The kids and I went to go visit Mikko, Brian, Parker and Merry.  They moved out of Brooklyn and now live on a farm of sorts in upstate New York.  While they are not yet completely living off the fat of the land, we did enjoy eggs fresh from the chickens and a ton of yummy vegetables from the huge garden at Mikko's folks' place.  Alex and Anja are quite ready to swap out beach living and move to the country, although that might have changed after one of the chickens scratched the heck out of Anja's arm...

We enjoyed the fruits of our minimal veggie-picking labor with veggie and bean quesadillas.  Alex had three huge helpings, all the while singing his "beans beans beans, all I want is beans" song (an original, I believe).  Unfortunately the natural consequences of ingesting so many beans caused Anja to have a fit at being forced to share a bed with, as she called him, "the stinkiest boy ever."

The next day began with a trip to Indian Ladder Farms for their famous apple cider donuts, fresh from the kettle.  Puts the cold hunks of sugary dough at Dunkin' Donuts to shame.  We played in the giant sandbox there for a while and then headed out for a hike at Thatcher State Park.

It's a really neat hike through alongside some cliffs with a few great waterfalls.  We all got a kick out of Alex's boyish enthusiasm for everything on the hike as well as the rest of the visit.  "This hike RULES!"  "I just love love LOVE that farm!" "I found an EGG!!!!"  If only us jaded adults could see the world through the eyes of a 7 year old boy.

I ran out of photographic steam the last evening there.  The extended Von Ronne family descended for a family cook-out, and I was too busy drinking beer to pick up the camera.  But suffice it to say that we had a great time and are already planning our next trip!