The Pool

All of the kids enjoy the condo pool, but this year it was the place that Owen wanted to be.  Owen is still a developing swimmer, but he is slowly getting better.  This year he began swimming underwater for short distances.  This is an improvement because he would only keep his head above the water up until now.  Brian bought him a snorkel mask and I think that this has helped because water doesn't go up his nose (so he's more willing to try going underwater).  He still doesn't feel confident enough to swim in the deep end, but he'll get there.  I'm just glad that he keeps trying to get better at swimming even though it is something that hasn't come easily for him.  And he finally seems to actually enjoy being in the pool, so that's a plus too.  Here are some pictures of everyone having fun in the pool during our vacation.

Beach Vacation 2016

We had another great vacation on Amelia Island this year.  I love that we still vacation with my extended family.  There have been many changes since last year, including the addition of my bro-in-law Chase and the birth of two babies- James and Riley Quinn.  Several of our family members have recently begun new jobs, which meant that they could only stay at the beach for a few days due to work commitments.  Still, we had a good number of people who were at the beach all week, and we all had a great time.  I will be doing a couple of posts with our beach pictures.

First up:  the beach.  This is my favorite place to be when we are on vacation.  The kids spent a fair amount of time playing in the sand and boogie boarding, but less time than in years past.  The older kids were able to "walk around" solo more this year than in the past, and they took full advantage of that.  I think that they enjoyed having a little more independence.  This also meant that I didn't have to have them under my thumb at every moment, so I was able to have more "alone time" on the beach than in years past.  That was nice too.

 The babies got loads of attention all week long.  R.Q. is definitely a beach baby.  James, on the other had, is not yet a fan of the sand or water.  He liked hanging out in the condo with Gigi.

 The Pokemon Go app came out right before we went to the beach.  Brian and Owen spent quite a bit of time trying to "catch'em all".

 Melanie was able to join us for a couple of days and we were glad to see her.  We had several yummy meals at some of or favorite local restaurants- and ice cream (of course).

 ...Still hunting Pokemon...

 On our last night we all went out to eat.  We usually go to the Marina, but it was booked up this year.  We tried a new place- the Sandollar.  This was a great place!  It was right on the water in the Mayport area of Jacksonville.  We were able to watch large ships come into and out of the port as we ate.  This was a nice way to close out the week.

Knoebels Amusement Resort

 Knoebels Amusement Resort is about three and a half hours from the Sanders' house in Delaware.  That's quite a drive to make but worth it.  Knoebels is currently ranked the #3 park in the world by Amusement Today (Golden Ticket Awards) and also has the #3 wooden coaster in the world- The Phoenix.  With credentials like these, it was only a matter of time before we showed up.

Knoebels is unlike any park that I have ever been to.  To begin with, it is very inexpensive. There is no parking fee, no entrance fee, the entertainment is free, and you can either buy tickets for the individual rides or buy an all-you-can-ride arm band.  We went on a day where arm bands were buy-one-get-one and so we only spent about $100 dollars total to visit this park.  That's about the same cost as a one-day ticket to Disney for one person.  

The park is set in a rural area of Pennsylvania.  Since there is no entrance fee, a park gate is not needed.  You can walk into the park from many different points. There are cabins and a large camping area that are literally right next to the rides.  People are free to walk into and out of the park at will, and you can even bring your dog.  There were tons of four-legged friends walking around.  

 Since the park is ranked #3, you'd think it'd be loaded with really new and modern rides.  Not so.  Most of the rides at Knoebels are really old.  Their claim to fame is having rides that are so old that you don't find them anywhere else anymore. The carousel, for example, was built in 1913 but is kept in pristine condition.  It is one of the largest carousels in the world and it still has a working ring dispenser.  Riders on the outside row of horses can reach for the steel rings as they ride.  The rider who grabs the brass ring gets a free ride.  I scored two rings myself, but not the brass ring.  The kids tried to grab a ring, but they couldn't quite reach it.

The park has a ride called "Flying Turns" which is based off a 1920s bobsled coaster.  I have never ridden anything like it before.  The track disappears and the coaster rolls around like a bobsled.  Knoebels also has a ride called "The Looper" which is the last of it's kind in the U.S. They have a "whip" ride from 1915.  The bumper cars are throw-backs and have been voted best in the world by USA Weekend.  There are just so many good, old-fashioned rides.  The standout for us, though, was the Phoenix roller coaster.  I know I said in April that Outlaw Run (at Silver Dollar City) was my new favorite wooden coaster.  That is no longer so.  The Phoenix is simply amazing.  This coaster- built in 1947- has definitely stood the test of time.  It is smooth and gives lots of airtime.  Brian says that it's his favorite as well.

 After riding the Phoenix, the other wooden coaster at the park (called the Twister) just couldn't compare.  We rode Twister once, and that was sufficient for the adults.  The kids wanted to go again, so they went by themselves.  This is the first time that we've allowed them to ride a full-sized coaster by themselves while we wait at the exit.  Brian about died laughing when he saw the picture taken during their solo ride.  Olivia's hands are up and Owen is posing.

 Our trip to Knoebels was an all-day event.  We were really tired when we returned to the house.  Even though the park was rather far away, it was definitely worth the drive.

Chincoteague

On the northern coast of Virginia lies the uninhabited Assateague island and it's neighbor Chincoteague island.  Many believe that the wild ponies of Assateague arrived when a Spanish galleon ship sunk of the coast of the island.  The horses lived in isolation on Assateague for many years, and they adapted well to their new environment.  A little too well, in fact.  Population control is an issue.  So, every July, the residents of Chincoteague go over to Assateague, round up a number of horses, swim them across the channel from Assateague to Chincoteague, and auction them off.
A few years ago, Olivia and I read the book "Misty of Chincoteague" which tells the story of Phantom, a wild pony of Assateague island, and her colt, Misty.  We pass Chincoteague island every year on our way to Delaware and we always say we'll visit one year.  This was the year.  The main thing that we wanted to do on the island was to see the ponies- several of which are descendants of Misty.  

 Our first stop was the Chincoteague Pony Center where we singed the kids up for riding lessons.  This was their first non-guided, solo ride on a horse.  The girl who gave the lesson was phenomenal.  The kids started by learning how to sit on a horse properly and how to maneuver it using the reigns.  They practiced by going around the ring, stopping and starting the horse, and changing directions.  The instructor then put out some orange cones and had the kids weave the horse in and out of them.  After that, she had the kids trot the horse.  Finally, she placed some brushes on top of the posts of the riding ring and had the kids steer the horse to each post, collect the brush, and deposit the brush into a bucket in the middle of the arena. This took a lot of steering.  The kids did great for a first time on a horse.  The only minor hiccup that Owen didn't want to kick the horse because he was scared he'd hurt it (and his horse was older and didn't really want to go on his own).  He got more confident as the lesson went on, but it took a little while to get there.  Once the lesson was over, each kid got to pick a ribbon as a souvenir.

After our riding lesson, we had lunch on Chincoteague and then drove over to the national seashore on Assateague island. The kids had fun on the beach.  The water was cold, so mostly they played in the sand.  

As we were leaving the island we spotted some wild ponies in the distance.  That was a nice way to end our afternoon.

Whitewater Rafting

While visiting Brian's family in Delaware, we decided to make a few day trips.  Our first trip was to the Harper's Ferry area to try our hand at whitewater rafting.  We took a 4-hour, 7-mile trip down the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers.  The rapids were class I-III- just enough to be exciting without being too much for the kids to handle.  Actually, the kids did great.  The only one who did terrible was me.  I kept falling into the middle of the raft, which I suppose is better than falling out of the raft.  There were a couple of places where the river was calm enough that we could get out and swim.  The water temperature was perfect and felt so good on a warm day.  I took my camera, but was only able to take pictures when I wasn't paddling (so no pictures in white water). Both kids are already asking to go rafting again, so I guess our excursion was a hit.