Six Flags Great Escape in New York

We woke up to a beautiful sunny day!  Six Flags Great Escape was only about 15 minutes from our campground which was great.  We knew this was a smaller park and figured we wouldn't be here all day.

The disabled parking was located on the same side of the street as the park, otherwise we spotted a larger parking lot across the street and people walking via a walkway bridge over the street.  There is a lodge with an indoor water park located across the street, but Six Flags Great Escape also offers a water park with its gates.

The first ride the kids saw was Sasquatch and the only one not tall enough was Amada, so I waited with her while all the boys went on.  Johnathan was so funny, he liked the name 'Sasquatch' so he just kept saying it.

Amada was happy when she found out she could drive this car all by herself.  Alex and Johnathan rode together.  I wonder how many arguments were started during that car ride?

This particular park didn't have many roller coasters, but the ones they did have had shorter height requirements so Johnathan was able to go on all of them.  He was a very happy little boy!  They did have a lot of kid rides too.

One complaint about this park is that there weren't many choices of what to eat for lunch.  We walked in circles trying to find something and finally settled on hot dogs/corn dogs.  Later when we entered the back sections of the kids' area there was more of a selection but it wasn't well marked within the park.

The boys thought it was cool to meet Scooby Doo, Scrappy Doo and Shaggy.  {Last Halloween Alex dressed up at Shaggy and James as Scooby Doo.}  Amada would not get anywhere close to them. More characters came out and they had a little dance contest.

There was one ride that our entire family was able to go on together, called Alpine Bobsled.  It was not a smooth ride at all, but it was unique.  It begins like a regular roller coaster on a track, but then it propels you into a bobsled track.  Like I said, unique.

And the last ride of the day was 'The Comet', a wooden roller coaster, and the only ride in the park to take your picture.  {By the way, we figured the best value for purchasing pictures is the USB since we knew we were going to be traveling around to a lot of the Six Flags parks.  I believe the initial expense of the USB was around $35, and each picture we want uploaded is only 99 cents.}

We were able to ride all of the rides we wanted and still be done in the afternoon.  We promised the kids they could play on the play equipment at the campground.  I need to do laundry and buy some groceries before we leave tomorrow for New Jersey.  Have I mentioned I love being able to do all of my laundry in the time it takes to do a single load?

Nicole

(This blog post does not correspond to where we currently are on our trip.  We didn't have internet for several weeks and are having a lot of fun so I am behind in blogging.  I will continue to post in chronological order.)  

New England States

As predicted, we woke up to a rainy morning with no hopes of it clearing anytime today.  The Weather Channel app has been extremely helpful during this trip, from driving days to planning activities.  I especially like that it has a live radar map and I can see what the weather will be on an hourly basis.

The kids were really looking forward to visiting Six Flags NY today, but we had to break the news to them that it would have to wait until tomorrow.  {We made sure to check the weather forecast before promising this to the kids.}  Instead we planned a driving tour of the New England states.  It was better than staying in the trailer all day and Daniel was anxious to add those state stickers to our map.



Vermont and New Hampshire looked pretty much the same: green and hilly.  It wasn't until we were getting ready to cross the bridge into Maine that it began pouring.

I was in awe as we were driving through looking at our nation's historical buildings.  We spotted this old jail (gaol) which was built in 1719.

We did stop on the Atlantic Coast of Maine to take a picture before we ate lunch.

We passed back through New Hampshire into Massachusetts and decided we would drive through Boston while we were here. We didn't plan on it being rush hour traffic or raining so hard a flash flood warning would be issued.  We were stuck in a tunnel for a good hour.  

We passed through Rhode Island and into Connecticut before arriving back at our campsite in New York. Even though it was a 13 hour day, we drove in seven different states today!  Now Daniel is happy he can put those stickers on the map.  And the kids are happy because tomorrow is Six Flags New York.

Nicole

  

Lake George, New York

Today we basically drove the width of New York from west to east.  The countryside is beautiful.  Daniel was surprised by how much of New York is undeveloped.  We changed campground locations so we could be closer to the Six Flags which we are planning on visiting tomorrow.  The KOA (Lake George) we are staying in is at the base of the Adirondack Park Preserve so it definitely has more of a woodsy feeling.

Our campsite is extremely private.  However, with all of the trees Daniel was unable to set up the Directv. No worries though as we have lots of activities planned.

After we set up the trailer we headed into town to re-stock our grocery supply.  Our "driving days" have also turned into our grocery shopping days.  We are thankful that Wal-Mart is nationwide.

And of course the kids had to check out the pool here.  It was VERY cold so they didn't swim long.

It may rain here tomorrow so you will have to wait and see if we get to go to Six Flags or have to plan something else.

Nicole

Our Trailer

By this point in our trip you are probably wondering if we are still as happy as we were when we left.  The answer to that question is YES!  Even more so because it is working.  We are getting to explore the United States with our younger children while living in our "home".  If you haven't seen our trailer, you are probably wondering how it works as our home on the road.  I am going to share some pictures of our trailer with you, kind of like a virtual tour. These pictures were taken when we first purchased the trailer in August 2011.  It is a 2012 Catalina by Coachmen, Model 28DDS.

The couch and table both fold down into full sized beds.  Since the boys have their own area and Amada just sleeps on the couch (until she wakes up and climbs into our bed), it's nice to not have to fold out and make beds every night.

Alex sleeps on the top bunk while Johnathan and James share the bottom bed.  Ironically it is exactly how they slept at home.

Daniel stores all of our outside chairs, BBQ/charcoal, swimming pool gear, tri-pod for his Directv satellite dish, and clothes drying rack in this compartment.

The trailer is truly perfect for us and even works when the older kids go on short trips with us.  We tow the trailer with our 12 passenger van (minus one of the bench seats for extra storage room).  We store James' wheelchair, Amada's stroller and our collapsible wagon in the back of the van.  We keep a cooler between the front seats for beverages, snacks and sandwich fixings.    

In another post I will share some of the organizational tips and tools I have found to be very helpful.

Nicole

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is the oldest State Park.  It was established in 1885.  It is easily accessible for those in a wheelchair. (James was in his wheelchair so I know from personal experience.)  Everyone we encountered was exceptionally friendly and helpful.

After scoping out the falls last night we decided that we would buy the Discovery Pass which allows entry to the Maid of the Mist, Cave of the Winds, the aquarium, an Imax movie, and unlimited rides on the trolley all day.  We figured we wouldn't use it for all of the attractions but it would still be a money saver.

The ride on the trolley was very accommodating for James and the tour guide was friendly and informative. We found out that it is only illegal to try to go over the falls if you survive and the fine is $10,000.  The first person to go over the falls was a 63 year old schoolteacher who went over the falls in a barrel in 1901.

We rode the trolley around to the Maid of the Mist as we decided this would be our first attraction.  There was practically no wait.  You can feel the force of the falls in the water as the boat sways back and forth.  As you approach the falls, the cool mist from the falls is enough to cool you down.  Johnathan loved this part.

After the Maid of the Mist, we decided to get some lunch then head towards the Cave of the Winds tour.

Daniel said this was probably the most exhilarating feeling he's ever experienced.  This part of the tour is called the Hurricane because of the wind and water that is produced from the waterfall.  Alex actually fell while going up the stairs.  Of course John loved it!  Daniel, Alex and John did it twice while I waited at the lower section with James and Amada.  

We enjoyed some ice cream before leaving.  The kids wanted to take their picture with this statue.

We headed back to the KOA for more swimming and the kids made some friends at the pool too.

We leave in the morning to head to Lake George, NY where we will visit the Six Flags and hopefully get to see the Statue of Liberty.

Nicole

 

New York...Introduction to Niagara Falls

As we were leaving Ohio, we had nasty weather to contend with.  We actually had a tornado warning come up on the GPS, but Daniel did a great job getting us to New York safely.

We chose to stay at the KOA campground in Grand Island, NY because it is located only 7 miles from Niagara Falls.  Since we had a short "driving day" the kids were ready to check out the pool.  This KOA had many amenities and activities which we didn't even take advantage of because the kids didn't want to leave the pool.  Can you blame them though?

After the kids had some time to swim, Daniel decided he wanted to scope out Niagara Falls for our visit tomorrow.  I'm really glad we did because it helped us formulate a plan for the following day and we were able to see the falls at dusk.

We were able to walk across a bridge that crosses the water before the falls.  The water is flowing very rapidly.  We found out that this water has already been through four of the great lakes and after it goes over the falls will flow to Lake Ontario.

Once you walk over the bridge the American Falls and an awesome view of the Rainbow Bridge into Canada await you.

Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day because we are planning a trip aboard the Maid of the Mist and the Cave of the Winds tour.  Hopefully there won't be a two hour wait like there was tonight!

Here is a fun picture of what was parked next to us at the KOA.  The kids were pretty excited to see it!

Until tomorrow,
Nicole

Ohio

I was born in Ohio, but moved to California when I was six years old.  Most of my family remained in Ohio for many years.  The last time Daniel, I and our older kids were there to visit was probably twelve years ago. Our younger children have never visited.  Since then, my maternal grandparents and my paternal grand-mother have passed away, and other family members have moved to different states.  

I still have two aunts (my mom's sisters) and their families and my paternal grandfather who live in Ohio so we stopped there for a couple of days.  Even though we haven't seen each other in quite a long time,  it was easy to pick up where we left off.  We had a nice family dinner at my Aunt Nancy's house and the kids enjoyed swimming in her pool.  We did have to take a break from swimming at one point due to the thunderstorm. I think the kids are becoming desensitized to thunderstorms because we have experienced so many of them on this trip.  My mom was visiting from California so she was happy to see all of us.

My grandfather has been ill and was recently released from the hospital into a rehab center where we were allowed to visit with him.  He was able to meet our younger kids for the first time.  My dad was also in Ohio for a visit during this time so we were able to visit with him.  This was our first time visiting since my grandmother passed away and it just felt like something was missing.  Grandpa did tell me that grandma would have loved to have had the opportunity to meet our younger kids.

The only house they lived in as long as I've been alive is now empty and for sale.  We actually lived there with them for a while when DJ was a year old.  That was 20 years ago!  While we were visiting we walked through the house briefly and let the kids run around in the back yard picking up sticks.  It brought back a lot of memories from when I was younger and also when DJ and Adriana were younger.  I am immensely thankful that I had this opportunity to visit this summer.

Nicole

St. Louis Riverboat Cruise

After we experienced our Journey to the Top of the Arch, bought some souvenirs and checked out the Museum of Westward Expansion, it was time for our Riverboat cruise on the Mississippi River aboard the Tom Sawyer.  We purchased our tickets online a day in advance and qualified for a bundle discount.  This also gave us free parking in the arch parking garage.

The day was extremely hot and humid, so we were thrilled to find out there would be refreshments, restrooms and air conditioning on the boat.  Obviously the views aren't as great from the inside so we began the cruise from the top deck while we snacked on hot dogs and sodas.

 

While we were waiting for the boat to leave the pier, we spotted this fountain.  We were told it shoots off everyday at noon and that it goes as high as the arch.  Pretty interesting.

 
Daniel and I both enjoy listening to the audio presentations of the history while we sightsee, however, today the kids were not thrilled.  Even the promise of going swimming when we arrived back at the campground was not enough to entice them.  We finished the cruise on the inside of the boat in the air conditioning.

And when we returned to the KOA campground, we did go swimming.

Tomorrow is a driving day.  We are headed to Ohio to visit some of my family members and meet up with my mom and my dad.  I am excited because this will be the first time our four younger children will meet my side of the family.

Nicole