In through the outdoors- Back to Earth

This past weekend was all about the outdoors. My son has been in a lull since school ended and misses the classmate stimuli. The school days are not only filled with learning, they cover my son's social graph. Being in the house on the weekends, its easy to gravitate to the TV and the internet, so we planned to spend most of the two days in the open air.

Saturday covered "Back to earth" activities. First stop was the Science Barge. The barge is docked in the Hudson River in Yonkers. We learned about renewable energy sources and how to harness that energy into powering a home, a city or even the world. We also learned about hydroponic farming and how you can grow food anywhere using water. It was amazing stuff and my son learned a lot, he even saw vines of tomatoes and cantaloupe hanging from the ceiling.

Next stop on Saturday was Wave Hill in Riverdale. Wave Hill is a public garden and cultural center. It is a serene place filled with rolling hills, beautiful flowers and fantastic plant life. We packed a lunch and since my son was complaining it was past his lunchtime, we found the picnic area and had a tasty spread courtesy of Mom. We then walked the grounds, discovering paths leading to hidden arraignments and grand ponds. The greenhouses inhabited some of the weirdest and Dr. Seuss-like plants and cacti, which reminded us all of side-show attractions at a roving carnival. We imagined people entering and the plants coming to life, surrounding and turning them into plants, rooted in the greenhouse forever. After frightening ourselves, we quickly exited the greenhouse of horrors and settled into some geometrically shaped wooden chairs sprawled throughout the grounds. Then we just hung out, listening to the bugs play in the grass, the bees complaining about working weekends, and the wind dance through the majestic trees above.