Category — Outside the Capital District

Okay, hopefully the snow won’t be here too much longer, but I realized that I never passed along our ski getaway report, so here it is.

We spent two nights at Jiminy Peak in Hancock, Massachusetts, and it was such a good time that I’ve been telling everyone I know that they should go, and not just because it’s so close, an hour door-to-door from our house near Schenectady.

What we love even more are the deals for staying at the Country Inn. Downhill skiing is expensive, so when you can find something reasonable, it’s cause for celebration. Check out their website, and you’ll see that a full day of skiing (8 hours) costs $59 for an adult and $44 for kids 12 and under. That’s a painful $206 for my family of four to ski all day. Except that the going rate for a midweek stay at the Country Inn is generally $199/night and lodging  includes two adult lift tickets plus free skiing midweek for kids under 12. Yippee!

Kitchenette

Each suite has a separate bedroom and a living room with a pull-out sofa and a kitchenette. I kept discovering helpful details, like when I unearthed some much-needed dish washing soap from the pantry, or when I opened up the sofa bed to discover that it was already made with sheets and a blanket, so my kids could collapse immediately.  With a little preparation, we’d packed everything we needed to skip buying food at the lodge and restaurant entirely. Excellent, because I’m cheap. Even better, if you book a few rooms with friends, you can have an ongoing potluck party. If your kids vary in their enthusiasm for skiing, a group makes life much easier. When J lost steam, there were always a few adults taking a break who could provide  snacks and turn the tv to cartoons as necessary.  Large groups, say ten suites or more, can negotiate for a lower group rate.

Our bedroom before we had a chance to trash it.

We checked in promptly at 4 pm on a Sunday, dropped our bags, and ran outside (okay, more like ka-thumped in our ski boots) to take advantage of the night skiing. After a few runs, J was tired of skiing for the night, but she and I loved taking a ride on the Mountain Coaster that’s available on the weekends. At $7 each, this was an extra cost, but it was absolutely worth it for us. We squealed with joy all the way down, and it was the perfect way to end our evening outside on a high note after she’d gotten discouraged on the slopes.

Not me and J. We coasted in the dark and I contrived to have J still in her ski helmet just in case we flew off the rails, which seemed quite possible.

Most of the kids in our group spent a full day (9:30 am to 3:30 pm) in ski school. The cost is $102 and includes lessons, lift tickets (if they weren’t already included in lodging), and lunch. Our only complaint was that the person who took our reservations didn’t ask for the girls’ lunch order and assigned them chicken nuggets. We realized the mistake at drop-off and attempted to correct it, but they ended up with the nuggets, anyway. This was particularly comic when my 8-year-old recounted that another child had received nuggets and also didn’t want them because “she’d seen the video, too.” I realized that the Jamie Oliver video that I’d shown them had made a bigger impression than I’d thought! Apparently the other little girl was wily enough to finagle a macaroni and cheese, but my kids were stuck. However, they enjoyed ski school so much that they were ready and willing to go back the next day (we skied together instead) and they both “graduated” to the next level, which means my big girl will be a pole-wielding Fox next time (levels are designated by woodland creatures from chipmunks to coyotes).

Meanwhile, we adults took advantage of the kid-free time to ski as quickly and as much as we could for the day. We liked the variety of trails and the conditions as well as the nonexistent lift lines that midweek offered. And with hours running from 9 am to 10 pm and the convenient access to our rooms (we could pretty much ski to the doorstep of the Country Inn), it was easy to take quick breaks for lunch and dinner and head back out again and again.

The inn has an inviting lobby that’s frequently stocked with free cocoa and cookies. Last year we happened to visit during a late-January rainstorm, and the kids enjoyed playing games in the balcony while the grown-ups  listened in from below and drank wine by the fire. We felt like we had the run of the place, so it was a bit disappointing that with great snow conditions, the lobby became a bit of a mob scene. Still, the staff were friendly and helpful. We didn’t participate, but on the weekends, they have late-afternoon activities for the kids. Perfect timing to keep them entertained between ski school and dinnertime.

Also entertaining? The hot tubs and pool. Along with an indoor hot tub, the 0utdoor hot tub and heated pool beckoned many of us to hightail it through the cold to enjoy the water. Soaking in the hot tub surrounded by snow was perfect after a long day of skiing. The pool was bearably warm, but not my cup of tepid tea. The kids, however, had a blast.  Any parent knows that a hotel pool is golden, and the novelty of frolicking in the steam outside in February was thrilling for all of them, even if many of the adults supervising them preferred to chitchat in their coats.

A photogenic Jiminy family enjoying the pool. A more realistic image would be ten kids swimming like crazy while the adults huddled in the hot tub with plastic cups.

We thought Jiminy Peak was an excellent and convenient getaway, and we’ll be going again next year.

Schauber Stables in Ballston Lake has special activities and photos with Santa (and a horse) on the weekends beginning this weekend.

We’ve been busy all week.

M skates at the outdoor rink at Crown Center

We experienced the most comfortable rental skates ever at the Crown Center ice rink, and their tickets are for all day. A few super-awesome tween skaters had arrived before us and looked like they were camped there for the day with their long-suffering mothers. J had a tough time doing any actual skating because she was so enthralled watching them. In fact, she moved so little that I thought that she’d forgotten how to skate over the long summer, but when it was time to clear the ice for the zamboni, she slid over skillfully and hopped right off the rink without lurching to the railing as I’d expected. Yay her.

Science City

M was especially excited to visit Science City, which we’ve visited before. It’s super-cool, but I kept losing one child or the other, which was unnerving. W enjoyed it, too. See the net above and to the left? It was to protect people who were riding the Sky Bike.

W rides the Sky Bike

Truthfully, I think that part of the attraction for M is that she’s always hoping that she’ll be tall enough to be permitted to ride the Sky Bike. So far, no luck. Frankly, I think that they’re a bunch of heightists.

In any case, if you’re ever visiting Kansas City with children, my top 3 recommendations are Science City, the Toy & Miniature Museum, and Paradise Park.

Ever thought about taking the kids to the Thanksgiving Day Parade?  We did it last year and had tons of fun.  I know it’s a bit intimidating, but Cute W and I firmly believe it’s one of those things everyone should do once, and we figured that we’d get it in while the kids were still young enough to be completely dazzled.  If you’ve considered it but wish you had an Action Plan, I’ll tell you what we did.

The parade begins at 9 am on Thanksgiving, and we knew that we’d need to arrive early in order to get a spot along the route, so we drove down to the NYC area the day before and planned to spend Wednesday doing something kid-friendly.

Now, we’re too cheap to spend the big bucks on a Manhattan hotel, and we wanted it to be just-our-family rather than a visit to friends, so we Pricelined a hotel in Fort Lee, NJ.  This is directly across the George Washington Bridge from the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  From the hotel, it was easy to drive over the bridge and park along the red subway line.  You know that I hate driving, and city driving scares me.  But this is relatively easy and low-stress.  We parked near Broadway & 116th Street because we used to live there and know the area well.

On Wednesday, we lucked out.  After going out to lunch, we just happened to choose the American Museum of Natural History because it was a kid-friendly destination.  We were there in the afternoon, and it was not too busy, probably because many people were traveling to relatives and such.  We went to the upstairs cafe, and this was our view:

Ummm, duh!  We completely didn’t put it together that this is where they blow up the floats!  Amazingly, the place wasn’t mobbed, and we were able to get window seats.

We ended up eating close to the hotel and the girls took a little dip in the pool, but it was an early bedtime because we woke up at 5:30 am to head into the city.  We parked on the street again and took the subway and then walked over to Central Park West.  It was surprisingly crowded already. In retrospect, I’d recommend that you plan to arrive at the parade site by 6 am at the latest to secure a spot.  We were bitter because in the past, the wall along the park had been a great place to sit and spectate, but these days the park side of the street is blocked off for bleachers for VIPs.  Or not VIPs, exactly, but PWAMITU (People Who Are More Important Than Us).  We managed to score a little indentation in front of a dentist’s office.  Still, it got a bit squishy.

Reading a story, I was both surprisingly cozy and surprisingly close to strangers' buttocks.

Here are my suggestions for the camp-out-and-parade-viewing process:

1. Limit the kids’ fluid intake.
2. Bring a blanket, camp chair, or something that will mark your territory and allow you to avoid sitting on cold pavement.
3. Bring books.
4. Wear clothing layers.  You could get cold, but you also don’t want to be bogged down holding too much.
5. Bring snacks, but not snacks that will make the kids too thirsty (see 1).
6. Identify a store or restaurant that has a bathroom before you find your spot, and then walk over to Central Park West staying close to the cross street with a bathroom.
7. Don’t forget your camera, perhaps binoculars if you’d like to recognize specific celebrities.  In fact, if I did it again, I might check the website for a last-minute list of celebrities so that I could appreciate it and share the information with my parade neighbors.
8. Try to have more adults than children present.  Because they will be spending time on your shoulders.  Which can be exhausting.
9. Make sure that the grown-ups have charged cell phones in case you get separated.

As you may have guessed, I was stressed out about the whole bathroom issue.  We did have to take a bathroom break, and I brought the girls while Cute W maintained our territory.  I feared grumbling and hostility, but it was absolutely fine.  It’s a family event, you know.  Some people muttered that we were crazy to leave, but I just kept smiling and saying “Excuse me” nicely.  When we actually worked our way back to our place, we followed our original path as much as possible, so folks knew that we had a spot further in.  Some even congratulated us on successfully visiting the bathroom.

The blond head in the foreground is M.

Of course, when you’re watching from the Upper West Side, the parade itself is finished long before the live tv version, which is filming at 34th Street.  See the parade route here for details.  We were on our way out by 10 or 10:30 am.  The farther downtown you go, the slower the parade will pass by.  Since our destination was Thanksgiving dinner in New Jersey at about 3 or 4 pm, the timing was excellent.

It’s a hassle, I agree, but it was well worth it.  You’re making memories, people!

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.

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.

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

We climbed up small-but-satisfying Baker Mountain near Saranac Lake while we were up in the Adirondacks.  I’d definitely recommend it.

The kids start their climb.

We hike occasionally, but I find that it’s tough to motivate the kids without a specific goal in mind (which is why I like letterboxing).  Climbing to the top of a mountain was perfect.  Part of the way up, the trail split into two:  to the right was the official, marked trail, which we later learned was rockier and steeper than the unofficial-but-easy-to-follow path that veered left.  Climbing up the rocks was fun, but a little scary at times.  The top photo in the link above (oh, I’ll put it here, too) shows exactly the spot where I had a little panic attack.   Imagine me at the bottom of this picture, then imagine the two five-year-old girls in our party frolicking happily on the steeper rock portion above, completely oblivious to the sheer drop that’s at right.  I was scrambling up while pant-hissing to J’s friend, “Lean forward right now, please!  Get on your hands and knees right now please!” They were so excited that they were almost at the summit that they were dancing a little bit.

And the summit itself was oh-so-satisfying.   We took a shoe picture around the medallion that marked the top (this is kind of a thing that my in-laws do, actually), and J located blueberries, so there was picking and snacking.

Meanwhile, the views were gorgeous.

M taking it in.

We took the less-steep trail down.  The kids were re-energized after reaching the top and having a snack, and with that, plus gravity, they kept breaking into a run.  W reminded them that if they went too fast they might ram into a tree and get a black eye or lose a tooth.  We’d forgotten that J was actually hoping to lose a  loose tooth.  She decided to try to knock her tooth out by smacking herself against a fallen log.

Hey, it's worth a shot.

Later in the day, M yanked it out for her.  Personally, I was quite impressed that the Tooth Fairy was able to get her hands on a golden dollar (her traditional gift) on such short notice.  She’s a marvel, I tell you!

The climb took longer than we’d expected, so rather than going home & assembling sandwiches, we treated ourselves to lunch at Tail o’ the Pup Bar-B-Q, which was on the way.  It was better than we’d expected, with live music, a little playground, and mid-day margaritas.  Frozen with salt?  Yes, please!

Hey!  I’m having a splendid day!  Check out this weather, you guys!  Awesome!

I woke up and noticed that my five-year-old had once again made her own bed and tidied up her room.  Then I walked downstairs to find the two girls cuddling and giggling together on the couch.  And then I laughed out loud when I saw how W was preparing for our nursery school’s Silent Auction.   When I was packing lunch, M decided that she’d rather have two carrots instead of Easter candy for the last compartment in her lunch box.  Driving J to school, I spotted a nice, sturdy table at a yard sale, perfect for my screened porch area, and on the way home I nabbed that baby for $5!  Yes! I was going to show you a picture of the newly adorable-ized porch, but it really needs flowers in the window first, so we’ll get to that later.  Then I took a run without getting lost and went 5K.  So, I’m ready to go!  And then, I discovered a way to enjoy a new vegetable which almost rivaled my Roasted Cauliflower Revelation.  I mean, this is like the Day of Awesome.

Pickled Daikons & Carrots

Except, that I am shivering and starving at this moment, because I wanted to get this post done so that I could have a relaxing and enjoyable lunch.  So, as soon as I click publish, it’s right back to Awesome.  Okay, are you ready?

All Weekend

• Don’t forget that the Riverway Storytelling Festival continues through the weekend.  There are plenty of opportunities to hear some great stories at a variety of different locations.  Click the link for the schedule–it’s all free.
• New York State Theatre Institute is still showing Orphan Train.
• Washington County has its annual Farm & Fiber Tour.  There are a variety of locations, so check the link for details.

Friday, April 23rd

• There’s another Wild, Wacky Woodcock Watch at 6:30 pm at the Albany Pine Bush.  Pre-registration required, and it’s $2/person, $5/person.
• Do a Spring Peeper (frogs)  Survey at Five Rivers at 7 pm.  Bring a flashlight and wear your galoshes!
• They’re showing The Princess and the Frog at Schuylerville Public Library at 7 pm.

Saturday, April 24th

• Downtown Troy has an Earth Day Clean Up.  Folks are meeting at 8:30 am at the municipal parking lot on 1st Street between State & Broadway.
• Take a Woods Walk with children’s activities at Dyken Pond from 8:30 am to noon.  $15 fee to support the programs.  Or volunteer to help clear the trails between 1:30 and 4 pm.
• Or take a Spring Overlook Hike at Moreau Lake State Park at 9 am.  Short but sometimes steep hike.  Call for details.
• At Thacher Nature Center at 10 am, they’ll have two short films, a craft, and a snack suitable for ages 8 and up. Please pre-register, and it’s $3/person.
• There’s a Mardi Gras Festival from 11 am to 4 pm in Saratoga.  There’s a parade at noon, a street fair, and plenty of food, including Cajun food from the folks who will be opening   Cafe Nola in the next month or so on lower Union Street in Schenectady.
• The New York State Museum’s celebrating Earth Day from 11 am to 4 pm, plus it’s Creative Art Day from 1-3 pm.  Free.
• Learn about cryptology at Crypto-Clue Finders at the Troy Public Library at 11 am.  For ages 8 and up.
• The Saratoga Springs Barnes & Noble has a storytime devoted to Fancy Nancy: Poet Extraordinaire at 11 am.
• Take Time Out for Tales at the Bethlehem Public Library at 11 am.  For preschoolers and family.
• There’s a Guided Kayak Trip at Moreau Lake.  It’s from 1-3 pm.  BYOB or rent a kayak for $15.  Call to pre-register.
• Learn about Turtles at the Albany Pine Bush at 1 pm.  Pre-register.  It’s $2/person, $5/family.
• It’s Astronomy Day from 1-4 pm at the Schenectady Museum.  $4 + admission.
• There’s a Family History Hunt at Historic Cherry Hill at 1 pm.  $2/adult, $1/child aged 6-11.  Okay, can I say, I just went for more information on their Facebook page, and they’re having a fabulous time there?  They have a Curatorial Curiosities Series–they post pictures of various doo-hickeys from the collection and people try to guess what they are.
• Wilton Wildlife Preserve is hosting a free Earth Field Day from 1-4 pm.  Compare your talents and abilities to those of local wildlife.
• The Albany Institute of History & Art has Art for All from 1-4 pm.  Free with museum admission.
• They’re having an Earth Day Festival from 1-4 pm at Five Rivers.
• At 2 pm, there’s a lecture about Clothing through the Dutch and then English colonial periods at Crailo State Historic Site in Rensselaer.  Free.
• Park Playhouse Kidz presents Cupcakes and Cabaret, favorite Disney songs performed by 10- to 13-year-old kids at 4:30 pm at the Delmar Reformed Church  It’s $4/adult, $2/kid, pre-order tickets via email: delmardesignsquad@gmail.com
• 518Fever.com is putting on United4Thacher in support of Thacher Park at Proctors.  Kids activities include clowns, puppets, face painting, and more.Free entry, but of course you’ll want to donate to the cause.
• Smuckers Stars on Ice is at the Times Union Center at 7:30 pm.

Sunday, April 25th

• Downtown Albany Restaurant Week begins today.
• The Baby Expo is at The Desmond Hotel today from 11 am to 4 pm.
• It’s Doggie Earth Day at Saratoga Spa State Park.  Bring your dog along to a park clean up from 11 am to 1 pm.
• There’s the 2nd Annual Clearwater Fundraiser from noon to 7 pm at 28 Stone House Hill Road in Coeymans, NY.   There will be barn dancing from 1-2:30 pm, barbecue for dinner, music jams, and a silent auction.  There’s no cover for this event, but of course you’d want to donate.  It’s being advertised as child-friendly.  I couldn’t find a good link for further info. on the event, but I’ve got it in my email if anyone wants more details.
• The Albany Institute of History & Art has a special Art for All from 1-4 pm.  It’s an Iroquois Beadworking Workshop. Free with museum admission.
• If you still haven’t managed to Discover it yet, go to the Albany Pine Bush at 1 pm.  Pre-register.  It’s $2/person, $5/family.
• Schenectady Theater for Children presents The Mermaid of Edam at Stillwater Community Center at 2 pm.  Neither organization lists it on their website, but I swear I’ve seen it listed in muliple places!
• At the National Museum of Dance’s School, there’s a New York City Ballet audition for girls 8 to 13.
• There’s a classical concert at Schuyler Mansion at 3 pm.  It’s $25/adult, $15/student.
• From 5-7 pm at Proctors, there’s dinner and a music program put together by the Empty Bowls Project of Schenectady.  This is a fundraiser to alleviate hunger, and it’s $20/person at the door or $15/person ahead of time.

I was so busy making sure that you had plenty to do this week that I didn’t get a chance to tell you about the rest of the roadtrip.  The second day was just fine, thank you.  We took a swim in the hotel pool and then headed to Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, North Carolina.  The girls had a great time.  Here are a few of our favorite parts:

J harvests carrots from the "garden"

There were the usual grocery store and restaurant set ups, but I liked that there was a garden, too.  There was a boat and an ambulance, and a great little mail-and-package processing center.  They also had a room with extra-big Lego style blocks and three large connecting train tables.

M loads the delivery truck.

In another area there was a giant submarine and a pirate ship.  The pirate ship included a plank on the lower level.  I mean, what kid doesn’t want to make someone walk the plank, right?

Pirate ship

Behind the pirate ship was a door outside to a children’s garden–the kids wanted to head upstairs, and then we forgot to go there–I was bummed!

Upstairs a couple of our favorites were piles of fabrics that could be used for fashion design, and a big “hockey” rink that was super-slippery, with socks that you could borrow so that you could slide around.  This was really great, but we couldn’t get a picture without multiple kids, so you’ll just have to use your imagination.

One of a bunch of workbenches with real tools

Finally, I had to include a photo of the workbenches with real saws–a little scary, right?  But I am a pretty Free Range parent, so I appreciated these.

Anyway, we had a lovely time, and it’s an excellent stop if you’re ever brave (or foolish) enough to take a tremendously long road trip.  We had no car sickness for the last five hours–yay!

Since then we’ve had amazing weather and a wonderful time–we’ve gone to a pool and the beach, and today we toured around Savannah and the kids splashed in the fountain at Forsyth Park.  Tonight we get to go out on a date!  Anyway, I promise that this is the one and only post about the splendors of vacation–I mean, you want to hear about the splendors of the Capital District, right?  So anyone doing anything fun locally that they’d recommend?

With all of this time off from school, you could always try a little overnight adventure.  Kids are quite easily thrilled with a trip, especially if it involves a stay in a hotel.  A new bed, elevators to ride, and especially an indoor pool–woo, hoo!  We’ve had success with  Priceline many times.  It’s especially great for a spur-of-the-moment adventure, because you can always just lowball them and blow it off entirely if you don’t get a reservation.

Our family’s favorite not-too-far destinations:

Boston: There’s plenty to do here.  We’ve visited and loved both the Museum of Science and Boston Children’s Museum. Even better, we got in free because we were members of the Schenectady Museum, so admission was FREE!  Really, if you aren’t a member of Schenectady Museum, the Children’s Museum of Science & Technology in Troy, or the New York State Museum, you should join one of them–it is totally worth it, because of the ASTC Passport Program.  My friend often hits the Natick Mall because her son loves the Lego store and her daughter loves the American Girl store.

Rochester: Umm, the Strong National Museum of Play is super, super fun.  I mean, I was just chitchatting with another mom, and it is completely worth the trip all by itself.    Throw in a hotel with a pool and you’ve got yourself a superior destination right there.  Or, if you’re looking for more, check this link for a parent-produced top twenty list.

New York City: We lived in New York for 8 years, so of course I love to go back.  Last time we went, it was for the Thanksgiving Day Parade, but we also hit the American Museum of Natural History and Joe’s Shanghai for some soup dumplings–yum.  We also like to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art–my suggestion for this one is 1) get the kids familiar with some of the stuff ahead of time so they can appreciate it (maybe by reading this book, for example), and 2) put blinders on the kids, because there’s so much interesting to see that when you’re on the way to the exhibits you’re interested in (19th Century European Painting, natch), the kids will get all sucked into the freakin’ Etruscans, and by the time you finally make it through room after room after room, they’ll be toast.  Not that this happened to me.  Oh, but yes it did. Something important that you should understand is that for both of those museums, the admission is a suggested donation. That means that you will go through the motions, lining up and going to a cashier, but then if you say, “I’m going to pay ten dollars,” that is allowed.  Yes, you might feel embarrassed, and of course these are wonderful institutions that should be supported, but if cost is keeping you from visiting, you should just visit and pay less.  Really.  We haven’t made the Brooklyn Children’s Museum followed by a trip to the Chip Shop for a deep-fried Snickers bar, but it is on the agenda, I tell you.  I realize, now, that I’m rambling about NYC, so I’m just going to have to curb my enthusiasm and maybe I’ll do another NYC post some other time.

Places we haven’t gotten around to visiting–anybody gone here?  Would you recommend the trip to me and other readers?

• Hancock Shaker Village in the Berkshires has baby animals right now.
• Cooperstown has a tons to do, and we still haven’t made it there.