Adventuring at the Howe Caverns - Howes Cave, NY

Howe Caverns is an underground cave system here and is 2nd only to Niagara Falls as the most visited Natural attraction in New York state.

First stop on the tour is the animatronic Lester Howe, who tells us how, with the help of his cows, he discovered the entrance to the Howe Caverns. More of the history over here.

One of the formations looks like a dinosaur head. If you don't see it, it is the one lighted red on the right.

The dinosaur head on the left and the pagoda on the right.

The Chinese Pagoda. The 2 witches and the big turtle. The 2nd witch was not really that obvious.

When you go down the caverns, the guide will tell you that you can't touch any of the walls or formations because the oils or whatever substance that we have  on our hands will slowly erode the stone. But halfway through the tour they have 2 formations that you can touch all you want. Yup, it still felt like stone to me...

This chamber was the most impressive in the caverns and of course they have a photo station right there where for $10 you can buy the picture when you're done with the tour.
Loved the reflection on the 1st picture. The picture on the right where the guide stuck her head in was quite interesting. You could sing into the formation and it would resonate through the whole room.

They said that the any cave system would have the average temperature of the area where it's at. In our case, it is a constant 52 degrees Fahrenheit (that's 12deg Celsius for you metric folks) with 70-75% humidity. Very cold and it is highly recommended to have at least some form of light jacket when you go in. The tour is also an hour and a half long with no bathrooms underground so make sure to go on a bathroom break before the tour.

This is cute, Apparently over 600 couples have been married at this spot. They call it the "Bridal Altar" and the guide said that if you step on the heart and kiss, you will have marital bliss forever!

The best part for me was the "Winding Way" where you go through a series of winding passage ways that were really tight in some corners. Better watch your head!

All in all, it was a good, fun experience and definitely worth making the trip. I forgot to mention that they have a boat ride down the end of the tour before you head back. It was nice to sit after the long walk and just look at the formations but it was a bit gimmicky for me. It was actually more enjoyable to watch the guides navigate the boats and manage the traffic. They also have a new zipline/adventure park added outside for the those who are not afraid of heights. Enjoy!
Howe Caverns 255 Discovery Drive Howes Cave, NY 12092 518-296-8900 (Cavern & Adventure Park) 518-296-8950 (Motel)
Howe Caverns Open 7 Days a Week Year Round. Cave Hours 9 am to 6 pm April 1 - October 31 9 am to 5 pm November 1 - March 31 Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas 
Adventure Park Hours 9 am to 6 pm April 1 - October 31 Weather Permitting 

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Moo!

Canon 5d mark II 50mm F2.2 1/5000 ISO 100

Cold Stone Creamery Cravings

Lately we've been having ice cream cravings and during all of those times, we find ourselves at the mercy of Cold Stone Creamery. They got their name from their signature ice cream where you choose what flavor and toppings and they mix it on top of this long slab of "cold" refrigerated stone. We haven't really had a chance to try it yet but it definitely looks good. We usually get the ice cream shakes and take home some of their ice cream tubs! Try it out before summers done!





Savory Strawberry Shake! Yum!

Chicken Pochero... Sort of.

Ok so this is not really the authentic chicken pochero since it's missing a couple of key ingredients but you have to make do with what you have right? So this is our version of Pochero which you can substitute pork or beef instead of the chicken. My mom used to make mashed eggplant (Grill the eggplant, peal and mash it, then mix with garlic, pepper, salt and vinegar to taste) as a side dish but we didn't have the ingredients so we skipped it this time and we also didn't have the banana and the Chinese sausage...



Chorico (different from chorizo) is a portuguese sausage, not too spicy but it does add a nice layer to the dish.









We love using our enameled dutch oven! It's a Martha Stewart from Macy's. we got it cheap compared to Le Creuset but as you can see, some of the paint is already chipping. I guess you get what you pay for in this case.








It looks like a lot of Bok Choy but it does get cooked down quite a bit.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (cut to its various spare parts)
2-3 chinese sausage (we used 2 large Chorico sausages)
1 Plantaine (or Saging na Saba if you have it)
1 medium onion diced
1 large tomato diced
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
1 can of garbanzos (Chickpea)
1 small bundle of long green beans, cut into 2" slices
1 small cabbage
1 bunch Bok Choy 
1 small can Tomato Sauce
1 cube chicken bullion cube
Salt, Pepper corn, Patis to taste


1. Chop and fry the plantains in a med-large pot until lightly brown then set aside.
2. Chop and Fry the chinese sausage in the same pot until lightly brown then set aside.
3. Sauttee the garlic and onions until aromatic then add the diced tomatoes. Keep sautteeing for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes. 
5. Add around 2 teaspoons of patis (fish sauce), pepper corns and tomato sauce and mix well.
6. Add water to cover the chicken (or more if you like more broth), add the chicken cube and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
7. Put back the fried sausage, banana and garbanzos and simmer for 5 minutes.
8. Add the cabbage and green beens and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
9. Add the bok choy and turn off the heat. Cover the pot and let the heat of the dish cook the bok choy for 5 minutes.
10. Serve hot over rice and enjoy!