Posts from — August 2010

Do you ever experience a bad version of something, and it causes you to crave The Real Thing?  This happens to me frequently.  Say, I’ll eat a brownie at a party, and halfway into it I’ll realize that it’s a sub-par brownie, and within a week I am mixing up a batch at home.  M recently requested burgers because she’d eaten a “yucky” one at a birthday party.

It goes beyond food.  As I mentioned yesterday, I felt pretty caged in at High Falls Gorge.  So within a week of our return home, we were taking a hike at Plotter Kill Preserve in Rotterdam.

Kids Love a Bridge

The waterfalls are, of course, more spectacular in the spring, but it still gave us plenty of opportunities to wade and hop from stone to stone.  In fact, the preserve’s a great “starter” hike for kids.  There’s plenty of interest, with stairways and bridges–what is it about a bridge on a nature walk?  It seems like every time I’m hiking with kids, they always shriek and run toward a bridge when it’s spotted.

The bridge pictured here is close to the entrance on the red trail–probably not even a five-minute walk into the preserve.  To increase the adventure quotient, we kept finding little, quick-moving frogs hiding among the rocks and water.  Later, closer to the big falls, we were able to climb down toward the water’s surface, where there were little cave-like areas in the stone that the girls enjoyed, too.  It certainly satisfied our craving to immerse ourselves in some wet nature after the hamster cages!

My final Lake Placid report includes what I’d consider to be our least successful day.  For me, there’s a ratio that I have in my head regarding any outings.  Well, that’s not true:  I just thought of it.  But it’s informally lodged in my subconscious, I guess, and it goes something like this:

Kid Enjoyment + Educational Value + Physical Exertion : Actual Monetary Cost of Outing + Chances that Over-Stimulation Will Cause Parental Migraine + Exposure to Consumerist Crap

Okay, so bear with me.  In this ratio, I want the first value to be high and the second value to be low.  For example, climbing Baker Mountain?

Kids mostly had fun + Learned About Nature + Exercised Like Crazy : Completely free + Birds Tweeting Serenely in Splendid Fresh Air + No opportunities to purchase anything or view any advertisements . . .  A super-success!

By this measure, the following outings failed.

We visited High Falls Gorge.  Oh, yes, the waterfalls were gorgeous.  But I see water rushing over rocks and want to go wading.  I’m not saying that I’m going to, you know, jump into a barrel and throw myself into the rapids, but I’d like to touch a little water.

J caged

This wasn’t possible at High Falls:  there was no direct contact with the water, unless you count the panning for gemstones activity (sold separately).  With walkways, stars, and small overlook spaces, it was a bit stressful to keep the kids properly corralled and ensure that they weren’t crowding other people, like the Incredibly Slow-Walking Woman or the Man of a Thousand Pictures.  And yes, my expectations were raised when I realized that it was $13.50/adult, $9.50/kid.  Somehow we’d managed to miss that when we were pondering the visit.  Also?  A ginormous gift shop.  Which, you know, I’m pro-souvenir.  But not when I’ve just dropped over forty bucks for the opportunity to walk through what feels like a massive hamster tunnel maze.  Then it just makes me bitter.

Pretty, but also pretty claustrophobic

It wasn’t, you know, awful.  There was a nature trail that the kids enjoyed as well as picnic tables for a lunch break.  And it was beautiful.  If it had cost $5/person I would have recommended it, and if it were free, I would have raved about it.  But, as you’ve probably learned by now, I’m cheap.

After the waterfalls and a picnic lunch, we headed over to Avalanche Adventures for some oft-requested mini-golf.  This recreational emporium happened to be directly across the street from another mini-golf place,  Pirate’s Cove.  Honestly, both places looked to be a child’s dream come true and a parent’s nightmare, so we basically chose Avalanche because it was easier to make a right turn than a left turn.  As it turns out, it was cheaper, too:  Avalanche cost $5/kid, $6/adult for a game of mini-golf while across the street, it was $7.50/person.

Actually, it was pretty good.  The truth?  I was not enthusiastic about facing a game of mini-golf in the heat with overtired and potentially fretful children.  But it was painless.  One of the kids in our group opted for the bouncy village, and it was close enough that you could almost supervise both sets of children without going crazy.   We didn’t do any rock climbing or bungy jumping, and I wasn’t even aware of the caving possibility until I came home and looked at the website, but I think that this could be a good destination, especially if you had a large group of people of varying ages.

M putts as J waits with style. Bounce houses in the background.

Some portions of the golf course had seen better days, but overall it was fun and entertaining for everyone. Alas, anything with a larger-than-life inflatable Sponge Bob scores poorly on the Parental Migraine/Consumerist Crap scale.

I think that either of these outings on its own would have been fine, but coupling them in one day led to sensory/wallet overload.  I was glad to get back to backyard kayaks!

M kayaking. She loved it.

Okay, collecting events today made me a little wistful. . . summer programs are winding down.  Here’s what I’ve found:

All Weekend:

• The Altamont Fair continues, but Sunday is the last day.
• The Wiz is playing on Friday and Saturday night at 7 pm at Freedom Park in Scotia.
• The Valleycats are playing baseball every night this weekend, including fireworks on Friday.
• It’s a Saratoga Arts Celebration at the National Museum of Dance from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday & Sunday.  It’s free.
• Malta Mama suggests the Round Lake Arts and Crafts Festival–it’s her best bet of the weekend.  Saturday 9 am-5 pm, Sunday 10 am-4:30 pm.

A couple of Friday items that I missed earlier:

• Learn to fish on a Moreau Lake Fishing Trip at 10 am.  Register; this event costs $15, which includes boat rental and supplies.
• Mac-Haydn Theater’s last children’s production of the summer, The Frog Prince, is playing at 10:30 am on Friday and Saturday.  This is a drive, but I love this theater.
• There’s a High Peaks Juggling show at 11 am at Crandall Public Library. You need to register.  This guy does a good show and gets the kids involved.
• People will be rappelling off the Crowne Plaza in downtown Albany all day to benefit the Special Olympics.

Evening of Friday, August 20th:

• It’s Art Night Schenectady from 5-9 pm.
• At 6 pm, there will be a Rock Garage Concert at Albany Public Library.
• The Wiz will be shown at 7 pm at Freedom Park in Scotia.

Saturday, August 21st:

• At 10:30 am it’s Little Wonders of Science about Snakes at the Schenectady Museum.  For ages 3-5.  Call to register, free with admission.
• Mac-Haydn Theater’s last children’s production of the summer, The Frog Prince, is playing at 10:30 am on Friday and Saturday.  This is a drive, but I love this theater.
• From 11 am to 1:30 pm learn about the Science of Baseball with the Tri-City ValleyCats at the Schenectady Museum.  Looks like you can just show up with this one, and it’s free with admission.
• It’s Family Fun Weekend at the New York State Museum from 1-4 pm.  The theme is shells.
• Learn about Grazers and Browsers of North America at Grafton Lakes State Park at 1 pm.
• There’s an End-of-Summer Dance Party at 1:30 pm at the main Albany Public Library.
• At 2 pm, learn about Muskrat Love at Five Rivers.
• The Greyhounds will be doing a Retro Dance Party for the final Powers Park concert of the season in Troy at 6 pm.

Sunday, August 22nd:

• At 11:30 am, just show up for a tour of the Albany Pine Bush with a naturalist.  It’s free.
• Take a Goldenrod Walk at 2 pm at Five Rivers.
• From 2-3:30 pm, it’s A Prescription for Fire at the Albany Pine Bush.  Learn about how fire helps regenerate nature, plus they say that there’s a firefighter obstacle course.  Pre-register, and it’s $2/person, $5/family.
• The Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company is performing at 7 pm at Freedom Park in Scotia.  I’ve already said that I love them.
• It’s a Slavic Soul Party at Music Haven at Schenectady’s Central Park at 7 pm.  This is the last of the series for the summer.
• At 7 pm, there’s a Rock and Soul show at Clifton Common Stage.

I’ve got two rather dull housekeeping/blog-keeping notes.

First, I haven’t been using my categories much.  I’ve found that when I do, say, a weekly listing and mark off the many fabulous items that such a listing it includes, it’s way too much (Art! Nature! Books! Museums! Food!), and then it’s impossible to actually use the categories to find something again.  So my plan is to start a new category that’s just time-specific listings, and to use the other categories only when I have more substantial posts on a specific topic, like a particular place or recipes or whatever.  Or something like that.  I haven’t quite figured it out.  But I’m just letting you know.

Second, now that everything’s starting to wind down for the summer, did you do any special programs, day camps, or overnight camps that you thought were terrific or really  bad? If so, would you tell me about it, so I can share the information with folks next year?  You can either comment or send me an email.  Oh, I do thank you.

And, filed under miscellaneous (except that I’m not filing anything under Categories right now, so please stop pressuring me, okay?), I got my hair cut last week.  My daughters don’t like it.  I picked them up at the airport and the first thing M said was, “Your hair is so short!  You have to let it grow long again!”  J was a bit more sensitive and subtle.  She waited until dinner to broach the topic, “Umm, Mommy, I think that your hair is a little bit nice, but also I think that it would look a lot better if it were a little bit longer. . . .”  At which point W declared the subject closed.

Well, you know, I think it’s cute.  Except that–and how pathetic is this?–I thought that I’d prove that it was cute with a picture, but I can’t.  Just now I asked W to take a picture for me to put into this post.  First one:  oh, no!  that isn’t good hair at all!  W suggested a profile, and I turned, and the result was. . . also not terribly good looking.  Yikes.  W thought the other side was better, and picture number 3 actually did have pretty cute hair.  But then my nose and chin were witch-like pointy.   Oh, it was depressing.   So I’m not sharing a picture, after all.

After posting about Hoffman’s it occurred to me that another local classic is Adirondack Animal Land.  About 45 minutes away from the Capital District, it’s absolutely worth the trip.

Adirondack Animal Land is a smallish zoo, but it’s perfect for a day trip:  just exactly manageable, in my opinion.  Just when my kids were about to spontaneously combust, it would be time to eat or take a ride, and they’d recover.  If you’re in doubt, do bring a stroller.

Beyond just seeing the animals (and they have a helpful list with photos, by the way), there are pony rides and a petting zoo as well as a playground and a “Western Town” that is pretty bare bones, but plenty fun for kids.   There’s quite a bit of shade and there are picnic tables.  We always pack a lunch, and it’s great that they welcome brought-in food, unlike many family entertainment places.

J at the petting zoo.

I’ll admit that I find zoos mildly depressing, and much of the Animal Land is “old school”, with animals in not-super-comfortable-looking cages, reminiscent of that  Nick Park Creature Comforts short–if you haven’t ever seen it, it’s worth a look.  Once we visited, and I swear, there were some sort of baby animals that were so small compared to the cage that some of them could hop right out–does anyone remember that visit?  On the other hand, after a couple of visits to Animal Land, we’d go to other zoos that had more space and authentic environments, like, say, the National Zoo in D.C., and we were wandering around thinking, plenty of trees, but where the heck are the animals?  It’s absolutely easier to keep the kids engaged when they can get a good look.

M's up close and personal.

We generally save the Safari Ride for the end of our visit to the zoo–a chance to sit down and relax after all of that walking.  My expectations were low on the first visit, but we all thought it was surprisingly fun.

On the Safari Ride. Apparently M was in an accessory phase.

Adults are $13.75, kids 12 months-12 years are $10.75, and there are printable coupons on the website.  They only accept cash.   I’ll admit that I haven’t been there in a while, so if anyone’s visited this summer and has news or updates, I’d love to hear them!  Comment it up, please.

Here’s what’s going on this week:

All Week:

• The Altamont Fair begins on the 17th and continues to the 22nd.  This is a big deal, and very fun.
• Most branches of the Albany Public Library are having an end-of-summer celebration either this week or next week.

Monday, August 16th:

• It’s Western Day at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga from 12-4 pm, with a craft at 1 pm.
• Take a Mud Pond Hike at Moreau Lake State Park at 1 pm.  At this rate I’m expecting serious mud.
• The Colonie Town Band will perform at William K. Sanford Library at 7 pm.

Tuesday, August 17th:

• At 9:15 am, there’s a drop-in music program for 2- and 3-year-olds at Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library.
• At 9:30 am you can take a Back Pond Nature Hike at Moreau Lake State Park.
• 10 am Regal Free Movies this week are Jimmy Neutron and Akeelah and the Bee at Crossgates Mall and Doogal and Bratz at Clifton Park Center.
• At Bowtie in Schenectady, the free 10 am movie is The Tooth Fairy.
• It’s Summertime Tots at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga from 10 am to noon.
• Drop in at Rotterdam Library at 10:30 am for Pete the Pirate and His Seafaring Follies.
• At 11 am, take a tour through Saratoga Spa State Park and taste the mineral water.  $3/person.
• At 2:30 pm, Dr. Klutzo’s H2O Variety Show comes to Woodlawn Library.
• From 4-7:30 pm, the William K. Sanford Library will celebrate the end of their summer programs at the Pruyn House on Old Niskayuna Road.
• At 6:30 pm, there’s a Let’s Go Camping family storytime geared for 3- to 8-year-olds at Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library.
• At 6:30 pm, the Electric City Chorus will perform at Cook Park in Colonie.
• At 6:30 pm at the Bethlehem Community Center there’s a Jr. Grange Ice Cream Party & Game Night. I think it’s geared toward school-aged kids.
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will be shown at 7 pm at Esposito Park in Rotterdam.
• They’ll be playing Broadway show tunes at 7 pm at the Town of Niskayuna‘s Gazebo.

Wednesday, August 18th:

• 10 am Regal Free Movies this week are Jimmy Neutron and Akeelah and the Bee at Crossgates Mall and Doogal and Bratz at Clifton Park Center.
• At Bowtie in Schenectady, the free 10 am movie is The Tooth Fairy.
• At 10:30 am, learn about Floating and Sinking at CMOST.  Pre-register, $2/non-member.  For ages 3-6.
• It’s Albany’s At the Plaza Food Festival from 11 am to 9 pm, with plenty of food and lots of music, including The Smithereens in the evening.
• At 1:30 pm, the main Albany Library is having a Magnetic Poetry Slam.
• See Exotic Animals from Around the World at 2:30 pm at Schenectady’s Main Public Library.  No registration required.
• Melvin the Magnificent will perform at 7 pm at the Commons in Clifton Park.
• The Electric City Chorus will perform at 7 pm at Freedom Park in Scotia.

Thursday, August 19th:

• Take a Walk in the Woods at Thacher, beginning at 9 am.
• 10 am Regal Free Movies this week are Jimmy Neutron and Akeelah and the Bee at Crossgates Mall.
• Learn about Terrific Trees from 10 am to noon at Dyken Pond.  $3/child, $6/family.
• At 10 am, it’s the end-of-summer party at Quaker Street Branch Library.
• From 10:30-11:30 am, it’s Little Wonders of Science, for preschoolers, at the Schenectady Museum.  Call to pre-register.  Which reminds me, I never list the FETCH! Labs, in spite of my affection for the dog, because they’re regularly scheduled, and when we’ve participated we’ve been underwhelmed.  But if anyone would like me to remind them of these programs occasionally, I can.
• It’s Craft Day at Moreau Lake State Park at 1 pm.
• Do some building at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga from 2-3 pm.
• At 2 pm at Duane Branch Library, kids can do some art with folks from the Tang Museum.
• At Rotterdam Branch Library at 2 pm, drop in and do some science.
• There’s a Steak & Lobster Fest at Central Park from 5-8 pm.
• The Red-Haired Strangers are playing from 6-8 pm in Wiswall Park in Ballston Spa.
• The East Greenbush Library is having an End-of-Summer BBQ for their teens (grades 6 to 12).  Register in advance.
• Holly McCormack is playing at 6:30 pm at the Crossings in Colonie.
• Monsters vs. Aliens will be shown in Shafer Park in Duanesburg at 7 pm.
• The Wiz will be shown at 7 pm at Freedom Park in Scotia.
• At 7 pm, take a Twilight Kayak tour at Moreau Lake State Park.

Friday, August 20th:

• Kids 8 and up can build Simple Lego Machines at 3 pm at CMOST.  Pre-register, $2/non-member.
• At 10:30 am, drop in for Music Fun at Scotia Branch Library.
• They’re playing Muppet Treasure Island at 2 pm at Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library.
• It’s Art Night Schenectady from 5-9 pm.
• At 6 pm, there will be a Rock Garage Concert at Albany Public Library.
• The Wiz will be shown at 7 pm at Freedom Park in Scotia.

I’ll have a week’s schedule out tomorrow.  I can’t do it tonight.  Perhaps I can play upon your sympathy?

I went and visited two of my sisters this weekend.  This sisterly-bonding trip was not as relaxing as it might sound.  I’m not going into it.  Well, if you run into me personally and ask, I’ll explain, and then you’ll feel awkward and sorry that you asked.  So, whatever.  I was hoping to be back by late afternoon/early evening, and I’d planned to pull together the weekly post then.

Instead, I’ve just finished approximately 12 hours in the car.  The first stretch was with my sisters.  We were all rather exhausted, and there was a great deal of traffic as well as rain.  Then we arrived at our first destination, where I had to switch to driving my own car by myself.  In the approximately 5 minutes it took to open my sister’s car, remove my belongings, and transfer them to my vehicle, I managed to lose her keys. Darkness was rapidly descending and I was becoming increasingly frantic.  It seemed quite possible that I was just so tired that I’d opened my clenched fist and allowed the key to drop out of my hand somewhere on the front lawn.  It took, gosh, 15 or 20 minutes for my brother-in-law to find the key; it had slipped in that little opening on the seat where the seat belt buckles jut out.   By this time it took a quite a bit of energy to keep from bursting into tears, and I wondered if God or Someone was telling me to spend the night.  But tomorrow will be my last full day before the family returns, and I wanted to wake up in my own bed.  My sister packed two brownies and some fruit for me to take on the road, and I was off.

As soon as I got started, I remembered that I’d had trouble with the interior-dashboard lights in the car, and while I struggled with it, I called cute W for advice.  He remembered–oh, yeah!–that there seemed to be an electric short of some sort.  I was on the phone with him, navigating unfamiliar streets in the dark, and felt really quite unable to switch lights off and on as he suggested at the same time.  I explained this to him as if he were one of my children in the hyper-calm voice that I use when I feel that Completely Losing My Shit is imminent.  I hung up and, luckily, was able to call him back moments later to report that his suggestions had worked.  Of course, now I knew that poor W would be fretting until I could check in with him from home, but he would fret anyway, because he knows that I hate to drive.  I’m just a Nervous Nelly.  For most of the time that I’m driving, I’m consumed by the notion that a car is just a big, scary weapon. I am constantly expecting it to swerve out of control or burst into flames.  Yes, I know:  it’s no way to live.

Moments later, my GPS system, whom I affectionately call Garmina, informed me that she had a low battery even though she was plugged in.   Ummm, panic.  It was all connected.  For the remainder of the trip, the dash lights would periodically disappear, leaving me to turn my lights off and on frantically as if I wanted to warn oncoming cars about cops, which was usually accurate, because they seemed to be everywhere.  Also, my A/C would periodically cut out, and then I’d open my windows, and then the windshield would fog up, and then I’d stab at the A/C button frantically, and then it would kick in again. . . for a while.

Tremendous traffic continued on the major highway, so rather than ignoring her as I usually do on this trip, I followed Garmina’s advice to take the country road.  Wet, winding, and dark.   And then there was a detour. Garmina was in denial about the detour.  I, too, was in denial.  Eventually, Garmina, the highway system, and I were able to agree on an appropriate course.

When I finally managed to reach the NY State Thruway, I decided to reward myself by switching from contacts to glasses and buying some caffeine.  Would you believe that I arrived at the Starbucks just in time to get in front of the we’re-closing-so-just-go-away-security-gate?  Oh, happy day.  I was the last customer of the weekend.  In celebration, I said yes to whipped cream.  I knew that two brownies and a Frappucino probably weren’t the best combination for optimal well-being, and this was confirmed over the next hour of stomach churning.  Tomorrow I’ll detox.

Meanwhile, out in the parking lot, I started the engine and it coughed and died.  Oh, yes it did. I don’t know.  I just sat for a minute, reminded myself that at least I was at a rest area, & told The Universe firmly, “This is not happening.”  Tried again, and The Universe conceded the point.  Thank you. I drove over to get gas, became frantic that the man near me was smoking, then realized that he was eating a giant popsicle.  Considered that panicky and possibly hallucinatory was probably a bad way to drive home; dismissed it and continued driving.

Maybe fifteen minutes away from my house, Garmina said something like (and I’m paraphrasing here): “You should absolutely go in this other way which is not the right direction.”  She didn’t actually say this because I’ve muted her.  This is because when I take a wrong turn and she says things like “Recalculating. . . “  and “Make a U-turn if possible”, I feel judged.  I think that the makers of GPS systems should include some more encouraging phrases, things like, “You’re doing great so far” and “Now you’re back on the right track.”  Since she doesn’t ever give me the emotional support I crave, I  mute her.  Anyway, I can’t explain exactly what happened.  Was she impacted by the electrical short?  Did I misread her signals?  I don’t know.  But I’ve already established (ad nauseum, I fear) that I have no sense of direction.  I have no instinct whatsoever.  In fact, my instincts are almost invariably wrong, but not in a reliable way.  You’d think that I could just say, “I think it’s left, so I’d better go right,” but there’s no discernable pattern–I’m usually wrong, but not absolutely always.  So I followed Garmina, although it felt wrong, and she led me astray.  There was a humiliating u-turn, followed by excessive time spent at red lights I should have avoided.

Five minutes away from home I was driving slightly too fast, windows open, singing along to Sheryl Crow in a mixture of euphoria at the homecoming and anxiety that something would be wrong.  I don’t know if any of you experience this, but I spend the last ten minutes of most car trips fearing that I’ll find my house burglarized or my cat dead.  Thus far, I’d beaten the odds, so  inappropriate loud singing helped to ward off that final burst of panic.

I’m home, the cat is glad to see me, the house is no more disheveled than when I left it, and after this cathartic post, I’m going straight to bed.

We took a drive past Saranac Lake during our week up in the Adirondacks.  Actually, it turned out to feel like a much longer drive than we’d anticipated.  As a coping mechanism, I invented a new Car Ride Game.  It’s called, “That’s your house!”   It really only works on those drives that are somewhat rural, because they often have a wide variety of different residences, and they’re spaced out a bit.  Here’s how you play:

1. Establish and explain a particular order (say, alphabetical or chronological).
2. Tell everyone the rules (it has to be a residence, and you have to be able to see it from the road).
3. Decide when to begin (like, after that white mailbox up ahead).
4. As you drive along, point out each building and name whose house it is.

It was surprisingly entertaining.  Some people got lovely homes with beautiful front porches, others got half-boarded, decaying hovels.  J asked her friend L if she could come swim in her pool, and then invited her for tea at her home afterward.  Or. . . maybe we were all just bored? I don’t know.  It’s worth a try.  And it beats the heck out of I’m Going on a Picnic.

Finally, we reached the Paul Smiths Adirondack Visitor Interpretive Center.  If we had spent the entire day there and planned to do some serious hiking or boating on one of their guided tours, we would have a more enthusiastic report.  Instead, we popped in to see what was in the center itself, since the kids were a bit hiked out.  Inside, it was similar to–but not quite as fun as–a visit to Thacher or Albany Pine Bush.

J & her friend L examine the touchables.

Outside, there was a modest playground that the kids enjoyed.

They also had a butterfly house with staff that were friendly and eager to teach.  I saw the teensiest caterpillar I’d ever seen there.  It’s not their fault that my kids have been to, oh, at least 4 or 5 other butterfly habitats before.

On the way to our car, J encountered a baby snake, which might have been the highlight of our trip.

As we drove home, we were excited to locate Donnelly’s Ice Cream, which had come highly recommended by a friend as well as the workers at Ben & Jerry’s (yes: it’s true).

It’s a little place that offers one flavor (twisted with vanilla) of superbly creamy soft serve ice cream.  Lucky for us, we hit a chocolate day.  M took one step out the door and her ice cream dropped right off the cone.  There was an unbelievably quick response with a bucket and sweeper, and after sitting on the grass nearby we understood:  I think 3 or 4 people lost their ice cream in the fifteen minutes it took for us to finish our cones.

I found the ordering process quite stressful.  I know it sounds ridiculous: all you have to choose is your size, but people were lining up behind us at an alarming rate.  When we mentioned to a local that we’d eaten there, she laughed and said, “They’re like the Soup Nazi!” and I felt validated.

After ice creamin’ up, we headed to Lake Colby for the rest of the afternoon.  It was beautiful, the kids all enjoyed the water, and I was the single most popular woman on the beach because I was loaning out the many Max Liquidators that we’d brought along.  Which was a treat, since often when you go to lakes, that sort of thing isn’t allowed.  In fact, we spent such an unexpectedly long amount of time at the beach that my friend went on a drinks-and-trashy-magazines run, and both the grown-ups got burned (dang those men for going back to work instead of applying sunscreen to our backs).

J also appreciated picking the wildflowers at near Lake Colby.

J's bouquet

I keep forgetting to add it to the weekend post, but a friend recently took her young kids to the Double M Western Store Rodeo in Ballston Spa, and she said it was “a blast”.  It’s on Friday and Saturday nights at 8 pm until September 3rd. They’ve got pony rides, clowns, and barrel riding by kids as young as 8, among other attractions.

Advance tickets are $13/adults, $5/children 5-12.  You can also purchase tickets at the gate, or come early, at 6 pm, for a BBQ dinner

Hey!  It’s almost Friday the 13th!  It’s supposed to be lucky if you were born on the 13th. . . which I was.  So, woo, hoo!  Of course, most people still go with spooky.  In fact, at the Saratoga Race Track, they’re encouraging kids to come in costume and parade and trick or treat.  Here are a few more things to do:

All Weekend:

• The Wiz is still playing at 5:30 pm from Tuesday to Sunday at the Washington Park Playhouse in Albany.    Meanwhile, Annie Get Your Gun continues Tuesday through Sunday at 8 pm.  The last day for both of these is 8/15, so if you haven’t made it yet, now’s the time.
• Giants Training Camp continues at the SUNY Albany campus.
• There are Valleycats games every night, with fireworks on Sunday night.
• It’s Canalfest from noon to 6 pm at Mabee Farm in Schenectady.  It’s free music by a variety of performers, and you can pay for boat tours as well.

Friday evening, August 13th:

• At 6 pm, the girls from Think Peace for Girls will be performing Sadako and the Thousand Cranes in Saratoga Springs.  It’s free.  Wow, this sounds like a very cool camp.
• They’re showing Monsters vs. Aliens at 7 pm at the Niskayuna Town Hall Gazebo.  It was scheduled for Thursday, but they changed nights due to the weather forecast.
• At 8 pm, they’re showing Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs at the East Greenbush Town Park.

Saturday, August 14th:

• From 8 am to 1 pm in Cohoes, there’s a Fishing Derby.  See Albany Kid for details.
• There’s a Moreau Overlook Hike at 9 am at Lake Moreau.
• Learn about Oaks at Five Rivers at 10 am.
• Drop in and Dance to the Oldies at 10:30 am at the Rotterdam Branch Library.
• It’s a Crafty Saturday Morning at 10:30 am at Schoharie Crossing State Park.
• From noon to 8:30 pm at Central Park in Schenectady, it’s Carama 2010, a Caribbean Cultural Festival.
• At 1 pm, learn how animals stay cool in the Albany Pine Bush at Fade and Shade.  Pre-register (you can do it online), and it’s $2/person, $5/family.
• At 1 pm, there’s a World Lizard Day Celebration (who knew?) at the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology.  Pre-register, and it’s $2/non-member.
• The Dyer Switch Band will be playing bluegrass at Freedom Park in Scotia.
• From 8 pm ’til midnight there’s Swimming Under the Stars at Ballston Spa Village Pool.  Check out Malta Mama for details.
• Go Stargazing at 9 pm at Thacher.  It will be canceled if it’s cloudy.

Sunday, August 15th:

• It’s Discovery Day at the Hyde Collection from 1-3 pm.
• From 1-3 pm, there’s an Underground Railroad Walking Tour in Albany.  $10/adult, kids 15 and under free.
• From 1:30-2:30 it’s a Teddy Bear Picnic at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga.  You must pre-register and it’s $10/non-member.
• Learn about Vines (including poison ivy) at Five Rivers at 2 pm.
• There’s Storytelling at 6 pm at Schoharie Crossing State Park.
• Cherish the Ladies are playing at 7 pm at Central Park’s Music Haven Stage.
• It’s Italian Night with TS Ensemble at 7 pm at  Freedom Park in Scotia.