Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Tubing and Baking and Games


Some of us did a tubing outing on the Itchetucknee -- James was still recovering, and Matthew wanted to stay home and bake cookies instead. The most memorable moment was that Adrian launched himself into his tube, but the momentum was too much and he ended up doing a back flip into the river!

We ended up not doing a Gainesville escape room, but Daniel got an escape game that they played. :) Daniel has also been playing a lot of chess, so he and James are almost evenly matched these days.













 

Monday, August 7, 2023

Florida


We are having a great time in Florida (except that James got a cold/ear infection). The kids went to a new painting/pottery place, they had fun in the pool, and we went to the (somewhat underwhelming) spider exhibit at the natural history museum. 
















Snack of crickets at the museum



 

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Art by the Falls


 The Glen Falls art festival was a nice afternoon outing!  (Mike joked as we arrived, "I wonder if there will be any Buffalo-themed things here?" Answer: Yes!)  The food from the trucks was tasty, too. :)









 

Monday, July 31, 2023

Coney Mountain


On Friday, our last day in the Adirondacks, we started out the morning with a hike up Coney Mountain. It was perfect for us -- it took maybe 45 minutes or so to reach the top, and the trail was interesting but not treacherous.  The top had a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains and lakes. And Mike talked to another hiker at the top of the mountain who told us that there were wild blueberries all over the place -- so Mike found those as well!

Afterwards we went to another place that was recommended by people that we met -- a stream with a natural waterslide. The kids weren't really interested in swimming (and there wasn't really a great place to get all the way in -- the main stream out to the lake was moving somewhat fast due to all the rain), but they did some wading. However, the beautiful surroundings hid a terrible secret!  James was wading/playing in one area, and when he stood up, his legs and the back of his shorts were covered in black worms!  It was like something out of a horror movie!  Fortunately we could brush them all off pretty easily, but we weren't too excited about the water after that experience -- ugh!!!  (I think they were baby leeches but Mike -- who didn't really see them -- thought maybe something else.)

We recuperated with another delicious lunch at the diner (and ice cream afterwards at Custard's Last Stand.)





Matthew enjoying his morning tea






Marker at the summit