On Wednesday, we headed to Altoona to check out Lakemont Park. Lakemont is a small local amusement park like our own local Canobie Lake. Turns out Wednesday is dollar day! One dollar to get in and one to ride all rides for free! What a deal. This fact made Hershey Park at the end of the week a bit harder to take at $45/ticket.
The park was great with at least two wooden roller coasters and a real feel of the turn of the century. Lastborn proved to be a real trooper on all the rides. Nothing scared him. And firstborn is a veteran amusement park rider.
Mom did join the kids on the bumper cars. Too bad Lastborn is about 2 inches too short to reach the "gas pedal." We had to share the ride and there was little room for him to reach the steering wheel. So we ended up arguing about who was steering. He sort of gets the knack of steering. About half the time he bothers to direct the car. The other half of the time, he just lets it go where it will. It was an eerie premonition of teaching him how to drive.
Must not grab the steering wheel.
Must not hit the invisible break.
We might even survive those days.
We ended the day at the Island Water Park. The lines on the water slides and water rides were too long, so we headed to the wading pool. This pool is great with fountains and other squirting devices and a big pirate ship to climb on and slide down. Even 9 year old Firstborn found fun in this kiddie pool. The changing facilities and lockers were great too. Mom sat under a willow tree and chilled out a bit while the men hit the pool.
While there, I watched at least 4 paddleboats with riders of various ages, steer into the banks of the lake under the branches of the willow tree and then struggle to extricate themselves. That was entertaining in itself.
After the park, we joined our friends A and D in Altoona for a meal at Pepino's. MMMMMMMM.
Poor A hurt her foot in a freak wheel chair accident. It was sad to see her hobble around, but we were glad she was off work and could spend time with us.
We didn't get back to the camp site until 9PM. The rugrats were asleep in the car and had to be carried in.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Horseshoe Curve
On Thursday, we drove the half hour to Altoona for a day of Railroading.
First on the agenda was the horseshoe curve and the tunnels. We wanted to see them before the threatening skies turned black. We were at Horseshoe Curve when Firstborn was a baby, but of course, he doesn't remember. As we arrived at the park, a large train was rounding the curve. We drove through one of the tunnels under the railroad. They are hand crafted with hand cut stone and they are so perfect. The kids, of course, were not too thrilled as we adults were.
After eating a quick hamburg and watching more trains pass through the curve we rode the funicular up the hill to the elevation of the curve itself.
From up on that height, you can see out to the valley below and the Altoona reservoirs and canal. The system was built years ago to both carry water to the city and to filter the water through the rocky debris on the bottom of the aqueduct. The reservoir sits at an elevation above the city collecting runoff from the Alleghany mountains around it. Gravity feeds the water down the aqueduct (just like in roman times) into the city.
Now a system of pipes, plumbing and water treatment facilities provide water to the city, but the infrastructure for the aqueducts still seems to be functional.
The only problem was that the whole time we were up on the hill, no trains came through. So, after a half hour or so, when Lastborn was threatening to say something to embarrass us, we headed back down on the funicular. We sent DH and the boys down the stairs. As we got ready to leave, another large train came through and I was able to snap a picture of it.
my shot of the train on the curve from below in the parking lot
Then on to the Altoona Railroading Museum. This is a great museum for train buffs of any age. Exhibits on railroading, the Pennsylvania RR company (the Pensy), and the growth and lifestyle in Altoona during the heyday of railroading are all put together into interactive and interesting exhibits. The museum is full of quotes by locals who lived in the city at that time. A kids room includes a big track and trains for the kids to play with , art supplies, a conductor's uniform and other toys.
Outside the museum, real rail road cars sit ready for climbing around. These aren't just empty shells of cars. There's a dining car and a sleeper car and an engine. They are not so much a climbing structure as they are further exhibits. But the climbing wasn't lost on the boys either.
Though the day A was a great hostess and shared her enthusiasm for the museum and her town.
At the end of the day, we took a different back road to the camp, led by A and D. They drove past Amish farms and old churches. Our kids got to see an Amish farmer drive his rig past us. Then we stopped at his farm. They own a furniture factory and D was hoping we could see some of the furniture. But the store was closed for the day. The kids did get to see some Amish kids working at their chores in the field. Of course this was a great opportunity to show the kids how nice they have it.
Dinner was at Grubb's Diner in Huntingdon. Much better food than the name would imply. Once we convinced the kids that they didn't really serve grubs, their attitudes improved.
First on the agenda was the horseshoe curve and the tunnels. We wanted to see them before the threatening skies turned black. We were at Horseshoe Curve when Firstborn was a baby, but of course, he doesn't remember. As we arrived at the park, a large train was rounding the curve. We drove through one of the tunnels under the railroad. They are hand crafted with hand cut stone and they are so perfect. The kids, of course, were not too thrilled as we adults were.
After eating a quick hamburg and watching more trains pass through the curve we rode the funicular up the hill to the elevation of the curve itself.
From up on that height, you can see out to the valley below and the Altoona reservoirs and canal. The system was built years ago to both carry water to the city and to filter the water through the rocky debris on the bottom of the aqueduct. The reservoir sits at an elevation above the city collecting runoff from the Alleghany mountains around it. Gravity feeds the water down the aqueduct (just like in roman times) into the city.
Now a system of pipes, plumbing and water treatment facilities provide water to the city, but the infrastructure for the aqueducts still seems to be functional.
The only problem was that the whole time we were up on the hill, no trains came through. So, after a half hour or so, when Lastborn was threatening to say something to embarrass us, we headed back down on the funicular. We sent DH and the boys down the stairs. As we got ready to leave, another large train came through and I was able to snap a picture of it.
Then on to the Altoona Railroading Museum. This is a great museum for train buffs of any age. Exhibits on railroading, the Pennsylvania RR company (the Pensy), and the growth and lifestyle in Altoona during the heyday of railroading are all put together into interactive and interesting exhibits. The museum is full of quotes by locals who lived in the city at that time. A kids room includes a big track and trains for the kids to play with , art supplies, a conductor's uniform and other toys.
Outside the museum, real rail road cars sit ready for climbing around. These aren't just empty shells of cars. There's a dining car and a sleeper car and an engine. They are not so much a climbing structure as they are further exhibits. But the climbing wasn't lost on the boys either.
Though the day A was a great hostess and shared her enthusiasm for the museum and her town.
At the end of the day, we took a different back road to the camp, led by A and D. They drove past Amish farms and old churches. Our kids got to see an Amish farmer drive his rig past us. Then we stopped at his farm. They own a furniture factory and D was hoping we could see some of the furniture. But the store was closed for the day. The kids did get to see some Amish kids working at their chores in the field. Of course this was a great opportunity to show the kids how nice they have it.
Dinner was at Grubb's Diner in Huntingdon. Much better food than the name would imply. Once we convinced the kids that they didn't really serve grubs, their attitudes improved.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Chocolate's not so sweet
Friday. At last we get to Hershey. I'd been looking forward to this event on the trip all year. In fact, I had hoped to join my December Mom's friends for a trip to Hershey in August. But it just wasn't meant to be and I couldn't fit it in my summer schedule.
The trip would have taken 2.5 hours from Raystown lake had we not gotten lost in Harrisburg. Google was totally wrong on those directions. We had to stop to ask for directions at a gas station. Word to the wise traveler. Stopping for directions at a gas station is no longer the recommended solution to getting lost. When was the last time you were able to speak English with a gas station employee. This guy was clueless. When I asked him how to get to Hershey and he said he had never heard of it, I knew we were in trouble. How can you live in the US and not know Hershey? Better yet, How can you live less than 5 miles from Hershey Park and have never heard of it. Obviously, this man had not been in the country for a week yet. Either that or he was simply a very sick individual who doesn't like chocolate.
So I bought a map and we figured it out. The parking was the first surprise. We were arriving shortly after the park opened and yet, we had to park back in Harrisburg. Nice of mister Hershey to provide a tram though.
The chocolate tour at Chocolate World was wonderful. First you walk through halls with exhibits about how chocolate is farmed, harvested, dried and shipped. Then you walk onto a rotating floor to climb on board the Hershey kiss shaped cars (that's a rather loose interpretation of the shape of a kiss, but I think that's what they had in mind). The cars are on a conveyer belt and they travel around the "factory" while three singing cows deliver an R&B melody about how wonderful Hershey chocolate is. Through the exhibit you get to see some pretty convincing (though too clean) factory images of chocolate being ground and cooked and mashed and mixed. Then conveyer belts of different candy packages. Perfect to make you crave Hershey chocolates. The boys liked it. The parents liked it. Unfortunately, the picture of us in our Hershey kiss car was a bit too washed out. Don't know why, all the other digital photos that they took looked fine. Ours was not though, so we didn't buy it.
On to the amusement park. We had an $8 off coupon. Too bad because it only counts towards adults. A couple sold us two kids passes outside the park. They had extras and were charging us a few dollars less, so we saved on that. But the starting adult price is $45. After Lakemont and their $2 admission price, we were suffering sticker shock.
Going to Hershey convinced me that I don't need to spend the money to go to Disney. Personally, I hate rides. Most of the rides at Hershey said, "This ride is not recommended for persons of a larger size." I am large, but do I fit the generality of "persons of a larger size?" I'm personally not going to test this theory. I rode one coaster that totally freaked me out. I had visions of my "larger size" causing the rollers holding the car on the track to fail and then the whole car would come flying off the track bringing the other 3 cars of innocent people flying with me. Oh the carnage! My white face and look of horror just terrified Firstborn who kept looking back at me saying "Mommy! Are you allright? None of the rides scared him, but the look on his mother's face when she rode one ride terrified him.
The one cute thing at the park was the way they classified the rides. Each height range was assigned a candy type. Lastborn was a reeces cup and Firstborn was a jolly rancher candy. We could then go on any ride that allowed their candy types. Lastborn was allowed on more rides than I would prefer he go on, but he set his sights for the roller soaker. We journeyed up to the water park and they got in line. Luckily, I insisted that the boys take off their shirts and shoes because just standing in line for the ride, you get soaked. DH chose to leave his shirt and shoes on but ended up taking them off and carrying them by the time he got on the ride. The silly man.
The line was 1.5 hours long when they started but it took a total of 2 hours to get to the ride. 1) they had mechanical difficulties with one of the cars. 2) they kept letting handicapped people into the line to ride. If you get a handicapped pass at these parks, you get to ride without waiting in line. It's a nice feature, but added a half hour to the wait for the rest of the people in line.
Thankfully, Lastborn loved the ride. He got squirted by people on the ground and the ride showered him with water. He got to dump water on the people below. All in all a great time.
It was almost 7 by the time they finished that ride and we had to find some dinner and get home. If the lines weren't so long and the park layout so confusing, it would have been a great time. But in 80 degrees with high humidity, it was too much walking and too much waiting in line. We were all in a bad mood by the end of the day. But not a bad enough mood to drop lots of money at the gift shop.
While waiting for Firstborn and DH to finish a ride that for which lastborn was too short, we played one of the midway games. Shoot a target with a water gun to push an object up a pole. You race with other park visitors. On the second round we won a stuffed animal. Lastborn chose the blue dolphin saying it would be his pokemon. Later that night, he and Firstborn decided it looks like Kyoger. So that became it's name.
On the way home, Lastborn was saying the dolphin's name was Kyoger John Scalzi. He thinks that everyone's middle name is John. But Lastborn, your middle name is Rudolph.
No it's not. It's John.
No. John is Firstborn's middle name.
Mine too.
No. Your middle name is Rudolph, like your grandfather's.
You mean Rudolph is a real name?
Yes. It's a real name and it's your Grandpa Scalzi's name.
He was silent for a while.
OK. So his name is Kyoger Rudolph Scalzi, but we'll call him Blue.
The trip would have taken 2.5 hours from Raystown lake had we not gotten lost in Harrisburg. Google was totally wrong on those directions. We had to stop to ask for directions at a gas station. Word to the wise traveler. Stopping for directions at a gas station is no longer the recommended solution to getting lost. When was the last time you were able to speak English with a gas station employee. This guy was clueless. When I asked him how to get to Hershey and he said he had never heard of it, I knew we were in trouble. How can you live in the US and not know Hershey? Better yet, How can you live less than 5 miles from Hershey Park and have never heard of it. Obviously, this man had not been in the country for a week yet. Either that or he was simply a very sick individual who doesn't like chocolate.
So I bought a map and we figured it out. The parking was the first surprise. We were arriving shortly after the park opened and yet, we had to park back in Harrisburg. Nice of mister Hershey to provide a tram though.
The chocolate tour at Chocolate World was wonderful. First you walk through halls with exhibits about how chocolate is farmed, harvested, dried and shipped. Then you walk onto a rotating floor to climb on board the Hershey kiss shaped cars (that's a rather loose interpretation of the shape of a kiss, but I think that's what they had in mind). The cars are on a conveyer belt and they travel around the "factory" while three singing cows deliver an R&B melody about how wonderful Hershey chocolate is. Through the exhibit you get to see some pretty convincing (though too clean) factory images of chocolate being ground and cooked and mashed and mixed. Then conveyer belts of different candy packages. Perfect to make you crave Hershey chocolates. The boys liked it. The parents liked it. Unfortunately, the picture of us in our Hershey kiss car was a bit too washed out. Don't know why, all the other digital photos that they took looked fine. Ours was not though, so we didn't buy it.
On to the amusement park. We had an $8 off coupon. Too bad because it only counts towards adults. A couple sold us two kids passes outside the park. They had extras and were charging us a few dollars less, so we saved on that. But the starting adult price is $45. After Lakemont and their $2 admission price, we were suffering sticker shock.
Going to Hershey convinced me that I don't need to spend the money to go to Disney. Personally, I hate rides. Most of the rides at Hershey said, "This ride is not recommended for persons of a larger size." I am large, but do I fit the generality of "persons of a larger size?" I'm personally not going to test this theory. I rode one coaster that totally freaked me out. I had visions of my "larger size" causing the rollers holding the car on the track to fail and then the whole car would come flying off the track bringing the other 3 cars of innocent people flying with me. Oh the carnage! My white face and look of horror just terrified Firstborn who kept looking back at me saying "Mommy! Are you allright? None of the rides scared him, but the look on his mother's face when she rode one ride terrified him.
The one cute thing at the park was the way they classified the rides. Each height range was assigned a candy type. Lastborn was a reeces cup and Firstborn was a jolly rancher candy. We could then go on any ride that allowed their candy types. Lastborn was allowed on more rides than I would prefer he go on, but he set his sights for the roller soaker. We journeyed up to the water park and they got in line. Luckily, I insisted that the boys take off their shirts and shoes because just standing in line for the ride, you get soaked. DH chose to leave his shirt and shoes on but ended up taking them off and carrying them by the time he got on the ride. The silly man.
The line was 1.5 hours long when they started but it took a total of 2 hours to get to the ride. 1) they had mechanical difficulties with one of the cars. 2) they kept letting handicapped people into the line to ride. If you get a handicapped pass at these parks, you get to ride without waiting in line. It's a nice feature, but added a half hour to the wait for the rest of the people in line.
Thankfully, Lastborn loved the ride. He got squirted by people on the ground and the ride showered him with water. He got to dump water on the people below. All in all a great time.
It was almost 7 by the time they finished that ride and we had to find some dinner and get home. If the lines weren't so long and the park layout so confusing, it would have been a great time. But in 80 degrees with high humidity, it was too much walking and too much waiting in line. We were all in a bad mood by the end of the day. But not a bad enough mood to drop lots of money at the gift shop.
While waiting for Firstborn and DH to finish a ride that for which lastborn was too short, we played one of the midway games. Shoot a target with a water gun to push an object up a pole. You race with other park visitors. On the second round we won a stuffed animal. Lastborn chose the blue dolphin saying it would be his pokemon. Later that night, he and Firstborn decided it looks like Kyoger. So that became it's name.
On the way home, Lastborn was saying the dolphin's name was Kyoger John Scalzi. He thinks that everyone's middle name is John. But Lastborn, your middle name is Rudolph.
No it's not. It's John.
No. John is Firstborn's middle name.
Mine too.
No. Your middle name is Rudolph, like your grandfather's.
You mean Rudolph is a real name?
Yes. It's a real name and it's your Grandpa Scalzi's name.
He was silent for a while.
OK. So his name is Kyoger Rudolph Scalzi, but we'll call him Blue.
Our trip home
Saturday came and we packed up the cabin for the trip home. Although we slept until 7:30, we were still able to get ourselves on the road by 8:30.
We first stopped in Altoona to visit our friends. We sent the boys out to the back yard for some much-needed running time while we chatted and D cooked breakfast. Two Amish men showed up at their house because D was treating one for back problems. A and DH and I stayed in the kitchen out of their way. Unfortunately, the rugrats got bored and decided to join us in the house. We shooed them to the kitchen and asked them to behave while D worked with the Amish man. Lastborn being Lastborn, just couldn't do that though. He seems to have this need to blurt out nasty things when he is nervous. On noticing that there were two men, in strange clothing with strange haircuts, he stepped into the dining room and shouted into the living room, "Who are those guys?"
He's such a charmer.
We hit the road much later than we wanted to because it was so nice to spend time with A and D. The boys behaved very well for the most part. 10 hours is a gruelling drive for a 9 year old and a 6 year old. Firstborn told Lastborn Poke-mon stories and they watched a video of Pirates of the Caribbean. They played nicely with Lastborn's stuffed dolphin Kyoger. The funniest thing was when Lastborn announced to his dolphin. I'm your human Daddy, but you need a human mommy. I'll marry a supermodel. Seems he's noticed on TV that men dream of marrying a supermodel. It's amazing how early these messages are being instilled into their little brains. A little conversation after this led him to admit that Mommy must have been a supermodel when Daddy met her.
We made it home by 9PM put the rugrats to bed and started laundry.
The cat was very happy to make it home.
We first stopped in Altoona to visit our friends. We sent the boys out to the back yard for some much-needed running time while we chatted and D cooked breakfast. Two Amish men showed up at their house because D was treating one for back problems. A and DH and I stayed in the kitchen out of their way. Unfortunately, the rugrats got bored and decided to join us in the house. We shooed them to the kitchen and asked them to behave while D worked with the Amish man. Lastborn being Lastborn, just couldn't do that though. He seems to have this need to blurt out nasty things when he is nervous. On noticing that there were two men, in strange clothing with strange haircuts, he stepped into the dining room and shouted into the living room, "Who are those guys?"
He's such a charmer.
We hit the road much later than we wanted to because it was so nice to spend time with A and D. The boys behaved very well for the most part. 10 hours is a gruelling drive for a 9 year old and a 6 year old. Firstborn told Lastborn Poke-mon stories and they watched a video of Pirates of the Caribbean. They played nicely with Lastborn's stuffed dolphin Kyoger. The funniest thing was when Lastborn announced to his dolphin. I'm your human Daddy, but you need a human mommy. I'll marry a supermodel. Seems he's noticed on TV that men dream of marrying a supermodel. It's amazing how early these messages are being instilled into their little brains. A little conversation after this led him to admit that Mommy must have been a supermodel when Daddy met her.
We made it home by 9PM put the rugrats to bed and started laundry.
The cat was very happy to make it home.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Floor potato
After running errands, I returned to the house to find Lastborn still sitting on the floor in his underwear watching TV. Dad was in charge.
You're such a couch potato, I declared.
I'm not a couch potato! He responded.
But you are. I reiterated.
I'm not even on the couch! And then laughing, I must be a floor potato
Argument over.
You're such a couch potato, I declared.
I'm not a couch potato! He responded.
But you are. I reiterated.
I'm not even on the couch! And then laughing, I must be a floor potato
Argument over.
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