July 8-11 Aurora Family Vacation

“Family: where life begins and love never ends.” –Unknown

Our July family vacation was at a house in Aurora, NY. Aurora is a cute little town on the east side of Cayuga Lake. We didn't have lake access with this house, but we had plenty of things to do and plenty of places to get into the water. The kids really liked the house since there was a park right behind the house and kids their age next door. Here are a few highlights of our weekend.

Friday morning we took a hike to Great Gully Falls. The gully cuts through massive layers of limestone, giving it a different look from shale-based waterfalls found in many of the other Finger Lakes gorges. The dropping and swirling water of Great Gully Creek has carved out several deep pools that are wonderful places to swim on a warm summer day. The hike was 1.5 mile and kids did great hiking through the creek to reach the 18’ waterfall at the end of the gully. There is a wonderful swimming hole under the falls and we could even walk behind the falls. It was a great place to spend the morning.

We spent Saturday at Long Point State Park. We spent the morning relaxing in the park while the kids played on the playground, rode their scooter, swam in the lake and looked for treasures on the shore. After our cookout we took the runabout out for a ride. Kyle and Brytanie took turns using the kneeboard. They were great...especially since it's been at least 15 years since either of them have been on the board.

The House

The bedrooms

The outside space at the house.

Fun at the house...sometimes just staying in can be fun.

The kids really enjoyed riding their bikes and scooters on the driveway with the kids staying in the house next door. 

Pictures from our hike to Great Gully Falls.

The falls were running nicely since we've had quite a bit of rain this past week. It was fun playing in the water.

Walking behind the waterfall...it was so LOUD.

The view from behind the falls.

The kids enjoyed finding different plants and fungus along our hike.

Core loves to look for little bugs and plants...she's our little naturalist.

What would a summer vacation be without ice cream and a fire...no fire pit at our house, but we did find one in town.

A vacation on the lake means time spent on and in the lake. The best place to do that on the east side of Cayuga Lake is Long Point State Park. Plenty of swimming, grilling and boating.

It was fun watching the kids play in the water. I decided I'd wait and give it a try on a calmer day, when no one else is around.

Fun Facts about the 4th of July/Independence Day

• Congress made Independence Day an official unpaid holiday for federal employees in 1870. In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday.
• Only John Hancock actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. All the others signed later.
• The Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 men from 13 colonies.
• The average age of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence was 45. The youngest was Thomas Lynch, Jr. (27) of South Carolina. The oldest was Benjamin Franklin (70) of Pennsylvania. The lead author of The Declaration, Thomas Jefferson, was 33.
• One out of eight signers of the Declaration of Independence were educated at Harvard (7 total).
• The only two signers of the Declaration of Independence who later served as President of the United States were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
• The stars on the original American flag were in a circle so all the Colonies would appear equal.
• The first Independence Day celebration took place in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776. This was also the day that the Declaration of Independence was first read in public after people were summoned by the ringing of the Liberty Bell.
• The White House held its first 4th July party in 1801.
• President John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe all died on the Fourth. Adams and Jefferson died on the same day within hours of each other in 1826.
• Benjamin Franklin proposed the turkey as the national bird but was overruled by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who recommended the bald eagle.
• In 1776, there were 2.5 million people living in the new nation. Today the population of the U.S.A. is 328 million.
• Fifty-nine places in the U.S. contain the word “liberty” in their name. Pennsylvania, with 11, has more of these places than any other state.  
• The most common patriotic-sounding word used within place names is “union” with 136. Pennsylvania, with 33, has more of these places than any other state. Other words most commonly used in place names are Washington (127), Franklin (118), Jackson (96) and Lincoln (95).
• Fireworks are part of the tradition of celebrating this national holiday. The U.S. imported $227.3 million worth of fireworks from China in 2012.
• Barbecue is also big on Independence Day. Approximately 150 million hot dogs and 700 million pounds of chicken are consumed on this day.
• Every 4th of July the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is tapped (not actually rung) thirteen times in honor of the original thirteen colonies.
• The tune of the National Anthem was originally used as an English drinking song called “to Anacreon in Heaven.” The words have nothing to do with consumption of alcohol but the “melody that Francis Key had in mind when he wrote those words did originate decades earlier as the melody for a song that praised of wine."

 Liberty Bell

June 28-July 1 Graham's Visit

“Promise me you'll remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think.” -Winnie the Pooh 

Graham’s visit actually started off with us spending the weekend in Bloomsburg. We’ve visited Forks Farm Market many times, but this time Graham had a booth to sell some of his artwork. He had a great showing and sold out before lunch. It was so much fun to be there with him.

Graham spent some of his earnings on an arrowhead kit, complete with chipping tool, obsidian, grinding rocks and several pieces of antlers. Graham and his friend had a great time making arrowheads and figuring out what they were going to mount them on. Graham made an arrow and spent time at the boat finding feathers to attach to it and a branch to make a bow. I have to say I was a little skeptical that it would work, but Stan and Graham proved me wrong. They did a great job and he was able to shoot the arrow 20 feet or more. What a great summer project...Camp Marshall was a success.  

The weather was extremely hot the days Graham was on the boat, so we spent a lot of time at Long Point Park swimming in the cool lake. Graham had fun playing in the water, riding his scooter, looking for treasures and playing on the playground. We also spent time in the early morning and late evening riding bikes. Now that he can ride the two wheeler without training wheels we can cover a lot more ground. Each day we rode over three miles. Having the kids spend time on the boat during the summer is a very special time for all of us. Priceless memories. 

We picked raspberries one morning at Indian Creek Farm...they were so sweet.

The best way to spend a warm day is playing in the lake and eating ice cream.