STOMP Bicycle Adventure

Adventures with Nick and Sally 1 Response »
Sep 032011
 

Today, the family headed to Howe Meadow in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to ride the STOMP Bicycle Adventure. STOMP is an organized bike ride with over 1000 riders each year.  There are several distances to choose from.  We had signed up a couple of months ago for the 10 mile family ride.  There was a special for $50 and that enabled all 4 of us to enjoy continental style breakfast, snacks, lunch after the ride and t-shirts for each of us.  It was a great deal and all of the proceeds to to support the Metro Parks Serving Summit County.

As we approached from the parking lot, it looked like quite the festival environment.  Registration was smooth.  We arrived about 9:30AM and our ride was to begin at 10:30AM.

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We picked up our t-shirts and walked around the farmer’s market for a bit.  I entertained the kids while Stephen got our bikes put together.  We had to take 2 cars since we had coolers, helmets, wheels, a Weehoo trailer, a Burley trailer and 2 bikes.  It just doesn’t fit in one vehicle.  The Weehoo had a flat when Stephen went to put it in the car today.  He patched it.  At the STOMP grounds, we bought a new tube from Century Cycles in case we needed it.  When Stephen returned to the car to get us ready to ride, it was flat again.  So, the trailer was fixed twice before we started the ride.

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Around 11AM, we were on our way.  At our only street crossing, we stopped for the train.

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Most of the family ride is on the towpath.  After about 5 miles, we stopped at our Fun Stop.  Our stop was located at Deep Lock Quarry Metro Park.

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Everyone enjoyed a cold beverage and snack.  Then, we headed back down the trail.  We made a pit stop at Hunt Farm.

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Despite the rough start to the day, we had a great ride.  We got back to the main area at 1PM, which is when the live music began.  Nathan Hedges was the artist this year.

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Lunch included grilled hot dogs, brats, sandwiches, grapes, carrots, baked beans, chips, cookies, drinks and left overs from the morning.  No one leaves STOMP hungry.

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Cascade Subaru, Century Cycles, Friends of Metro Parks and many, many other sponsors and volunteers make this event possible.  Back in 2003, I chaired this event for 2 or 3 years.  It was amazing to see it in action today.  If you are ever looking for a fun, organized ride, please check out STOMP.

Fishing at the Geauga County Fair

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »
Sep 022011
 

Yesterday, I took the kids and met friends at the Geauga County Fair.  The fair is in Burton Ohio.  It took us about 40 minutes to get there.  The fair runs from September 1st through the 5th this year.  It’s always held over Labor Day weekend.  I had to pay $7 admission and the kids were free.  They also had free parking and a shuttle running to the gate.

Here’s the sign at the main admission gate along with a view of the grandstand area.  There were lots of school buses since many of the 6th graders in the area attend the fair one day.

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Our main (only) reason for going to the fair was because Nick wanted to fish and we knew that they had fishing for the kids at the fair.  We arrived to the parking lot around 9:30AM.  The gates opened at 9AM and the exhibits opened at 10AM.  Imagine our surprise when we arrived at the fishing pond and saw this sign.

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ARGH!  Are you kidding me?  I had emailed the fair to ask about fishing because I wasn’t sure if we had to bring bait, rods etc.  I received a prompt response to my email.

“Thank you for your interest in the fair, yes there is youth fishing at the Natural Resource area of the fair. The program has all poles and equipment needed for the kids to fish and they are almost assured they will catch one. They will also clean and hold it for you to take home later.

Thanks again we look forward to seeing you at the fair.”

I never thought to ask him about hours.  I assuming (wrongly) that the fishing would open when the fair opened.  Now, we had 2 adults and 5 kids and 3 hours until fishing.  Now to mention that we had 2.5 hours until my kids napped and our friends had other obligations at 1PM.

So, we walked around the fair for a bit and then left to drive to Middlefield.  I had ordered Roma tomatoes and thought I would pick them up on my way home, but decided to go there to kill time.  I picked up the tomatoes and headed back to the fair.  Our friends picked up tomatoes and headed home.  They ended up returning in the evening.

I got the kids a hot dog for lunch and we headed back to the pond.  We arrived there just after 1PM to find this.

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The Department of Natural Resource guys were baited the rods and getting ready.  We had a short wait and then the kids were fishing.

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The staff was great and worked with Nick for a couple of minutes.  At some point Nick and Sally got their lines tangled, so we spent quite a bit of time getting them untangled.  After 15 minutes, a horn goes off and you are done.  If you didn’t catch anything, you can go back and get in line.  We got back in line a second time and Nick was bored about 1/2 way through that turn.  Neither he nor Sally caught anything.  But, if you ask Nick if he caught any fish, he says, “I didn’t catch any fish, only worms.”.  He didn’t realize that the worms were the bait and thought that he had caught the worm.

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By now its 1:30PM and way past nap time.  We still couldn’t resist this corn box for some play time on our way to the car.

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After playing for a few minutes, we headed to the car.  Nick cried all the way to the car because I wouldn’t let him ride.  I thought he meant the shuttle, but he meant the midway rides.  I’m not a fan of mobile rides and would take him to a stationary amusement park for rides.

Sally was asleep before we got out of the parking lot and Nick cried most of the way home.

It was an exhausting day, but I can cross take Nick fishing off our list!

Lake Farmpark–Frozen Factory of Fun

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »
Aug 292011
 

After visiting the Lake Farmpark with our out of town relatives early last week, the kids and I decided to return on Thursday to spend more time at the Frozen Factory of Fun.  We called it the ice cream exhibit.  When we get close to the park, Nick always recognizes the silo.

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Nick and Sally wanted their photo taken by this ice cream truck.  Sally enjoyed the dairy farm model.

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There was a wall to measure your height in ice cream flavors.  Maybe we should call Sally “Cheesecake”.

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She’s too young to drive, but she had fun pretending.  She must have taken the corner too fast as all of the ice cream scattered in the truck.

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They enjoyed seeing the other stations of the factory.

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I liked the sample freezer jacket.  Although my goal was just to see the ice cream exhibit, Nick talked me into a wagon ride to the tomato building (and back).  Conveniently, we got back just in time to make real ice cream before heading home.

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Nick and Sally both too good naps that day, so I know they had a good time.

Baptism and Blossom

Adventures with Nick and Sally, Uncategorized No Responses »
Aug 282011
 

Today was a nice day.  We started out at a baptism.  My cousin’s baby was baptized today.  It was very special since the delivery was premature and had lots of complications for mom and baby.  She spent time in ICU and he spent time in the NICU.  It was so nice to meet the baby in person and see both of them doing well.

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After lunch and naps, we headed to Blossom for the last time of the summer.  We met up with friends, enjoyed a picnic dinner and a nice concert.

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The weekend went by quickly and it’s hard to believe that tomorrow is Monday already.

Willoughby Hills “Touch a Truck”

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »
Aug 272011
 

A week or so ago, we noticed a sign about the Willoughby Hills “Touch a Truck”.  The sign stated “this Saturday” and since we saw the sign on Sat or Sun, we weren’t sure if it was over or coming up.  A few days ago, I figured out that it was in fact August 27th, so we made plans.  Stephen, Sally, Nick and I rode our bikes from our house in Mayfield Heights up to Willoughby Hills.  We ended up riding through part of the North Chagrin Reservation.  The rode was a little bumpy for our tastes, but the shade was nice.  Upon arrival at the event just after 10AM, we found bike parking.

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On our way over the trucks, Nick said, “I Love It Mommy”.  It made me melt.  We were not sure what to expect and had only told him that we were going to ride our bikes to see a fire truck.  There was so many different trucks and vehicles that we didn’t even have time to see them all.

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Here’s a view from the community center across the street.  At one point, we took a restroom break there.  One of the highlights of the day was watching a life flight helicopter land.  It was really close!

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Let’s hope Nick and Sally don’t make a habit of sitting in the back of police cars.

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I was particularly impressed with the Bomb Unit.  They even had the robot out on display.

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Here’s the back of the bomb unit.  Check out that container for transporting the bombs.  It’s kind of scary to think about it.  Nick found a fire safety dog and wanted a photo.  He’s standing in front of the airport fire truck.

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Nick and Sally both had a great time looking at all of the trucks.  We were so impressed with all of the vehicles.  Although we didn’t partake, there was also some food and drink for sale.

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We ended up staying much later than we thought and ended up stopping at Heinen’s for lunch.  Sally fell asleep in the trailer and Nick was very tired.  I had a rough ride back home since he didn’t peddle much.  All in all we had a great day and feel like we are prepared for the 10 mile family ride at STOMP next week since we did 12 miles today.

Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »
Aug 262011
 

Tuesday was our last full day with Stephen’s brother and his family.  We started the day early by making some farmer’s cheese and peanut butter.  There was also more reading time.

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Then, we headed to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.  Nick and my niece enjoyed the new Balto exhibit.  We paused for some photos at the bear outside.  Sally had it to herself for starters.

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Then, we finally got a great shot of the 3 cousins.  Here’s a family photo of Jen, Nate and our niece.

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The Cool Globes exhibit and the otters were the favorites of this trip.

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Later in the day, we ended our time with a trip to California Pizza Kitchen at Legacy Village.  Here’s Stephen with his brother, Nate.  There was also a few last rounds of “London Bridge is falling down” on the green.

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We said out goodbyes at the parking lot.  NIck and Sally loved spending time with their cousin and everyone had a great trip!  It was the closest thing we ever had to a staycation.

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Lake Farmpark

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »
Aug 242011
 

On Monday, we decided to go to Lake Farmpark.  We are members there courtesy of a gift membership that we received.  We sometimes forget about it.  Monday had perfect weather and we had a great time.

Once we arrived and checked in, we felt like we had the place to ourselves.  We arrived just after 9AM and there were just a couple of cars in the parking lot.  We quickly realized that there was an ice cream exhibit.  It was basically a play room with stations about the ice cream making process.  There was a mock freezer, a wooden ice cream truck (big enough for kids to sit in and load/unload), flavor station, mixing station etc.  There was even a model of a dairy farm.  It was great and the kids could have stayed there and played all day.  Lucky for us, the exhibit is there through September 5th so we can go back and see it again.

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Nick got to take his first pony ride.  It was $4, but we were on “staycation” and thought it was worth the splurge.  Thanks, Uncle Nate!  Sally got on the pony and wasn’t so sure about it. She didn’t take a ride.

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We took a trip up to the plant science building on the wagon.  Any time a tractor is involved, everyone has a great time.  Nick was fascinated by a garden train.  It was the first time we noticed it.  It was outside the café and dairy building in the courtyard area.

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I think the highlight for our niece and her mom Jen was milking the cow.  Sally and Nick tried it too.  The milk from the cows goes to a local creamery for cheese.

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We had also never been to The Grain Place.  Since I am thinking about getting a grinder, I was especially interested in the process.  Since our group of 7 was the whole audience, we had a choice between the grain talk or The Big Red Hen story.  We chose the story since we had three kids with us.

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It was lots of fun and everyone got to take turns adding parts to the story board.  Bethany did a great job with the story and the kids.  Here’s our niece trying her hand at grinding wheat.  We also stopped a the cheese making demo.  Here’s Sally pressing the cheese with Nick watching patiently.

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Nick enjoyed time with his cousin, aunt and uncle.  We really like the Tomato Works building.  I enjoyed this giant garden tool.

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Everyone enjoyed the animals and the weather.  We finished up our morning with a packed lunch at the pavilion near where we parked.  Except for a hole in my shorts from a nail in the picnic table, we enjoyed a great lunch before heading home.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »
Aug 222011
 

My brother and sister in law and niece came into town Saturday evening.  We met up with them for dinner at Red Robin since it was near their hotel and kid friendly.  Yesterday, we decided to go to the Rock Hall. We took the RTA from Green Road down to the lake and it worked out really well.

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We were only allowed photos in the lobby.  The security was definitely watching and telling people to put cameras away.  So, we don’t have any photos from inside.  We were surprised with the size of the museum.  We were also impressed with the number of interactive musical exhibits and costume displays.  I thought the kids might get bored, but they loved the music and spent lots of time with headphones on listening and dancing.  We packed a lunch and ate in the café area.  We stayed from 10AM when they opened until just after 1PM.  If your are a resident of the area, you get a $4 discount per ID.

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After our visit to the museum, we headed back to catch the train.  While we waited, a commercial train passed.  It was loaded with Humvees.  An entire train of them.  They kept coming and coming and coming.  It was a once in a lifetime sighting!

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By the time we boarded, Nick was really tired.  He fell asleep using Aunt Jen’s purse as a pillow.

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Sally fell asleep too.

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It was a quiet train ride back to Green Road after a stimulating Rock Hall visit.  I call it a successful outing.

U-Pick Tour–Patterson Fruit Farm, Chesterland Ohio–Peaches Take Two!

Adventures with Nick and Sally, U-Pick No Responses »
Aug 212011
 

Yesterday morning, we went back to Patterson’s Fruit Farm to pick more peaches.  It was the same set up as last week.

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Nick really wanted to wear this long sleeved shirt.  I didn’t think it was worth arguing about it, but I packed a short sleeve shirt just in case he decided he was hot.  Both Sally and Nick enjoyed a couple of peaches right off the trees.

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We ran into some friends and they took a group shot of us.

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Here’s Maria, Paula and Mandi.  Today was the first day that I met Mandy and Maria, but Paula and I went picking raspberries a few weeks back.  We ended up picking another full bushel of peaches.

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I wish that peach season was longer, but I’m so glad that we have pick your own available near by.  Peaches are super easy to pick and Patterson’s is only 20 minutes from our house in Mayfield Heights.  Since I canned some and made jam last week, I think I’ll be able to can this week’s bounty.  I have a peach post planned for this week to help document what I’ve learned about processing my crop.

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U-Pick Tour–Friend’s House, South Euclid Ohio–cucumbers

Adventures with Nick and Sally, U-Pick 1 Response »
Aug 202011
 

Yesterday, the kids and I ran a ton of errands.  We went to 8 different places before nap time.  I was glad that myself and the kids were in a great mood all morning.  Toward the end of our trip, we stopped at a friend’s house to pick cucumbers and visit.

I never realized that cucumbers look a lot like squash when they grow.  They also have little prickles on them.  Nick checked out the cucumber patch.

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It was fun to find them under the big leaves.

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We ended up getting 9 of them.  I think I’m going to make pickles and/or relish even though these aren’t pickling cucumbers.  I read that the texture will be a bit different, but they should work just fine.

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Our next public picking was for peaches this morning.  I’ll have more about that tomorrow.

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