Bakers and Beach bums

The morning began with the littles sleeping in a bit, which isn't too surprising, considering all of the festivities yesterday.  But, once they were awake, the girls and I wasted no time spending some quality time in the kitchen.  We have a tradition at the beach, where Gramma G and the littles take over the kitchen to create some sort of delectable breakfast delight.  This morning it was cheese Danish, something that we attempted with great success at a fall family event and all were eager to test their skills this morning.

Our oldest granddaughter is pretty much a baking pro at this point, so I put her in charge.  She makes a pretty terrific lemon squeezer. 

And she makes a terrific delegator when it comes to sharing the fun! Here you see her helping the girls whip up the cream cheese mixture.

The crescents were formed into little "bowls"

which were then basted with a brown sugar/butter mixture.

The cream cheese was plopped into the center

and after they were baked, a fine powdered sugar glaze was drizzled over the top. 

And, of course, there's no more fun than tasting the finished product!

After breakfast, we headed down to the beach to enjoy the spectacular weather.  We once again saw quite a few dolphins swimming along the shore, within relatively close distance.  Quite an exciting sight, for sure!

Another perk of the day was the obvious sand bar within relatively short distance of the shore.  Marty and 

Finn decided to head out to see if they could find some waves in the distance. 

It didn't take long before they were joined by two more for some fun.  Note the extra set of "legs" on the left.  

Within short time, the sand bar became the source of entertainment, with the littles jumping and splashing as the waves rolled by.  Not too be left out of the fun, Marty decided to cart his chair out to join them.

Before long, the whole family was out there, splashing, relaxing, and even a little fishing, as you can see on the right.  Although no fish were actually caught. 

And, obviously, the photographer opted to stay under the canopy although I did put my feet into the water for a bit.  But I was quite content to sit and watch them all at play.

Once back under the shade, these three spent some time attempting to build a sand city.

But it had been quite a long time out on the sand, so we all decided to come in for some pool time.

Which, as you can see, offered a lot of entertainment in itself! 

It's a good thing we made the most of the day, as the rain set in, just around dinner time, and hasn't let up since.  Suddenly, a bank of storms seems possible for tomorrow, so I'm not quite sure what we have in store for us.  But, as you can well imagine, there won't be any lack of entertainment!

I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Look Who's Three!

 I wasn't kidding when I said that I had a special surprise in my previous blog.  But before I elaborate, let me mention here that it's a good thing that we headed out to the beach early, because a string of thunderstorms snuck up upon us mid afternoon.

We had some marvelous morning weather, and the kids wasted no time jumping in and enjoying it.

There was also an excellent opportunity for some fishing

Unfortunately, Jim had little luck, although Marty had managed to catch a flounder and at least 6 mullets throughout the day.   I will attest to eye witnessing the catching of a pair at the same time.  Other than that, we'll just have to take Marty's word for it and hope it isn't a fishy story. 

We were having a grand time, when we noticed dark clouds in the distance.  For awhile, it appeared as if we would be spared any type of weather related issues.

This little one was having a grand time excavating in the sand.

 But, then, suddenly, gale force winds were upon us.  Our makeshift tent was suddenly flattened; chairs were overturned, and we decided that it was probably best for us to head back to the house.

I found it rather amusing that these two decided two stay put, cleverly using a boogie board to block the wind. 

Within minutes, the weather cleared, and we were once again out enjoying the beautiful day.

But the fun wouldn't last for much longer as a second storm creeped up on us, and luckily, we were all cleaned up and comfortably inside when the rain hit. 

And now, the festivities could begin.  This little guy turned three today, and we were all ready to celebrate!

Gramma G made the cake.  You probably guessed by now that the tyke has a fondness for dinosaurs. 

The celebration was enhanced with dino hats for us all to wear.

 

You just can't ask for much more fun than that, can you?

The evening skies seemed to have cleared, and I was able to spy the nearly full moon in the sky at twilight. 

Perfect, don't you think?

More adventures on the horizon....

Cabana Beach Time!

It's that time of year where we load up the cars and head to the beach!  We headed out the door yesterday morning, and arrived just before dinner at our rental.  And, the weather, and views, certainly didn't disappoint! 

After a delicious lasagna dinner ala Stacey, we all headed out to the beach for a quick look at what the surf had to offer.

As you can see, these kids wasted no time diving in for some fun.

We headed back to the house for some dessert time 

and to enjoy the sunset from the comfort of the front porch. 

One of the awesome features of this house (and, believe me, there are many perks), is that the house has windows on either side, so we can see the sun rise as well as set, all without having to venture out!

So, this morning, the sun could easily be seen rising, although the windows were misty, so this isn't the best photo. 

 But, you get the point. 

It wasn't too long before the pitter patter of tiny feet could be heard venturing upstairs, and we enjoyed watching the dolphins swimming just offshore.

In the meantime, PapPap head out for some early morning fishing.

The kids and I set up making some chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. 

Guess you figured out by now that they were pretty delicious!

Be sure to stay posted for future adventures.  Today's a pretty exciting day.  I'll give you a quick preview.

But, for now....it's time to head to the beach!!

An Introduction to "Train Chasing"

Yesterday, my husband decided that today was the perfect opportunity to enjoy a "vacation" day, and he asked me if I'd be interested in traveling north to witness the debut of a steam engine train.  I didn't hesitate to agree, especially when an invitation to lunch at a unique restaurant was mentioned as part of the deal.  After all, would you pass on that type of an offer?

My husband has always enjoyed watching trains, but seems to have developed a keen interest as of late, after he met someone who has a passion for heading out in search of steam trains and photographing them.  So, when he learned of today's debut train,  leaving Port Clinton  and traveling to Tamaqua, pulling no less than 100 cars (I know...I counted them), he couldn't resist making the trip to witness the event.  And, of course, he needed someone to share that excitement with him. I can't say that I was the best choice in regards to exhilaration involving trains, but I did try to at least muster up some oohs and ahhs along the way.  

We could see the smoke from the train as we drove through Port Clinton, where we witnessed dozens of people who had pulled their vehicles onto the side of the road and set up tripods in anticipation of the event. 

Marty decided to mark our "spot" on a road in New Ringold that runs parallel to the tracks. And we soon found ourselves joined by others who were there for the same reason. 

As we sat in the car, waiting for the special event, I took in the surroundings.

As you can see, not much happening here,  unless you are a fan of watching trucks repeatedly attempt to maneuver a tight curve, over and over again.

The highlight of the intersection was this entertaining sign:

Marty was eager to take our photo in front of it.

As we continued to wait, he began chatting with a young man, who looked to be in his early 20's, who had left his home near Morristown, NJ at 5:00 am, to travel to New Ringold to stake out his spot.   This is when I learned that there are quite a number of people out there who call themselves "Train Chasers", who apparently do this regularly as a past time.  I don't know about you, but I can assure you that the call of a steam train would NOT be enough incentive to get me out of bed at that hour of the morning!  Although we did head out at 8:45 am, at the request of my husband, because we wouldn't want to miss anything. And, guess what?  We had plenty of time to enjoy the surroundings while we waited, as I have highlighted for you already. 

Finally, the big moment arrived and we could hear the chug chug of the engine and the screaming of the whistle before it rounded the bend in our direction.  And, then it came into view:

As I mentioned, it was a VERY LONG train, and it took some time to pass by.

And then, what would be a steam engine train without a little red caboose to complete the excitement?

I watched the Train Chasers jump in there cars and zoom out on the road, in an attempt to get to the next crossing before the train, so that they could do it all over again.  Luckily for me, my husband wasn't one of them.  Whew!

We headed to Tamaqua, to a restaurant that had been the original train station, located right along the track.

We sat outside and enjoyed a fabulous lunch!

Marty had supposed that the train would be coming by as part of the journey, but the steam engine had been replaced with a standard engine that pulled the 100 cars by, minus the caboose. 

 It then backed up in the direction from whence it came, more than likely to attach the cars to the steam engine and the caboose for the return trip to Port Clinton.  There had been quite a number of people hanging around the station, in anticipation of seeing the steam engine, only to be disappointed that it never traveled that far. 

But, no worries....I've been told that the Reading and Northern Steam Crew repeats the testing journey next weekend, so those who missed it this time, can travel just a bit further down the road to enjoy the experience.  

Sorry, I don't have any of the details should you be interested. You'll have to find one of those "Train Chasers" if you are interested in the details.  Or comment on the blog, and I'm certain that someone whom I live with knows just how to get that information.

Until next time.....