Erie, PA with Toddlers

We once again headed north to visit Oma and Opa in Erie, PA.

Last time I blogged about our Erie trip it was winter. Erie is known for its cold winters and record snows. You can read about our winter visit here, where we flew into Pittsburgh, did a few things and then drove to Erie. A summer visit means lots of outside time enjoying the lake and green, green grass.

This trip we flew into Buffalo, NY. We made a quick stop to visit with my 96-year-old great aunt. As we were leaving her place, we made the decision to take the kids to Niagara Falls before driving to Erie. I realize it is in the wrong direction, but we wanted the kids to see it before we left the country. (This is basically our mantra this summer.)

A summer Saturday is probably the worst time to make the spur of the moment decision to visit the falls. Parking in Niagara was $30 in most of the lots. We saw a few for $15. If your just making a quick stop, like us, there is a plethora of 2 hour free street parking.

Once we parked the car we asked at an information station how far to walk to the falls. The lady told us we were 30 min walking from the falls. Turns out we were only about 5 min. There is so much you can do here, so if you have the time check out all your options on the state park webpage. With the little ones and family so close, we knew we would be back.

We chose to simply walk along the Niagara River to the falls on the New York side. We did not venture out onto Goat Island, although it does provide my favorite view. We resisted the urge to make a quick visit to Canada and instead made the 1.5 hour drive to Erie.

Our focus for the trip was on seeing family. We spent most of our visit watching the kids play with their cousins in the yard. Opa let them sample currents from a bush. They picked cucumbers from the garden They had a wing and pizza picnic in the backyard. They played water balloons, trains and cooked in the kitchen. We only ventured out to give Oma and Opa some quiet time!

We had a huge list of things to do in Erie, but only checked off a few of them.

The Erie Zoo is a strange mix of old buildings and brand new exhibits. We went on their "frozen treats" day, so the zoo was crowded but still enjoyable. Every animal was out and about playing when we visited. (Even the sloth was working his way across the top of his exhibit.) The train is not to be missed as it takes you into an area that is only reachable by the train. The kids loved how the train goes over the creek. They have a wonderful kids area where you can pet the wallaby and feed birds. There is also a huge playground in the kids area. We packed a lunch and found a table right next to the penguin exhibit. We could have stayed all day, but it was hot and the kids were getting tired.

A visit to Erie is not complete unless you head out to Presque Isle State Park. In summer the beaches are the place to be. We set up our little camp on one of the beaches and the kids played all afternoon. There are lifeguards on duty that keep everyone in the shallows. We did not let the kids get in too deep, but they loved playing at the waters edge and digging in the sand. There was ample parking and we did not have to walk terribly far to our car.

We grabbed dinner at Sara's, which is a family tradition. We all sat at one long table with all the kids enjoying hotdogs, fries, milkshakes and cream sickle ice cream. When my little one was on a milk protest, this is where Opa took him to get a milk shake and he has been a milk drinker ever since.

Also on Presque Isle is Waldameer and Water World, an amusement and water park. We did not get to it this visit, but it will be top of our list when we return for older kids. There are lots of ticket options, including a pass that is perfect for little ones looking to just spend an hour or two there. You are able to purchase a set amount of points such that you can just do a few kiddie rides and head to the beach, if you want. The Tom Ridge Environmental Center is also located here. We have been here on a previous trip. The center itself is free, but there are IMAX shows for a fee. This is a great 30min indoor option to learn about the ecosystem of the lake.

We love to head down to the waterfront in Erie and walk around. H really wanted to head up the Bicentennial Tower, so we paid our admission and headed up. (We may have been the only visitors all day.)  The tower is not quite tall enough to see the lake, but you do get a great view of the bay and the entire city.  The tower offers free admission the first Sunday of every month. Down on the pier we watched some fishermen catch fish and crawled around on the statues.

The Erie Naval Museum is just next door. We had plans to visit, since it is part of the Blue Star Museum program, but our toddler had other plans. The Brig Niagara is sometimes in port and available for tours. Call first as she is often late and the webpage is not accurate. A few other attractions down on the waterfront (that we did not have time for) include: Harbor View Mini Golf, Scalawag's Pirate Cruise, and Liberty Park and the water taxi.

We made a return visit to the ExpERIEnce Children's Museum in downtown Erie. They have made a few large changes since our last visit. The top floor is a bit more organized and features an amazing play grocery store sponsored by Wegmans. In the basement a play area for little ones has been added. They have foam blocks for climbing over and a sensory wall. I had to shoo some big kids out of the way but then our teeny's had plenty of room to play without being knocked over. There is also an outdoor play garden. We only spent a few moments out there before the torrential rain started.

You know we found a railway museum to visit! We combined a visit to the Lakshore Railway Museum in Northeast, PA with a visit to Gravel Pit Park, where Jeff completed his Eagle Scout project many years ago. Gravel Pit Park has old playground equipment that the kids enjoyed, plus a bunch of snowplow blades they enjoyed looking at. The Railway Museum never actually opened the day we were there - the volunteer was late or something of the sort - but we still spent nearly an hour checking out all the cars. They have the best collection of working train switches we have ever seen at a museum. H loved switching them all and seeing how they worked.

Here are a few other things we had on the list but did not get to:
- Pick Your Own Fruit. There are a variety of places but Finnell Farms in Harborcreek is where my in laws get the grapes for their Jam. Rahal Farms in Northeast, PA also looked to have a good selection.
- The Asbury Woods Nature Center 
- Splash Lagoon Water Park which we have been to in the past and I tend to save for winter visits, but boy is it fun.

The one mishap of the trip happened when we mistakenly left the I-Pad at Oma & Opa's house. We were an hour into the drive back to Buffalo when we realized our mistake. Luckily I had a whole bag of Usborn Books that we barely used on the trip, so the boys were plenty entertained on the trip.

We did make one last stop at Ted's in Buffalo, another family tradition, to make sure the kids gave it a try before we leave the country! Ted's conveniently has a location right by the airport.

Over the River and Through the Woods: A Family Thanksgiving in Erie, Pennsylvania

We haven't been home for Thanksgiving in several years. This year, we took full advantage of the academic break and flew from Colorado to Pittsburgh for a week of family fun. We crashed with a friend from college in Pittsburgh, grabbing a quick dinner at the neighborhood gastropub. I had a delicious crab cake sandwich and Jeff had a cobb salad that included french fries - delicious. We couldn't hang out too long, since the long flight had taken a toll on H and his brain was fried.

The next morning we walked from our friends apartment to the Pittsburgh children's museum. What a treat! There is a life size "rat maze" that kids can crawl on that takes them from the ground floor to the second floor. Jeff got in there with H and they crawled around a bit, until Jeff got tired of being hunched over. The other big hit is the third floor pool that kids can play in. There are boats and ducks to float through locks. You can turn handles to create whirlpools. There is even a section to create your own fountain. H  loved looking at the water coming from all different directions and getting to splash around.

With the little one exhausted, we hit the road and headed for Erie, PA. It's a beautiful two hour drive through rolling mountains and over rivers. It felt like the perfect fall road trip.

With all three boys and their families home, our time in Erie was the perfect mix of fun family activities and down time at home.

Monday we headed to Erie's indoor water park Splash Lagoon. Monday was a low visitor day, so in addition to using some BOGO coupons and a military discount we nearly had the place to ourselves. The little ones (H and his  older by 7-weeks cousin, L) loved the water and there were plenty of attractions to keep them entertained. A small play area for children included water slides they could go down with an adult and some pipes that sprayed water. There was a family hot tub with warmer water where they could swim. The lazy river nearly put the little ones to sleep. Amazingly, it was the wave pool that was the family favorite. Little H loved sitting where the waves would rush up to him, little L was walking into the waves with grandpa and the big boys loved riding the waves back to "shore." The grandparents watched the kids, so we could ride some of the larger water slides and we made it a full 2 hours before the little ones got sleepy.

Tuesday we left the boys at home and Jan took her daughter-in-laws out for lunch and mani-pedis at a lovely little place just outside of Erie. We had a great time and got to catch up without the children. The big boys took the little boys to the grocery store, where they had a blast. When we got home everyone was napping. That evening we had dinner as a family at the Erie Mannerchor Club before Jeff's oldest brother and father's bowling tournament. Jeff and his other brother went in search of a beer in downtown Erie and the girls headed home to put the babies to sleep and to enjoy some wine in a quiet house.

Wednesday we headed out to the Erie Children's Museum. As we were pulling in, little H decided it was time for a nap. We re-routed out to Prescot Isle for a drive around the island and a beach picnic. After lunch, with H finally awake, we headed back to the Children's Museum. This is a little Erie gem. The place could use a little more love, but the exhibits are well done and quite entertaining. They have a great water table that Jeff and I really enjoyed. We came home in time for naps and ended the evening with an Erie Tradition of Pizza and Wings. I don't know what is up with the rest of the country, but you can't get wings that are as good or as big as you can in Erie. (Ok, maybe in Buffalo!) Then we were off to the Festival of the Trees at the Erie Convention Center. In addition to amazing trees we got to meet Santa, pet live reindeer and watch a dance performance of the Grinch.

Thursday we headed into the woods behind the house for a little hike. With my 7 year old niece leading the charge, we found enchanted sticks, crossed the creek on downed trees and found the magic pond. We spent about an hour in the woods. I'm not going to lie, I was a little concerned we would never see the house again, but it was truly enchanting to see how fun a forest can be. Jeff assures me that the woods are surrounded on all four sides by homes and it would have been impossible to become lost. We sat down for a late afternoon dinner before heading to the Erie Otter's Hockey game, where I had my first pepperoni ball (not made by Jeff.) It was delicious.

We were up and out early on Friday morning to head back to Pittsburgh to catch our flight home.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Although Jeff and I try to avoid holiday travel, this year we hit the road to see both families for Christmas. Along with your typical holiday activities we also spent a bit of time exploring our hometowns.

Our first stop was the Newcamp house in Erie, PA. Lake Erie had quite a bit of snow earlier in the season so we were treated to beautiful views the shoreline blanketed in snow. With the whole family in town we headed to Peakn’Peak for some night time tubing – a Newcamp family tradition. On weeknights early in the season they do BOGO tickets – making it the perfect holiday activity for the whole family. Dressed in all the weather gear we had packed we headed out to the slopes. Peakn’Peak has 6 runs for tubing all equipped with scream inspiring moguls. The boys raced, the girls teamed up to try to bump each other on the way down and to end our night the whole family went down in one long chain. The best part – you don’t have to walk up the hill – they have a system to drag you and the tube to the top of the hill so you can sled all night without getting tired. We also had plans to visit the _ house to see the Christmas Decorations but they never picked up the phone to confirm the hours so we bagged the visit in favor or more family hanging out time.

A winter weather storm almost prevented us from getting to Atlanta but eventually we got there just in time to see the city (but not the roads) get covered with a thin blanket of white snow which lasted till we left the day before New Year’s Eve. This year we headed over to see the Carter Center and Presidential Library. My parents are presidential library aficionados and this is one of their least favorites. I, however, enjoyed it more than the Regan or Nixon libraries, which we all visited together in November. The library focuses mostly on Carters work toward peace and the work the Carter center is doing now. You also have a chance to see Carter’s Nobel Peace Prize, Grammy and Courage awards. There is also a large traveling exhibit space which featured an exhibit on “The Working White House” chronicling the many generations that have worked at the white house. After the tour we went over to Six Feet Under, one of our favorite casual restaurants in the city – My mom, dad and I all had the fish tacos, Jeff had the vegetable plate with soup and my sister ordered her traditional po-boy. If you ever get the chance this is a great place to stop and grab a bite.