City Mice in the Country

For the long weekend, Todd and I took the kids up to a place called Pinegrove Ranch in the Catskills. With horseback riding, bocce ball, tennis, ping pong, two pools (both with water slides), archery, rock climbing, paddle boats, fishing, marshmallow roasting, and a whole host of other activities, we were never at a loss for something to do.

Not everything was amazing, and most of the facilities get a B-. The place clearly hasn't been renovated in a while, and a coat of paint, at the very least, was in order in most places. And the food...let's just say that vegetables were in short supply and grease was involved in most meals' preparation.

Even so, we all had a really fun time. We swam every day, and I loved the horseback riding. We never progressed past the intermediate level (trotting), but it was so much fun. I discovered I love bocce ball, and Dylan fell a little in love with tennis. Todd taught us both how to cast a fishing line (which is oddly satisfying even though I had no bait and wasn't really fishing — I'm not into the catch and release situation. It just seems pointlessly mean). Sofia was particularly taken with the magic shows that took place in the evenings, and we were all pretty impressed with the guy who did lasso and bull-whip tricks.

We really all enjoyed getting out of the city and our normal routine for a couple of days, and as someone who grew up in Vermont, it was hilarious to see city kids' take on life in the country.