First Family Vacation - More Waterfalls

Our last day on vacation was going to be a long one. We started early and packed up the car for the last time. After a good breakfast, we started out to see some of the waterfalls right in Ithaca. Our first stop was right off the campus of Cornell, not far from where we were staying. I read that Ithaca Falls was right off the road and had easy access so it seemed like something we should go see....if it wasn't that great then we wouldn't have wasted much time and energy. Boy, were my expectations thrown out of the ballpark. It was literally right off the road and an incredible waterfall! Wow! If I had gone to school there, I think I would have frequented this spot.

Dylan and Me at Ithaca Falls

Next stop was Robert Treman Park. I was feeling pretty beat up from the activities of the last couple of days, so we parked at the top entrance of the park where there was a promise of a beautiful waterfall only a half mile down the trail. For a short hike, we got a big reward. It was gorgeous! Dylan even stayed awake for the entire hike and spent some time watching the water with me.

Lucifer Falls - Robert Treman Park

Dylan and Me at Lucifer Falls

Family Self Portrait

Robert Treman Park

Hangin' With Dylan at Robert Treman

Now, throughout our vacation, Dylan was a rock star traveler. He was either happy in the car and smiling at me or sleeping. I think by this last day of travel, he had had enough. After leaving Robert Treman and stopping for gas and lunch, he had a bit of a meltdown and had himself a good fussy period in the car before falling asleep. He woke up about 14 miles from our next destination and was a wreck! The poor little guy was really worked up and screaming and we had no where to pull over until our exit. So, I unsuccessfully tried to calm him during that time while he was still in his car seat. I know car seats are absolutely necessary for safety and I would obviously not compromise that by taking him out, but it stinks to sit next to your child and not be able to pick him up to calm him.

After I was able to pick him up to calm him and feed him, he was chipper again and ready for our last vacation stop - dinner with Mike's Aunt Kathy that lives in upstate NY not too far off from our route home. So, she met us in a convenient off the highway location for a nice dinner. It was great to see her, have her meet Dylan and spend some face to face time catching up.

Now the only portion of our trip I was truly worried about with the little guy was our travel plans home. After our dinner, it was 4 hours back to home....an estimated arrival of 11pm. If Dylan slept in the car like he had most of our travels, bedtime and the next morning might have been a nightmare. But, in his usual laid back fashion, he rolled with it. He slept 3.5 of the hours home, happily stayed up and played for an hour and a half, ate and then slept from 1am-9am. I couldn't have asked for a better scenario. What a great kid I've got. We had such a fun time with him on our first family vacation. Looking forward to many more......

First Family Vacation - Watkins Glen

On our second full day in Ithaca, we headed to Watkins Glen park about 45 minutes away. This place was so ridiculously beautiful that it made my list of top places to visit in the U.S. That list also includes the Flume Gorge, which is near our place in NH. Apparently I think gorges are gorgeous. Go figure!

After our long hike the previous day, I was definitely feeling beat up so it was Mike's turn to carry Dylan on this hike. The gorge is only about 1.3 miles long but an almost 900 foot difference in altitude from top to bottom. Therefore, there are about 800 stairs along the route! We started at the top of the park and took the 800 stairs down to begin with. That means we saved the hard part for last.

It was great to go this time of year. The trail was only open for a few more days to the public (it closes for winter). We're past the peak of the fall season and just before close. That means there were very few folks around. It was almost like we had the place to ourselves! Dylan stayed awake for a good while at the start of the hike and, again, enjoyed looking around.

Mike and Dylan at Watkins Glen Park

We took a long time making our way down the gorge, admired the scenery and stopped to take lots of pictures.

Gorge Wall

Rainbow Falls (Can you Spot Mike and Dylan Behind the Falls?)

Cavern Cascade (The Trail Goes Behind This Waterfall)

So Pretty! Pictures Don't Even Do It Justice.

Family Self Portrait

On the way back up, we didn't stop for photos. It was definitely a challenge going straight back up but it felt good to work hard.

Late that afternoon, after going back our hotel for showers and a rest, we went on a deer safari. The evening before we saw SO many deer around our hotel that we wanted to try and go find some while there was still a little light. It wasn't hard to do! About a half mile from our hotel, we stopped at a field where we saw around 10 deer playing around and eating the grass. For the locals that see that sight everyday, I'm sure we seemed silly. But, we just think deer are beautiful animals and love getting to see them whenever we can. So, we sat, watched and enjoyed them for a while.

After our long day, we had a special treat that night - dinner from the famed Moosewood Restaurant. It's a very influential vegetarian restaurant that publishes cookbooks that are respected around the country. It did not disappoint! We took the food back to our hotel (dining with the little one is more trouble than it's worth right now) and truly enjoyed the cuisine. What a great day we had!

Inside Moosewood

First Family Vacation - Taughannock Falls

On our first full day in Ithaca, we decided to drive to nearby Taughannock Falls and do some hiking. It was pleasantly cool and the sun was out so the conditions were perfect for such a day.

Our First View of the Falls When Driving Into the Park

We parked at the base of the gorge where we had a 3/4 mile level hike to the base of the waterfall. Just to give you an idea of scale from these pictures, Taughannock Falls is 33 feet higher than Niagara Falls! Dylan stayed awake for a while and looked up at all the trees.

Dylan Looking Around

Family Self Portrait at the Base of the Falls

The rock around the wall edges was really cool to look at and it was a very enjoyable 1.5 miles into and out of the gorge. We were up for more! So, we decided to hike up and around the rim of the trail, making a loop back behind the waterfall and then to our car. The trail had an awful lot of steps and it was definitely challenging to carry sleeping Mr. Dylan up but the views were definitely worth the effort!

Gorge Further Up From The Falls

Small Falls Further Up Stream From Taughannock

View of Cayuga Lake

So, we logged about 4.25 miles of hiking around the gorge that day. It was fun but tiring carrying the little one. I had strained my calf a week and a half before the trip and had stayed off of it completely for days before vacation to allow it to heal. I thought it had but it started hurting again during the hike. Given that we had lots of hiking planned for the week, it would be interesting to see how I would hold up with the injury.

First Family Vacation - Niagara Falls

After our Halloween wedding, we dropped by to see my friend Katherine's house and then packed up and drove to Niagara Falls! Since the Canadian side has the best view, we had to get Dylan a passport and take him out of the country for the first time (albeit only a mile). And yes, I made them stamp his passport.

Now, this being the first vacation with Dylan, and a week long one at that, we packed just about everything we could think of that we might need. Yes, it was a lot and we have used the experience to learn how to trim. But during the trip, we were traveling with a full load. At the border, they asked us if we were moving to Canada because the car was so full!

Since this was the off season and we were only staying for one night, we splurged and got a great falls view room. It was lovely to be greeted with a rainbow when we checked into our room!

View From Our Room

That first afternoon there, we walked down to the falls and observed them from above then took the "Journey Behind the Falls" and felt the fury from, well, behind the falls. I had visited the falls several years back with my brother but this was Mike and Dylan's first experience. Mike enjoyed it. Dylan did what he does best and napped through all of the journey behind the falls.

Dylan and I In Front Of the American Falls

The next day, we packed back up and headed back to good old American soil. We spent a while strolling through the nice park on the American side where you can get up right beside the falls.

The Fury of the Falls!

Dylan actually stayed awake for this portion of the falls tour, though I don't think he was very impressed by the water. He seemed pretty ambivalent about it. Mike and I very much enjoyed it though!

Flying Over the Falls!

Family at the Falls

We had a nice, quick time at Niagara Falls! Then it was a few hours drive to our next location - the beautiful town of Ithaca in the Finger Lakes region of NY.

My New Niece

Congratulations to my brother Jamie and his wife Sarah on their new baby girl, Payton. 6 lbs 12 oz, 19 1/4 inches long - healthy and beautiful! We can't wait to meet her. Happy Birthday, Payton!

4 Months

Our little baby is 4 months old today! He just continues to be an absolute joy to us. We pushed him to the limits over the last week on our first family vacation and he just amazed us with how awesome he handled everything. Tons of fun...tons of fun!

In the last month, he has developed in many ways. Most enjoyable is his adorable little laugh which we get to share with him almost daily. He's also discovered that his tongue helps him make different noises and he's practicing talking to us much more.

The boy is definitely going to be a daredevil. In our playtime with him, his smile gets wider and his laughs louder the more we bounce, fly and toss him around. Now that he's just about mastered control of his neck, a new world of bouncy seats and spinning toys will be opened up to him for fun play.

Today, he had his 4 month check up. All was fine and dandy until vaccination time. The poor little guy fell apart after his shots! My easy going happy baby was a screaming mess for a while. After calming down, he was a happy boy again (as seen in the picture above) until this evening when he started not to feel well. It was the first time in his life where we could not comfort him. It was heartbreaking! After his first dose (in his life) of Tylenol, he finally cried himself to an early bedtime. Necessary evil those vaccinations. Hopefully, he'll wake up feeling better tomorrow!

-1?......

HAPPY HALLOWEEN (one day late)! Whoops! I had planned to take pictures of the little guy in his two, yes two, costumes and post them yesterday but obviously the plan didn't happen. So anyway, I hope everyone had a great Halloween and are currently nursing your candy hangovers.

We're in Rochester, NY for a masque themed Halloween wedding. We had a pre-wedding bash on Friday so Dylan needed a costume and a mask for the occasion. Friday, he went to the party as.......

SUPERBABY!!!! (aka SuperCUTEbaby)

Up Up and Away!

He absolutely loves flying so it was really the only costume that seemed appropriate for him.

Last night was the wedding. We had a great time! At the end of the ceremony, the photographer took a picture of all assembled with and without masks. Here is a shot of Dylan and I.

He makes a pretty cute puppy too! Now, we're off to our next adventure. The wedding was just the start of our first family vacation. Next stop, Niagara Falls!