Howe Caverns

This is probably my first time going into a cave. Howe Caverns was found by Lester Howe in 1842. Regardless of the outside temperature, the cave maintained it's interior at low 10s degree Celsius.


The view of the meadow and the road on the gentle slope that leads up to Howe Caverns.






It's rather dark underground, with colored lights shining onto the rock formations. Most of my photos turned out blur.


There's an underground river and we took a boat ride on it.


A glowing calcite heart at The Bridal Altar (left picture).



Roaming around the area after the cave tour.

Niagara Falls USA

I actually drove 7 hours from Albany to Niagara Falls! (That's, of course, with breaks in between.) Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest state park in the United States. Geographically, part of the waterfalls is in the US territory, while the other part is in Canada.


We arrived by evening and this is our first view of the American Falls from the US side.


View of the American Falls at night. The light shining on the waterfall changes colour continuously.


We stood by the coastline and waited for sunset to watch the 4th July fireworks. If you ask me, it wasn't as spectacular as I had imagined.


Early next morning, we rushed to the Maid of the Mist before opening hours, but we were still not the first in line. So, here we are, dressed in the poncho provided and waiting for our turn to get onto the boat.


The place to board the boat is right below the Observation Deck.


The boat is approaching the American Falls.


The boat is approaching the Horseshoe Falls.


After getting off the boat, we continue on the path leading to the American Falls.


The mist from the waterfall causes double rainbow to form.


Then, we journey back up to Prospect Point and this is the path that we just walked after getting off the boat.


Our next stop is at the Observation Deck.


Here, we can see the Maid of the Mist departing the dock from the deck above.


View of the Rainbow Bridge from the Observation Deck. The bridge serves as a link between the United Stated and Canada.


At the US side, the Observation Deck offers the best view of the waterfalls.


Next, we walked to Goat Island, in the direction towards the Horseshoe Falls. We changed to the sandals provided and we're ready for the Cave of the Winds! The sandals can be dropped off at a collection bin for donation after we're out of this attraction.


At the Cave of the Winds, we are closest to the Bridal Veil Falls, which is the smallest waterfall located in between American Falls and Horseshoe Falls.


View of the Cave of the Winds from above.


The northeast view from Luna Island.


Finally, at Terrapin Point, we are now next to the Horseshoe Falls.


After relaxing on the grassy field at Terrapin Point, we hop onto one of these vehicles and head back to the American Falls.


At dusk, we crossed the Rainbow Bridge to Canada.


View of American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls from the Canadian coast.


View of Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian coast.

Peebles Island State Park

Here we are at Peebles Island State Park on a nice quiet summer day.


An old factory stands just outside the state park. It used to be Cluett, Peabody & Co., which was a shirt manufacturer in 1910s to early 1970s.


A shady spot to sit by the river.


A trail marking on a tree.


There were plenty of such little red berries growing on the bushes.


Which path should we follow?




The trail leads us along the perimeter of the island, offering views of the buildings across Mohawk River.


A small dam across the Mohawk River.



We were totally disappointed to discover this rapids that is marked as a waterfall in the trail map.

Indian Ladder Farms

Indian Ladder Farms is only about 15 minutes drive from our apartments.



We started our Sunday morning with breakfast at the farm's cafe.


In the corner of the farm's gift shop, there's this bee colony inside a display case.



By chance, while we were roaming around the farm, we noticed these little baby farm animals.



In New York state, June is the best time to pick strawberries and this was the highlight of our trip here. So, we followed the signage to the strawberry field.


Someone must have accidentally dropped the strawberry on his/her way back from the field.


Here we are at the strawberry field!


Strawberry flower (left picture) and a bunch of strawberries (right picture).


Maybe it's a siamese twins strawberry?


The reddest and most delicious looking strawberry that I could find.