NY Camping - Day 5

This summer as most of you in the northeast will attest to, has been quite cool and very rainy. Each day, we had at least some rain while we were camping. Our last full day showed more sun than not, so we decided to try going to one of the beaches on Lake Ontario. The Wilson-Tuscarora State Park was just up the road from the campground. We had done a drive through the park the day before and found it to be a very nice park.

It was only 72 degrees and the water temp was only 55 degrees, but this did not stop our intrepid crew from enjoying the water.

Hannah and Gabe were the last ones out. Poor Dan shivers so hard that his teeth clack together, but he seems to enjoy his water time anyway.

Bessie enjoyed some stitching time in the sunshine after her swim. I did some sketching. I think my drawings are getting a bit better. Maybe one of these days I'll even feel brave enough to share one. I am enjoying keeping the nature journal, so that is good enough for me. Brian enjoyed watching the boats go by. We saw some of the bigger tankers off on the horizon and several sail boats.

We took a break and had a snack and the children had a romp on the large playground structure. Gabe did not understand the need for all the rules on the playground equipment. He is our rebel. We went back down to the beach and enjoyed some more water time.

The whole time we were there, storms kept rolling across the horizon. They were wonderful to watch. There was quite a bit of lightening activity and you could see the rain. Finally one of these storms came too close to the shore and they closed the beach to swimming.

We packed up our stuff and headed back to the campground. It was a wonderful day.

NY Camping - Day 4

Monday we headed into Niagara to the Niagara Aquarium. This is a very nice small aquarium right near the river. We had packed our lunch and ate before we went into the aquarium.

There was a large display area with all things "shark", which the children enjoyed. Seeing how large a Great White Shark really can get was quite the eye opener.

There were many aquariums set up with smaller fish and sea creatures.

The center of the aquarium houses a large circular tank with Sea Lions. What fun to watch them swim by the glass so close.

They held a great demonstration show. The Sea Lion below is a retired Navy Sea Lion. The handler gave a great talk on how they train the Sea Lions. There was a lot of humor in the show and the Sea Lions seem almost human in their silliness. They really seem to enjoy preforming for the crowd.

Watch out the sharks might get you!

This was as close as we got to the actual Falls. Can you see the misty area right behind the bridge. This wasn't high on the children's list of things to do and we knew we would be taking another trip out here another year...next time with passports for everyone.

We stopped for ice cream on the way home. A very nice day.

NY Camping - Day 3

Brian took Dan and Gabe out fishing Sunday morning. Dan doesn't stick with the whole fishing thing for too long, so they were back within 30 minutes or so.

We finished packing up the camper and hit the road. We were driving further west toward Niagara. We stopped once for lunch and gas and mapquest got us right where we needed to go.

The Daisy Barn Campground is right on Lake Ontario. What a beautiful location. The campground was small...only 38 sites and 30 of them seasonal. It was very quiet and we had a gorgeous view of the lake. This is taken out the camper window toward the lake.

We relaxed for a while and let the children watch a DVD. We love the new bunkroom. There are four beds with one of the lower ones folding into a small table. This works out so well for the children to have their own space. There is room for their clothes and a few toys and books.

After dinner, we all went down to the dock for some fishing. Well, I didn't fish but got him some birdwatching. I'm the designated dog watcher, so Gracie and I sat on the stairs and watched the birds. Of course, I'm just trying to identify them and I think Gracie would like to chase them. It was a gorgeous evening and the lake was very calm. No fish were caught, but everyone had a fun time.

I could have sat their until dark just soaking in the beauty.

Everyone settled down eaiser and quicker as we all got used to life in our new camper.

This was Gabe's sleeping place of choice. He just loved having Gracie right with him and I think she enjoyed it too. At home, she is not allowed to sleep in the children's rooms.