| Getting Excited for Costa Rica  Tanya's Daily Scoop CURRENTLY IN: ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Hello hello and a Happy mid-week Greeting to you! As you know, I'm back here in SoCal and have really not have a very eventful few days. Mostly catching up, unpacking and getting in the mentality of not being on vacation - which is not easy! Luckily I don't have to stay in the "working" mentality for too long.  Yup guys, can you believe that I am finally going back to Costa Rica! It's been since 2009 and that was my first and only visit to the beautiful country of Costa Rica. I went in the month of June and the entire trip was planned in less than 2 weeks!! So unlike me! It was actually my friend Pris, who asked if I wanted to go. Well at the time, I have never ventured to Central or South America and had no idea what I'd be in for. Plus. - me (the big planner) planning a trip in 2 weeks. Uhhhh I literally said "no thanks". But then what happened is actually quite funny... I got a message from another friend who told me that he was going to Chile for some summer skiing (ya know the flipped seasons - seasons in the Northern Hemisphere are the opposite of those in the Southern Hemisphere). Have you know, going summer skiing has sort of been on my "list" and hearing this news sort of got me...well ya know FOMO or a little jealous. Because we all know that I wanna be everywhere and do everything! So what came next was me calling Pris and telling her "Let's Do It!" I figured that I'd be better off being on vacation in Costa Rica (a place that was never on my list to begin with) rather than being at home and focusing on NOT being somewhere else - namely Chile! And off to Costa Rica I went!  Off to Costa Rica with Pris (c)travelincousins.com  There's a monkey on my head! (c)travelincousins.com  Lush Lush and more Lush (c)travelincousins.com  The Arenal Volcano hiding in the clouds (c)travelincousins.com  Zip lining fun (c)travelincousins.com  Hiking in Monte Verde (c)travelincousins.com  Montezuma Beach (c)travelincousins.com  Leaving Costa Rica (c)travelincousins.com And there I learned just how very beautiful this lush country is. Known for its stunning beaches, lush rainforests, and incredible wildlife... SCARY WILDLIFE ENCOUNTER I knew that I wanted to return one day. I thought that day was back in 2020, but we all know what happened to plans in 2020! So my plans were rescheduled for 2021 and yet again my plans to go back to Costa Rica were cancelled. Not to completely switch from Costa Rica to Japan, but I literally just received an email from the Tour Company that we are booked through for our November trip to Japan - suggesting that there have been issues securing our flights and that we have a couple of options...one of them being to cancel?! So needless to say that I am a bit off put at the moment and need to bop off of here and figure this out! Sorry to leave you on such a sour note, but so is real life and having to deal with the cards we are dealt. Travel is sometimes messy - but this is a way of life for those of us with travel running through our veins. Of course you know that I'll keep you posted. Ciao 4 Now, -Travelin' Tanya | Queens County Farm Museum Tour Fun Day  Elisa's Daily Scoop CURRENTLY IN: LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK Well, Happy Hump Day!! Can you even believe that July is over?? I cannot. This summer has flown by, but at the same time, it has been filled with so many fun activities! This past weekend was just one of those fun times, with most of it spent with my kids. I mentioned in my previous blog, Birthday Celebration with Tanya & Beyond Monet in Virginia Beach | Elisa Books a Fall Trip, that I had visited the Queens County Farm Museum on Sunday. What a lovely day it was! As you may or may not know, I grew up in Queens. The borough is rather large and filled with cultural diversity. Growing up in this borough really was like having the best of both worlds. On the one hand it was still growing up in the "city", but it was also a bit suburban with parks and neighborhoods and lots of grass! And that my friends is the perfect segue to my day at the Queens County Farm Museum!  On my way to the Queens Farm Museum (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com Seeing the sunshine outside on Sunday morning, I immediately got filled with excitement to do something outdoors. After some thought, I reverted to my trusty list of "Things I Want To Do In The NYC Outer Boroughs". If you can believe it, I realized that The Queens County Museum had been on my list for a while since I HAD NEVER BEEN THERE my whole life!!! Not only is it in the borough I grew up in but it is located only a few miles away from where I went to high school and worked throughout my 20's and 30's!! Well, this place was going to get checked of the list! Kelsey can always be depended upon to join me in my travel jaunts, near and far, (although these days, she doesn't want to be in the photos). So we got ourselves together, stopped on the way for a fresh pressed juice and set off on the 18 minute drive to the Farm.  (c)travelincousins.com We totally lucked out with a parking spot on the street a few yards away from the entrance. SCORE! I love finding a good spot! Let me start with a little bit of history to set the scene. The Queens County Farm Museum is a New York City Landmark, on the National Register of Historic Places and a member of the Historic House Trust of New York City. (you know how much Tanya and I love our historical sites!!) Located in Floral Park in Queens, the Queens County Farm Museum dates back to 1697 and occupies New York City’s largest remaining tract of undisturbed farmland. What's more, the farm is one of the longest continuously farmed sites in New York State and it includes historic farm buildings, a greenhouse complex, livestock, farm vehicles and implements, planting fields, an orchard, and an herb garden. In the video below, I am standing in front of the restored Adriance Farmhouse, which is the centerpiece of the farm complex. It was first built as a three-room Dutch farmhouse in 1772. "The farmhouse and surrounding 7-acre historic area mirror the evolution of this unique tract of land from a colonial homestead to a truck farm that served the needs of a growing city in the early twentieth century," according to the Farm's official site. In total, the farm occupies 47-acres and exemplifies the 300-year history of agriculture and farming as a way of life in New York City. ELISA CHATTING ABOUT THE QUEENS COUNTY FARM MUSEUM!  Adriance Farmhouse (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com Kelsey and I were not going to pass up the opportunity to get a tour of the Adriance House, but we had some time before the next tour at 12:30. So we decided to check out the Farm Shop across from the house. Some really cute stuff including a variety of books, apparel and food items like homegrown honey.  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  Inside the farm store (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com OUR ADRIANCE FARMHOUSE TOUR  Waiting for the next tour of the Adriance House to begin (c)travelincousins.com What a delight this tour was. Given to us by Mr. Marty who was 87 years old, it was just me and Kelsey getting the full history of the house, farming life back in the late 1600's and 1700's and some history about the Adriance family.  The kitchen - all the gadgets for living life in the 18th Century (c)travelincousins.com The kitchen, pictured above was the center of the home. This was truly the heart of the home. It was where the food preparation and cooking took place, as well as being a multipurpose room during the day for the ladies to do their sewing and making clothing. (no Targets in those days). We also got a lesson in how once children reached the age of 6 they were considered adults and had to help out on the farm. Here is me with the water bucket carrier that the kids were expected to use when collecting water to bring into the house. It's amazing how easy our lives have become since this time in history.  This is how the kids used to gather water to bring into the house (c)travelincousins.com The house had several extensions built throughout the years and we truly enjoyed learning all about the gadgets and different tools used in those days. I fell in love with the super wide plank wood flooring! The items inside the house were a combination of original and reproductions. I also learned a bit about tin ceilings which were used at that time because they were durable, lightweight, and fireproof.  The parlor of the Adriance House (c)travelincousins.com  Original super wide plank wood floors (c)travelincousins.com VLOGGING FROM THE BACK OF THE ADRIANCE HOUSE Following our tour, we took a gander around the exterior of the house and I fell in love with the huge raised beds of flowers and herbs!! Mr. Marty said that these herbs would be hung all around the house in the cool weather to dry for use in cooking and for medicinal purposes. An added benefit was that they would make the house smell wonderful. Incidentally, on this day, there was an Indian Pow Wow going on at the Farm. We opted not to go into the area, but we were able to hear the music coming from this area, which you may be able to hear in the video above. The native Americans taught these new settlers all about how to plant, how to use raised beds and how to utilize the herbs for healing.  Back of the Adriance Farmhouse (c)travelincousins.com  Beautiful raised beds with herbs (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com We decided to walk around and check out the vegetable gardens, the animals and the rest of the grounds.  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  Vegetable gardens (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com We also were told that the Farm welcomes anyone to come and volunteer - you can work in the gardens and weed and do other helpful farm chores! There were a few vendors around the grounds - one of which was Mayfield Farms. The owner was onsite with some of her delicious homemade gluten free and dairy free baked goods. Well, you know that we couldn't pass these by!!    We opted for the 4-muffin assortment. I must say, these muffins were so moist and tasty - we pretty much gobbled them up once we got home!!  (c)travelincousins.com Just another lovely day boppin around the outer boroughs of New York City!! Till next time, -Travelin' Elisa |
