Why ski when you can have beer & baseball?

Historical considerations aside, the January and February long weekends are for getaway ski trips. They just are, and I have always been profoundly grateful to our founding fathers and civil rights leaders for providing the much-needed breaks in gray winter monotony and cabin fever. Except that this week New York was having an unexpected heat wave and there was no snow in the entire state and Seth gave me that look when I started making noises about Killington. 

And fine. Our kids really were too small to ski or spend all day out in the cold anyway.

So I extorted promises of a mini roadtrip to the New York location of my choosing instead, and we decamped to Jones Farm for an early morning brunch Saturday to mull it over. Which was, as usual, excellent. Ford, who has been putting on a major show of not liking food and being unable to chew, discovered cider donuts and wolfed down a stolen (from Finley) chocolate chip pancake to boot, barely able to contain his glee. We're onto you, buddy.

Of course, afterwards he looked a little green around the gills (as well as uncomfortably stuffed), and had to sleep off the sugar high.

We finally took down Christmas lights and installed car seats and generally worked on the to-do list for the rest of our chilly day at home, and had a crazy kid circus of a dinner with friends at Seth's boss's house to cap off a nice Saturday.

But Sunday we were off on my adventure, and we headed to Cooperstown for breweries and baseball. (It sure sounded like something for everyone to me!) We had a blast sampling the beer at Ommegang, although it was not an uneventful stop.

If you haven't done the "pooped in the potty" dance in the parking lot of a brewery, you definitely haven't road tripped with the Niemans.

Ford, continuing his eating tour of New York, also discovered mac and cheese.

The next stop was a cider mill, where Finley "made it rain" feeding the geese

 and discovered free samples. Much to her delight.

The highlight of the kids' trip was the jacuzzi suite at the Holiday Inn. (Seriously the nicest Holiday Inn ever.) I swear I am never buying water park tickets again. They spent hours splashing happily in the jacuzzi while we enjoyed Ommegangs and football and takeout pizza in our PJs. Who knew this was the key to vacationing with kids?

After an epic swim and a lot of jumping on the bed (I love that they love hotel rooms), all four of us got eight hours of sleep. (Fine. Seth and Ford got ten, but Finley and I had urgent continental breakfast-ing to get to.) Still- I can't even remember the last time we all got that much sleep, and it was incredible.

And we still hadn't made it to the baseball hall of fame! When we did, we were a tad bit disappointed that the Martin Luther King, Jr. exhibit wasn't more extensive, but thrilled at how kid-friendly the museum was. They had an awesome learning center where we got to try on old baseball uniforms: this one of Ford in a catcher's mask kills me,

as did Finley in an All-American Girls Professional Baseball League uniform. And the sight of her Dad teaching her how to swing a bat. (To be honest, there was some flinching involved with the latter too, but no one was harmed in the taking of this photo.)

Ford was charming and handsome as usual, and we stayed until well past naptime, when we were forced to beat a hasty retreat.

We made it home in time for fish sticks and laundry and a disappointingly jacuzzi-free bathtub, and pronounced our snow-free long weekend a success.

Although we're calling it the official end of the holidays (especially as I'm back in school fulltime as of today) and swearing off the excessive eating, drinking, and merrymaking we've been enjoying the hell out of. Gym time and smoothies for everyone! So bear with us if we're a little cranky as we adjust to the new semester's schedule and our renewed resolution-ing.

Road trips always produce a glut of hilarious and awesome photos, but I thought these were especially funny. Finley really getting into her hot dog lunch at baseball-themed Doubleday Cafe,

 

Ford giving his favorite toy (Finley's obnoxious Mickey microphone, thanks Aunt Missy) the staredown in the car,

 

and this hilarious shot of Finley-the-movie-star (in my sunglasses) and her biggest fan, in the Baseball Hall of Fame. What a pair.