Because you can never have enough sunsets

Those of you who've followed our blog for a while are probably familiar with my vacations, and my sunset photos.  Our family trips to the Sleeping Bear Dunes aren't quite annual, but every couple years we feel the need to get back to this familiar place that is full of beauty and fun.  And such was the case this year, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos from this year with you.

I hope you too had a wonderful summer!
-RobinsFlight

Finger Lakes fun

by RobinsFlight

Scheduling trips is an activity that I always enjoy.  I often have two or three in my mind at a time- not all definitely planned, but ideas of places we could go or things I'd like to see.  Before we had children, my husband and I were privileged to take quite a few nice trips, including an anniversary trip to Hawaii and a two week marathon trip along the west coast, stretching from San Francisco, CA,

Napali cliffs on Kauai

to Vancouver, BC.  However, once kids were in the picture, our family vacations tended toward the "get there and sit there" variety, picking one location and staying there for an entire week.  This is definitely a nice way to relax, and limits packing and unpacking the mountains of things

Crater Lake

kids must have when you're away from home. If you're interested, you can see my account of one of these family trips to the Sleeping Bear Dunes in last year's post.

But I found myself wishing we could go more places, see more, with the kids.  This was illustrated one day when my son was riding the back seat of the car while we were on the expressway that runs near our house.  This "highway" is actually below street level, and is built with little dips and rises so that any water on the road will drain toward the storm sewers.  But on our little trip that morning my son noticed that the road was "hilly."  Admittedly, our little corner of southeastern Michigan is rather flat- some would say extremely flat- but still, the dips in the road should not constitute "hills."  Clearly it was time for my kids to experience real hills.



And so for our vacation this year we decided to take the Lake Erie circle tour, with a detour into the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York.  The kids were excited that we'd get to see Niagara Falls, but other than that they really had no idea what we were going to see.

View of the American Falls (left) and Horseshoe Falls (right)

Then again, neither did I, as I'd never been to that area of New York before either.

Fireworks over the American Falls

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls was fun for all.  We avoided the touristy areas that teem with souvenir shops and focused strictly on the falls itself.  The kids loved the Maid of the Mist, the Journey behind the Falls, and watching the fireworks over the falls from our fallsview hotel room.

American Falls overlook

Once on the American side, we found my daughter's highlight of the entire trip, the Cave of the Winds.  It was quite an experience, being virtually under the American Falls and so close.  Unfortunately, my son was rather intimidated by the experience, so I rushed through with him.  But we did stick around

long enough to see Daddy and Sister on the so-called hurricane deck, standing just feet in front of the raging falls.  It was not the only time I wished for a waterproof camera.

Stonework stairs at Letchworth State Park

After those thrills, I was hoping the other destinations I had planned wouldn't seem anticlimactic.  And while I think the excitement of Niagara Falls was the most impressive to the kids, they definitely enjoyed the other sights we saw.

Our next stop was Letchworth State Park, about an hour and a half southeast of Niagara Falls.  It is home to three fairly large waterfalls.  Entering at the north entrance, we enjoyed a leisurely drive along the Genesee River, through the park to the falls at the southern end of the park.  The kids were a bit antsy until we found the falls, but they appreciated them once we got there.

Lower Falls

Middle Falls

Upper Falls

Blowing her own glass ornament

Flameworking demonstration

The next day, we headed farther south and east to Corning, NY, home of the Corning Glass Museum.  While I was unsure just how welcome two occasionally rambunctious kids would be in a glass museum, it was actually very kid friendly.  In fact, admission for kids and even teens is free!  They have demonstrations of glass blowing, flameworking, and a glass breaking demo that we had to see twice!  And we splurged and made our own glass creations in their glass studio to take home as souvenirs.


Our final day in the Finger Lakes region we spent at Watkins Glen State Park.  This gorge, located at the southern tip of Seneca Lake, is truly magnificent.  The first mile of the 1.5 mile gorge path ascends 400 feet through a gorge created by Glen Creek, and passes (or in some cases passes under) 19 separate waterfalls.

I was a bit concerned about the kids being able to handle the hike, but to my surprise they were full of energy, and the call of more and more waterfalls farther on kept them moving.  Of course, the promise of swimming at the pool which is also located at the state park may have also helped them keep moving, especially on the return trip back down.  We also found an interesting park with unique play equipment near the pool facility. 

An evening trip into the city of Watkins Glen led us to a nice dinner overlooking the lake.  If we had had another day, we might have taken one of the boat tours that were advertised at the pier.

All in all, I think our first traveling vacation as a family was a definite success.  Granted, it wasn't one of those relax and forget it all kind of vacations.  But we'll make up for that next summer.  I think the Sleeping Bear Dunes are calling again.

Happiness is Asheville

by our return guest blogger, KPTography

Anyone who knows me, or knows of me, knows that Asheville, North Carolina is my happy place. Even my students can tell you that I live and breathe the Biltmore Estate. I make no bones about it. I love the Biltmore. I love how it looks, I love what it was and what it is. I love the family history. I love the estate!

This summer I got to go on a daddy/daughter trip to Asheville. This trip I actually spent more time off the estate then I have in all of my time visiting Asheville. I now have proof (besides my own opinion) that Asheville is a very happy place to be.

I love animals. I can even love a snake as long as its behind glass with a very secure lid. This trip I visited the Western North Carolina Nature Center. I was totally excited because I was going to see my very first bear and wolves (yes the non-Twilight type). Dad and I went through the reptile house (a bit quickly I might add). We wandered over to the River Otters. They turned out to be camera hogs. That’s when I heard the snuffing. I followed my ears until I reached a very large fenced in area and there he was. A big black bear that was not playing so nicely with his enclosure mate (I think the bear was an only child and I could relate to that!)

This ranked right up there with finding Pez world with my mom. I followed this bear that didn’t want his picture taken attempting to get the perfect shot. I had just about given up when it happened. He plopped himself down against a tree, started scratching his butt and then grinned like nobodies business. I wasn’t sure if I had seen this correctly but he did it several times. I decided the bear was happy because he was in Asheville. I know I got so excited about the grinning bear I completely forgot about the wolves!
 
Dad and I also spent one morning in downtown. I love the stores in downtown but this was the first time I had experienced downtown without a crowd. As I walked around I noticed that all of the merchants had water bowls for the dogs outside their stores. Even if they weren’t a pet store there was a fresh bowl of water for a pooch in need. Its no wonder all the pups in Asheville are friendly and happy. They know that they are welcome to come in for a visit.

The other day I was reading the news online and came across the article called The Happiest States In America In One Map (www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/02/happiest-states-_n_3696160.html) in the Huffington Post. The only town listed on the eastern seaboard was Asheville! Something I already knew but was very happy to see that I had been correct.

I will always love Asheville because of the Biltmore Estate but it’s so nice to know that the animals are happy there too!

Thank you Connecticut Construction!

This week we welcome a guest blogger, a member of the Friends of HHU team, etsy shop KPTography.


Last week my mom and I came back from our annual mother/daughter trip. Instead of going south we went north so I could see the Vanderbilt mansions in Newport. Our drive was an uneventful one until we got into Connecticut. I do believe the entire state is under construction but because of that I got to make one fabulous stop. I stopped at a rest area because I needed to stretch my legs a bit and they had the most intriguing little shop within the area. I bought some postcards and a little Yankee’s man and happily went to the check out counter. It was there that I spotted it. It was lying on the counter, all colorful and glossy. It was an advertisement for the Pez Visitor Center or as I affectionately call it Pez World. I picked up the advertisement and couldn’t believe my eyes. 3,000 sq feet of Pez! Mom looked at it and said that it was right down the road from a planned stop and asked if I wanted to go. Since I was driving that was pretty much a given. I could barely contain my excitement as we pulled into the parking lot. I opened my car door and took a deep breath and there it was. The wonderful smell of Pez (the same kind you get when you open the package). When you walk into the entrance you notice several things, the bright, colors, the wall of 750 Pez dispensers and overhead the Orange County Chopper Pez bike. My experience got even better. I had coupons (oh yes, I had coupons for admission) and with the price of admission you get two things, another coupon for money off your purchase and a lanyard with a huge piece of cardboard Pez that you get to keep. I will be sporting that next year at school!

When you walk in it is Pez overload. There is Pez trivia, thousands of Pez dispensers from all different years. Mom was astonished to see that one Pez dispenser sold for $3,000. They have several of the old Pez making machines on display along with a view of the workroom. They were packaging Halloween dispensers that day. I also learned that it takes 3,000 lbs of pressure to produce one piece of Pez. It’s the diamond of the candy world! It’s hard to say what my favorite part was. Was it the different dispensers, was it the wall of Star Wars dispensers, or was it the bucket you could buy for $4.99 and fill it with your favorite flavors. I was proud of myself for not buying the Lord of the Rings set but I did buy my mom’s godson a Boston Red Socks one (being a Yankee’s fan that took a lot out of me).

One either likes Pez or doesn’t but for me it’s the memories. I used to get a Pez dispenser every year in my Christmas stocking and this was like Christmas in June. What was made it even more special was I got to spend the time with my mom. My wonderful mother who had to put up with the massive sugar high I had from enjoying some of my bucket of Pez that very evening. Thanks Mom! I think we should go back next year!

Off On Another Adventure

by FabricGreetings

If all goes according to plans, our daughter and I are off this morning on another adventure. We take one every Summer as soon as her school librarian job ends.

These Mother/Daughter road trips started about 8 years ago when she invited me to go with her on a trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. She had been there several times with a friend and had become enthralled with the place. So off we went on our first adventure. It was fun and I enjoyed the trip. Her love of the Biltmore continues to grow. And after spending a Summer as an intern in the Archival Library as part of her MLIS program, Vanderbilt just runs through her veins. Every year since, we drive South to her “happy place”.

But this year will be different. She has decided that she wants to explore the Vanderbilt legacy in Newport, Rhode Island. There are actually two Summer cottages that belonged to the Vanderbilts in Newport. The Breakers was the summer home of Cornelius Vanderbilt. It is a spectacular home and not what I would ever consider a “cottage”. The other Vanderbilt Mansion is Marble House, home to Mr. And Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt. I have no idea how they are related, but I am sure our daughter has the lineage down pat. She is quite up on everything Vanderbilt.

www.newportmansions.org/explore/the-breakers
www.newportmansions.org/explore/marble-house

After a few days in Newport and the surrounding area – maybe a side trip to Providence, we are going to head to western Massachusetts to see her adopted Gramma. Gramma Betty is 94 and now lives with her son and daughter in law. It has been eight years since they have been able to visit. This is a big surprise for Gramma Betty and I know she will be thrilled. Her DIL knows we are coming, so we don't have to worry about her not being home.

The final leg of our journey, after a stop over in Albany, NY to visit my Godson and family will be the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site in Hyde Park, New York. This mansion was used primarily in the Spring and the Fall. In the Summer the family headed to Newport.

www.hvnet.com/houses/vanderbilt/

This home is a bit different from the Newport ones as it is part of the National Park Service. The homes in Newport are part of the Preservation Society of Newport County. The Biltmore Estate in Asheville is owned by the Biltmore Company and run by family members.

Five days spent with our daughter will be fun. We aren't really Mother and Daughter on these trips, but rather two friends having a good time. Of course one friend is considerably older than the other. And the younger one makes sure the older is fed and rested and having a good time. And the older one occasionally checks the speedometer.

Seeing all the grandeur of by gone days is interesting. But getting back to our own nests will be good too. It is fun to see how the elite lived, but it is better to enjoy how we live in our own little homes and apartments.