Friday, July 17, 2009
0720 - Time to get up. Decided to sleep in today!
0730 - Going downstairs to get coffee. The kids are all still sound asleep.
0745 - I have checked my email. Time to take a shower perhaps? And the kids are still sleeping.
0840 - Going down for breakfast.
0903 - Leaving the hotel for the day's adventures.
1st stop - Frazier International History Museum
Our favorite parts:
R - the sword fighting demonstration and acting out all the mannequin displays
B - being corn (sounds like a strange answer doesn't it? During one of the mannequin display re-enactments, she chose to be the corn spilling out of a bag.)
F - Fontaine Ferry carnival games
S - seeing the English history related to the book I read last week
2nd stop - Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum
Our favorite parts:
F - the giant bat
R - Bud's Attic scavenger hunt
B - Fastball pitching machine display
S - factory tour
So we're done with what I have planned for the day. And it's only lunchtime. Hmmm. Now what are we going to do? I suggest lunch in Indiana (it's just across the river - we can see it from here!) and a drive-by of Ft. Knox. Of course, I'm having trouble finding my way to the highway I need to get across the river (the GPS doesn't help if I don't have a destination to plug in - there's no category for "random lunch in Indiana"!) I spot a McD's and decide to go ahead and grab some food for our drive. Finally make it onto 65N and head across the river. Loop around and we're back in Kentucky in no time. The drive to Ft. Knox was much longer. Once we got down to the base, we stopped at the Patton Museum and saw a bunch of tanks. Then we drove past the US Gold Bullion Depository. I let Felisa take the picture since we weren't allowed to stop. Don't want to get arrested so early in the vacation...
Back at the hotel... the kids play a bit while I try to decide whether or not we should go to the Louisville Riverbats Baseball game tonight. I'm tired. Going to the game would require me to drive back downtown, find parking in an unfamiliar city, and then deal with the crowds. So I let the kids decide. The girls voted No. Ryan said he didn't care either way. So, No Game it is. I feel kind of bad but it's just not my forte. It's something Ron would be good at. And since the kids don't seem to mind... So instead we went to Pig City BBQ for dinner. Then back to the hotel for a quick swim (the breeze was a bit chilly!) before the premiere of Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana.
Back on the road again tomorrow...
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Day 2
Thursday, July 16
0630 - Alarm goes off. I am very sleepy and do not want to get up but I do anyway. After the snooze of course.
0700 - Go downstairs to get some coffee. Felisa decides to come along.
0730 - Back downstairs again with everyone to have breakfast.
0800 - Leaving the hotel for a day of fun and excitement. 1st Stop - Kentucky Derby Museum
1037 - We have finished our time at Churchill Downs. Our favorite parts:
R - making a (pretend) bet
B - the dresses
F - racing the (pretend) horse
S - seeing the horses on the track. I horses. It's actually kind of crazy how giddy and excited I was when we saw the horses out on the track.
1045 - Sonic for lunch!
1110 - Thomas Edison's House Museum - a pretty quick stop. As Ryan said when we left, "That was a small house!" And there are actually a lot of very small houses still around that we saw while driving through town.
12:30 p.m. Driving down the highway and two identical new cars from North Carolina pass me. Obviously together but I can't even begin to imagine what the deal is there. Guess I'll file that under "Unsolved Highway Mysteries".
3:27 p.m. We have finished our visit at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. We had to drive an hour each way but I thought it would be nice to see the horses up close. The girls even got to have a pony ride. We saw some retired champions as well as some girls practicing vaulting with a new horse. Our favorite parts of the horse park:
R - vaulting
B - pony ride and the playground
F - vaulting
S - the horses. All of them!
Took the scenic route home - lots of nice horse farms around here. Maybe we should move to Kentucky.
5:00 p.m. Stop at Schlotsky's for dinner. Have I mentioned lately how much I love my new GPS? (Thanks, Ron!)
After dinner back to the hotel for TV, swimming, and more TV. For some reason these kids are not tired. I, on the other hand, am exhausted! Why? Why? Why?
0630 - Alarm goes off. I am very sleepy and do not want to get up but I do anyway. After the snooze of course.
0700 - Go downstairs to get some coffee. Felisa decides to come along.
0730 - Back downstairs again with everyone to have breakfast.
0800 - Leaving the hotel for a day of fun and excitement. 1st Stop - Kentucky Derby Museum
1037 - We have finished our time at Churchill Downs. Our favorite parts:
R - making a (pretend) bet
B - the dresses
F - racing the (pretend) horse
S - seeing the horses on the track. I
1045 - Sonic for lunch!
1110 - Thomas Edison's House Museum - a pretty quick stop. As Ryan said when we left, "That was a small house!" And there are actually a lot of very small houses still around that we saw while driving through town.
12:30 p.m. Driving down the highway and two identical new cars from North Carolina pass me. Obviously together but I can't even begin to imagine what the deal is there. Guess I'll file that under "Unsolved Highway Mysteries".
3:27 p.m. We have finished our visit at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. We had to drive an hour each way but I thought it would be nice to see the horses up close. The girls even got to have a pony ride. We saw some retired champions as well as some girls practicing vaulting with a new horse. Our favorite parts of the horse park:
R - vaulting
B - pony ride and the playground
F - vaulting
S - the horses. All of them!
Took the scenic route home - lots of nice horse farms around here. Maybe we should move to Kentucky.
5:00 p.m. Stop at Schlotsky's for dinner. Have I mentioned lately how much I love my new GPS? (Thanks, Ron!)
After dinner back to the hotel for TV, swimming, and more TV. For some reason these kids are not tired. I, on the other hand, am exhausted! Why? Why? Why?
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Day 1
0500 - alarm goes off
0514 - get up
0608 - car is loaded - it seems way too empty compared to how much we usually bring. what big thing are we forgetting? Or how many small things?
0611 - Leave. Less than a block from home, I've already made the GPS lady mad. "Recalculating..."
0615 - Forgot the gummi bear vitamins. Oh well. Not worth going back for them.
0616 - This is the first trip in a while that we start out heading west. Seems like I'm going the wrong way!
0625 - Pick up an erratic driver. This guy is all over the place - weaving in his lane, riding bumpers then slowing down then speeding way up again. I think I'll get ahead of him and out of his way before he causes an accident!
0637 - I was just thinking that the traffic would ease up a bit as we get away from town. Then I passed the Haymarket exit - and everyone is getting off there. I wonder why...
0640 - Ugh. The crazy driver is back.
0650 - Okay that time he was way off in the shoulder. Time to call him in.
0656 - First cow sighting of the trip.
0657 - Police car passes me. Hope he's going after that crazy guy.
0702 - Dismal Hollow Road. Gee, how would you like to live there? No thanks!
0716 - See a hot air balloon.
0730 - Stop at McD's in Woodstock for breakfast.
0757 - Done with breakfast
0758 - Gas. $2.39/gallon
0803 - Car Wash! The kids are so excited. Will this be the best part of the day?
0809 - All clean. But darn - there's still a spot in the middle of my window. Grrr.
0828 - Sign that the rest areas are closing. I wonder if that's permanent or temporary.
0852 - my lack of working out lately is making me feel guilty (plus fat and sluggish!)
0954 - driving in the mountains - time to try out my new "car tunes" transmittor. Works but it is really hard to see the display and not run off the road. I need an assistant!
1008 - Felisa says Not the highway! I ask her why and she says because it is boring. Nothing to look at but trees.
1021 - West Virginia
1048 - Leaving the rest area. Picked up some brochures. Perhaps we can take the scenic route for a bit. The kids start a movie.
1102 - Give up the scenic route. It's not all that scenic and the kids aren't paying attention anyway.
1121 - try the scenic route again
1152 - WV seems to be using trimmed branches as erosion control along the steep mountain roadsides.
12:52 p.m. Done with our stop at New River National River which included a walk down and back up A LOT of steps. When we got to the top the kids made these comments.
B - I think I just got skinnier!
R - I burned, like, 10 calories!
F - I wish I was still a baby! (we were talking about how babies got to be carried and didn't have to walk -we saw one on the trail)
So funny! I offered to do a Favorite Parts survey but the girls declined since it was such a short stop. Ryan offered his favorite: Everybody's comments. I think it looks like a fun river for rafting.
1:11 p.m. Wendy's for lunch. I forgot to order food for Felisa so we went through the drive-thru twice.
1:33 p.m. Back on the highway. We got a bit side-tracked today...
1:53 p.m. Pass a truck full of pigs on the way to become bacon.
1:56 p.m. Toll booth. Doesn't do much good to have EZPass if there isn't an EZPass only lane. Still had to wait in line to get through.
2:01 p.m. My legs are sore today. I have just figured out that it must have been from walking Tuesday morning. I think I need new shoes before I go back to Boot Camp.
2:08 p.m. Charleston, WV - crossing the Kanawha River
2:50 p.m. SCORE - I found a Starbucks with a Drive Thru. The kids are all asleep so I didn't want to stop but I was getting very sleepy. Too bad they all woke up anyway. Oh well. At least we didn't have to get out of the car.
3:08 p.m. I can see Ohio across the river.
3:11 p.m. Kentucky
3:30 p.m. Stop for gas $2.43/gallon
4:16 p.m. See signs for Bath County and Licking River. Hmmm... is that like a sponge bath?
4:17 p.m. Palamino Cows! Not really but they were the light palamino color and that's what Felisa called them.
4:32 p.m. See a sign for a hospital. The girls start telling me that Ruff Ruffman show said that if you sleep at the hospital you can have ice cream for breakfast. And you can order whatever you want to eat. I must have been at the wrong hospital before because I didn't get ice cream for breakfast!
4:50 p.m. No horses! We're in KY for crying out loud. Where are the horses? There is lots of hay but no horses anywhere.
5:02 p.m. Horses - finally!
5:18 p.m. Crossing the Kentucky River.
5:54 p.m. Arrive at the hotel. Yea - just under 12 hours on the road today... whew. Talk about starting off not easy.
Once at the hotel, we had free hot dogs, broccoli casserole, and apple pie for dinner. Then swimming (yucky gnats outside tonight), showers, watching TV (Jeopardy, Disney Channel, and America's Funniest Videos). And then I had to go back out to the car to fetch some bedtime snacks because we're all hungry! I found a Sonic - only 2 miles away. I seriously contemplated putting them all in the car and going there but resisted the temptation. We'll be going there tomorrow for sure though!
Spent some time trying to figure out what we'll do tomorrow - looks like Horse Day. Friday will be Museums and Baseball. Then on the road again Saturday... And now I have to convince Ryan to go to sleep. It's 11:00 and I'm tired!
0514 - get up
0608 - car is loaded - it seems way too empty compared to how much we usually bring. what big thing are we forgetting? Or how many small things?
0611 - Leave. Less than a block from home, I've already made the GPS lady mad. "Recalculating..."
0615 - Forgot the gummi bear vitamins. Oh well. Not worth going back for them.
0616 - This is the first trip in a while that we start out heading west. Seems like I'm going the wrong way!
0625 - Pick up an erratic driver. This guy is all over the place - weaving in his lane, riding bumpers then slowing down then speeding way up again. I think I'll get ahead of him and out of his way before he causes an accident!
0637 - I was just thinking that the traffic would ease up a bit as we get away from town. Then I passed the Haymarket exit - and everyone is getting off there. I wonder why...
0640 - Ugh. The crazy driver is back.
0650 - Okay that time he was way off in the shoulder. Time to call him in.
0656 - First cow sighting of the trip.
0657 - Police car passes me. Hope he's going after that crazy guy.
0702 - Dismal Hollow Road. Gee, how would you like to live there? No thanks!
0716 - See a hot air balloon.
0730 - Stop at McD's in Woodstock for breakfast.
0757 - Done with breakfast
0758 - Gas. $2.39/gallon
0803 - Car Wash! The kids are so excited. Will this be the best part of the day?
0809 - All clean. But darn - there's still a spot in the middle of my window. Grrr.
0828 - Sign that the rest areas are closing. I wonder if that's permanent or temporary.
0852 - my lack of working out lately is making me feel guilty (plus fat and sluggish!)
0954 - driving in the mountains - time to try out my new "car tunes" transmittor. Works but it is really hard to see the display and not run off the road. I need an assistant!
1008 - Felisa says Not the highway! I ask her why and she says because it is boring. Nothing to look at but trees.
1021 - West Virginia
1048 - Leaving the rest area. Picked up some brochures. Perhaps we can take the scenic route for a bit. The kids start a movie.
1102 - Give up the scenic route. It's not all that scenic and the kids aren't paying attention anyway.
1121 - try the scenic route again
1152 - WV seems to be using trimmed branches as erosion control along the steep mountain roadsides.
12:52 p.m. Done with our stop at New River National River which included a walk down and back up A LOT of steps. When we got to the top the kids made these comments.
B - I think I just got skinnier!
R - I burned, like, 10 calories!
F - I wish I was still a baby! (we were talking about how babies got to be carried and didn't have to walk -we saw one on the trail)
So funny! I offered to do a Favorite Parts survey but the girls declined since it was such a short stop. Ryan offered his favorite: Everybody's comments. I think it looks like a fun river for rafting.
1:11 p.m. Wendy's for lunch. I forgot to order food for Felisa so we went through the drive-thru twice.
1:33 p.m. Back on the highway. We got a bit side-tracked today...
1:53 p.m. Pass a truck full of pigs on the way to become bacon.
1:56 p.m. Toll booth. Doesn't do much good to have EZPass if there isn't an EZPass only lane. Still had to wait in line to get through.
2:01 p.m. My legs are sore today. I have just figured out that it must have been from walking Tuesday morning. I think I need new shoes before I go back to Boot Camp.
2:08 p.m. Charleston, WV - crossing the Kanawha River
2:50 p.m. SCORE - I found a Starbucks with a Drive Thru. The kids are all asleep so I didn't want to stop but I was getting very sleepy. Too bad they all woke up anyway. Oh well. At least we didn't have to get out of the car.
3:08 p.m. I can see Ohio across the river.
3:11 p.m. Kentucky
3:30 p.m. Stop for gas $2.43/gallon
4:16 p.m. See signs for Bath County and Licking River. Hmmm... is that like a sponge bath?
4:17 p.m. Palamino Cows! Not really but they were the light palamino color and that's what Felisa called them.
4:32 p.m. See a sign for a hospital. The girls start telling me that Ruff Ruffman show said that if you sleep at the hospital you can have ice cream for breakfast. And you can order whatever you want to eat. I must have been at the wrong hospital before because I didn't get ice cream for breakfast!
4:50 p.m. No horses! We're in KY for crying out loud. Where are the horses? There is lots of hay but no horses anywhere.
5:02 p.m. Horses - finally!
5:18 p.m. Crossing the Kentucky River.
5:54 p.m. Arrive at the hotel. Yea - just under 12 hours on the road today... whew. Talk about starting off not easy.
Once at the hotel, we had free hot dogs, broccoli casserole, and apple pie for dinner. Then swimming (yucky gnats outside tonight), showers, watching TV (Jeopardy, Disney Channel, and America's Funniest Videos). And then I had to go back out to the car to fetch some bedtime snacks because we're all hungry! I found a Sonic - only 2 miles away. I seriously contemplated putting them all in the car and going there but resisted the temptation. We'll be going there tomorrow for sure though!
Spent some time trying to figure out what we'll do tomorrow - looks like Horse Day. Friday will be Museums and Baseball. Then on the road again Saturday... And now I have to convince Ryan to go to sleep. It's 11:00 and I'm tired!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Counting down...
T - 38 hours and 14 minutes to Big Trip 4...
I've emptied the van once more - this time of scrapbook supplies after my weekend crop - but I haven't put the car seats back in yet.
I have done some laundry but there's a bit more to do.
I made the kids clean up the living room so I have a clear area for staging the vast amounts of "stuff" needed for 3 weeks on the road.
I am copying audiobook cd's for Ryan.
I figured out what to make for dinner.
I finished my 979 page book that I've been reading for the past week. (Pillars of the Earth)
I have done miscellaneous admin tasks such as make an eye appointment and request dates for next year's brownie meetings. More admin remains to be done.
Tomorrow I have a few errands to run.
Wednesday morning, bright and early, we head west...
I've emptied the van once more - this time of scrapbook supplies after my weekend crop - but I haven't put the car seats back in yet.
I have done some laundry but there's a bit more to do.
I made the kids clean up the living room so I have a clear area for staging the vast amounts of "stuff" needed for 3 weeks on the road.
I am copying audiobook cd's for Ryan.
I figured out what to make for dinner.
I finished my 979 page book that I've been reading for the past week. (Pillars of the Earth)
I have done miscellaneous admin tasks such as make an eye appointment and request dates for next year's brownie meetings. More admin remains to be done.
Tomorrow I have a few errands to run.
Wednesday morning, bright and early, we head west...
Sunday, July 05, 2009
The Donut Monster
He's small. And cute. And LOVES donuts. I call him The Donut Monster. But he won't share with me. Or with anyone else for that matter. He just downed 5 donut holes, lickety-split. Smiling the whole time.
Grandma said "Oh, you are a joke."
"I'm not a joker," he said in his cute little (almost) 3-year-old donut monster voice.
Oh I could just eat him up. And if I did, then I could get the donuts, too.
Grandma said "Oh, you are a joke."
"I'm not a joker," he said in his cute little (almost) 3-year-old donut monster voice.
Oh I could just eat him up. And if I did, then I could get the donuts, too.
A Quiet Morning
Is it possible? Could it be true? Did they finally get tired?
It's after 7 a.m. and no one is awake yet (except Grandma and Grandma and me). Not a child is stirring - not even a Vacation Mouse.
It's after 7 a.m. and no one is awake yet (except Grandma and Grandma and me). Not a child is stirring - not even a Vacation Mouse.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
More Crabs
So Felisa and Philip just reported that their pet crab escaped. Grandpa asked them where it was before and they said, "In the timeout box." Really? The crab was bad and had to get a timeout?
I'm pretty sure the crabs will be happy when we leave the beach house and leave them alone!
I'm pretty sure the crabs will be happy when we leave the beach house and leave them alone!
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Crabs
Felisa: We gave the crab a bath!
Ryan: You gave the crab a bath?!?
Felisa: Yeah. We found a sponge.
I haven't checked to see if they still have all their fingers but I didn't hear any screaming (not even from the crab!).
***
The final day of the mini-trip will be posted eventually (and back-dated to Jun 30).
Ryan: You gave the crab a bath?!?
Felisa: Yeah. We found a sponge.
I haven't checked to see if they still have all their fingers but I didn't hear any screaming (not even from the crab!).
***
The final day of the mini-trip will be posted eventually (and back-dated to Jun 30).
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Mini Trip - Day 7
0650 - Wake up. Take a shower. It's nice to take my shower in the morning instead of at night. I had been showering after swimming each evening but last night I decided that I'd really rather start out the next day with a shower instead. Then time to pack. The swimsuits are still wet. I'll be glad when we get to the beach so the suits can dry between each use and we won't have to wear damp, clammy suits anymore! [updated to add: once we got to the beach we got the suits and one load of laundry dry but then it started to rain and we spent the next two days hanging and re-hanging the laundry between rainshowers trying to get it all dry! So much for being dry once we got to the beach...]
0840 - Back from the insanity that is a free breakfast in a hotel during the summer. I'm not sure how we managed to avoid it so far or maybe it was just bothering me today since we've been on the road for a week now. Too many people in too small of a space trying to feed themselves and their families. After breakfast we went back to Cracker Barrel since Grandma had promised to buy the kids something (and last night when she finally came back to find us there she had already put her purse away in the room).
0852 - Loaded in the car. Garbage is out. GPS is programmed.
0856 - Starbucks Drive-Thru. Mmmm!
0915 - Pennsylvania. Notice the color-coded detour signs once more. I wonder what it's all about. [and now I have googled it - they are pre-planned detour routes that make it easier for the police to re-route traffic in case of an accident or other emergency. Cool. More states should do that. And here is where you can read more about it.]
1017 - Gouldsborough for gas $2.69/gallon. Go to Burger King for snacks. Time for a movie. Turns out Ryan doesn't want to share. He wants to watch it alone. I told him no. In the car everyone is allowed to watch whatever is playing. He pouts a bit while the girls turn on Bolt. Then he ends up watching it anyway. After Bolt is over he takes the DVD player to watch his new Garfield movie alone with his headphones on. Strange.
1103 - Crossing the Delaware River into New Jersey.
12:15 p.m. The kids finally decide that they are close enough to play their Race game (racing other cars on the highway) to race the cousins to the beach house. About that time, Grandma called Grandpa and found out he and the cousins are still in the Chicago airport. That's the end of Race. "Never mind. Let's stop playing," they said.
12:25 p.m. Garden State Parkway
1:40 p.m. Arrive at the beach house.
2:50 p.m. Car has been unloaded and all the windows opened. A few outdoor things have been carried out of the house onto the porch. Time to go to the grocery store!
3:00 p.m. Stop at Wendys for a late lunch. I tried the new Buffalo Chicken - WAY TOO SPICY!!! The Asian Chicken that Ryan ordered was much better.
3:20 p.m. Done at Costco. I even bought a new atlas that doesn't have pages falling out!
4:58 p.m. Back at the house to unload.
5:07 p.m. Now off to the regular grocery store.
It only took us 3 hours to completely fill the empty refrigerator. Not sure we'll be able to eat it all in one weekend... The cousins have arrived and all are playing happily together once more. The Racinez-McLaughlin Beach House Invasion of 2009 has begun!
0840 - Back from the insanity that is a free breakfast in a hotel during the summer. I'm not sure how we managed to avoid it so far or maybe it was just bothering me today since we've been on the road for a week now. Too many people in too small of a space trying to feed themselves and their families. After breakfast we went back to Cracker Barrel since Grandma had promised to buy the kids something (and last night when she finally came back to find us there she had already put her purse away in the room).
0852 - Loaded in the car. Garbage is out. GPS is programmed.
0856 - Starbucks Drive-Thru. Mmmm!
0915 - Pennsylvania. Notice the color-coded detour signs once more. I wonder what it's all about. [and now I have googled it - they are pre-planned detour routes that make it easier for the police to re-route traffic in case of an accident or other emergency. Cool. More states should do that. And here is where you can read more about it.]
1017 - Gouldsborough for gas $2.69/gallon. Go to Burger King for snacks. Time for a movie. Turns out Ryan doesn't want to share. He wants to watch it alone. I told him no. In the car everyone is allowed to watch whatever is playing. He pouts a bit while the girls turn on Bolt. Then he ends up watching it anyway. After Bolt is over he takes the DVD player to watch his new Garfield movie alone with his headphones on. Strange.
1103 - Crossing the Delaware River into New Jersey.
12:15 p.m. The kids finally decide that they are close enough to play their Race game (racing other cars on the highway) to race the cousins to the beach house. About that time, Grandma called Grandpa and found out he and the cousins are still in the Chicago airport. That's the end of Race. "Never mind. Let's stop playing," they said.
12:25 p.m. Garden State Parkway
1:40 p.m. Arrive at the beach house.
2:50 p.m. Car has been unloaded and all the windows opened. A few outdoor things have been carried out of the house onto the porch. Time to go to the grocery store!
3:00 p.m. Stop at Wendys for a late lunch. I tried the new Buffalo Chicken - WAY TOO SPICY!!! The Asian Chicken that Ryan ordered was much better.
3:20 p.m. Done at Costco. I even bought a new atlas that doesn't have pages falling out!
4:58 p.m. Back at the house to unload.
5:07 p.m. Now off to the regular grocery store.
It only took us 3 hours to completely fill the empty refrigerator. Not sure we'll be able to eat it all in one weekend... The cousins have arrived and all are playing happily together once more. The Racinez-McLaughlin Beach House Invasion of 2009 has begun!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Mini Trip - Day 6
Did you know there are fireworks at Niagara Falls? Neither did we. About 10:00 last night, fireworks started going off practically right outside our window, over the falls. What a fun surprise!
**
0650 Wake up – time to pack.
0750 1st trip to the car. The weather is gorgeous today! Cool and sunny.
0757 Leave the room for the last time.
0800 Leave the hotel – the car is getting fuller. When we left on this trip, I was thinking that maybe we could do our summer trip without the roof box. Now I’m starting to wonder.
0827 Lake Erie!
0850 McD’s for breakfast. The kids all ate cinnamelts for breakfast. They say that they like the brownie melts better. We decided that the brownie melts are no worse for you than the cinnamelts, really. Maybe next time we will eat brownies for breakfast!
0916 Leaving McD’s.
1000 Arrive at Paula’s parents’ house. 10:00 on the dot – couldn’t do that again if I tried! Guess I wasn’t kidding when I said we’d be there at 10.
1100 Leave to go on a hike at Zoar Valley. When we get there, Evan found a totally cool, totally tiny frog. Less than an inch long. I tried to take a picture but realized my lens was ruined. Must have been the water drops at the falls. I get out the other camera and get a picture but it isn’t the close-up I wanted. The state has made some improvements at the park and now we can’t easily hike down to the creek anymore so we decide to go cherry picking instead. Load everyone up and take off for the orchard.
12:15 p.m. Finished picking. Filled almost a whole bucket and had a total of 11 pounds including the ones Paula had.
12:45 p.m. Back at Paula’s parents’ house. Time for lunch – yummy hot dogs! – and then fishing in the neighbor’s pond. All of the kids caught at least one fish and posed for photos before releasing them back into the water. We terminated our fishing time when two fish in a row swallowed the hook. It was time to leave anyway. Paula drove Grandma R to buy some syrup at another neighbor’s house. Syrup from the maple trees at Paula’s parents’ house and other maples in the neighborhood.
2:36 p.m. Leaving. We had a lovely visit. The weather was perfect and the countryside was beautiful. And though we had planned to leave at 2, I knew it would probably be 2:30-3 before we actually left. Turns out I was right about that too!
3:18 p.m. McD’s in Salamanca for iced coffee and a snack and water.
3:40 p.m. Turns out they didn’t give us our water at McD’s so we stop at a gas station. $2.67/gallon. It is a full-service station which surprised me but the attendant said it was because the station was on the Indian reservation.
4:25 p.m. Oh my gosh! I FINALLY see what the highway sign is! I have been looking at every sign for the Southern Tier Expressway, trying to figure it out. I was trying to make the white part of the picture into a portion of the state but it didn't make any sense. The road runs in a fairly straight line across the southern border of New York. But the white on the left side of the sign looks like a piece of New Jersey or something. It's actually a picture of an Indian. The green part is the picture and the white part is just background. It's like that black and white picture of the old woman and the young lady - depending on where you focus that affects what you see. Click here to see a picture of the sign. I can't believe it took me this long to figure out that sign!
4:33 p.m. Stop at a scenic overlook. Once again, disappointment. We can see farther than the last overlook we stopped at but really - not all that amazing.
5:21 p.m. Pass the hotel in Corning that we stayed at the other day. The kids are in shock. We've just gone in a big circle! Highly unusual for our road trip to back-track like that.
5:51 p.m. Pennsylvania! And then less than a minute later, we are back in New York! What a crazy highway!
6:28 p.m. Arrive at our hotel in Binghamton, NY. Go to dinner at Cracker Barrel. While Grandma R is paying, the kids are I are shopping in the gift shop area. Grandma thought we had left without her so she went back to the hotel looking for us. Meanwhile, I'm at Cracker Barrel wondering where she disappeared to. I of course didn't have my cell phone with me so I couldn't call to find out. Eventually she came back to the restaurant and found us.
After all of that we go to the pool for a swim. The water is warm - yea! Even better, the hot tub is HOT! I only let them swim for an hour because it is getting close to 10:00 already. Back to the room to shower and change into pajamas. Ron skypes us and the kids get to talk to him before going to bed. Ice Age 2 is showing on Fx so we all watch while falling asleep.
**
0650 Wake up – time to pack.
0750 1st trip to the car. The weather is gorgeous today! Cool and sunny.
0757 Leave the room for the last time.
0800 Leave the hotel – the car is getting fuller. When we left on this trip, I was thinking that maybe we could do our summer trip without the roof box. Now I’m starting to wonder.
0827 Lake Erie!
0850 McD’s for breakfast. The kids all ate cinnamelts for breakfast. They say that they like the brownie melts better. We decided that the brownie melts are no worse for you than the cinnamelts, really. Maybe next time we will eat brownies for breakfast!
0916 Leaving McD’s.
1000 Arrive at Paula’s parents’ house. 10:00 on the dot – couldn’t do that again if I tried! Guess I wasn’t kidding when I said we’d be there at 10.
1100 Leave to go on a hike at Zoar Valley. When we get there, Evan found a totally cool, totally tiny frog. Less than an inch long. I tried to take a picture but realized my lens was ruined. Must have been the water drops at the falls. I get out the other camera and get a picture but it isn’t the close-up I wanted. The state has made some improvements at the park and now we can’t easily hike down to the creek anymore so we decide to go cherry picking instead. Load everyone up and take off for the orchard.
12:15 p.m. Finished picking. Filled almost a whole bucket and had a total of 11 pounds including the ones Paula had.
12:45 p.m. Back at Paula’s parents’ house. Time for lunch – yummy hot dogs! – and then fishing in the neighbor’s pond. All of the kids caught at least one fish and posed for photos before releasing them back into the water. We terminated our fishing time when two fish in a row swallowed the hook. It was time to leave anyway. Paula drove Grandma R to buy some syrup at another neighbor’s house. Syrup from the maple trees at Paula’s parents’ house and other maples in the neighborhood.
2:36 p.m. Leaving. We had a lovely visit. The weather was perfect and the countryside was beautiful. And though we had planned to leave at 2, I knew it would probably be 2:30-3 before we actually left. Turns out I was right about that too!
3:18 p.m. McD’s in Salamanca for iced coffee and a snack and water.
3:40 p.m. Turns out they didn’t give us our water at McD’s so we stop at a gas station. $2.67/gallon. It is a full-service station which surprised me but the attendant said it was because the station was on the Indian reservation.
4:25 p.m. Oh my gosh! I FINALLY see what the highway sign is! I have been looking at every sign for the Southern Tier Expressway, trying to figure it out. I was trying to make the white part of the picture into a portion of the state but it didn't make any sense. The road runs in a fairly straight line across the southern border of New York. But the white on the left side of the sign looks like a piece of New Jersey or something. It's actually a picture of an Indian. The green part is the picture and the white part is just background. It's like that black and white picture of the old woman and the young lady - depending on where you focus that affects what you see. Click here to see a picture of the sign. I can't believe it took me this long to figure out that sign!
4:33 p.m. Stop at a scenic overlook. Once again, disappointment. We can see farther than the last overlook we stopped at but really - not all that amazing.
5:21 p.m. Pass the hotel in Corning that we stayed at the other day. The kids are in shock. We've just gone in a big circle! Highly unusual for our road trip to back-track like that.
5:51 p.m. Pennsylvania! And then less than a minute later, we are back in New York! What a crazy highway!
6:28 p.m. Arrive at our hotel in Binghamton, NY. Go to dinner at Cracker Barrel. While Grandma R is paying, the kids are I are shopping in the gift shop area. Grandma thought we had left without her so she went back to the hotel looking for us. Meanwhile, I'm at Cracker Barrel wondering where she disappeared to. I of course didn't have my cell phone with me so I couldn't call to find out. Eventually she came back to the restaurant and found us.
After all of that we go to the pool for a swim. The water is warm - yea! Even better, the hot tub is HOT! I only let them swim for an hour because it is getting close to 10:00 already. Back to the room to shower and change into pajamas. Ron skypes us and the kids get to talk to him before going to bed. Ice Age 2 is showing on Fx so we all watch while falling asleep.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Mini Trip - Day 5
0645 - Wake up
0700 - Alarm goes off. Wake up the kids.
0720 - Ready to go to breakfast. Realize it's raining outside. Not the best weather for a walking tour of Niagara Falls but oh well. It's now or never!
0845 - Arrive at the Falls visitor center. Try to buy a trolley ticket. The information desk clerk tells us to go downstairs to buy a ticket. So we go downstairs, peruse the gift shop, then stop at a ticket booth. The man there tells us that we have to buy trolley tickets at the booth outside. We go to the booth outside and it is closed until 9 a.m. So we go back inside to find out where to buy tickets. The man sends us back upstairs. He tells us to use the handicap elevator since at this moment there are about a million bus tour people pouring down the stairs at us. So much for coming early to beat the crowd. Upstairs, we wait at a different ticket booth and are finally able to buy trolley tickets. We walk over to see the falls then decide to walk over to Goat Island. We'll pick up the trolley later to get a driving tour of the island and a ride back to the visitor center. Walk across the bridge. The rapids are below us. I'd love to take a picture but the bridge is very strong and tall and so full of metal that we can barely see through much less take a picture. Guess they don't want anyone to fall in. We arrive at the Cave of the Winds ticket booth and stand in line for about 20 minutes. Finally we are issued in to get our free ponchos and shoes. Then follow the signs to the elevator. Ride the elevator down and follow the crowd. It stinks of seagull poop - this is apparently their main hang out. Not completely overwhelming but definitely there. We walk along the stairs and boardwalk, eventually climbing up to the Hurricane Deck. (Grandma R opted to skip this section!) This is where we got VERY WET! Ryan of course loved it and the girls liked it to. I even went all the way to the back fence of the deck to get wet. I figured- I'm here. Already getting a little wet. Might as well go for the whole experience! Once we are completely soaked, we ride the elevator back up then get on the next trolley. Get off at Terrapin Point to look at Horseshoe Falls. The kids are getting cold now in the rain with their wet clothes. Go inside the gift shop to warm up and buy our souvenirs. Decide to eat lunch upstairs at the Top of the Falls Restaurant. It is not busy but the air conditioning is running full blast so the kids are starting to shiver and turn blue. I decide to go back downstairs and buy the tie-dye sweatshirt blanket I saw and liked. More expensive than it should be but at least it's a big blanket - twin size - and it kept all 3 of my precious babies warm while we were eating lunch. :)
After lunch we waited about 15 minutes for the next trolley. It is still raining (just a light rain thankfully!) so of course the trolley is packed. We cram ourselves in and ride around Goat Island. After we cross the bridge we drive right past our hotel. Unfortunately the trolley only stops inside the park so we had to keep riding on around the loop and back to the Visitor's Center then walk the 3 blocks or so back to the hotel. Upstairs to dry out and warm up.
Our favorite parts of Niagara Falls:
R - the Hurricane Deck
B - getting wet
F - getting to the waterfall (translation: Cave of the Winds tour)
L - the mist and the Cave of the Winds
S - Hurricane Deck and the whole Cave of the Winds, getting up close and personal with the falls
1:15 p.m. Talk to Ron. Ask him to find us a hotel for tomorrow night. Talk about other stuff like how my email program doesn't like to send outgoing mail at this hotel, how he stayed out until 2 last night with Jed, how I have to fish-sit and babysit when I get back.
1:30 p.m. Head out for the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum.
3:13 p.m. Done at the museum. It was a great activity for a rainy Sunday afternoon. It is small and quiet - only a few other visitors there at the same time. They had a kids' activities section so Bella and Felisa did and art project while Ryan and I played checkers. Normally I would have been champing at the bit to keep going and finish up the tour but today it was just right. I knew it was raining (heavier at the time!) and that we had nowhere else to be today. The kids were content and happy there so there was no need to rush back to the hotel room where they could get bored and start driving me crazy!
Our favorite parts of the museum:
F - the carousel
R - the scavenger hunt
L - the painted horses
B - drawing a picture of Care Bear
S - how the 1916 carrousel can still be running today. Carrousels are so simple and classic - they are always a favorite and not so complicated that they will break down easily.
3:20 p.m. Iced coffee at McD's. They have Brownie Melts too so we order some to try out.
3:30 p.m. Stop for gas in North Tonawanda, NY $2.79/gallon
Back at the hotel we chow down on the brownie bites. Mmmmm.... sweet and chocolatey. Enjoy a bit more down time. I think one of the keys to my sanity is balancing enough down time for me with enough activity for the kids. We have the TV on and find out that Billy Mays died. Just the other day, Ryan was copying Billy Mays' speaking style. So sad to hear of his passing. Billy Mays is also the guy that Melissa thought our waiter looked like when we ate dinner on top of Sandia Peak.
0700 - Alarm goes off. Wake up the kids.
0720 - Ready to go to breakfast. Realize it's raining outside. Not the best weather for a walking tour of Niagara Falls but oh well. It's now or never!
0845 - Arrive at the Falls visitor center. Try to buy a trolley ticket. The information desk clerk tells us to go downstairs to buy a ticket. So we go downstairs, peruse the gift shop, then stop at a ticket booth. The man there tells us that we have to buy trolley tickets at the booth outside. We go to the booth outside and it is closed until 9 a.m. So we go back inside to find out where to buy tickets. The man sends us back upstairs. He tells us to use the handicap elevator since at this moment there are about a million bus tour people pouring down the stairs at us. So much for coming early to beat the crowd. Upstairs, we wait at a different ticket booth and are finally able to buy trolley tickets. We walk over to see the falls then decide to walk over to Goat Island. We'll pick up the trolley later to get a driving tour of the island and a ride back to the visitor center. Walk across the bridge. The rapids are below us. I'd love to take a picture but the bridge is very strong and tall and so full of metal that we can barely see through much less take a picture. Guess they don't want anyone to fall in. We arrive at the Cave of the Winds ticket booth and stand in line for about 20 minutes. Finally we are issued in to get our free ponchos and shoes. Then follow the signs to the elevator. Ride the elevator down and follow the crowd. It stinks of seagull poop - this is apparently their main hang out. Not completely overwhelming but definitely there. We walk along the stairs and boardwalk, eventually climbing up to the Hurricane Deck. (Grandma R opted to skip this section!) This is where we got VERY WET! Ryan of course loved it and the girls liked it to. I even went all the way to the back fence of the deck to get wet. I figured- I'm here. Already getting a little wet. Might as well go for the whole experience! Once we are completely soaked, we ride the elevator back up then get on the next trolley. Get off at Terrapin Point to look at Horseshoe Falls. The kids are getting cold now in the rain with their wet clothes. Go inside the gift shop to warm up and buy our souvenirs. Decide to eat lunch upstairs at the Top of the Falls Restaurant. It is not busy but the air conditioning is running full blast so the kids are starting to shiver and turn blue. I decide to go back downstairs and buy the tie-dye sweatshirt blanket I saw and liked. More expensive than it should be but at least it's a big blanket - twin size - and it kept all 3 of my precious babies warm while we were eating lunch. :)
After lunch we waited about 15 minutes for the next trolley. It is still raining (just a light rain thankfully!) so of course the trolley is packed. We cram ourselves in and ride around Goat Island. After we cross the bridge we drive right past our hotel. Unfortunately the trolley only stops inside the park so we had to keep riding on around the loop and back to the Visitor's Center then walk the 3 blocks or so back to the hotel. Upstairs to dry out and warm up.
Our favorite parts of Niagara Falls:
R - the Hurricane Deck
B - getting wet
F - getting to the waterfall (translation: Cave of the Winds tour)
L - the mist and the Cave of the Winds
S - Hurricane Deck and the whole Cave of the Winds, getting up close and personal with the falls
1:15 p.m. Talk to Ron. Ask him to find us a hotel for tomorrow night. Talk about other stuff like how my email program doesn't like to send outgoing mail at this hotel, how he stayed out until 2 last night with Jed, how I have to fish-sit and babysit when I get back.
1:30 p.m. Head out for the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum.
3:13 p.m. Done at the museum. It was a great activity for a rainy Sunday afternoon. It is small and quiet - only a few other visitors there at the same time. They had a kids' activities section so Bella and Felisa did and art project while Ryan and I played checkers. Normally I would have been champing at the bit to keep going and finish up the tour but today it was just right. I knew it was raining (heavier at the time!) and that we had nowhere else to be today. The kids were content and happy there so there was no need to rush back to the hotel room where they could get bored and start driving me crazy!
Our favorite parts of the museum:
F - the carousel
R - the scavenger hunt
L - the painted horses
B - drawing a picture of Care Bear
S - how the 1916 carrousel can still be running today. Carrousels are so simple and classic - they are always a favorite and not so complicated that they will break down easily.
3:20 p.m. Iced coffee at McD's. They have Brownie Melts too so we order some to try out.
3:30 p.m. Stop for gas in North Tonawanda, NY $2.79/gallon
Back at the hotel we chow down on the brownie bites. Mmmmm.... sweet and chocolatey. Enjoy a bit more down time. I think one of the keys to my sanity is balancing enough down time for me with enough activity for the kids. We have the TV on and find out that Billy Mays died. Just the other day, Ryan was copying Billy Mays' speaking style. So sad to hear of his passing. Billy Mays is also the guy that Melissa thought our waiter looked like when we ate dinner on top of Sandia Peak.
Decided to be brave and adventurous again. Drove to a restaurant in Little Italy for dinner. The neighborhood between here and there wasn't the best but the food was good. Once back at the hotel the kids played while they waited for swimming time. Then an hour or so in the pool, showers, and now we're watching Wall-E before bed. Tomorrow back on the road again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg){kind=link}