Wow, did this week go by fast for everybody?  We had aspirations to try to go skiing at Maple Ski Ridge in preparation for a ski trip later this month, but something about that first ski outing of the season always seems so daunting.  Although, turns out that Plaine and Son is having a tent sale on Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm there.  I got super-bargain skis from them during the off-season. . . unfortunately they say “Hot Spice” on them in fancy girly script. . . how embarrassing!   Are there any women out there who say, wow, I have to have these skis because they say I’m hot and spicy?  These ski manufacturers need to go check out a Target sometime.

Speaking of shopping, if you need to get some errands done with the kids, Rotterdam Square Mall is having an RV show all weekend.  Now, I’m not saying you should buy one, but generally for these shows, they leave the vehicles open and you can climb around inside.  So, really, it’s like having a bunch of fabulous playhouses set up.  This can be annoying if you want to get things done fast, but if you’re trying to kill an hour or two outside of the house and you don’t want to snowshoe, then–voilà, you’ve got yourself a free indoor playground.  Hey man, I’m not proud.

So, what else?

Friday, January 8
The East Greenbush library is showing Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs at 7 pm for free.

Saturday, January 9
There’s a program on winter birds at 11 am at Grafton Lakes State Park with an activity for the kids:  they’ll make a pine cone bird feeder to take home. Registration is required, and it’s $2/person or $5/family.

Little Red Riding Hood, by The Village Stage Children’s Interactive Theater, will be showing at the New York State Museum from 1-1:45 pm.  It’s free, but if you’re late, they won’t let you in once they get started.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is playing at 2 pm at the Bethlehem Public Library. Free.

At 2 pm at Five Rivers, they’ll be looking for empty birds nests and talking about who lived there and who might be living there now.

The Albany Latin Festival Association is holding a Three King’s Day celebration for families from 3-8 pm.  It’s at  Ballingers Latin Night Club.  It’s $5/person.

Sunday, January 10

Ellen Sinopoli and Bairbre McCarthy are doing a special program for families that’s a preview of a bigger show called “Celtic Footprints” at 2 pm at the East Greenbush Community Library.  They say that it will include storytelling, books, and creative movement.  We recently hosted the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company at our church for a service (yes, I know!  It’s that kind of funky church), and I thought it was great.  Sometimes things are so modern that it’s just. . .  beyond me a little bit.  I once went to this Picasso Museum that had all of his works in chronological order and I was like, I’m so with him! Love it!  I get this!  And then by the time he’d aged to his mid-20s, I was just lost.  Anyway, I thought that the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company’s stuff was very accessible, and they included the kids in some of the movement and they all had a great time.  So, I’m a big ol’ fan of Ellen Sinopoli’s—maybe you should try it.  There’s another preview on Monday as well—check out their website for more info.

There’s a dinosaur craft for families with children aged 3-8 from 2-3 pm at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library.

At the downtown Schenectady Public Library, there’s a free storytelling program at 2:30 pm.

Yeah, it’s freakishly cold and snowing again.  Let’s try to embrace it, shall we?  I was looking at things to do for this weekend (it’s coming soon, I promise!) and I noticed a few snowshoe-oriented events, so I said, hey, let’s make a post of it, shall we?

On Saturday, January 9, at 10 am there’s a  Snowshoe Walk at Thacher Nature Center. They rent snowshoes, but you should call ahead to confirm and to reserve snowshoes.   Rental fee is $5.

Take a snow shoe walk at Landis Arboretum.  They’ll loan out (a limited supply of) snow shoes and they’ll have a warm snack from 10 am to 12 pm on Sunday.  $10/person or $25/family.

At the Albany Pine Bush, they’ll be snowshoeing for 1-2 miles and then serving hot cocoa and cookies from 2-3:30 pm on Sunday.  $2/person or $5/family, children under 5 free.  Pre-registration is required.

Wilton Wildlife Preserve rents snowshoes at $5 for a half day: check the schedule for availability.

LL Bean at Colonie Center has outdoor adventures snowshoeing for $15, but it’s designed for adults and older (8+) kids.

Many Eastern Mountain Sports stores will provide snowshoe rentals or free demos–call to see what they’ve got.

Okay, can I grouch a little bit, please?  (And if your answer is no, that’s okay.  You’re done with this post–hopefully I’ll catch you later).  Because this is exactly why we need this freakin’ website.  A local magazine had a big article on winter fun.  So I’m looking for ideas.  One of the first ones on the list was Garnet Hill Lodge.  Okay, yes, it looks lovely, but it is a resort (Nancy would say that that’s fancy for expensive–I’m just speculating here) 2 hours away from me.  So if I just want to try a little snowshoeing with my family. . . uh. . . that’s not going to happen.  They did mention places to ice skate and some other winter fun, so hopefully that will be helpful for future posts.  Anyway, then I’m poking around and I see that the Albany Times Union has an article about snowshoeing.  Awesome, I think.  And, you know, it’s helpful.  But then I look at some of the suggestions, and it’s frustrating again.  They mention the Adirondack Park Visitor Center at Paul Smiths, but I can’t get the web address that they provide to work, and when I do finally get to it, it has family-friendly programs and this really cool event coming up, the Chilly Ski & Snowshoe Festival. But then I figure out that it’s 3 hours away from my house. Bummer.  So then they mention this trails site, right?  www.trails.com*?  And I go there and choose “New York” for state and “Snowshoe” for activity, and it says: 0 trails in your area.  It took me and my technically-minded better half  a while to figure out that the searches were worthless, and it’s all about zooming in and out on the map–but it was just not user-friendly.  So then, also on the list is: www.adirondacks.com/snowshoeing*.  I type it in and guess what?  The web page can’t be found!  They did mention that Bob’s Trees has trails as well; theoretically there was supposed to be a try-some-snowshoes free event on Saturday, but when I called, their machine said that the trails were not yet open due to lack of snow.  Sigh.  It’s tragic.  And comic.  And irritating.

*I’m not giving these the dignity of a link because I’m so bitter.