Near the end of May, we enjoyed the last of Daddy's unemployed freedom by taking a trip East - joining Aunt Ti-Jo and her family for a trip to Elk Lodge in the Adirondacks in New York. The weather was a bit on the gray and wet side, but it was a real treat to see family and to visit the landscape so often photographed by Daddy's grandfather.
This wooden map was on the wall in the main lodge and was made by the aforementioned grandfather Gilbert Galbraith Emerson (hope I spelled Galbraith right).
See the GGE in the corner? What fun to see a link to our past on the wall.
Most of us bunked in the Emerson Cabin, named after you know who, who was good friends with the lodge owners.
Here's a close up if you missed the sign. Neat, huh?
Hazel at the main lodge, adopting a casual stance while wearing one of my favorite shirts.
Picturesque and serene until you add...
...cousins!
It was definitely hard to get five youths to stand still and smile for the camera. And in case you didn't notice in the first peaceful picture, this dock was literally at water level. I was very concerned the whole time that Hazel would absentmindedly walk off the end into the water, but the older kids did a great job keeping an eye on her.
Here's the whole gang - thanks for including us in a fabulous weekend!
Kyle and Emmett were master animal trackers, providing Hazel with her first opportunity to pet a snake. There were giant frogs (toads?)too, who managed to elude the photographer.
I enjoyed playing cards, while my child was off somewhere doing something with somebody. I'm so glad she's old enough to play on her own now. The kids played lots of hide-and-seek (indoors, it was a huge cabin), and Hazel made up a fun game pretending the boys were flies and she chased them with a fly swatter. I think the boys thought it was fun too...
Hazel finally decided she likes to munch on whole apples and proceeded to eat all she could find, fortunately with no stomach aches afterwards.
During the trip, Hazel continued work on her book "The Princess and the Fairy." She's dictating the story for Daddy and I to write, while she illustrates. It's an on-going project, and I hope it will be done soon so I can scan and share. Here, Natalie was listening to the story and doing a little coloring with Hazel. So nice that all the kids could enjoy each other, even though their ages are so far apart. Hazel loved them all, of course.
Up at the main lodge, Hazel found some chairs that were close to her size, and she wasn't a bit nervous around the stuffed wildlife. (I'll bet some of you thought we were in Alaska, when you saw this picture at the top of the blog.)
On the way back to NJ, we stopped at the fabulous Adirondack Museum. They had an amazing collection of wooden boats. Here are some of the canoes. (The photographer was mostly on his own here.)
Hazel found the swings near the old one-room schoolhouse.
Cousin Natalie and her mom Dana managed to ride the teeter-totter together.
Just a short 45 minute drive from New Jersey, we visited the Crayola factory on the eastern edge of Pennsylvania. How could we not?
It was amazing how many crayons they've made! I wish I'd seen this episode of Mister Rogers.
It wasn't the actual factory, but basically one fun craft spot after another. Here she was drawing with special pens on black paper.
Always interested in everything, Hazel listened as we read Crayola's history.
Crayola started out making slate chalk, and there was a re-created city sidewalk to draw upon.
I love the face she made while trying out Model Magic. I'm not sure what she thought was going wrong.
There was a factory demonstration, where they showed us how they make crayons and ink pens, and they really did make some during the show.
A bin of crayons waiting for their wrappers. Hazel thought this was all fascinating and I'm sure it helped fuel the details of her candy company production.
This was a neat screen that followed the kids' movement and turned it into a sort of rainbow colored slow motion movie.
And last, but certainly not least, we took the train and subway into New York City to visit our newest little cousin, the sweet Mira Mae. Hazel just loves babies right now and always calls them a "sweet little thing."
They live just a short block from Central Park, so that's where we headed.
A city respite from the summer heat...
Kyle and Emmett were master animal trackers, providing Hazel with her first opportunity to pet a snake. There were giant frogs (toads?)too, who managed to elude the photographer. 
I enjoyed playing cards, while my child was off somewhere doing something with somebody. I'm so glad she's old enough to play on her own now. The kids played lots of hide-and-seek (indoors, it was a huge cabin), and Hazel made up a fun game pretending the boys were flies and she chased them with a fly swatter. I think the boys thought it was fun too... 
Hazel finally decided she likes to munch on whole apples and proceeded to eat all she could find, fortunately with no stomach aches afterwards. 
During the trip, Hazel continued work on her book "The Princess and the Fairy." She's dictating the story for Daddy and I to write, while she illustrates. It's an on-going project, and I hope it will be done soon so I can scan and share. Here, Natalie was listening to the story and doing a little coloring with Hazel. So nice that all the kids could enjoy each other, even though their ages are so far apart. Hazel loved them all, of course. 
Up at the main lodge, Hazel found some chairs that were close to her size, and she wasn't a bit nervous around the stuffed wildlife. (I'll bet some of you thought we were in Alaska, when you saw this picture at the top of the blog.) 
On the way back to NJ, we stopped at the fabulous Adirondack Museum. They had an amazing collection of wooden boats. Here are some of the canoes. (The photographer was mostly on his own here.) 
Hazel found the swings near the old one-room schoolhouse. 
Cousin Natalie and her mom Dana managed to ride the teeter-totter together.
Just a short 45 minute drive from New Jersey, we visited the Crayola factory on the eastern edge of Pennsylvania. How could we not? 
They live just a short block from Central Park, so that's where we headed.
A city respite from the summer heat...
Posts
1 comment:
This was such a joy to look at and "Thank-you" for sharing! ~mom.
Post a Comment