Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Happiness : Howe Caverns

Today was SUPER fun! We went to Howe Caverns. It's a pretty neat place out east past Syracuse. A bit of a drive but well worth it! As we are pulling in there's a cute little pasture off to the side with some beef cows and their calves. Then we pull up and the main lodge is a cute little cottage. We went and bought our tickets. We were informed that the temperature in the caves is only 53*. I even thought before we left this morning I should bring a sweater and then just didn't do it... So, we went on down to the gift shop and bought a sweater. It was a bit pricey but I'm really glad I got it because it really was chilly down there.

After we bought the tickets for the caves we went over to the activity area and had a look around. There was a ropes course (it looked pretty easy), a zip line (also pretty basic), and a rock wall. I hate heights but I definitely wanted to get in on the fun and try something! So we went for the rock wall. Now, when I say I'm afraid of heights, I mean I am PETRIFIED of heights. I'm pretty pathetic actually. So the first time up I only went about half way up until Josh came up and talked me through the rest of it. What goes up must come down. Yeah, there's that.. You're supposed to just lean back and kick off the rocks. We climbed down most of the way and then when we were a little closer to the ground we gave it a try. (Yes, even Josh was nervous about just letting go.) We tried another one, this time a little harder. We definitely got better and better each time. I actually did a video about getting over my fear of heights with the wall. (Check it out on facebook.com/strengthandpoisefitness)

Then over to the tour! It was so fun and cool! It started out with a video about the founder of the cave and how he found it and how it got turned into what it is today. Then you go down this elevator really really really far down. I don't remember exactly how long but it definitely was down there. It opens up into this beautiful foyer. (Fun fact: They also make cheese here and age it down in the cave. Yes, of course we bought some.) The tour was about an hour and a half almost two hours complete with a boat ride. My favorite part was towards the end. It was a really thin spot, about 2 feet wide. It was windy and spinny with low spots and really high spots. The whole tour was super fun. Great for kids too! We had 2 little girls in our tour. They had a blast and were so cute and funny. Josh befriended them by the end,

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here's a bunch! If you ever get the chance I highly suggest you go to this place and check it out!