A short drive away from Albany is a cute farm in Altamont, NY, called Indian Ladder Farm, which offers lots of fresh produce grown on the land, as well as dairy products and meat from neighboring farms. They also make their own apple cider donuts, pies, pastries, and other desserts. The farm has a large pumpkin patch where you choose a pumpkin, as well as endless apple orchards where you can PYO (pick your own) apples and pay by the weight. In 2003, Indian Ladder Farm, named after the Indian Ladder Trail, a Mohawk trade route, became the first farm in Albany County to receive a state farmland protection grant to protect the land from development. The land has to remain available for agricultural development and can never be developed. The space is definitely well used and laid out, with a full fledged store full of local goods and produce, lots of outdoor space for kids and families to hang out and play, as well as areas for riding ponies, a large sandbox for littles to dig holes and build sand castles, and an entertainment area with a stage for live music, a pizza oven/outdoor restaurant setup, an alcoholic drinks area where you can purchase local beers and wines, and endless seating, both indoors and out. It was quick to see why families and friends who are local would be happy to spend a full day hanging out at a place like this.

We got lucky with our visit to Indian Ladder Farm, as the annual Oysterfest was happening this weekend. Blue Point oysters, which are grown on oyster farms in the Great South Bay in Long Island, are served right on the farm. So we got to indulge in a dozen local oysters while also enjoying a white clam pizza (one of my all-time faves) that came fresh out of the coal pizza oven. An interesting thing that we didn’t try that I saw was an oyster stout, which is a dark semi-sweet beer brewed with oyster shells. It’s supposed to give the beer a richer, more savory flavor with a hint of brininess. Who would have thought that was a way to reuse oyster shells?

The area Kaia loved the most was one of the simplest, which was the sandbox. She spent a good amount of time using the different bucket and shovels, digging holes, creating large sand piles, handing the buckets to me, and then repeating the process over and over again in different spots. She didn’t seem to tire of this no matter how much time passed. It was a reminder to me how simple her desires are and how it really doesn’t take much to entertain or amuse her for hours (potentially) on end. A sandbox seems so basic, but oddly enough, we don’t really have one near us in the parks and playgrounds on the Upper West Side that I’m aware of. So I’m happy she was able to indulge even if just for a bit.