New York–Part 2

So, a while back, when we were on our way from Olean (I know I am out of date sync) we stopped about half way home to spend the night and do some sight-seeing. For just about as many years as I can remember we have driven by this particular attraction without stopping. With a 10 or 12 hour drive- your goal is always to get there and not make the trip any longer than it needs to be- your goal is Not To Stop. Sightseeing? Forgetaboutit.  Last year we promised that this summer we would finally stop at Howe Caverns and so we did. Mind you, this promise was further reinforced when Erik was watching some Travel/Food network tv show and they showcased Dinosaur BBQ restaurant with several spots in New York state. Erik had to go. (We really have to get rid of cable).  The compromise…we stop –spend the night –go to Howe Caverns –stop in Troy for lunch and be on our way.  It was a great plan. The only slight flaw- Alec fell asleep in the drive from the caverns to Troy and it was just enough to make him grumpy. He rebounded by the end of lunch but then had no need for anymore sleep on the rest of the ride home. He really needed that sleep.

When we got to Cobleskill- it was dinner time but none of us were too hungry.Just a little excited about tomorrows adventure.  Lucky for us, not only did the hotel have a pool, they also had a bowling alley attached. Bonus- the hotel gave us 1 free string each.  Off we went. We were the only ones in there. Not practically. We were THE only ones in there.

This was the 1st time Alec had bowled big balls. We had to help him with the balls. By the way, the lanes? They were recently perfectly oiled. Like a sheet of ice they were. How do I know? ‘Cause I took a giant flip when I was helping Alec. I am too old to fall like that. There was nothing graceful about it. Thankfully we were the only ones..no one but Alec saw it. Erik didn’t know where I was until he looked down. Pain outweighed embarrassment but I persevered. And Alec was a champ at bowling. At least he though so.

Then it was time so a little swimming.

and then bed.

Next morning – we were up and out at a decent hour and ready for our adventure-Howe Caverns. You can see the these granite stones spelling out Howe from the highway hence the reason we knew it was there for so many years.

It was going to be in the high 80’s outside but the Caverns are at a constant 52% year round –they blow the cool air up into the main building for natural air conditioning – it was chilly as soon as we stepped inside.

You take an elevator down..I can’t remember how many feet – 150 maybe ? Your guide walks you through stopping to tell you all in very interesting factoids. It was a little like Disney in some ways. Hokey. The caverns were real but it was hard to tell how much was authentic because of all the safety improvements that have been made over the years. But it was still neat and I am glad we went. There is a dark section of the caves that the tour doesn’t go and that is where the bats live.  They were kind enough to mention this factoid in the tour and that became Alec’s obsession for the rest of the tour. Why do they only live on that side? Will they bite us? Where are they right now? What do they eat? Will we see them? Why aren’t they over here? How do you know they won’t come to this cave? What do bats do? Why do they exist? Why don’t we want them over her? Will they hurt us? Will we hurt them? Why? Erik and I were exhausted.

And then we went back outside to the warmth and asked a nice lady to take our picture.

And then we were off to find Dinosaur BBQ.

The temporary tattoos made Alec come out of his grumpy nap funk. Phew.  Lunch was yummy and portions were large. There were plenty of leftovers for snacking later.

And then we were back on the road.

Mission accomplished!

Funtown

Funtown fun times. Courtney, Leo, Alec and I went on this particular adventure Monday afternoon. Kids under 48'” are free after 3PM on Sundays and Mondays. If you’ve got a couple short ones, you might want to take advantage- it’ll save you some cash.  I was pretty happy because I got to work and still do something fun with my boy!

After all the hot sunny days, this was the coolest and cloudiest day we had experienced in quite a while. I think the four of us were pretty happy about that. It was nice not to have to worry about dehydration, burning and feeling like a sticky mess.  Alec and Leo were pretty psyched to be together. Leo is still going through a bit of culture shock. He still refuses to speak English much to Alec’s frustration but somehow they manage to still have fun and really do enjoy each others company.

It started to rain while we were there. We waited it out for a little while to see if they would close the park. They have a weather guarantee- you get a free pass if they close the park due to weather. Many people left. But then the rain stopped –and the rides kept going and it was like the boys had the park to themselves. They rode the frogger ride no less than 5 times in a row without getting off. Alec would smile and give the man a thumbs up sign and the man would push the button to start it up again.

Leo’s favorite ride was the carousel. So while he rode that again and maybe again , Alec and I were off to the grown-up tea cups and the tilt-a whirl. We had a blast on those.I am getting older though because those round and round rides did get to my stomach after a while!  We met up with them again and decided the last ride of the night would be the log flume since we were already wet –if we got even wetter (more wet?) it wouldn’t matter because it would be such a short ride home.

As you can see, it has a pretty big drop.  Turns out sitting in the front was not a good choice for poor Leo. He came off the ride drenched and sobbing..and I mean SOBBING. Poor bloke.

Alec immediately asked to go on it again. Very true to their personalities- the opposite in just about everything and even so, they still had a great time!

Aquaboggin

We’ve been doing a lot of touristy fun summer things in the past week. On Friday we hit Aquaboggin to beat the heat. I worked a few hours in the morning and then headed home to pick Alec up from school and meet Courtney and Leo at the park. This was the day Portland hit 100%. I couldn’t decide if we were really smart for going or really stupid because it could be crazy busy and crowded. We got lucky. It was not crowded.

Leo was much happier here than at the ocean.

And this is where the pictures end. Not because we were having so much fun that I didn’t bother to take pictures but because they closed. They lost power and since they didn’t know when it would be restored they had to close the entire park. Apparently you need electricity to run the pumps for the slides and the water filters. Go figure. So on the hottest day of the year we were booted out. Bummer. But we did get free passes to come back another day.

In a strange twist it actually worked in our favor.  We went back to our house so Alec and Leo could play in air conditioning.  A little while later, Alec spiked one of his mysterious high fevers (103.5) and headache. And then we saw this:

About 14 hours of sleep and a few doses of drugs and he was back to normal. I can’t even imagine how sick he might have felt if we had stayed all day!

It’s a shore thing….

We had a fun Saturday night date – we met up with the Todd family and took the kids to Old Orchard Beach for some pizza, fries and rides.  It was a hot evening = we might have melted a little but the kids had a blast. Alec gets along so well with the girls and for the most part can tone down his boyself to a manageable level. Even in public. Usually.

Can I forever love this picture? A picture where they are smiling and laughing…priceless.

After the kids rode the rides and we saw Elvis..yes Elvis (you never know what you’ll see in OOB)

we then headed out onto the beach. It was a beautiful night- still very warm and the tide was low. Nearly perfect.

They stayed dressed for all of 2 seconds maybe?!  Possibly the funniest thing about this underwear shot of Alec is that he usually wears boxers but on this night he was sporting his “tighty whities” –looks sort of like a Speedo huh?  Possibly trying to fit in with French Canadians and their beach attire? Thankfully his was the only speedo sighting.

After we got them dressed again- we walked back to the car. Faye –being the rock star that she is- stopped and pressed her nose against a bar window to watch a live band playing. The kids rocked out on the sidewalk and we grown-ups might have had a few moves of our own. The base player even walked out to jam on the sidewalk for a minute with/for the kiddos. Very cool.

We got home and I couldn’t help but thinking how lucky we are – this is one of those nights that the kids might remember fondly for a long time to come.

We just raised the bar on fun summer nights.

Do you want the good news or the bad the news?

With the weather in the high 90’s last week, we finally made it to the beach. It’s about time! It’s hard to believe but even living 2 miles from the ocean-it is still hard to find the time.Somehow, we made the time, grabbed the right accessories and drove those 2 miles for a refreshing afternoon break.

So, the good news? Alec finally likes the ocean water again! Wahooo!  At some point last summer Alec became very afraid of the ocean and the waves. So much so that he would scream bloody loud when either Erik or I would stick so much as a toe in the water.  I was hoping this fear was over when he went swimming in the ocean in Florida this winter but I just wasn’t sure. Now-
I can give the sigh of relief.  Cause last summer –yeah-that was kind of a bummer.

The bad news? Leo still does not like the beach. No sand – no ocean. No way. Oh and his shoes. Not coming off. No way (again).

But they still managed to have fun.

I am not sure who was happier- Alec playing in the water or me because he was playing in it. Such a relief.

We broke the seal on the beach! Yeah!