breath of the crisp fall air. We decided right then and there that we would make this day ours, and we purchased our tickets that included not only a pick-your-own pumpkin, but also a hay ride and a chance to find our way through the corn mazes. 

We ended up with the wrong map, however, and couldn't start until Sal ran and grabbed the right map. If we didn't have a map, we might've gotten lost... okay, we probably would have gotten lost, because even with a map we couldn't even find our way to every number. How we got from number 2 to number 6 is beyond me. We came upon a bridge, and the view was beautiful; corn stalks for what seemed like miles. Luckily, we found our way out, and then decided to try to find our way through the smaller corn maze, meant for children. We definitely made it out in 5 minutes, and I laughed the whole way through. After some pictures in the corn stalks, we found our way to the animals. Sal fell in love with the cows, and made sure he fed them quarters, upon quarters worth of animal feed. I, fell in love with the bunnies, why bunnies were on a farm, I'm not quite sure, but they were way too cute to be ignored, especially the one trying to make a great escape underneath the fence. 

We then hopped on the hay ride and headed to the field with rows & rows of pumpkins. Sal wanted an oblong pumpkin, which was definitely a first. We kept reminiscing about all of the pumpkins we've carved, and how for the most part, Sal's pumpkins looked as if they were carved by a 5 year old. My pumpkins, on the other hand, were all beautiful, because let's face it, I'm a perfectionist. Sal picked his pumpkin quickly, while I kept searching for mine. It took a while, but I ultimately picked the first one I set my eyes on, which thankfully I was able to find again. 

We piled back on to the tractor, along with many, many people, and as we rode back and bounced over bumps, I could not get off quick enough. Pictures were taken on the bales of hay, and then we saw that the wine tasting shack, with wine from Tomasello Winery, was open - which, let's face it, could not be more perfect for Sal and I, as we have an obsession with wines, and tastings. The wine was absolutely incredible, and was probably one of my favorite tastings that I've been to, and I could not get enough of the wine. 

With our souvenir wine glasses, we headed to an early dinner, grabbing slices of delicious pizza before we headed home with our pumpkins in tow. 

New York Hiking

Sal meets quite a few people when he's shopping for fish... to be honest, he meets people everywhere he goes, but that's not the point. When he was buying fish for his tank he started talking to a man that worked there. They somehow landed on the topic of hiking and nearby trails, and that's when the man mentioned of a trail in NY, which ended up being closer than I thought! Sal told me to dress appropriately - for some odd reason, I have a rather tough time picking out clothes to wear according to the weatherl of course it may look hot outside, but I'm never sure if there's wind, or if it's going to get cloudy later, so I always dress like it's winter, despite the sun beaming down on us. This time, I dressed perfect - for the weather and the hiking. Sal packed a cooler with water bottles, and I brought a few healthy snacks: apples, almonds, and bars.

It took no time at all to get to the first lake, but then I realized there were seven lakes. Did we stop at the first stop? Of course not, because we are two people that love to go wherever the wind blows. Seriously, we just kept driving until we found a spot that looked almost surreal, had it not been for the people that were making their own way into the lake whether it was by kayak or foot. Once we were in the woods though, away from everyone... it was just us and nature, and it was as if we were breathing for the first time. The air was crisp and fresh. I felt like the world had melted away from me, and I could take deep, long breaths without smelling anything other than the fresh water, and the rich oxygen that the trees were giving off. While there were trail markers, we wandered off by the lake. As long as we followed the lake we would not get lost, according to Sal.

When we saw the perfect rock, right by the water's edge, we climbed it, and sat admiring the water and just talking. Isn't it great, just to ponder life and all it's wonders. I'm not sure how long we were on that rock, but long enough to figure out you could scream and make silly noises and you could hear the echo throughout the trees. Our voices were all around us, and it was quite magical - for a few minutes anyways.

We hopped off the rock, and kept walking, until we felt as if we had found another lake entirely. We reconvened and decided that it was best to start walking back, following the trail. We took a break beforehand, having a quick snack to refuel. I was in my own world, quite literally; I never even heard two older hikers walking towards us, which nearly scared me half to death! Thankfully, it wasn't a bear, because I don't know how much help I would have been to Sal.

When we were back at the car, we decided to keep following the lakes to see what else we could find. Before we knew it, we were overlooking the beautiful Hudson River. Sometimes, these adventures lead to difficulties, and I find myself asking... "Now how are we going to take a picture of us with this incredible view behind us?!" Fortunately for us, two individuals saw us struggling, and asked if they might take our picture. Perfect, right!? Uh, is that Luke Bryan!?

We still weren't ready to let this day end just yet; just a little ways down the road, and we began to see signs for a trailside zoo! Of course, Sal, being the animal lover that he is, couldn't say no to a zoo. I was all about walking more, and seeing some animals, until I saw that it was free to get in. It only got worse when I noticed that most of these animals were outside, with the highway being right next to them. It's not that the animals didn't seem well taken care of, it's just that sometimes seeing these animals in cages upsets me. I understand some would be extinct if we didn't keep them in zoos, but it just leads to me to think, "what kind of life is that?" I sure wouldn't want to be locked up in a cage, pacing and pacing. I did notice that some of the animals were being moved to bigger habitats though, which is a great thing.

I don't think we could have walked anymore, even if we wanted to. We decided to splurge on dinner and headed to Steak & Shake (if you've never tried their steak burgers or shakes, you're missing out)! Spending the day outside could not have been more perfect, and inexpensive too! Aside from dinner, we didn't open our wallets once! What more could you ask for?

Matching On Our Road Trip

Sal & I love to travel, whether it's near or far, we're always looking to go somewhere new and have memorable experiences, which helps us keep having new "firsts" together. We can only go on days I have off of work though, so it's like I'm always going, going, going. Who needs sleep anymore right?!

One week I decided that we should take a day trip to Baltimore, Maryland, so we could visit The National Aquarium, a place I knew Sal had been wanting to visit for quite some time now, since he has an obsession with fish. Not only does he go fishing, but he also has a huge fish tank in his room, filled with fish (okay so they're pretty awesome, but still)! He picked me up early that morning and we headed south. We didn't realize that we actually had on the same exact color orange, which was pretty funny when we took a picture together. 

It was a long drive, but with country music blasting, the time quickly passed. I am the last person to suggest a road trip if I have to drive; thankfully, Sal loves to drive, so I was able to sit back in the passenger seat and relax. When we arrived, we realized that it was hotter out than when we left. The sun rose high in the sky and I began to see that my jeans, shirt, & jacket was not going to last long in the heat. This isn't the first time we've been to Baltimore, so we should've known that on the harbor the sun shines bright, and it is not a good idea to dress in jeans. The last time we were there was when we went to a Mets game vs. the Orioles. Let me just say that I've only ever felt that heat twice before in my life and those two times I had a heat stroke. It was so hot, and we were sweating the entire game. No trees or coverage in sight, where we were sitting. Needless to say we ended up with sunburn. Fortunately, this trip to Baltimore didn't include sunburn. 

We parked and walked into the aquarium on the harbor, after paying for our tickets. Did you know during the school year on a weekday, there aren't many kids at aquariums, but there are many, many elderly individuals. It was funny listening to their questions, okay that was mean, but it was a little funny! 

We wandered around, seeing the new Black Tip Reef, which was beyond incredible - filled with sharks, stingrays, turtles, and so many different species of fish. The set up of the aquarium made it that much better, walking down and around, up and into the rainforest, over the bridge and into the dolphin area. 

Sal's favorite was probably the sharks, and as I watched them swim around the tank, I couldn't believe that we actually swam with sharks in Dominican Republic last year. While they were only nurse sharks that we swam with, I was still in shock! My favorite animal was the puffin! Penguins are my favorite animal, and puffins are very closely related. They were adorable, and we were able to catch the trainers feeding them. They all knew it was dinner time because they waited by the door for the trainer to come out.

 Eventually we made our way to the dolphins, and Sal was extremely excited because he thought there were going to be dolphins shows since the last time he had been there, years ago, there were dolphin shows. Well they stopped the shows and just did small training educational shows. It was nice to see the dolphins, but I'll admit I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to see them do more tricks. Dolphins are amazing animals, having swam with them as well, I know first hand. 

We saw everything from jelly fish and an octopus, to starfish and monkeys! Of course, we took a quick break for lunch. Afterwards, we wandered around the harbor, but I was quickly drenched from the heat, and took advantage of the shops nearby. I picked up another outfit after trying on what seemed like twenty. Whoops! We headed to dinner on the harbor at Phillip's Crab Shack, although we weren't too pleased with it. I enjoyed cracking my own crabs - that being a first - but the food wasn't all that great. Having the beautiful views definitely helped though. 

Before we knew it, we were heading back home, talking about our favorite animals and admiring the pictures we were able to snap.