NY Vacation--Hiking

The rest of our vacation involved camping in KOA cabins and visiting the New York History Museum. The kids and Joseph thought the camping was great fun!  There was a nice play ground at both campsites.  There were swimming pools as well so both activities were in high demand with my kids. While Joseph took everyone to play, Edie and I would make up the beds and then join in the "fun." Cabin camping is the most I'm willing to do and even then, I don't enjoy it.  I just don't see the appeal to sitting around a campfire, trying to cook outside, eating in a dirty environment, etc.  Maybe if we had better camping equipment we could eat things that aren't cooked over a fire, but I don't think I want to invest in the equipment to find out I still don't enjoy it.  i just tried not to think about how dirty my kids were, especially at meal times.  Edie and I would take walks through the camp.  It was interesting to see the different camping set ups that campers had.

Camping and Hiking

This was our tiny cabin.

Sand pit.

I thought this little tire swing horse was cute!

Lincoln and Annika are evenly matched when it comes to the see-saw.

Any of my family recognize this book?  Rebecah LOVES it!

Our first night I wasn't feeling very well so Joseph and Kimball went on a hike that wasn't toddler friendly while I put the little ones to bed.  Rebecah and I then hung out on the porch swing until the men got back and I could go to bed early.  I was disappointed to miss out on this hike after seeing the pretty waterfall pictures.  Joseph said it just wasn't possible with the little ones.  

We did do a hike the next day as a family. It was supposed to be a "short" 0.6 mile trail, but it was a little more involved than we realized.  We had to help the little ones more than we expected, but I think they still enjoyed the outing.  Everyone got a little hot and sweaty so that led to some complaining so I broke out the snacks that I packed to help boost morale!

This sweet girl got the "wounded warrior" award.  She is one tough redhead!  She was very independent on our hike and wouldn't agree to being carried unless there was just no way she could do it on her own.  She would fall down and just get back up and carry on with her little elbow swinging back and forth!  She was dirty and her legs were covered in scrapes and bruises, but she didn't complain!

We saw this little lake with the rocky cliff back ground as we were driving.  We turned around so we could explore it.  The water was really clean for being a lake.  We made note of the location for when we are in the Adirondacks in the future.  It was beautiful!

New York State History Museum

Our last stop on our trip was Albany to visit the New York State History Museum.  Kimball learned about this museum at school so he really wanted to visit.  We weren't able to stay very long, an hour and a half, because the little ones were tired, but it was fun to explore.

I think it's cute that they are petting this turtle!

It must be a 2 year old thing to put a magnifying glass right up to ones face.  

Here Lincoln and Annika are doing it...

...and here is a picture of 2 year old Kimball doing it at a park in Arkansas!  

Kimball learned a lot about the Native Americans in school this 

past year so he was excited to see those exhibits.

It was interesting to see the exhibit of 9/11. I would have liked to have read 

more of the display signs, but the little ones were tired.

I know I posted this picture in Edie's 9 month post, but it was when

 we were leaving the museum that I took the picture.  

We had a nice mini-vacation and hopefully we can continue to explore the beautiful state we live in over the years we live in New York.

NY Vacation--Boldt Castle

We took a mini New York vacation this past week.  We went up North to Alexandria Bay and then over to Lake Placid in the Adirondacks.  Alexandria Bay is part of the Thousand Islands area on the St. Lawrence river between Canada and the US.   One of the islands in this region is Heart Island and it is home to Boldt Castle.  Most of our vacation involved KOA camping and Joseph knows I'm not a fan of camping so he used a tour of the castle to entice me to agree to the trip!  We took a short boat ride to the island and then went on a self-guided tour of the castle.

Lincoln was SO excited for the boat ride!

I love this picture of Edie.

This sign gives a brief history of Boldt Castle.

I will avoid long descriptions and just share a lot of pictures.

This was called the "play house" where the family would stay while the castle was under construction.  There was even a bowling alley in the basement.

This was the Yacht House where George Boldt stored his boats.

Boldt Castle

Stained glass ceiling in the front hall.  The stairs and view of the 2nd and 3rd floor balconies.

               

Front foyer and view of the veranda.

The library.

Ballroom

View of the foyer from the ballroom.

Reception room.

Dining room.  This table sat 18 people.  

We didn't get a picture of the kitchen or Butler's pantry, but those were two of my favorite rooms.

Servants dining room.

Not all of the house has been restored....it's a work in progress.  Only half of the 2nd floor is restored and the 3rd through 5th floors are as they were after the elements took over for 70 years.

This is part of the "basement" which is more like a walkway or tunnel since those windows are ground level in the back of the house.

The protruding area with the pretty windows housed a swimming pool.  It was interesting to see what a swimming pool would have been like in the early 1900s.

This is the Power house where the power for the house was generated.

This arched structure was the intended entrance to the island from the water.

Play house.

The kids got a little antsy before I was ready to go and started acting up so this picture is Joseph and me pretending we were alone enjoying the castle.  

The romantic in me would love to spend a week or two living in a house like this.  I think it would be interesting to live this way as long as I had indoor plumbing!