Cornell Plantations

Seeking inspiration and an outing for my family, we found both at the Cornell Plantations--an incredible spread of botanical gardens, arboretum (150 acres) and natural areas (4,300 acres of trails and ecological conservatories). I took the kids and my in-laws for a mini hike in the natural areas and through the arboretum. It was so impressive, I am adding it to my list of things that give me hope:

The List
1. We elected Obama
2. Good Samaritans (my favorite: last summer, trying to get out of the Tanglewood parking lot late at night, after fireworks and James Taylor concert, 8 men in country club garb stopped to help push our massive rental SUV out of the mud--they sunk down to their ankles and while I hit the gas and splattered mud all over them, they kept rockin and pushin that beast of a vehicle until it was on solid ground--leather loafers and white linen be damned!)
3. Cornell Plantations

You can see my list is short, which is why my goal for the year here is to restore my faith in humanity. No pressure on my Ithaca followers, but it feels really good to be living in a place where people not only know about the mass of plastic bottles the size of the United States floating around in the ocean, but they are actually doing something about it. And even though it's embarrassing, I am relieved when people stop and stare at me on those days I drink from a plastic water bottle or tote my groceries home in a non-green bag.