The Trip that Almost Didn't Happen, Day 2

We leisurely got up and around on Friday, ate the cereal that I brought from home for us, and got on the road to the Erie Zoo.  When we asked Carter what he wanted to do on vacation, he said, "Animals", so we had to include a zoo!  The zoo didn't look too big, but it had some good animals and we were excited! 

Right inside the gate was a beautiful old building with beautiful details.

The stonework was beautiful, and above the arched window is an elephant head holding a light fixture by the trunk.  So pretty!

Inside was a handful of animals--a few small lizards, a small cat, naked mole rats, meerkats, some birds, and these sleepy lions, both with their tongues hanging out...

We admired a red panda on our way to the next exhibit, and then came into a cool building themed like an old Asian temple.  Inside were the orangutans, and they were so fun to watch!  This one was hanging out when we came in...

He was so close and so big, and I almost felt guilty for standing there staring at him.

And then the baby joined him...

They all seemed fond of their blankets and sheets, and the handholding was so sweet!

 This one was hanging out up above...

The baby's face was just so sweet!  It reminded me that it's been a while since I've seen the baby at our zoo, though she's now pretty big, too!

We saw a tortoise, a couple very active monkeys, and some sleeping red pandas, too.  And here's the outside of the temple ruins theming.  So cool!

After that we saw a leopard, a jaguar, some carnivorous plants, some farm animals, and a live camera of three lynx kittens nursing with their mother.  At the tiger exhibit, Craig was silly and decided to pose for this picture, with his willing assistant...

Their African exhibit was pretty cool with its African outpost theming, too.  We saw a warthog, African wild dogs, rhinos, and zebras.  We then came to my favorite animal, the giraffes!  I just think they're so amazing--they look so clumsy but are so graceful.  They have gorgeous eyelashes and such complex bodies.  Strangely, the two giraffes were alternately eating from their box on the wall and then licking the wall.  No idea why. 

Check out that tongue!

Back in a more central area, they had a lovely model train setup that Carter liked, of course!

We crossed a pretty bridge to the other section of the zoo...

We saw some small penguins like we have here in Rochester, and I must say, this one was my favorite...

They had some fun kid activities in this section, including this cute spot where kids can jump on these squares and they chime.  Carter loved it!

Inside their discovery center, the boys tried to create their own zoo exhibits with animals and walls and railings...

After they played there and we checked out some tamarins, lizards, and a giant snake, back outside we saw llamas and alpacas and some kangaroos!

The weird part about that exhibit was that it was just barely roped off, so in theory the kangaroos could come right up to you!

Craig is not a fan of aviaries, and the boys all ran ahead of me while I took pictures, so they missed out on seeing this gorgeous bird up close!

(No, that's not my arm!)

We had a quick lunch at the zoo.  Of course, with Jacob's restrictions it's hard so we were a little lenient on what he got to eat (read: crap) but he was happy and the rest of us ate fine.  Carter's healthy wrap meal even came with a free animal baseball cap (we picked a tiger!)!  The gluten stuff really does make eating on the go very hard.  I have to do a lot of research, but in the end we do end up eating a lot of fast food and snacks that I brought with us.  I wish he'd get into healthier options to make it a little easier, but no luck so far.  Of course, on vacation there's always the added challenges of time and money, so even the best research doesn't get us far.  Anyway...you do what you can.

On our way out of the zoo, Jacob checked out the little pond...

...and I caught a beautiful butterfly nearby!

We did a second check of the otter exhibit on our way out, since our first stop yielded nothing, butthis time only saw a tail sticking out of the one hole!  Boo.  We made a quick stop in the store (sigh, it's vacation) and headed out...

One of the two pretty mosaics near the entrance

Overall it was a really great zoo.  It was an easy zoo to navigate by stroller (and it seemed like Carter could see almost everything from his stroller), and the exhibits were well done.  I was rather impressed! 

We went back to the hotel for the afternoon, with hopes that Carter could nap.  Of course, when we got there, Carter was wired and wouldn't go down no matter what we did.  Jacob wanted to go to the pool, so I finally took him there and hoped that Craig could model napping for Carter while we were gone.  Jacob and I spent a half hour down at the pool, mostly in the hot tub!  We had a nice chat and some quality one-on-one time, which we don't get much since he's addicted to Daddy and Carter is usually around.  When we came back up, both Carter and Craig were sleeping.  We had some nice quiet time on our electronics, and finally got Carter up to head to dinner and the baseball game!  We tried Chick-Fil-A since we don't have those around us and they have a grilled chicken nugget option and dedicated fryers for their fries.  Jacob wasn't really a fan, but it was worth a shot.

How we'd never ended up at an Erie Seawolves game, I have no idea.  I feel like we've hit up every minor league team between Rochester and all of our vacation destinations, but apparently not.  Craig had been to the stadium once when it was first built, but a lot had changed since.  It was a beautiful night for a game, and we were pretty excited about the ticket package we'd bought.  It was an awesome value.  For only $38 (including fees), we got four tickets, four hats, and four coupons for free meals at McDonald's.  Our entire lunch the next day cost just over $6!  It was such a great deal!  I had also snagged great seats, and it turns out that the first base upper deck seating where we were was named the #5 best seat in minor league baseball.  Not too shabby!

Outside the stadium I snapped a picture of the boys with a baseball frog statue.  I'm guessing these frogs were Erie's animal series at some point, because we saw a few of them around.

I thought it was interesting that the word "Erie" near the top of the scoreboard was spelled out with nautical flags.  And yes, former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Jim Leyland was there signing autographs.

This was the view from our seats.  I never got a good picture of our direct view of home plate, but as you can see, it was a nice overview.

This is a picture looking toward where we sat.  We were in the second section in of the upper deck.  It was an interesting stadium in that the space constraints of the city block caused them to put an upper deck on one side and a normal bank of seats on the other.

Carter was very antsy that night, so we had to take a lot of walks.  During one, we tried to find the mascot, C. Wolf, but came across their other mascot, Perry, a giant inflatable fish.  He was definitely a bit of a prankster.  He'd loom over people from behind or head butt them.  Here is Craig giving him a high five...

...and if you look closely here, you can see him with a fabric lunch bag in his mouth that he snagged off the table nearby.

Jacob did extra well at the game because they had a jersey giveaway for kids over 4, and with his free hat, he was all decked out!

Here's a view from our seats looking the other way.  Notice, no upper deck over there!

On another walk with Carter, I snapped this shot with the setting sun in the background.

Carter and I finally tracked down C. Wolf and watched his antics up close...

And after a fun game, we found out that the kids could run the bases.  So, down they went!  All I could catch of Jacob was a blur...

And Craig did his best to keep Carter moving...though at home plate he pulled the same thing Jacob did around the same age, trying to run back on to the field.  Of course, it was a much bigger deal in Pittsburgh than in Erie!

We made a last minute stop at the souvenir stand (after I changed Carter into his PJs in hopes that he'd fall asleep on the drive back--no luck), and he was cracking me up with this giant foam claw and his roar.  I did get it on video and I will share it when I can.

Jacob also got C. Wolf to autograph his hat!

The boys had a tough time going to bed again even though it was so late, but overall it had been a good day.  One more day was left, and it was our "wild card" day.  We had some loose plans, but nothing specifically scheduled, so we were just going to roll with it and slowly but surely make our way home...

The Trip that Almost Didn't Happen, Day 1

When I left off on Wednesday, I had just ensured we would actually go on our family vacation.  I spent a couple days prior panicking a bit because hotel prices jumped and our low-budget three days away were no longer looking very low-budget.  It just didn't seem worth it or wise to spend that much money on a trip like that.  I don't mind going to a not-very-exciting destination if the price point is proportionate.  The kids are young still, and as long as we leave home, stay in a hotel, and do a couple fun things, they're on board.  We used the same theory last year with Syracuse, and it was fine.  So this year we went in the other direction and decided to more fully explore a city where Craig has spent considerable time but which has since become a pass-through for us--Erie, PA.  He did his undergrad at Mercyhurst College (now University) in Erie, and worked there for a time, too, before he came to Rochester.  But clearly he wasn't doing kid-focused things back then, and a lot has changed anyway, so it seemed like a fun idea.  But the hotel prices went sky-high compared to what I first priced out, and for what we thought was reasonable for the location.  This was all last minute as it was because of how things worked out at work, but right when I was ready to book, the prices shot up.  When I actually found a couple good rates, I tried to book the room and suddenly the room type wasn't available at that price.  Tuesday night I had almost given up hope and we started talking about things we could do at home during a staycation.  It didn't have the same zip, though, so I vowed to try one more time in the morning in hopes something would open up.  When I walked downstairs on Wednesday (which I took off, too), I silently prayed that God would open something up for us at a price we could live with.  I really wanted us to make some good memories and get a change of scenery, but I didn't want to spend foolishly.  I panicked even more when the best option I found the night before ($250 total for two nights at a Days Inn) was no longer available.  In a last ditch effort I went on Hotwire.  I had given up on Priceline because you can't pick your room type (meaning we might not get two beds), but Hotwire gave that option.  Of course, they don't tell you which hotel it is, so that's always nervewracking.  Suddenly I had two deals in front of me, both in the $70-80 dollar range.  One had all the amenities I wanted (free parking, internet and breakfast).  The other didn't have breakfast, but it did have a 100% recommendation rate.  The first one was only about 55%, and they gave a hint that the last person that took that deal got a certain hotel where I knew the reviews weren't great.  I figured we couldn't argue with the 100% recommendation, and since the general location was fine and breakfast on our own was doable, I took the deal.  And when it popped up that we'd be at a Hilton Garden Inn in the heart of the busiest commercial area off the Thruway, I was thrilled!  I saved us over $80, which made the trip cost more in line with what it should be.  Whew.

I spent the second half of Wednesday preparing and packing, and we left close to on time Thursday morning.  Getting out the door was a struggle, and aside from Carter asking, "Almost there?" in the first 10 minutes, the trip went fine.  Our lunch stop at Burger King scored Scooby-Doo toys, which thrilled the boys, and as a whole the trip was pretty painless.  Our first stop in Erie was Waldameer Park, a small-ish amusement park.  I figured it was a great option coming off the success of the previous Friday's trip to Fantasy Island.  In fact, when I asked Jacob which part of the trip he was looking most forward to, this was it.  Only...when Jacob got up on Thursday he started complaining about his leg hurting.  We've gotten a lot of sore leg stories, enough that we took him to the doctor for it back in the spring.  But he was really complaining about it, and even believably limping.  He seemed to indicate at one point that he remembered pulling it a bit playing lacrosse with Craig a day or two before, but then he didn't seem so sure.  When we got to the park he was complaining on the entire walk from the car and we knew it might be a long day.  When we got to the gate, I had to chat with him again because I needed to make sure he'd ride enough rides to make his admission worth it.  See, Waldameer actually has free admission.  You either pay $27 to get an unlimited pass, or you buy points (basically $1 each) that you can use for rides that range between 1.5 and 4.5 points.  Jacob said he'd ride enough, so he and I got full passes, and Craig and Carter were going to ride from points, since Craig is not a ride fan and Carter's rides were pretty cheap.

We walked in and this was our first view...

Pretty fountain, sky ride, and Music Express to the left

The lovely view was quickly spoiled by what happened next.  Music Express was a near replica of Jacob's second-favorite Fantasy Island ride, Rock and Roll, so I eagerly tried to get him to go on it with me.  He refused.  He said it was faster than the Fantasy Island one and insisted the one at Fantasy Island almost made him sick.  I highly doubt that since he seemed to love it and talked about it non-stop for a couple days, but no amount of convincing worked, and we were forced to move on.  I was very unhappy and very concerned about the rest of the day.

Our first ride was a Carter favorite, the carousel...

After that I managed to get Jacob to go on the Comet, a small wooden coaster.  I figured it was a great next step, as the hills were small but it was a different style of coaster than Jacob had been on previously.  He was very confident going on, based on what he knew about the hill heights, though I warned him that wooden coasters feel a little different.  Well...he didn't love it.  It was pretty fast and there was lots of air time on the hills.  He survived and seemed OK at first, but eventually insisted it made him feel sick.  UGH.  I don't know why things were so different this time, if it was the leg, or a bad day with his "difficult personality", or Craig's presence, which usually means that Jacob only wants to hang out with him.  Sometimes I think he projects Craig's ride issues onto himself, and I have no doubt he was turning himself into a head case.  I was so angry because we'd spent the extra money on his pass, and now he was being a total party pooper.  He didn't even want to go on the kiddie rides with Carter this time. 

Carter, on the other hand, was loving his rides.  He went on this cute, old-school bumpy pony ride...

He rode on a vehicle ride that I'm pretty sure was identical to one I used to ride as a kid at a local restaurant (Page's, for you WNY folks), with the annoying buzzer button horns, an assortment of vehicles with glittery paint jobs, and the giant rainbow umbrella top.  Then he wanted to ride the teacups with me, since he loved those at Fantasy Island, too!  I took this picture from our cup, looking up at the first hill of the big roller coaster that was next on my agenda...

Carter LOVED the teacups again, giggling like a madman for most of the ride!

We didn't ride the swings, but I just loved this shot...from the colors to the motion, it just captured amusement park life to me...

Next I rode that big wooden coaster, the Ravine Flyer.  It had a really fantastic layout, but holy cow was it fast and rather rough.  It went through a tunnel over the adjacent road twice, and had some really fun twists and turns, but a couple of them hurt my head a little.  Bummer, but I'm happy I rode it.  The top of the hill definitely had the best view in town, a perfect view of the entire Presque Isle peninsula.

Next we headed over to this dark walk-through attraction, Pirate's Cove.  Jacob and Craig went through it first, and Jacob liked it so much that I had to go through it with him again.  It was a typical old-style fun house-haunted house hybrid--cheesy pirate/skeleton/ghost themed window displays, blacklit glow paint, crooked and moving floors, dark and narrow twisting hallways, etc.  I have no idea why he liked it so much, but like the antique cars the week before, this was the one he spent the rest of the visit begging to go back to.

After that, I went on a smallish drop tower alone.  I love them, even though a complete freefall never fails to terrify me for a second or two.  After that, I tried a second time to convince Jacob to go on the log flume with Craig.  He refused the first time but finally decided to try it.  I panicked a little as they waited in line, thinking that Jacob might hate me for pushing him.  Carter and I waited for their boat to pass and snuck in a selfie...

I caught the boys as they passed by, then ran around to try to capture the end of the ride...

When I saw their boat going up the big hill, I worried because Jacob was already tucking his head.  I figured the first hill traumatized him.  He looked pretty scared coming down the big hill (even more so when I saw the automated photo!), but you know what?  He loved it!  I was very relieved!

A little wet, but smiling big!

I then rode the Ali Baba, a magic carpet themed ride that reminded me of the Rainbow ride I used to admire at Maple Leaf Village (yep--another one).  I could have ridden a similar one last week, but I wasn't sure my stomach was up to it that day.  This time it was, and it was fine...maybe even a little boring.  Too controlled of a descent, maybe?  After that we grabbed a dinnertime snack and headed over to the ferris wheel.  Craig's willingness to ride convinced Jacob to do it, even though he swore them off after Fantasy Island.  The view from the top was not as good as the roller coaster, but you can sort of see the peninsula (how it hooks to the far right) if you look closely.

Carter loved it again!

We did another round of kiddie rides, first the boats...

...and then the Big Rigs.  I could ride the Big Rigs, too, but then Carter picked an inside spot that I couldn't fit in.  And by the time I tried to climb in the back of his truck, another kid took one of the seats.  Awkward.  There wasn't even a window to where Carter was sitting, so I periodically yelled around the corner to him while sitting next to someone else's kid.  The kids around me honked their horns and I was just sort of stuck there.  At least the track was pretty (nice landscaping and a tunnel), but still...weird.

Things were winding down as our points were dwindling and everyone was getting tired.  I had to give up my wish to ride the spinning wild mouse coaster (slightly different style than last week's, though similar to one I rode at Seabreeze here in Rochester a number of years ago) since the line was long, and Jacob and I hopped into a long-ish line at the Whacky Shack...

This was another classic dark ride, this time in a little cart.  Again, lots of cheesy props, blacklight effects, and fun twists and turns.  It was a fun little ride and Jacob liked it.  We probably would have gone on it again had the line not been so long.  Jacob and Craig did one more run through Pirate's Cove, and then we started working our way toward the front of the park.  Carter and I took one last ride on the carousel to use up the rest of our points while Craig and Jacob played a game of air hockey in the arcade.

 

Our original plan was to stop at Dairy Queen on the way to the hotel to grab Dilly Bars as a late snack, but our GPS is apparently wrong or outdated and the one we were trying to get to didn't seem to exist.  We were all tired and it was getting close to bedtime, so instead of seeking out another one or trying to find another gluten-free option, we opted to just check into the hotel and figure something out.  The hotel was very nice, a great value for what we paid.  We settled into our room, the boys ate peanut butter sandwiches, and we started the process of getting the kids into bed, which is never fun in a hotel room.  Carter was crazy, running around the room like a maniac despite such a long day with minimal napping.  The end of the day was pretty frustrating, but we all settled into bed before 10pm, hoping for a better day in the morning. 

 

Next up, the zoo and baseball!