Lake George Weekend

 

 

A few days of fun with our awesome nephews in Lake George, a place I haven't been since I was their age.

Featuring: singing in the car, circus amazement, sunshine and water slides, spectacular sunsets, mountainous clouds, an exciting windy thunderstorm we didn't get caught in (you could actually see the thunder), and a full moon sailing above on Sunday night.

 

The Big Apple Circus was our first stop after pulling in late on Friday afternoon.

Okay, first stop after checking into the hotel.

Okay, third stop after checking in and getting some dinner.

The point is, yay we saw the circus!

The next morning we got out on the lake in a boat (because why wouldn't you, given the chance?)

                                                                                                                                          

 

 

 

A crack view of the south end of the lake came with lunch on the patio at the Overlook Cafe...

 



A hotel pool is the very definition of paradise when you're eight and ten (and more.)

We got ice cream at the A&W Drive-In,

 

 

which I commend for having the nicest sign in the world:

Sunday we spent the whole day at Water Slide World. My first time at this kind of place; what I found is, it's the kind of thing you just have to give yourself up to. You're here, you're hot and carrying stuff, soon you're gonna be wet on top of it all. So be it. My first time in a wave pool, or on a giant water slide. Or, come to think of it, any water slide. Yes, we took eight- and ten-year-old boys to a water park, and it's all about me.

 

They had a blast, and look at these crowds! (I kid) We practically had the place to ourselves, so it was kind of a grown-up's paradise as well.

 

One thing you can't complain about in Lake George is a lack of high-quality miniature golf courses. The place we played (all 36 holes of it) featured a special decoration: Paul Bunyan from the World's Fair! Of 1939, if those geometric shapes on the sign are supposed to mean anything. I can't find any documentation for this. Also, I'm not sure Paul Bunyan is supposed to look this menacing:

 

We worked up an appetite playing golf around the world, and went to the Adirondack Brewery and Restaurant for dinner. Our waitress gave balloons to the kids as we left, which I ended up tying to my handbag during the walk home. We were ambling down the sidewalk together when suddenly, there was an English bulldog charging full speed (well as full as his stubby little legs could go) at our little group, followed by a man yelling, "Charlie, NO! NO balloons! No balloons!!" Charlie meant no harm - it's not like he could jump very high or anything - he just loooved balloons, apparently. I wish I'd gotten a picture of him. But here's one of the walk home, sans balloons.

 

The full moon was settled in before sunset was over.

 

 

 

Thanks For Pointing That Out!

You know you're in California when even the traffic signals direct your attention to the natural wonders surrounding you.

Did You Know?

The middle of the ocean hosts an unobstructed one of these every day.

Bermudaahhh...

We're back, after only a week. That doesn't seem long enough, does it?

Key West Final (People and Other Critters Edition)

The streets were lively at night; this man had music playing as he cruised the main drag:

Oh, Peter, you should have gotten a teaching license to fall back on...

Michael and Alex with a stormtrooper:

We also saw some pretty strange sights during the day.

This is a conch eye:

and this was the spider that changed my mind about walking down that particular "nature trail;"

it's a spiny-backed orbweaver:

Olivia Does Key West, Part 1

Ken let Olivia drive the last leg of the trip into Key West. (I thought it set a bad example for the boys, what with her being unlicensed and all, but she brings out the scalawag in everybody!) He had to work the gas and brake, of course.

It turned out Olivia was well-know in the southernmost city; here, Ken and Alex give her a boost so she can pose next to her name on the street sign:

Well. I can't begin to tell you how excited Olivia was when we arrived in Key West to find out her name was all over town. She was pleased as punch to have so many photo ops, but I confess I didn't do a very good job of lighting her in the street scenes. Mea culpa, sweetheart. We'll shoot more in the daytime next trip.

Olivia Does The Keys, Part 2

Our pale-pigskinned beauty does not (perish the thought!) have a tanned hide, as you know, but the beach at Bahia Honda was so beautiful, Olivia couldn't resist a brief go at sunbathing:
She basked in the sunshine on Ken's T-shirt for a few glorious, golden moments, until the delicious aroma of bacon began to draw a crowd...

then everyone cooled off with a little snorkeling:

Sooner than we thought, it was time to head home.

Olivia kept the boys entertained with all sorts of rascally antics during the long drive back to the airport.

Despite a few diva-licious moments that I promised Olivia were forgiven and forgotten, she once again proved herself a hardy, adaptable little traveling companion who plays well with others.

Key West (Butterflies and Bird Edition)

A surprise hit with the teenagers: The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. Myself, I never pass up one of these places. I was thrilled that everybody else liked it, too. This one had a lot going on in the nursery, where pupae and chrysali and whatnot were hanging and hatching and drying their wings in plain view. Not to mention, button quail chicks = so cute. But it was hard to take photos of that because of the glass and the lighting. (It's always some excuse with me, isn't it?) So no chrysalis photos, sorry.

Lunchtime. Overripe banana, anyone?

This very fancy finch fit right in. A few varieties of finches and Chinese Button Quail live in the huge aviary as well.

Recently hatched, wings now fully inflated and dried, this one was later brought outside to join the big boys.

Blue morphos, from South America, win my vote for Most Disneyfied Look, as they often fly in groups of three or more, following each other in an erratic, cartoon-y line through the air, right past your nose. At rest, they usually fold their wings to display the dull brown pattern of the underside. This one below, who's more than a little ragged, was quite lethargic, too tired maybe to fold up, so we were able to get a good look at its metallic blue coloring. So that's my recommendation: take the kids, even if they're old, jaded teenagers. I'll bet they like it.

Key West (Floral Edition)

Key West in August is very warm, very humid indeed. On the bright side, everything's in bloom.

Ken took the shot above, the one below, and the one below that, the banana tree.

Look up there! Bananas!

I think this one of the fan palm is his, too.