We have a terrific group of friends we met through the kid's daycare. Our oldest kids, with the exception of one, are in the same grade, have been together since not long after they were born. Same thing with our second kids (with the exception of Cathy who will head off to school a year ahead of them). Third kids? Well, half the group has them (including a set of twins) and half doesn't... but you guessed it, the youngest kids were all born within months of each other.
We have park dates, dinner parties, and occasional grown-up nights together, and most of us are planning to travel together to the Outer Banks next year... we really like each other that much. Our kids like each other that much. It's been great.
Earlier this summer, when one of the other moms suggested that we pack up the dads and kids and send them camping out at Bald Eagle State Park, I knew it was a must for our Summer of Fun even though I was not invited.
Last night was camping night... the kids were definitely excited to be going though I must have heard a dozen times (mostly from Cathy) that they didn't want to go without me, that they would just miss me too much. I packed them up and sent them out the door anyway... mostly because I was sure once they settled at camp with eight of their best friends, they'd be just fine. They were.
I could pretend that I was a little sad not to be invited, but that would be a lie. I didn't have anyone asking me to play Zingo or pitch to them in the backyard; I didn't feel compelled to do laundry or clean my house. Instead, the moms got together for dinner and drinks. And afterwards, I shopped. I read a book... things I wanted to do. It was nice!
After camp was set up last night, I heard there was grilling, a trip down to the beach, s'mores, bike riding, and a late bedtime. I wasn't missed at all.
All the moms joined the group this morning for a fun day on the beach and we spent about five or six hours before packing it in. The highlight of the day: our boat ride down past the bald eagle's nest, complete with a tube ride and swim in the lake. The kids had a great time jumping off the boat and it was fun to watch both Matt and his friend Kayleigh enjoy their tube ride. Cathy told us repeatedly that she wasn't interested in a ride herself, but she changed her mind and I rode the tube back to the beach with her. She was a little apprehensive at first and we did need to ask them to slow down the boat a bit, but she had a great time.
Overall, it was such a relaxing summer day and I am glad I made the trip down to spend time with everyone, despite the growing list of things that need to be done around the house.
I'll take a great day with the kids over a clean house any day!!!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The Jar of Fun is back...
A few years ago, I bought Rich a copy of 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up. The book lists places both far and near (for example, there's Ayers Rock in Australia and Blyde River Canyon in South Africa to go along with more 'local' destinations such as Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks in California or Niagara Falls in New York). Short of winning the Powerball, I suspect there are many places in the book that we'll never see. But we have hit a few of them already and I think that's pretty cool.
One of the 'Places to Go' is a riverboat cruise on the mighty Mississippi River... something we did in October 2008 during a trip to New Orleans. I loved that riverboat cruise, being among the many barges that travel up and down one of the busiest stretches along the Mississippi, taking in the sites along the way... from areas still damaged after Hurricane Katrina to an oil refinery to the breathtaking view of the skyline as we approached downtown New Orleans.
Tuesday, the Jar of Fun made its first appearance in nearly three weeks, giving us perhaps the closest equivalent I'll find here in Central Pennsylvania - the Hiawatha Paddlewheel Riverboat and Williamsport Trolley Tour. Rich also made his first appearance on a Jar of Fun day, an unexpected surprise since I told him the night before that he was not allowed to influence the destination if he planned to tag along (he really wants the Whittaker Science Center in Harrisburg).
The hour-long cruise sails out of Susquehanna State Park four times a day (11:30, 1:00, 2:30, and 4:00) in June, July, and August. The tour's literature promises you'll learn what a Boom Rat is and how the Susquehanna River helped Williamsport become the richest city in America during the height of the Lumber Era, and it delivered on both counts... all for the low, low price of $7.50 for adults and $3.50 for kids (there are coupons on the website for $1.00 off each ticket, so it was $18.00 for four of us).
After the cruise, we took a tour on
the Williamsport Trolley. Trolley fares were $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children. The tour was a roughly 90-minute long ride through Williamsport’s areas of interest, including Millionaire’s Row (the beautiful homes built by the lumber barons during the city's Lumber Era). We also passed Memorial Park where the first Little League Baseball game was played and learned about how that first little league team was formed. I've had it in the back of my mind to take the kids to the Little League World Series all summer so it was fun to get a little of the history behind the organization. Especially now that Matt is expressing an interest in playing Pee Wee ball next spring!
We passed this mural somewhere along the tour... if you are from State College or you've at least been through downtown, you should recognize the artist (even if, like me, you don't know his name). You can see his local work on the side of SBS.
Another highlight of the tour (if you can really call it that) was a brief stop at the Peter Herdic Transportation Museum... and brief is really all you need here. Admission is included with the trolley tour. There's not much to see here - an old bus, an old coach, and a canoe inside... but outside, there's an old Pullman car that you could walk through and that was pretty neat. This particular car had a dining area, kitchen and a few sleeping rooms.
We've got a video that we've probably seen a hundred times by now called The Big Train Trip which follows two boys on a trip from Toronto to Vancouver on VIA Rail Canada. The kids have always had an interest in an overnight train ride, and the Pullman car put that front and center in their minds again... I'd love to do the Canadian trip, but I priced it out once at something like $10,000 (it may have been Canadian dollars, but that's still too expensive for a three-day train trip). So maybe we'll settle for the auto-train to Florida one day...
We had a great dinner at Paradise Cancun in Williamsport, played miniature golf at Hoopla's (outside the Lycoming Mall), and finished off the day with ice cream back at Amy's Frosty Freeze in Mifflinburg (you may recall we also stopped there after T&D's Cats of the World on Jar of Fun #2 day).
All in all, it was a good day. The kids really enjoyed the paddleboat ride and the trolley ride. And, they both crashed hard on the drive home, which I guess was to be expected since we were out of the house for more than 12 hours.
Now that the Jar of Fun is back in business, I'm already looking forward to whatever our next adventure might be...
One of the 'Places to Go' is a riverboat cruise on the mighty Mississippi River... something we did in October 2008 during a trip to New Orleans. I loved that riverboat cruise, being among the many barges that travel up and down one of the busiest stretches along the Mississippi, taking in the sites along the way... from areas still damaged after Hurricane Katrina to an oil refinery to the breathtaking view of the skyline as we approached downtown New Orleans.
Tuesday, the Jar of Fun made its first appearance in nearly three weeks, giving us perhaps the closest equivalent I'll find here in Central Pennsylvania - the Hiawatha Paddlewheel Riverboat and Williamsport Trolley Tour. Rich also made his first appearance on a Jar of Fun day, an unexpected surprise since I told him the night before that he was not allowed to influence the destination if he planned to tag along (he really wants the Whittaker Science Center in Harrisburg).
The hour-long cruise sails out of Susquehanna State Park four times a day (11:30, 1:00, 2:30, and 4:00) in June, July, and August. The tour's literature promises you'll learn what a Boom Rat is and how the Susquehanna River helped Williamsport become the richest city in America during the height of the Lumber Era, and it delivered on both counts... all for the low, low price of $7.50 for adults and $3.50 for kids (there are coupons on the website for $1.00 off each ticket, so it was $18.00 for four of us).
After the cruise, we took a tour on the Williamsport Trolley. Trolley fares were $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children. The tour was a roughly 90-minute long ride through Williamsport’s areas of interest, including Millionaire’s Row (the beautiful homes built by the lumber barons during the city's Lumber Era). We also passed Memorial Park where the first Little League Baseball game was played and learned about how that first little league team was formed. I've had it in the back of my mind to take the kids to the Little League World Series all summer so it was fun to get a little of the history behind the organization. Especially now that Matt is expressing an interest in playing Pee Wee ball next spring!
We passed this mural somewhere along the tour... if you are from State College or you've at least been through downtown, you should recognize the artist (even if, like me, you don't know his name). You can see his local work on the side of SBS.
Another highlight of the tour (if you can really call it that) was a brief stop at the Peter Herdic Transportation Museum... and brief is really all you need here. Admission is included with the trolley tour. There's not much to see here - an old bus, an old coach, and a canoe inside... but outside, there's an old Pullman car that you could walk through and that was pretty neat. This particular car had a dining area, kitchen and a few sleeping rooms.
We've got a video that we've probably seen a hundred times by now called The Big Train Trip which follows two boys on a trip from Toronto to Vancouver on VIA Rail Canada. The kids have always had an interest in an overnight train ride, and the Pullman car put that front and center in their minds again... I'd love to do the Canadian trip, but I priced it out once at something like $10,000 (it may have been Canadian dollars, but that's still too expensive for a three-day train trip). So maybe we'll settle for the auto-train to Florida one day...
 |
| I think this picture is pretty cool... |
All in all, it was a good day. The kids really enjoyed the paddleboat ride and the trolley ride. And, they both crashed hard on the drive home, which I guess was to be expected since we were out of the house for more than 12 hours.
Now that the Jar of Fun is back in business, I'm already looking forward to whatever our next adventure might be...
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Checking in at the half-way point
I am sitting in bed organizing the family social calendar - something I've been a little lax with the past few weeks. As I am doing that, I am starting to realize just how quickly the summer is passing by and how rapidly the new school year is approaching. We have bus orientation and a kindergarten assessment coming up in the next couple of weeks and the new school year is just over five weeks away.
Wow!!! Five weeks. Just five weeks until I put my baby girl, my youngest, on the school bus for the first time. Just five weeks until she starts kindergarten. As I talked about in 'Miracles', there was a time in my life when I was not sure we would celebrate this milestone with her. And now it is only 37 days away.
In early June, I compared the summer to a marathon (you can read the blog post here). I said "... it's a long event (according to Phineas and Ferb "there's a 104 days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end it...") and when it's all said and done, I imagine it will completely wipe me out."
Now that we are more than half-way through it, it's a good time to sit back and talk about how things are going.
No doubt, the kids and I have been incredibly busy. Probably a little too busy... but this is likely the only summer I will ever have where I can spend this kind of time with them and I want to enjoy every minute of it. Surprisingly for how busy we have been, we've only reached into the Jar of Fun three times (Repitland, T&D's Cat of the World, and Lakemont Park). Those other outings? All planned.
I'm having a great time, and I hope that they are too. Last weekend aside, we've made some great memories and I am looking forward to making more over the next five weeks. The Jar of Fun will finally make its return this week and there are some fun activities coming up in August... some local things like Ag Progress Days, Grange Fair, and 'Penn State Day' (when we'll bike around campus and visit the All-Sports Museum, the Arboretum, the Creamery, etc.) and quite possibly some not-so-local things like the Little League World Series, or NFL training camps (if such things exist this year). We're also thinking about a short trip to the beach and are hoping to get back to Citizen's Bank Park for my birthday.
As the summer starts winding down, I know I need to get very serious and very focused on my job search again. For as much as I have loved the time with the kids, I am ready to head back to work. I believe that full-time wife and mother is one of the most difficult career paths and I'm pretty sure it's not for me (If we are Facebook friends, you know that I have also ruled out wall-paper scrapper, painter, baker, photographer, and truck driver over the last seven months).
But have no fear - just past the half-way point of our "Summer of Fun", I think we are all still full of enough energy to finish the race.
Wow!!! Five weeks. Just five weeks until I put my baby girl, my youngest, on the school bus for the first time. Just five weeks until she starts kindergarten. As I talked about in 'Miracles', there was a time in my life when I was not sure we would celebrate this milestone with her. And now it is only 37 days away.
In early June, I compared the summer to a marathon (you can read the blog post here). I said "... it's a long event (according to Phineas and Ferb "there's a 104 days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end it...") and when it's all said and done, I imagine it will completely wipe me out."
Now that we are more than half-way through it, it's a good time to sit back and talk about how things are going.
No doubt, the kids and I have been incredibly busy. Probably a little too busy... but this is likely the only summer I will ever have where I can spend this kind of time with them and I want to enjoy every minute of it. Surprisingly for how busy we have been, we've only reached into the Jar of Fun three times (Repitland, T&D's Cat of the World, and Lakemont Park). Those other outings? All planned.
I'm having a great time, and I hope that they are too. Last weekend aside, we've made some great memories and I am looking forward to making more over the next five weeks. The Jar of Fun will finally make its return this week and there are some fun activities coming up in August... some local things like Ag Progress Days, Grange Fair, and 'Penn State Day' (when we'll bike around campus and visit the All-Sports Museum, the Arboretum, the Creamery, etc.) and quite possibly some not-so-local things like the Little League World Series, or NFL training camps (if such things exist this year). We're also thinking about a short trip to the beach and are hoping to get back to Citizen's Bank Park for my birthday.
As the summer starts winding down, I know I need to get very serious and very focused on my job search again. For as much as I have loved the time with the kids, I am ready to head back to work. I believe that full-time wife and mother is one of the most difficult career paths and I'm pretty sure it's not for me (If we are Facebook friends, you know that I have also ruled out wall-paper scrapper, painter, baker, photographer, and truck driver over the last seven months).
But have no fear - just past the half-way point of our "Summer of Fun", I think we are all still full of enough energy to finish the race.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Even bad days sometimes end well
My brother Bob might point out to me that I am off subject with today's blog entry, but I'd argue that he's wrong. Even though the story itself isn't directly about the kids, their lives could easily have been so profoundly different today than they were just a week ago, so this story is totally about them - about what they have and what they could have lost.
A week ago, Rich flew back from a business trip to Alaska; the next morning, we left for Erie and the 32nd annual Presque Isle Half-Marathon. I've been inspired by his discipline in training, in awe of the speed he has in covering such a long distance. Having run one of these myself, I know that it's no easy feat to prepare for or run one and I was excited for him and what he was about to accomplish.
As has been the case for much of the past two weeks, it was hot and humid on race day, but with the start time set for 7:30am, the runners would avoid the worst of the day's temperatures. I didn't run the half itself, but I did run for close to an hour before heading over to watch the runners finish. No doubt that even at this early hour, it was hot.
Rich had been having problems with his lower leg the last few weeks of his training program and certainly had some jet lag to contend with, but he planned to run an eight minute pace - something he was conditioned for and perfectly capable of doing... I expected him to cross the finish line somewhere around 1:45 to 1:50.
That time came and went. I thought his leg must have been bothering him more than he let on early in the day. I was surprised that he still hadn't crossed at the 2:00 mark... by 2:15, I was concerned. And that is when my cell phone let me know that I had a voice message.
Within minutes, I was on my way to the Emergency Room at Hamot Medical Center, knowing only that Rich had passed out during the race but was now answering questions appropriately.
When I got there, he was a mess... there's just no other way to say it. He was hot (103 degrees), covered with ice packs (and lots and lots of sand), four liters of IV fluids pouring into two IV sites, alternating between throwing up and dry heaves. And his memory was shot, though in many ways, that is a good thing. I wouldn't want to remember that either.
The very unsurprising diagnosis: heat stroke.
As the fluids in his body were replenished (he got over nine liters before his discharge), his temperature came down, the dry heaves went away (though that probably had something to do with the very expensive medicine they gave him for nausea), his ability to recall both short-term and long-term details got much, much better. Within an hour of my arrival, he was like a different person.
Some people show signs of heat exhaustion before progressing to heat stroke: things like nausea and vomiting, weakness, fatigue, cramping, dizziness. He had none of these. In fact, he told me later that he remembers thinking he had about 10 minutes left to run (meaning he was about 1 1/4 miles out) and felt good enough that he planned to pick up the pace a little as he was closing in on the finish line.
He never had a dry mouth, never stopped sweating, had no alterations in his mental status (at least not until he hit the ground). I read after the fact that some people can develop symptoms of heat stroke suddenly and without warning and that was clearly the case for my husband. I find it pretty scary to think that he could get into that kind of trouble without any warning.
The reality of the situation is that heat stroke is a true medical emergency that is often fatal if not properly and promptly treated. And so I am grateful to the race officials and Millcreek paramedics who treated Rich in the field and got him to the hospital. I'm grateful to doctors and nurses who took care of him, got him re-hydrated, got his temperature down. I'm grateful to my mother-in-law who looked after my kids so I could be where I needed to be.
Once Rich was stabilized and ready to be transferred to a room (elevated cardiac enzymes from muscle breakdown, strain on the kidneys, etc. buys you an overnight on the cardiac floor, just in case it's something more), I went back to my in-law's house to shower, see the kids and give them a chance to come down and see that their daddy was OK. Matt came along but Cathy didn't want to... Rich and I both wonder if that has anything to do with her own medical experiences the last five years?
Of all the images I have from the weekend, here's the one that I hope will always stick with me: Matt curled up in bed next to Rich, head on his shoulder and watching TV. Matt is still always affectionate with me, but not often with Rich and there was just something so sweet in that moment.
I'm interested to see how this experience changes Rich. I see that he has a different appreciation for things now than he might have even a week ago, that he recognizes that life is short and fragile. And I hope he knows that I appreciate the conversations and the things that he's told me since.
Last Sunday would have been my dad's 84th birthday. I like to think that if someone in heaven was looking out for Rich on that day, maybe it was Dad, looking out for his family.
Thanks, Dad.
A week ago, Rich flew back from a business trip to Alaska; the next morning, we left for Erie and the 32nd annual Presque Isle Half-Marathon. I've been inspired by his discipline in training, in awe of the speed he has in covering such a long distance. Having run one of these myself, I know that it's no easy feat to prepare for or run one and I was excited for him and what he was about to accomplish.
As has been the case for much of the past two weeks, it was hot and humid on race day, but with the start time set for 7:30am, the runners would avoid the worst of the day's temperatures. I didn't run the half itself, but I did run for close to an hour before heading over to watch the runners finish. No doubt that even at this early hour, it was hot.
Rich had been having problems with his lower leg the last few weeks of his training program and certainly had some jet lag to contend with, but he planned to run an eight minute pace - something he was conditioned for and perfectly capable of doing... I expected him to cross the finish line somewhere around 1:45 to 1:50.
That time came and went. I thought his leg must have been bothering him more than he let on early in the day. I was surprised that he still hadn't crossed at the 2:00 mark... by 2:15, I was concerned. And that is when my cell phone let me know that I had a voice message.
Within minutes, I was on my way to the Emergency Room at Hamot Medical Center, knowing only that Rich had passed out during the race but was now answering questions appropriately.
When I got there, he was a mess... there's just no other way to say it. He was hot (103 degrees), covered with ice packs (and lots and lots of sand), four liters of IV fluids pouring into two IV sites, alternating between throwing up and dry heaves. And his memory was shot, though in many ways, that is a good thing. I wouldn't want to remember that either.
The very unsurprising diagnosis: heat stroke.
As the fluids in his body were replenished (he got over nine liters before his discharge), his temperature came down, the dry heaves went away (though that probably had something to do with the very expensive medicine they gave him for nausea), his ability to recall both short-term and long-term details got much, much better. Within an hour of my arrival, he was like a different person.
Some people show signs of heat exhaustion before progressing to heat stroke: things like nausea and vomiting, weakness, fatigue, cramping, dizziness. He had none of these. In fact, he told me later that he remembers thinking he had about 10 minutes left to run (meaning he was about 1 1/4 miles out) and felt good enough that he planned to pick up the pace a little as he was closing in on the finish line.
He never had a dry mouth, never stopped sweating, had no alterations in his mental status (at least not until he hit the ground). I read after the fact that some people can develop symptoms of heat stroke suddenly and without warning and that was clearly the case for my husband. I find it pretty scary to think that he could get into that kind of trouble without any warning.
The reality of the situation is that heat stroke is a true medical emergency that is often fatal if not properly and promptly treated. And so I am grateful to the race officials and Millcreek paramedics who treated Rich in the field and got him to the hospital. I'm grateful to doctors and nurses who took care of him, got him re-hydrated, got his temperature down. I'm grateful to my mother-in-law who looked after my kids so I could be where I needed to be.
Once Rich was stabilized and ready to be transferred to a room (elevated cardiac enzymes from muscle breakdown, strain on the kidneys, etc. buys you an overnight on the cardiac floor, just in case it's something more), I went back to my in-law's house to shower, see the kids and give them a chance to come down and see that their daddy was OK. Matt came along but Cathy didn't want to... Rich and I both wonder if that has anything to do with her own medical experiences the last five years?
Of all the images I have from the weekend, here's the one that I hope will always stick with me: Matt curled up in bed next to Rich, head on his shoulder and watching TV. Matt is still always affectionate with me, but not often with Rich and there was just something so sweet in that moment.
I'm interested to see how this experience changes Rich. I see that he has a different appreciation for things now than he might have even a week ago, that he recognizes that life is short and fragile. And I hope he knows that I appreciate the conversations and the things that he's told me since.
Last Sunday would have been my dad's 84th birthday. I like to think that if someone in heaven was looking out for Rich on that day, maybe it was Dad, looking out for his family.
Thanks, Dad.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Hands-on House Children's Museum - Lancaster, PA
The last stop on our "Daddy's out of town, so we should be too" tour was the Hands-on House Children's Museum in Lancaster, a destination I chose in part because it was (sort of) on the way home and also because it participates with the ACM Reciprocal Program. It was the one place on this trip where I had never been and I was excited to check out someplace new.
Museum hours are 10:00am to 5:00pm, though we got there fairly late (thanks to a late, late night with my friend Barb and too many glasses of wine the night before). Admission is $8.50 each, regardless of age, so the Pittsburgh Children's Museum Membership saved me $25.50
This is exactly the kind of place that I wish we had in State College and I often wonder if this is what Centre Grounds has in mind as they continue to look for a permanent space for the under five crowd. 
In some ways it is like a scaled back version of the Please Touch Museum, but with some agricultural and manufacturing themes thrown in. The kids got to pick corn, feed it to the pigs, deliver it to different end-users (such as grocery stores and restaurants), collect eggs, and milk cows. In the manufacturing facility, they created what felt like hundreds of whatcha-ma-giggles using an assembly line, packaged it for shipping and did maintenance on parts. In reality, it was probably only dozens of them. 
There was a face painting station where Cathy did her own art work, while Matt asked me if I could make him look like a lion, which he sort of did. My art skills aren't quite what they used to be.
I am happy to report that it came off pretty easily... was so afraid that my little girl (who looked surprisingly like something out of the movie Avatar) would be blue for days! I lucked out - she decided to wash her face even before we left the museum, though I did still have the little lion with me when we went out for dinner before the long drive home.
Although we didn't play there, the museum had a room with trunks full of dress-up clothes, a tree house where kids could make foam birds to sail through the hallway, and a track to race cars that they put together themselves... It also had a very nice outside play area and the kids were able to go 'birdwatching' with binoculars and fake birds throughout the yard.
Overall, I really liked this place and I could easily spend a few hours there again another day. If nothing else, it's not terribly far out of the way on a drive home from Philadelphia and it's a nice way to break up an otherwise long drive for the kids!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The Franklin Institute
Continuing on our tour of Southeastern PA museums, we went to the Franklin Institute on Wednesday. Because the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh is part of the Association of Science-Technology Centers, our membership there gets us admission to both the Franklin Institute and the Academy of Natural Sciences (though we did not go there this time) in Philadelphia, as well as a few other locations in Allentown, Reading and Lancaster - all coming later this year or early in 2012!
Typical admission to the Franklin Institute is $15.50 per adult and $12.00 per child. Today we brought my sister-in-law, Stella, nephew, Danny and niece, Lucy with us. Two adults, four kids... total cost? $15.00 for parking. I am loving this museum membership thing... I think it will turn out to be one of my best ideas of the summer!
I remember going to the Franklin Institute on school trips back in my catholic school days, learning about stars and constellations in the planetarium, riding the locomotive on the ground floor and walking through the heart, over and over. I always loved those trips... even loved going as an adult. So I was pretty excited to be taking the kids.
Just like with the Please Touch Museum the day before, the Franklin Institute was swarming with school groups... remembering how most amusement parks fill from the front to back, I hoped if we started on the top floor we might avoid some of the early crowds but had no such luck. We began with a photo exhibit of Walden Woods in different seasons - each piece more breathtaking than the last. Eventually, we wanders into the Sports Challenge exhibit, which, after going to the Carnegie Science Center and Highmark SportsWorks in Pittsburgh was a little disappointing... even so, the kids had a chance to score soccer goals, pitch baseballs, climb a rock wall, and test their reaction times in a race car.
We spent lots of time with the Giant Heart exhibit... which was just as I remembered. The kids, minus my nephew, loved running through the heart. Cathy even managed to sneak away when I wasn't looking for an extra trip through. It was here learned that Cathy and I together, plus my very heavy purse of kid crap, have about 22 cups of blood in our bodies. Who knows when that sort of information can come in handy???
By early afternoon, Stella and the kids left for nap time and we were joined by both the Schaffer family (yes, they really came out with us four days in a row) and the Tantum family.
It was great to have Maddie, Emma and Will join in on the fun and the seven kids had a great time running through the heart, playing electricity games, learning about space, and riding the giant locomotive.
There's a pretty cool exhibit for kids ages 5-8 on the ground floor: Kid Science. Since our entire group fell into this age range, it was a perfect place to spend time. The exhibit has a two-story lighthouse, a sailboat (where kids could experiment with air), a walk- through cave, lasers, and lots of water, all of which are designed to illustrate sound, movement, geology, and reflection. The kids had a blast here.
This is another success in what is turning out to be a pretty busy, adventurous summer. We had barely made it out to the parking lot before Matt asked if we could go back again... I'm all for it; there are exhibits that we did not have a chance to see even though we spent over six hours there.
I am currently sitting next to Matt to write this entry while he watches Star Wars (one of my all-time favorites) for the first time and asked him what his favorite thing at the Franklin Institute was... without hestitation, he told me it was the train ride. I guess that is typical for a boy to say.
It makes me hope that the Horseshoe Curve and Railroaders Museum come out of the Jar of Fun soon! I think both kids will enjoy that (and it's only 40 miles down the road)!
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| Goofy faces in the lobby |
I remember going to the Franklin Institute on school trips back in my catholic school days, learning about stars and constellations in the planetarium, riding the locomotive on the ground floor and walking through the heart, over and over. I always loved those trips... even loved going as an adult. So I was pretty excited to be taking the kids.
We spent lots of time with the Giant Heart exhibit... which was just as I remembered. The kids, minus my nephew, loved running through the heart. Cathy even managed to sneak away when I wasn't looking for an extra trip through. It was here learned that Cathy and I together, plus my very heavy purse of kid crap, have about 22 cups of blood in our bodies. Who knows when that sort of information can come in handy???
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| My baby, sitting on a clogged artery! |
By early afternoon, Stella and the kids left for nap time and we were joined by both the Schaffer family (yes, they really came out with us four days in a row) and the Tantum family.
It was great to have Maddie, Emma and Will join in on the fun and the seven kids had a great time running through the heart, playing electricity games, learning about space, and riding the giant locomotive.
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| All the kids (minus Cathy) watching the pendulum swing! |
There's a pretty cool exhibit for kids ages 5-8 on the ground floor: Kid Science. Since our entire group fell into this age range, it was a perfect place to spend time. The exhibit has a two-story lighthouse, a sailboat (where kids could experiment with air), a walk- through cave, lasers, and lots of water, all of which are designed to illustrate sound, movement, geology, and reflection. The kids had a blast here.This is another success in what is turning out to be a pretty busy, adventurous summer. We had barely made it out to the parking lot before Matt asked if we could go back again... I'm all for it; there are exhibits that we did not have a chance to see even though we spent over six hours there.
I am currently sitting next to Matt to write this entry while he watches Star Wars (one of my all-time favorites) for the first time and asked him what his favorite thing at the Franklin Institute was... without hestitation, he told me it was the train ride. I guess that is typical for a boy to say.
It makes me hope that the Horseshoe Curve and Railroaders Museum come out of the Jar of Fun soon! I think both kids will enjoy that (and it's only 40 miles down the road)!
Please Touch Museum - Philadelphia, PA
Now that we are (finally) back home, I'm hoping to get caught up on our summer adventures... and there have been lots in the last week. So, let's get to it.
Last Tuesday, the kids and I went to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia which is by far my favorite children's museum to date. It relocated to Fairmount Park roughly two years ago and while I was never at the previous location, I am told (to put it kindly) that the museum was in need of some updates and the move to Memorial Hall enabled them to do just that quite nicely.
The museum participates in the ACM reciprocal program (hence the membership upgrade when we joined the Pittsburgh Children's Museum last month) and covers up to four admissions to the museum (a $60 value). All I had to do was pay the $8 for parking. Only six weeks into it and we're approaching our break-even point for the membership... at this point, it's less than 24 hours away!!!
The museum's website offers a great tip about when to visit and I probably should have looked at this before leaving Mom's place on Tuesday morning. They recommend afternoons, once the school groups have cleared from the building or on Mondays when no groups are scheduled. That's fantastic advice; we got there around 11:00 while the museum was SWARMING with kids, making it a little difficult to keep track of two highly energetic little ones on my own. But by 2:00, most of the groups had cleared out and it was much easier for the kids to play!
The Schaffer family continued to join us on our adventures and it was so much fun watching the four kids play together!
Just like our first visit two years ago, the grocery store is still our favorite location... at least if you judge that by the time we spent there. The kids literally spent over an hour shopping, putting groceries away, restocking shelves and checking other kids out at the register. Every time I leave, I think I should save our empty cans and boxes and create a store at home and maybe I will finally get around to doing that (yeah, right).
Overall, this continues to be one of my favorite places to take the kids. It's clean, it's safe, it holds their attention for hours. And, most importantly given last week's HOT temperatures, it's air conditioned. I wish we had something like it here in State College... or pretty much anything appropriate for small kids. That was the one thing I struggled with through the winter of unemployment when it was too cold or snowy to get outside much. With Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania set to open soon, maybe we'll have someplace age appropriate AND close to home... what a novel concept!!!
Matt tells me that the River Adventure was his favorite (though he spent surprisingly little time there) while Cathy said the best part of was shopping for "stuff". Both kids gave Please Touch Museum their highest rating. The oldest in our crowd was eight and he still seemed to have a really enjoyable time, though I am not sure I would recommend the place for kids much past that age. If your kids are younger, there are several areas specifically designed for the under 3 crowd.
If you are local to the Philadelphia area, a membership is probably your best bet... it's an expensive outing for just one day. Even coming from Central PA, with family in the city, I know we'll get back at least one or two more times before our membership expires in early June.
And, I'll bet we shop the day away when we get there.
Last Tuesday, the kids and I went to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia which is by far my favorite children's museum to date. It relocated to Fairmount Park roughly two years ago and while I was never at the previous location, I am told (to put it kindly) that the museum was in need of some updates and the move to Memorial Hall enabled them to do just that quite nicely.
The museum participates in the ACM reciprocal program (hence the membership upgrade when we joined the Pittsburgh Children's Museum last month) and covers up to four admissions to the museum (a $60 value). All I had to do was pay the $8 for parking. Only six weeks into it and we're approaching our break-even point for the membership... at this point, it's less than 24 hours away!!! |
| Love my safari girl! |
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| Cathy |
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| Katherine |
Overall, this continues to be one of my favorite places to take the kids. It's clean, it's safe, it holds their attention for hours. And, most importantly given last week's HOT temperatures, it's air conditioned. I wish we had something like it here in State College... or pretty much anything appropriate for small kids. That was the one thing I struggled with through the winter of unemployment when it was too cold or snowy to get outside much. With Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania set to open soon, maybe we'll have someplace age appropriate AND close to home... what a novel concept!!!
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| Nicholas, Katherine, Matt and Cathy - my favorite picture of the day!!! |
Matt tells me that the River Adventure was his favorite (though he spent surprisingly little time there) while Cathy said the best part of was shopping for "stuff". Both kids gave Please Touch Museum their highest rating. The oldest in our crowd was eight and he still seemed to have a really enjoyable time, though I am not sure I would recommend the place for kids much past that age. If your kids are younger, there are several areas specifically designed for the under 3 crowd.
If you are local to the Philadelphia area, a membership is probably your best bet... it's an expensive outing for just one day. Even coming from Central PA, with family in the city, I know we'll get back at least one or two more times before our membership expires in early June.
And, I'll bet we shop the day away when we get there.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Our mid-summer staycation, Part 1 (aka Kutztown Folk Festival and Lehigh Valley Zoo)
I have always been intrigued by the term "staycation". The concept became pretty popular a few years ago when the stock market crashed and the reality of a new economy took hold. As gas prices rose and real income dropped, vacation dollars were scratched from budgets all across the country - ours included.
The word, defined as 'a holiday in which leisure activities are pursued while staying in one's own home', was added to the Webster's dictionary in 2009... that same year we set off on a staycation of our own, spending the better part of a summer's week in Erie, PA with my in-laws, enjoying many of the activities that a home by Lake Erie offers by day, sleeping at Nana and Pap's house each night.
With Rich spending the week in Alaska for work (and at $1600 per plane ticket, a totally out-of-reach tag-along opportunity for the three of us), Matt, Cathy and I found our own fun much closer to home.
First up - the Kutztown Folk Festival ($14 for adults, kids under 12 were free and I am told there were coupons available for $3 off each adult admission), one of the things we used to do with my parents growing up (Gettysburg, Ocean City, NJ, and Luray Caverns in VA also stand out in my mind though they weren't a part of this trip). I remember the festival as being more about a way of life. Now it strikes me as more of a craft show. And since I come from Central PA and the always fantastic Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, other crafts shows are a huge disappointment for me. In fact, the only 'art' I even looked at was something that friends were purchasing for their kids.
There were some glimpses of that older way of life - we watched as kernels of corn were removed from the cob - both by kids hands and by old farm equipment, we watched as barley was separated from hay, we watched a very talented gentleman make a beautiful glass pitcher in a matter of minutes, we fed small farm animals and learned about how wash was done before the invention of the washing machine. We added to the kid's mural and made crafts for Grammy. I enjoyed all of these things and I think the kids did to.
Interestingly, my clearest memory of long-ago trips to the festival involves pigs. Specifically, butchering them. I don't think they do that anymore (I didn't see it anywhere) which is probably a good thing considering the age of the kids and the fact that I would like them to keep eating all the yummy things the butcher makes from the pig.
Speaking of food, I think the festival would have been a little better if I had kids who were interested in eating something more exotic than hot dogs or french fries - they had what looked like a great variety of German/PA Dutch foods and I'll bet they were all delicious. Maybe the next time we go we can take better advantage of that... I don't know when that will be, but I am pretty sure it won't be any time soon. If I want to take a trip into the past, I'm heading back to Colonial Williamsburg.
The next morning, the kids and I met a friend and her two kids (including my godson) at the Lehigh Valley Zoo, (adults $9.75, children $7.75) which I remember as the Trexler Game Preserve from a class trip somewhere during my catholic school days. I honestly remembered very little about the zoo - mainly the prairie dogs. And this time around, with temperatures hovering near a thousand degrees (well, not really a thousand but easily approaching 100) the prairie dogs were smart enough to hide in their underground tunnels.
One of my favorite things here is that they're really focused on educating visitors about the animals; you can find an employee or intern by just about every exhibit and they will happily share what they know about the animals with you. Among the highlights of the trip - watching the staff feed the penguins, feeding the Lorikeets nectar from a cup, and digging for bones in the children's section of the zoo.
If I were to compare it to other zoo's I've been to, I would have to put it down toward the bottom of the list just because I have seen some great zoos (San Diego Zoo, Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, National Zoo, Philadelphia Zoo). This is probably the first zoo I have taken the kids to where I wasn't in danger of being pushed back out through the gates because it was closing time. Still, we spent over four hours at the zoo, which was longer than I expected based on feedback I'd gotten from friends who had been there.
I spent Monday night with my parents...so getting back from the zoo early gave me a chance to head out and do a little child-free shopping and some extra time to spend with people that I love but don't see as often as I'd like.
What could be better than that?
The word, defined as 'a holiday in which leisure activities are pursued while staying in one's own home', was added to the Webster's dictionary in 2009... that same year we set off on a staycation of our own, spending the better part of a summer's week in Erie, PA with my in-laws, enjoying many of the activities that a home by Lake Erie offers by day, sleeping at Nana and Pap's house each night.
With Rich spending the week in Alaska for work (and at $1600 per plane ticket, a totally out-of-reach tag-along opportunity for the three of us), Matt, Cathy and I found our own fun much closer to home.
First up - the Kutztown Folk Festival ($14 for adults, kids under 12 were free and I am told there were coupons available for $3 off each adult admission), one of the things we used to do with my parents growing up (Gettysburg, Ocean City, NJ, and Luray Caverns in VA also stand out in my mind though they weren't a part of this trip). I remember the festival as being more about a way of life. Now it strikes me as more of a craft show. And since I come from Central PA and the always fantastic Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, other crafts shows are a huge disappointment for me. In fact, the only 'art' I even looked at was something that friends were purchasing for their kids.
There were some glimpses of that older way of life - we watched as kernels of corn were removed from the cob - both by kids hands and by old farm equipment, we watched as barley was separated from hay, we watched a very talented gentleman make a beautiful glass pitcher in a matter of minutes, we fed small farm animals and learned about how wash was done before the invention of the washing machine. We added to the kid's mural and made crafts for Grammy. I enjoyed all of these things and I think the kids did to.
Interestingly, my clearest memory of long-ago trips to the festival involves pigs. Specifically, butchering them. I don't think they do that anymore (I didn't see it anywhere) which is probably a good thing considering the age of the kids and the fact that I would like them to keep eating all the yummy things the butcher makes from the pig.
Speaking of food, I think the festival would have been a little better if I had kids who were interested in eating something more exotic than hot dogs or french fries - they had what looked like a great variety of German/PA Dutch foods and I'll bet they were all delicious. Maybe the next time we go we can take better advantage of that... I don't know when that will be, but I am pretty sure it won't be any time soon. If I want to take a trip into the past, I'm heading back to Colonial Williamsburg.
The next morning, the kids and I met a friend and her two kids (including my godson) at the Lehigh Valley Zoo, (adults $9.75, children $7.75) which I remember as the Trexler Game Preserve from a class trip somewhere during my catholic school days. I honestly remembered very little about the zoo - mainly the prairie dogs. And this time around, with temperatures hovering near a thousand degrees (well, not really a thousand but easily approaching 100) the prairie dogs were smart enough to hide in their underground tunnels.
One of my favorite things here is that they're really focused on educating visitors about the animals; you can find an employee or intern by just about every exhibit and they will happily share what they know about the animals with you. Among the highlights of the trip - watching the staff feed the penguins, feeding the Lorikeets nectar from a cup, and digging for bones in the children's section of the zoo.
If I were to compare it to other zoo's I've been to, I would have to put it down toward the bottom of the list just because I have seen some great zoos (San Diego Zoo, Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, National Zoo, Philadelphia Zoo). This is probably the first zoo I have taken the kids to where I wasn't in danger of being pushed back out through the gates because it was closing time. Still, we spent over four hours at the zoo, which was longer than I expected based on feedback I'd gotten from friends who had been there.
I spent Monday night with my parents...so getting back from the zoo early gave me a chance to head out and do a little child-free shopping and some extra time to spend with people that I love but don't see as often as I'd like.
What could be better than that?
Thursday, July 14, 2011
A walk down memory lane...
I feel a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz (minus the ruby red slippers, of course). Having spent the last five days in southeastern PA, sleeping in three different beds over the last four nights, I keep repeating to myself, over and over, "there's no place like home, there's no place like home..."
The kids and I have been moving non-stop since Sunday, indulging me in a little nostalgia... some of which was much better than I remembered and some of it failed to live up to my idealized memories. Even so, it was a fun, exhausting trip and one I am glad I was able to share with my kids!
My step-father is going to retire at the end of this month and my parents will finally, after a dozen years, move to the farm they own in Potter County. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am for them, how well-deserved this retirement is. But at the same time, I am a little sad. I still think of East Greenville as home; I still think of the guest room as my room, even though I haven't lived there in nearly 20 years. I have such great memories: birthday parties and graduation parties, family Christmas with my brothers and their families, hockey nights, when we'd have a group of friends over to watch Flyers games on PRISM back when I bled orange and black. When my biggest worry was which Dave was really the better hockey player... Poulin or Brown?
There's no moving date yet, but it will be sooner rather than later and it's possible that I've slept in the home I grew up in for the last time. And so I wonder - where will "home" be once my parents move... it's not like they are moving down the street; they are moving half-way across the state. What will I say when I go to visit my parents at the farm? In Potter County? I won't be going home anymore, just to their house for a visit. It's still a little weird for me.
Since I wanted to have one last chance to go home, I planned to do some things with the kids that we haven't done before and I will blog about each of those in more detail another night (or two or three), when I am not so tired.
For now I will simply say that I had a great week with the kids. I've mostly grown tired of unemployment but this summer continues to be a gift and I am so very grateful for the opportunity to spend this time with them, to show them things that were a part of my childhood (things like the Kutztown Folk Festival, the Lehigh Valley Zoo and the Franklin Institute). When the summer is over, I plan to have the blog printed and bound, giving us a very detailed look back at our summer. Maybe when the kids are 16 and they hate me for whatever awful things I am sure I will one day do to them, I can pull this off the shelf and remind them about all the great things I did for them and with them when they were young.
There is way more good than bad in the week. It was fantastic to catch up with friends I haven't seen in a while, great for the kids to have play mates on all but our last outing today, nice to have some adult conversations in a week where I otherwise might not have had enough of it.
We are only home for a day before we need to pack the car back up and head to Erie (where Rich will be running the Presque Isle Half Marathon on Sunday). He's worked hard to train and in some ways I am glad that my knee has prevented me over the last month from training the way I would have needed to train. His long-distance pace is almost two minutes per mile faster than mine... I am still a HUGE fan of the 'conversational pace' Coach Shubert used to talk each track season. Two hours to talk with friends is a big part of what makes distance running fun for a girl who never ran farther than a 400M when I was young. But Rich is competitive. And he deserves to run at his pace and to enjoy the accomplishment of what he's about to do.
So there you have it... a little glimpse into my walk down memory lane tonight. Hope you enjoyed the stroll.
The kids and I have been moving non-stop since Sunday, indulging me in a little nostalgia... some of which was much better than I remembered and some of it failed to live up to my idealized memories. Even so, it was a fun, exhausting trip and one I am glad I was able to share with my kids!
My step-father is going to retire at the end of this month and my parents will finally, after a dozen years, move to the farm they own in Potter County. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am for them, how well-deserved this retirement is. But at the same time, I am a little sad. I still think of East Greenville as home; I still think of the guest room as my room, even though I haven't lived there in nearly 20 years. I have such great memories: birthday parties and graduation parties, family Christmas with my brothers and their families, hockey nights, when we'd have a group of friends over to watch Flyers games on PRISM back when I bled orange and black. When my biggest worry was which Dave was really the better hockey player... Poulin or Brown?
There's no moving date yet, but it will be sooner rather than later and it's possible that I've slept in the home I grew up in for the last time. And so I wonder - where will "home" be once my parents move... it's not like they are moving down the street; they are moving half-way across the state. What will I say when I go to visit my parents at the farm? In Potter County? I won't be going home anymore, just to their house for a visit. It's still a little weird for me.
Since I wanted to have one last chance to go home, I planned to do some things with the kids that we haven't done before and I will blog about each of those in more detail another night (or two or three), when I am not so tired.
For now I will simply say that I had a great week with the kids. I've mostly grown tired of unemployment but this summer continues to be a gift and I am so very grateful for the opportunity to spend this time with them, to show them things that were a part of my childhood (things like the Kutztown Folk Festival, the Lehigh Valley Zoo and the Franklin Institute). When the summer is over, I plan to have the blog printed and bound, giving us a very detailed look back at our summer. Maybe when the kids are 16 and they hate me for whatever awful things I am sure I will one day do to them, I can pull this off the shelf and remind them about all the great things I did for them and with them when they were young.
There is way more good than bad in the week. It was fantastic to catch up with friends I haven't seen in a while, great for the kids to have play mates on all but our last outing today, nice to have some adult conversations in a week where I otherwise might not have had enough of it.
We are only home for a day before we need to pack the car back up and head to Erie (where Rich will be running the Presque Isle Half Marathon on Sunday). He's worked hard to train and in some ways I am glad that my knee has prevented me over the last month from training the way I would have needed to train. His long-distance pace is almost two minutes per mile faster than mine... I am still a HUGE fan of the 'conversational pace' Coach Shubert used to talk each track season. Two hours to talk with friends is a big part of what makes distance running fun for a girl who never ran farther than a 400M when I was young. But Rich is competitive. And he deserves to run at his pace and to enjoy the accomplishment of what he's about to do.
So there you have it... a little glimpse into my walk down memory lane tonight. Hope you enjoyed the stroll.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Day 29 - Slinky Action Zone (again)
I was thinking today about my very first 'boyfriend' - David Brickley. He lived up the street from my parents and we were inseparable through nursery school and kindergarten. Things cooled off when my parents divorced and Mom, Bob, and I moved in with my grandmother; the relationship ended completely when his family moved to New Jersey around the time we turned eight. We reconnected the year we graduated from college and I am happy to say that we still keep in touch.
I was thinking about him today because we were supposed to go out to Bald Eagle State Park with Matt's friend Leslie and her mom and sister. Matt and Leslie were the inseparable friends of early childhood and while she seemed to move on to other boys when the two went off to different elementary schools this year, now that we've had a few play dates this summer, I see glimpses of that spark again. While we parents joke and refer to the kids as our in-laws, I don't really expect them to marry. What I do expect though is that they'll have that special memory of each other for the rest of their lives and I think that is sweet.
Unfortunately, a rainy Central PA forecast ruined our beach date and so I was left scrambling to find an alternative activity for the kids today - what kind of aunt would I be if I let Kayleen just sit in the house all day??? That would surely shatter the ADHD illusion my brother Bob has of me...
Matt and Cathy both suggested Slinky Action Zone, previously of day 4 fame, so we were off to Altoona for the second time in three days.
Friday is a good day to head down to Slinky Action Zone... from 11am to 4pm (and for just $8 per kid), we got unlimited laser tag, bumper cars, bounce houses and soft play (the climbers and slides). The downside of course is that it was a rainy day in Central PA and so it was more crowded than I have ever seen it. Even so, the wait for things like the bumper cars or a game of laser tag was pretty reasonable - never more than five minutes or so. And I can happily report that we had none of the drama of that last visit. Maybe it's the good influence of that almost 10-year old I've got with me this week (Bob, if you are reading this, I am NOT bringing her back).
We're taking a break from the Jar of Fun next week. But we'll be as busy as ever - Kutztown Folk Festival on Sunday, Lehigh Valley Zoo on Monday, Please Touch Museum on Tuesday, Franklin Institute on Wednesday, and Hands-on House Children's Museum in Lancaster on the way back home Thursday (we may as well make good use of the membership we bought when we visited the Pittsburgh Children's Museum last month). I promise to blog about our adventures but I do not promise to be very timely in getting them posted...
I'll get to it once we get back home from Erie, where I hope Rich runs the Presque Isle Half Marathon (he's fighting a lower-leg injury). I wish I were running it, but I am still struggling a little with my Warrior Wound, aka my left knee, and haven't been out for more than six miles since the 10-mile Broad Street Run on May 1. And while I think I could cover the distance, it would be a struggle at best. Instead, I may focus my attention on some shorter distances and then work toward the Nittany Valley Half Marathon late this year.
Anyway, stay tuned and have a great week!
I was thinking about him today because we were supposed to go out to Bald Eagle State Park with Matt's friend Leslie and her mom and sister. Matt and Leslie were the inseparable friends of early childhood and while she seemed to move on to other boys when the two went off to different elementary schools this year, now that we've had a few play dates this summer, I see glimpses of that spark again. While we parents joke and refer to the kids as our in-laws, I don't really expect them to marry. What I do expect though is that they'll have that special memory of each other for the rest of their lives and I think that is sweet.
Unfortunately, a rainy Central PA forecast ruined our beach date and so I was left scrambling to find an alternative activity for the kids today - what kind of aunt would I be if I let Kayleen just sit in the house all day??? That would surely shatter the ADHD illusion my brother Bob has of me...
Matt and Cathy both suggested Slinky Action Zone, previously of day 4 fame, so we were off to Altoona for the second time in three days.
Friday is a good day to head down to Slinky Action Zone... from 11am to 4pm (and for just $8 per kid), we got unlimited laser tag, bumper cars, bounce houses and soft play (the climbers and slides). The downside of course is that it was a rainy day in Central PA and so it was more crowded than I have ever seen it. Even so, the wait for things like the bumper cars or a game of laser tag was pretty reasonable - never more than five minutes or so. And I can happily report that we had none of the drama of that last visit. Maybe it's the good influence of that almost 10-year old I've got with me this week (Bob, if you are reading this, I am NOT bringing her back).
We're taking a break from the Jar of Fun next week. But we'll be as busy as ever - Kutztown Folk Festival on Sunday, Lehigh Valley Zoo on Monday, Please Touch Museum on Tuesday, Franklin Institute on Wednesday, and Hands-on House Children's Museum in Lancaster on the way back home Thursday (we may as well make good use of the membership we bought when we visited the Pittsburgh Children's Museum last month). I promise to blog about our adventures but I do not promise to be very timely in getting them posted...
I'll get to it once we get back home from Erie, where I hope Rich runs the Presque Isle Half Marathon (he's fighting a lower-leg injury). I wish I were running it, but I am still struggling a little with my Warrior Wound, aka my left knee, and haven't been out for more than six miles since the 10-mile Broad Street Run on May 1. And while I think I could cover the distance, it would be a struggle at best. Instead, I may focus my attention on some shorter distances and then work toward the Nittany Valley Half Marathon late this year.
Anyway, stay tuned and have a great week!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Jar of Fun #3
The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays... for more than a decade now, it's meant a visit from my brother Bob and his family. That is one of the reasons I've been away from the blog for the last week; we had four very busy, fun-filled days with three of my very favorite people and by the time I made it to bed each night, I was exhausted.
While I certainly don't recommend unemployment, I've discovered one of the benefits to being home full-time... a week with my niece Kayleen! When Bob went home Tuesday afternoon, he left his little girl (who is not so little any more) here for the week. Yesterday, we let her reach into the Jar of Fun to find our third random outing of the summer - Lakemont Park in Altoona.
Lakemont Park opened in 1894 as a trolley park and is the 8th oldest amusement park in the United States. It's claim to fame is that it's home to the world's oldest roller coaster - Leap the Dips. It's also home of The Island Waterpark which is far from the nicest water park I have ever been too, but the kids really enjoyed themselves so I can overlook that.
Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday is Dollar Day at the park... all day ride and slide passes are just $5 (weekends are $9.95). The park has an adorable, railroad-themed miniature golf course that honors the area's railroad heritage and that was our first stop of the day. Also part of Dollar Day, it was just $1 a round to play. I realized pretty quickly that there was no point to keeping score and so we simply enjoyed the opportunity to swing a club on holes like the Gallitzin Tunnel (pictured on the right) and the Horseshoe Curve.
I'd been to Lakemont twice before, each time successfully avoiding the paddle boats. This time, my luck ran out and the kids insisted that we ride them. So, here I am on a HOT, HOT afternoon, pedaling three kids (once of which couldn't even reach the pedal) around the Island Waterpark. Matt and Kayleen sat in the front telling me it wasn't that hard to paddle the boats - at least until I stopped pedaling and the boat practically came to a stop. Of course it's not hard when your poor old mom/aunt does 90% of the work... We saw a bunch of Sunnies in the shade and I thought back to summers fishing in the pond behind the Upper Perk pool with Bob and our friend, Jim. We also passed through a bunch of what I think were small-mouth bass hanging out under the bridge between the park and water park waiting for guests to throw pellets of food their way. To steal a favorite family expression, by the end, I was sweating like a whore in church.
In fact, all four of us were pretty hot by the time we pulled back up to the dock and so we headed off to the Island Waterpark. As I said earlier, it's far from the nicest place I've been. The slides are pretty old, the swimming pool a little cloudy. Only the Pirate Ship Activity Pool seemed relatively modern to me.
We spent just a few minutes in the swimming pool... mostly because I was bothered watching the pool's lifeguard knitting a scarf as she sat on her post. Instead, I sent Matt and Kayleen off to the water slides, while Cathy and I went back to the Pirate Ship (even though I think she would have passed for 42" she had no interest in the slides and I don't know that I would have felt comfortable sending her down them anyway - at least not before she learns to swim better).
All told, we spent about two hours at the water park before Cathy asked if we could ride some more rides. At this point, I thought we'd spend another hour or so in the park and then head home so the kids could participate in the Centre Region Parks & Recreation's youth track meet.
After a ride around the park on the train, I tried to talk everyone into riding Leap the Dips.
Leap the Dips is the world's oldest wooden roller coaster, and according to Wikipedia, North America's last surviving side-friction roller coaster (meaning it does not have a set of wheels under the tracks to prevent it from becoming airborne). It's a mild ride by today's standards, 41 feet high and reaching speeds of 10 mph, but a good place to start getting Cathy acquainted with a roller coaster other than Grover's Alpine Express. She resisted at first until we watched a family with several small boys - some looking like they weren't much older than two or three - climb off the ride. She loved it!
After declaring Leap the Dips to be the best roller coaster ever (how quickly Matt forgot Delgrosso's Crazy Mouse or Idlewild's Rollo Coaster), the big kids eventually made their way to the Skyliner, another wooden roller coaster. This one borders Blair County Ballpark, where the Pittsburgh Pirates' double-A affiliates, the Altoona Curve, play. The Curve had a home game Wednesday night and the kids thought it was great to see the teams taking batting practice down on the field during their climb up the first hill. The coaster is 60 feet high with a 45 foot drop, making it the tallest coaster Matt has been on to date.
Overall, it was a great experience and the three kids had a fantastic time. We never did get out of the park in time to compete in the track meet, but I am not complaining at all. Each of the kids gave it their highest ratings. Matt and Kayleen agreed that the water slides and Skyliner were the best part of the park, while Cathy was most enthusiastic about the bumper cars and Leap the Dips. For me, the best part of the day was watching the three kids together... I could easily get used to life with a (not quite) 10-year old in the house!
While I certainly don't recommend unemployment, I've discovered one of the benefits to being home full-time... a week with my niece Kayleen! When Bob went home Tuesday afternoon, he left his little girl (who is not so little any more) here for the week. Yesterday, we let her reach into the Jar of Fun to find our third random outing of the summer - Lakemont Park in Altoona.
Lakemont Park opened in 1894 as a trolley park and is the 8th oldest amusement park in the United States. It's claim to fame is that it's home to the world's oldest roller coaster - Leap the Dips. It's also home of The Island Waterpark which is far from the nicest water park I have ever been too, but the kids really enjoyed themselves so I can overlook that.
Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday is Dollar Day at the park... all day ride and slide passes are just $5 (weekends are $9.95). The park has an adorable, railroad-themed miniature golf course that honors the area's railroad heritage and that was our first stop of the day. Also part of Dollar Day, it was just $1 a round to play. I realized pretty quickly that there was no point to keeping score and so we simply enjoyed the opportunity to swing a club on holes like the Gallitzin Tunnel (pictured on the right) and the Horseshoe Curve. I'd been to Lakemont twice before, each time successfully avoiding the paddle boats. This time, my luck ran out and the kids insisted that we ride them. So, here I am on a HOT, HOT afternoon, pedaling three kids (once of which couldn't even reach the pedal) around the Island Waterpark. Matt and Kayleen sat in the front telling me it wasn't that hard to paddle the boats - at least until I stopped pedaling and the boat practically came to a stop. Of course it's not hard when your poor old mom/aunt does 90% of the work... We saw a bunch of Sunnies in the shade and I thought back to summers fishing in the pond behind the Upper Perk pool with Bob and our friend, Jim. We also passed through a bunch of what I think were small-mouth bass hanging out under the bridge between the park and water park waiting for guests to throw pellets of food their way. To steal a favorite family expression, by the end, I was sweating like a whore in church.
In fact, all four of us were pretty hot by the time we pulled back up to the dock and so we headed off to the Island Waterpark. As I said earlier, it's far from the nicest place I've been. The slides are pretty old, the swimming pool a little cloudy. Only the Pirate Ship Activity Pool seemed relatively modern to me.
We spent just a few minutes in the swimming pool... mostly because I was bothered watching the pool's lifeguard knitting a scarf as she sat on her post. Instead, I sent Matt and Kayleen off to the water slides, while Cathy and I went back to the Pirate Ship (even though I think she would have passed for 42" she had no interest in the slides and I don't know that I would have felt comfortable sending her down them anyway - at least not before she learns to swim better). |
| Cousins! |
After a ride around the park on the train, I tried to talk everyone into riding Leap the Dips.
 |
| Leap the Dips |
 |
| Matt and Kayleen are on here somewhere! |
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| Hooray! Someone else to carry Cathy! |
Friday, July 1, 2011
Day 21 - Delgrosso's Amusement Park
The kids love miniature golf. Hardly a day has gone by this summer when they haven't asked to play. When we pulled Repitland out of the Jar of Fun a few weeks back, Rich told me that he passed a place towards Lewisburg and assured me that if I came home on Route 45 I would surely see it. I didn't.
When we pulled T&D's Cats of the World out of the Jar, I searched on the web for a nearby place (hoping I could find that elusive golf course I'd heard about). There was nothing in Lewisburg or Mifflenburg areas, at least not that I could find on the Internet... but I did find something toward Selinsgrove. I put the destination into Mapquest and printed directions - at least I thought that was what I did.
As you may know, I am directionally challenged. When it comes to rights and lefts, I seriously need to make the letter "L" with my left hand to be sure. I know that a left turn means to lower the turn signal and a right turn means to raise it... from there, you simply follow the direction the arrow is pointing. It's sometimes hard to believe I have two master's degrees but I can get lost in a parking lot.
Well, the directions I thought would take me to the miniature golf course instead took me only to the town where the course was located. I stopped and asked for directions and thought I followed them pretty well. All I had to do was follow the road I was on and look for the Hampton Inn... I can't remember if it was on the right or left side. In the end, I guess it didn't matter since I never found it and instead ended up back in Lewisburg (which I had already established has NO course).
With two disappointed kids in the car, I vowed that I would finally get GPS for when I travel (done) and that I would take them to Delgrosso's Amusement Park to finally play golf. Today, we made good on that promise.
Monday through Friday nights are "Par"fect nights for miniature golf... the course, which only charges $3.75 per golfer, offers buy one get one free from 5pm to 9pm along with coupons towards Austin's Hot Dogs.
It really is so much fun to watch the kids play... Cathy doesn't always hold her club right and she's either brilliant on a hole, sinking her ball in two putts, or she's atrocious and it takes her 10. Matt has moments of pure competitiveness and others where he couldn't care less how his game is going as long as he sinks his ball in record time (and regardless of the number of swings it takes him).
Once our game was over, we strolled across the bridge and over to the park. For the first time, the difference in the kinds of rides the kids are interested in is becoming apparent - perhaps a result of that roller coaster we finally got Matt onto at Idlewild last week. He rode the Wacky Worm twice while Cathy rode the Whales and Elephants. After a quick snack, we walked to the back of the park to see if we could get Cathy onto the Bumper Cars (there's a 42" height requirement). Unfortunately, the ride attendant measured Cathy and said she was roughly one-quarter inch too short for the ride. Next time, she needs to wear socks and sneakers rather than her flat sparkle shoes.
After a quick spin on the Tipton Creek Train, I took Matt on the Crazy Mouse - a ride that he just loved. While I suspected last week that I had a coaster enthusiast in the making, I feel quite certain that's the case. Immediately after we got off the ride, Matt wanted to go again! The minute he hits 48" inches (he's about a half-inch shy now) we're off to ride the wooden roller coasters at Hershey Park. I can't wait for him to experience the Wildcat and the Lightning Racer. And while he'd be tall enough for the SuperDooperLooper - even Cathy will be tall enough for that ride at 42" - and the Sidewinder, I think it's probably better if we steer clear of things that turn upside down for now.
Cathy got her fill of the Kids Kingdom while that bottomless pit I call my son ate a hamburger (dinner #2 on the night). By 9:00 we were in pajamas and buckled in for the ride home.
Overall, I'd call it a pretty successful outing... we'll be heading back sometime this summer, either with friends or because of the Jar of Fun. The kids were both eyeing up the water park and the go-karts and we'll be sure to include them on the next outing. We'll just need to remember those sneakers so that Cathy will pass for 42".
When we pulled T&D's Cats of the World out of the Jar, I searched on the web for a nearby place (hoping I could find that elusive golf course I'd heard about). There was nothing in Lewisburg or Mifflenburg areas, at least not that I could find on the Internet... but I did find something toward Selinsgrove. I put the destination into Mapquest and printed directions - at least I thought that was what I did.
As you may know, I am directionally challenged. When it comes to rights and lefts, I seriously need to make the letter "L" with my left hand to be sure. I know that a left turn means to lower the turn signal and a right turn means to raise it... from there, you simply follow the direction the arrow is pointing. It's sometimes hard to believe I have two master's degrees but I can get lost in a parking lot.
Well, the directions I thought would take me to the miniature golf course instead took me only to the town where the course was located. I stopped and asked for directions and thought I followed them pretty well. All I had to do was follow the road I was on and look for the Hampton Inn... I can't remember if it was on the right or left side. In the end, I guess it didn't matter since I never found it and instead ended up back in Lewisburg (which I had already established has NO course).
With two disappointed kids in the car, I vowed that I would finally get GPS for when I travel (done) and that I would take them to Delgrosso's Amusement Park to finally play golf. Today, we made good on that promise.
Monday through Friday nights are "Par"fect nights for miniature golf... the course, which only charges $3.75 per golfer, offers buy one get one free from 5pm to 9pm along with coupons towards Austin's Hot Dogs.
It really is so much fun to watch the kids play... Cathy doesn't always hold her club right and she's either brilliant on a hole, sinking her ball in two putts, or she's atrocious and it takes her 10. Matt has moments of pure competitiveness and others where he couldn't care less how his game is going as long as he sinks his ball in record time (and regardless of the number of swings it takes him).Once our game was over, we strolled across the bridge and over to the park. For the first time, the difference in the kinds of rides the kids are interested in is becoming apparent - perhaps a result of that roller coaster we finally got Matt onto at Idlewild last week. He rode the Wacky Worm twice while Cathy rode the Whales and Elephants. After a quick snack, we walked to the back of the park to see if we could get Cathy onto the Bumper Cars (there's a 42" height requirement). Unfortunately, the ride attendant measured Cathy and said she was roughly one-quarter inch too short for the ride. Next time, she needs to wear socks and sneakers rather than her flat sparkle shoes.
After a quick spin on the Tipton Creek Train, I took Matt on the Crazy Mouse - a ride that he just loved. While I suspected last week that I had a coaster enthusiast in the making, I feel quite certain that's the case. Immediately after we got off the ride, Matt wanted to go again! The minute he hits 48" inches (he's about a half-inch shy now) we're off to ride the wooden roller coasters at Hershey Park. I can't wait for him to experience the Wildcat and the Lightning Racer. And while he'd be tall enough for the SuperDooperLooper - even Cathy will be tall enough for that ride at 42" - and the Sidewinder, I think it's probably better if we steer clear of things that turn upside down for now.Cathy got her fill of the Kids Kingdom while that bottomless pit I call my son ate a hamburger (dinner #2 on the night). By 9:00 we were in pajamas and buckled in for the ride home.
Overall, I'd call it a pretty successful outing... we'll be heading back sometime this summer, either with friends or because of the Jar of Fun. The kids were both eyeing up the water park and the go-karts and we'll be sure to include them on the next outing. We'll just need to remember those sneakers so that Cathy will pass for 42".
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