creative jewish mom

Lowville, New York: Historic Charm And Cream Cheese!

Since we are still in the week in which we celebrated the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, and ate all things cheesecake related,sharing with you our visit last August to the town that happens to be the home of the Philidelphia Cream Cheese factory sure is timely! As you may or may not know, New York State happens to supply the majority of milk for dairy consumption in the USA, so if you travel around the state a bit (which I highly recommend, so many great things to see!) you will very likely encounter dairy farms, and more dairy farms. No complaints here, I love rolling farmland and pristine silos........especially in the summer time as that also means farm stands!

We actually stayed in neighboring Croghan, New York, (which I chose as it was the first stop on our road trip from Toronto, and a roughly three hour drive) and visited Lowville in order to go the Walmart there. I had heard from one of the locals in Croghan that many of the folks work at the Philidelphia Cream Cheese factory, or the AMF factory which still makes wooden bowling pins, and I was so excited to see them both, though the Kraft factory was certainly more interesting with shiny clean silos, and this lovely cow next door!

A Visit To The Gravesite Of Devorah The Prophetess

Above: A Roman era sarcaphogus, not actually used to bury Devorah, but the same location was used for hundreds even a thousand years after Devorah for burial as well.

During the week of Passover we were fortunate to have enough lovely weather (though quite a bit rain as well) to venture out a bit and do some exploring here in Northern Israel, not far from home. The Galil, especially the area close to Lebanon is lush and lovely in the Spring, and this time we went to visit the gravesite of Devorah (Deborah, yes THE Deborah) the Prophetess, located in a place call Tel Kedesh, about 500 meters from the border of Lebanon. It is truly amazing if one starts to realize just how much history we have here in Israel! Fields dotted with wild flowers and a lovely spot with virtually no people made the experience even more special! Now that i've done a bit of research, after having visited this spot, and realizing that we actually missed a whole large archaeological excavation near by, we will just have to go back again, hopefully soon!

A Visit To Fort York Toronto With Kids

This past August we spent ten wonderful days in Toronto, Canada and one of our favorite afternoons was the one we spent on a visit to historic Fort York, which is located in downtown Toronto just on the edge of the Entertainment District, and just a hop, skip and a jump from our vacation rental. Fort York, was the fort that protected the town of York, later to be called Toronto, in the war of 1812, and we really enjoyed stepping into this little slice of history. And do visit in the summer if you can to enjoy period war music and lots of demonstrations on site. In the mean time, have a look at my photos, worth a few minutes certainly!

A Visit To CN Tower, Toronto, With Kids

I am slowly but surely sharing with you photos from our month long trip to Canada and the USA this past August, and now I thought I'd share with you our visit to Toronto's CN Tower. I'll admit, I tend to steer clear of tourist attractions, (faving you know, inspiration from architecture and city life) but with kids in tow, I do realize that these famous spots are the ones they'll most likely remember, so up we go!

A Visit To Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is a classic and world famous tourist destination, though on account of its location I had never been there until this past August. My kids really wanted to go, but I'll admit I was a bit sceptical as to whether indeed it would be interesting to a seasoned traveler like myself. Not that I had much choice as Niagara Falls is certainly a lot closer to Toronto than to anywhere else we've visited, so it was time to take the proverbial tourist plunge, knowing also that a location such as this would certainly be more memorable for my kids than meny of the locations that excite me!

And guess what, surprise, I wish we had planned to stay there overnight, or at least spend a whole day there, such that we could have visited the falls at least twice and taken advantage of some of the more obscure attractions! Now, put on your rain poncho and put away your water sensitive electonic devices, and join me for a little introduction to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada!

Into The Nearby Woods In Northern Israel

Earlier this week I shared with you photos of the first almond tree blossoms, and now I thought I'd also share with you some photos of the little hike I took with my boys on that same day. We are fortunate to live just a skip and jump from a small forest and nature preserve, so appreciating the wonders of nature isn't difficult, though in the winter we have to wait for Rosh Chodesh, which is a half day. Okay, it is true, Fridays are also a half day, but I am generally really busy with cooking and getting the house in shape for Shabbat, so that isn't usually an option, though I'm hoping to get out today again with my camera, as the blooming trees are calling my name.

An Amazing Archeological Site In Meron, Midrash Rashbi

On the last day of Hanukkah we took a little trip to Meron, to the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, and just as we were about to get in the car I at long last had the opportunity to take my kids to one of my favorite places, the archeological site of the actual yeshiva of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, referred to as Midrash Rashbi. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai left this world around 200 CE, so this site is around 2,000 years old, can you imagine that?

The Sea Of Galillee (Lake Tiberius, Yom Kinneret) On A Beautiful December Afternoon

Above: The Kinneret, The Sea of The Galillee In Northern Israel, With The Golan Heights In the Background. Looking east across the lake.

My daughter is on school vacation (the boys have half-days) and so we took the opportunity to take a 40 minute drive to the Holy City Of Tiberius (Tiveria) for some much needed clothes shopping for her, and fortunately I brought my camera along. And more fortunately, my husband actually stopped the car so I could get out and capture the gorgeous views over The Sea Of The Galillee, as we returned home to continue our Hanukkah celebrations. I hadn't been to the shores of the Kinneret (as we call it here in Israel) in quite a while, and with bright blue skies and deep blue waters, the views were truly stunning! The drive from our home into the city of Tiberius is also breathtaking as well. The road winds down the mountain and the lake is glimpsed from afar and then after passing numerous banana groves suddenly a bounty of water is right beside you!

A Visit To The 911 Memorial In Manhattan

Roughly two weeks ago I was in Manhattan with my kids, and one of the first things that we did was visit the National September 11 Memorial in Manhattan. I honestly was a bit out of it, living quite far away, and while I was aware that there had been a competition for the design of the memorial, I had no knowledge of the winners or what exactly the memorial looked like, except something having to do with water. And boy was I presently surprised, as the winning design is truly spectacular— dramatic, moving, and really everything that a memorial to remember the horrific events on September 11 should be.

Two Glorious Weeks In Vancouver, BC (Canada) With Kids!

English Bay, our first destination after 24 hours of trying to sleep off jet lag!

The secret is out, we (me and my three youngest) spent 2 weeks visiting with my mother in the very lovely city of Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada.) If you enjoy water, lots of it, together with the energy of a big city, cleanliness, consideration, and lots of interesting architecture both historic and modern, well Vancouver is the place for you! And once you step out to the city's parks and beaches you will see that the natives love their home too....it was so wonderful to see so many groups of friends and family gathering to enjoy the beautiful summer weather.

Love flowers and landscaping? You will not be disappointed, interesting flora is found everywhere, hanging abundantly overhead and spilling out of planters everywhere! And if you are someone, like me, who prefers to explore a city on foot, well Vancouver is perfect as the downtown can be traversed easily. If you plan to do lots of walking with kids in tow, it might be a good idea to do some training sessions beforehand, as my kids don't seem to have the same enthusiasm that I do for walking. Hopefully it will grow on them!

The coal harbor area combines a slick city vibe with gorgeous aquatic views......one of my favorite parts of the city.

False creek (this photo taken from the Cambie Street Bridge) has a much more laid back vibe, and there are lots of nice parks and fields for playing.......

 

At the end of False Creek is a science museum, which is kid oriented and lots of fun (according to my two sons who went there with my mother.)

One of the funnest ways to get acquinted with False Creek is on the cutest little ferry, called the Aquabus. We took the Aquabus to Granville Island, though there are quite a few stops.

At the mouth of False Creek you'll see this glorious bridge, Burrard Street Bridge, an art deco style, steel truss bridge constructed between 1930-1932. Love it!

And continuing with the historic vein, Vancouver's own mini flatiron building can be found in the neighborhood called Gas Town, a historic section right on the water front that was almost torn down!

Gas Town is also home to this famous steam operated clock, which blows steam in the form of a chime every half an hour.

Vancouver Lookout, a 360 degree indoor viewing deck located in teh Harbor Centre is a great way to see the city, from above, and your ticket is good for a full day, so go in the morning and then plan to return for sunset. Our feet were to sore to actually do this, but it sure sounded like a good idea at the time!

A view of Canada Place, the Rocky Mountains and North Vancouver from Vancouver Lookout.

And speaking of North Vancouver, why not hop on the commuter ferry to Lonsdale Quay at the terminal now housed in this historic train station, boasting a gorgeous lobby, sort of like a mini Grand Central Station.

Once in Londsdale Quay, you might enjoy the bustling market, or enjoy the view and then head back to downtown Vancouver. We actually did this little trip on British Columbia day, and all the public transporation was free, so I then convinced my kids to take a ride of the metro for some sight seeing, though that idea didn't go over so well, so we headed back home.

Vancouver has many interesting neighborhoods, including the old theater district on Granville Street, where businesses are encouraged to use neon signs as a nod to yesteryear.

Oh, and don't forget to look down when you're wondering around the streets of Yaletown, we enjoyed this leaf concrete stamp which was used all over the place in a playful and seemingly random way.

Thats it for your intro to Vancouver, fasten your seat belt as there are lots more photos to come!