Elmira Enforcers, Friday night 12/27

It was a loss unfortunately, but a solid game. Everyone had fun and it was nice to have Mary there.

Car Camping / Labor Day Weekend

Annie, Evan, Brian, Brennan, and I stayed overnight at Watkins Glen State Park site # 184. Tough time staking down the tent corners since the ground was so hard-packed. There were a couple other sites we saw where it was more open field - which also got more direct sunlight and would have been hotter!

We set up camp, went to hike the Gorge for a while and visited Glen Dairy Bar for ice cream. We tried to swim at the pool but it was temporarily closed. We considered the beach on the lake, but when we got there it said "No Lifeguard = No Swimming" so Annie put the kibosh on that. By the time we got back up the hill the pool was open and we enjoyed that for about an hour. There were a lot of people but the pool was so big you didn't really notice and the boys loved the diving board. Wish Allison had joined us!

After that back to camp to hang the wet stuff, start a fire, roast hot dogs, make S'mores, and then sleep. All 5 of us fit in the big red tent and for the first time in my life, I slept without a rain-fly. It was still warm when we went to sleep but no one needed anything more than blankets during the night. I didn't sleep great and Evan had inverted so his feet were in my face all night, but not sleeping was to be expected.

We didn't do breakfast in the morning as we were in a rush to get Evan home but first Brennan desperately wanted to go fishing. So we went to the pier near the fancy hotel and fished for a couple hours. It was very annoying to me how the reels weren't working right and kept getting tangled. Seemed like there was always at least one that needed to be fixed. But at least everyone got a chance.

Then took Evan to Alpine Junction around noon, then home. I dropped off the boys & Mommy, went to in-laws to get the dog, then back home to clean up. At 2pm we left to pick up in-laws and all drove to Fr Browns family lakehouse on Keuka Lake. Brennan & Brian fished almost the whole time since they didn't know the other kids. Annie and I hung w/ Fr Jones a bit. We left around 5 I think, just as Nana got sick in a bag in the car. Drove everyone home and started to relax for about 10 minutes before Annie made me take Brennan fishing again.

I took him down behind Wegmans and the light rain really added to the allure. I never thought I liked fishing but it was fun. We waded into the river to get our lines closer to the deep spots. I caught the little Bass in the picture, but it was Brennan's first time touching a real fish and holding it up like that. The colors on the photo are awesome! I could probably even be talked into going with him again sometime.

State Fair / Labor Day Weekend

Went to NYS Fair on Friday as Allison, Annie, and Samantha were helping volunteer at the NYS Parks as Girl Scouts. Picked up Evan on the way. The boys hung out in the car for a while and relaxed. Then we brought some food to the girls and waited for their shift to end at 2:30pm.  They seemed to have fun and the birdhouses were not the little toy kind - they were pretty big.

We didn't do any rides, just walked around a bit, saw the butter sculpture and got some milk, saw the cows, had a cool time at NYS stuff - FEMA, aquarium, hunting, bug control. We tried to connect with Dave & Heather but with Oliver, they just wanted to do different stuff and it was tough to get together. The kids bugged about doing rides but we decided not to do that to save some bucks.

We also went to the new Expo center which was nice & cool thanks to the skating rink. It was a lot of walking and not doing much but at least we got in & parked for free. We had planned to go home, but after talking to L & C we stayed overnight at their house - we had packed bags just in case. And that was a blast of course. The kids got to run around & play outside with Logan & the girls got to do girly talk with Alexandra & Christine.

On Saturday we took it pretty slow and didn't leave their house until lunch time. Then we went to this nice ice cream place and all got ice cream. Then we went to the chocolate store, and then walked over to the pizza place / huge indoor soccer field place. We got to play soccer, throw the frisbee, eat pizza, and got MORE ice cream (for free this time). Then we finally left - I think around 3pm.

To the chagrin of the kids we then stopped at Skaneateles Lake for a few minutes (nice pics), then went to Swabby's where Annie and I went on our first "date". We got drinks, chicken, fries, and t-shirts. It was pretty cool to see after all these years.

Lastly we stopped at CHEESE on 414 and took some group pictures before finally getting Samantha home at 7:30pm. Might go car-camping tomorrow. I was thinking backpacking, but at least it's outside!

Overnight at Hershey Park

Sunday we went to Chocolate World and did the movie, the taste-testing, the make your own candy bar, and the trolley tour. First impression was the heat & the crowd. The movie was cute - got sprayed a little and some dramatic effects like Bugs Life in Disney. The tasting event was okay but there were kids talking over the instructor the whole time so it was hard to hear. It was a cool event, though. Next was the make-your-own bar which was very nice. Not as many choices as I was expecting but we were really able to watch the entire process of the bar being made which was the coolest thing. I got fixated on the size of the hairnet the provided me. It just seemed silly! 

The trolley was very informative - much more than expected. I loved the bit about no one being laid off during the Great Depression. Hershey was a class act by all accounts. Checked into the Springhill Suites around 8pm, then drove to Wendy's for everyone's dinner. Despite some objections we ate in the hotel lobby - much roomier, and no mess to clean up in our bedroom.

Monday went to the park. First did Fahrenheit. Ended w/ Great Bear, Reeses Tower, Trailblazer, Superdooperlooper, and The Comet. Did other stuff in the middle but the details are a little fuzzy.

It was WICKED hot & humid, and very crowded. I think Annie's phone said it felt like 101 ℃ We arrived before the gates opened and first went to Fahrenheit since the line was short. It was Allison, Evan, Brennan, and me. It was a negative drop and a total blast! Then went to Laff Trak which was okay, and inside, but the line was too long and the result wasn't that worth it. At least everyone in the family was able to go and cool off a bit. Then we did the Lightning Racers twice it was so fun. Go on the right side - it always loses, but it's not as bumpy so it's more enjoyable.

We did some other rides - the whip, music express, monorail, the pirate, the claw, the howler, trailblazer - pretty much anything we passed where the line wasn't too long. The kids did the waterpark from 6-8 which was a bit of a dud. The Water Coaster was closed and the lines for everything else were insane. They did get into the lazy river (Water Coastal Highway) twice and I think they did a slide, too. While they were doing other rides I went to the car to get the swim bags and then I needed a break so I may have missed a couple things. The splash zone was refreshing but again, the lines were long.

By far it was a fun trip, but a lot of walking and work and unfortunately it was so hot. It was definitely NOT disney and there were several issues, mainly with the All-Day Eat & Drink deal. It was difficult to tell which places participated and which didn't. And if you wanted just a drink refill, you still had to wait in the entire line. I quickly got annoyed by that and just started bending the rules and cutting in front of people or pulling drinks from places that weren't technically on the list. Most annoying, the drink stations kept running out of drinks that weren't soda - lemonade, iced tea, fruit punch, even the slushies. One of the last stations we visited we asked the guy if we could get slushies - we didn't know if it was included or not - and he replied, "Yeah, if there's anything left." I mostly had water so not that big a deal but it was a crummy experience.

Also, the bathrooms were hard to find and on the small side. Directions about where to go were pitiful. A couple times I asked where was the nearest bathroom and was directed 200 yards away when there was one 50 feet away in the other direction.

And the paper map they handed out was either inaccurate or just poorly drawn. The Decades restaurant was NOT where we expected which we didn't know until we were looking for food & drink of course. Even the app directed us to an empty building. Finding help was hit-or-miss - the restaurant & shop workers seemed to mostly be summer help and sometimes didn't know, but if you could find a security guard, they were good. Spotting either of those groups was like Where's Waldo because they blended in with the crowd so much. 

The night ended on a high note, though. After the water park it was a mad dash to hit as many coasters as we could before they closed. Evan, Allison, and I did the Great Bear which was recommended by everyone we asked. It was definitely a highlight and doing it in the dark was a bonus. We finally made it to Reeses Tower and while Brian begged off w/ Annie, Brennan wanted to do it - until we were ready to launch. Then he whimpered that he wanted to get off but we were already 20 feet off the ground & ready to launch. I put my arm between his chest & the shoulder bar for added comfort but he was really scared and held my hand every second he could for the rest of the night. We then did the Trailblazer which would have been better but a young girl right behind my head got in yelling past me to her friend that her intention was to scream as loud as she could for the entire ride and she succeeded. I stopped holding the railing and plugged my ears it was so painfully high-pitched. Then we did the superdooperlooper which, for me, wasn't much. It was only 30 seconds while Great Bear was 45. We ended doing the Comet which was a long ride and definitely a great thrill to end the evening. It was Brennan's favorite ride he said and he was so proud to get us on it. Annie didn't make any of the evening rides as she volunteered to hold the bags - we thought she didn't want to do any of them but she told us later that she had wanted to. She could have come! All the rides have bag holding areas you just drop off before the ride and grab on your way out. Hopefully a lesson learned.

Roseland Water Park

Couldn't go visit Mary because the weather delayed her plane. Instead of sitting around the house, we took the kids to Roseland. $100 for all six of us for 4.5 hours! We stayed right up until closing, one of the last families to leave. Stopped at Perri's pizza on the way home for dinner - so-so, but not great. Annie only did one ride after Brian begged her repeatedly. The wave pool was great and we got to ride all the different water slide multiple times. It was fantastic.

Garmin Connect - Sworkit

Week 1,3 - Strength Basics. Pretty easy exercises, but the kids need to work on their form so these are all good steps.