Our second trip to the Finger Lakes

By the time we returned to the Finger Lakes area, it was mid October and most campgrounds had already closed for the season. Only three remained, none of them very close to Ithaca, the town that we fell in love with just a few weeks earlier. We phoned all three, but Flint Creek was so inviting, and offered a military discount, that we just didn't even wait for return calls from the other two. Our first full day there we attended craft time and a "Thanksgiving" potluck (it's nice to celebrate Thanksgiving more than once). When we first arrived we had been puzzled by the fact that there were many RVs, but few people there, so we were shocked to see about 40 people arrive to Thanksgiving dinner. Turns out that most of the RVs are owned by people from the neighboring towns that come out on weekends for a break from life and technology (cell phones don't work there). It's not something we had heard of before, but it's BRILLIANT! Why pay for monthly RV storage when you can pay a little more to keep it at a campground like this for an easy instant getaway, without even hooking up the trailer? They have a pool, mini golf, kid's zipline, playground, weekly craft and potluck dinner, free DVD rentals, toys to play with...I could go on. To top it off the owners here really made us feel like part of the family. It's also one of those places where everyone knows each other. We kept driving by this real (stuffed) bear with underwear on, and lo and behold the owner was at the potluck. Ha!

The second potluck was a "deep fried" potluck. "You bring it, we deep fry it." We brought pizza rolls and baby carrots. They were both surprisingly good fried.  We also enjoyed cauliflower, mushrooms, dough and fries. We really enjoyed socializing and snacking while the kids happily played with legos and miscellaneous toys that the campground keeps on hand. Before we knew it, SIX hours had passed! We received a ton of compliments on how well behaved the kids are. So proud of them!

Just down the road a rocket launch event was happening. We stopped in to watch a few take off.

We ended up buying our own rocket that we can launch whenever we want. 

Then the kids decided to build their own rockets at craft time.

One day Daddy set up their tents and tunnels. Before we knew it the kids had 

filled one tent with their blankets, pillows, books and a few toys...

...and popcorn for a snack. 

All the while being guarded by their fierce dragon!

Return to Ithaca

We have been to a lot of places in the last seven months, but there are only a few that we have truly fallen in love with. Ithaca is one of them. That was the whole reason we returned to the Finger Lakes area for our last 10 days (before heading to stay with family for the holidays). On this day we hiked the gorge trail at Watkins Glen again.

This time we hiked a bit further and found a second waterfall that you can walk right behind.

 We went up "Lover's Lane" to a bridge that crossed over 

the water and offered a unique view of the gorge and trail.

The kids found a toad and played with him for a few minutes before continuing down the trail. 

 Afterwards we returned for a second visit to Ithaca's Sciencenter. We were able to do a few things that we missed last time, like see the live animal exhibits and play on their enormously fun outdoor play area.

This is where Asher had previously coined the term "badseum" when it closed while he was still having fun. We prepped him a little better this time and he left without shedding a tear this time.  

Niagara Falls and the Buffalo Science Museum

We took a day trip to show the kids Niagara Falls. It was a chilly day, but we still enjoyed our time there. We stayed on the US side, taking in the views of the Canadian Falls.

A view of the Rainbow Bridge and American Falls. 

We spent the rest of our day enjoying the interactive exhibits at the Buffalo Science Museum, particularly the "Explore You" room. When you hold onto the handles, you can hear your heartbeat over a loud speaker and see your heart rate.

And to get our hearts pumping a little faster, we played a few rounds of this game. You have to press the circles that light up and earn more points than your opponent. Fun game!

Next Daddy and I both tried performing tasks similar to robotic surgery. I actually had robotic (DaVinci) surgery in January, so it was neat to see how it works. I have even more admiration for my doctor after this.

In the "Marvelous Earth" section, Asher built a house with wood then saw what happened when different levels of earthquakes shook the foundation.

Experiencing the wind tunnel 

This sign is made up of a collage of butterflies!

Journey and I had fun playing around in this photo booth.

You pick which kind of postcard to make, pose for the camera
(which is in the praying mantis' nose) and then email your card to someone. 

Here are the cards we created: 

Here Journey is building a bug by adding legs, wings, etc. 

The rest of the time we spent racing cars and building things.