Day 5: Almanzo Wilder Farm
We left Vermont this morning, heading for Malone, New York, the boyhood home of Almanzo Wilder who was Laura Ingalls Wilder’s husband. Frank literally finished reading the book Farmer Boy, based on Almanzo Wilder’s childhood, minutes before we arrived there. The tour we received of the home and farm was, by far, the most educational and interesting historical tour we’ve ever taken. We highly recommend going way out of your way to visit the Almanzo Wilder Farm! The tour guide kept the children entertained by constantly challenging them with questions and they learned about everything from pumping water into troughs for the farm animals to shearing sheep to where the term “don’t let the bed bugs bite” came from, and everything in between. Frank especially enjoyed the tour and asked dozens of questions.
They don’t allow photos in the buildings, but below are some photos we were allowed to take. From beginning to end: the historic sign from the farm; Max trying to pump water for the troughs; Ali and Frank on Trout River; Ali found a dead butterfly on the ground and picked it up to show Max its beautiful wings.
We left there around 2:30 p.m. and headed for Lake George, New York. I’ve been telling you that some of the trees are getting their fall foliage. Here’s one we saw today:
Ali and Frank had pizza in the RV this evening while Richard and I went on our weekly “date”…with Max. When we’re on the road, we take Max on our dates with us because it’s often difficult for the children to reach us on our cell phones in the boonies. And, while Ali and Frank don’t seem to have major emergencies anymore, it only takes Max (age 3) a few seconds to conjure up a tragedy. Below is a photo of Richard eating mini chicken cordon bleu bites with dip at the Olde Log Inn at Route 9 and Flat Rock Road. They’re called bleu balls. We got a pretty good chuckle out of that.
Lake George Camping Resort has tons of activities (from frog hunts to blindfolded water balloon fights to gold panning) for the children so Ali, Frank and Max will be having lots of fun tomorrow while Richard and I get caught up on our work.