Our last day of vacation. We had to pack up this morning and stopped for breakfast on our way out. Even though the weather was iffy, we decided to stop at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo on the way home. The weather held up, the kids enjoyed the animals, and we were glad to use our legs before sitting in the car for the long drive home.
Every time we visit Auburn, we make the hour drive to Rochester to visit the Strong Museum of Play. Every one of the kids had a blast this trip- no one wanted to leave!
Today we met up with Bill, Ania and the puppies again for a hike, swimming by a waterfall, and a BBQ in the park. The waterfall was beautiful, the hike was muddy but fun, and swimming by the waterfall was by far the highlight. The water was freezing, but it was so hot it was refreshing. MiniM.E. loved jumping into the "pool" and the other kids loved playing in the rocky stream.
The highlight of our day was when Daddy's friends, a family with two boys, came to pick us up off the beach and took us for a boat ride. The boys loved going fast and the girls both went tubing.
Today we planned for a beach day. It was tricky to find a beach that was open, and when we did it, it was more weeds than beach. The kids enjoyed swimming because the water was shallow forever, and finding some bricks in the sand led to a good half hour of wall building.
We got caught in a surprise thunderstorm and had to find quick cover in a nearby pavilion to wait it out.
In early spring, when we were just coming out of the pandemic, we decided we needed a vacation. In the past (with the exception of last summer) we've rented a lake house with Meamaw and Grandpa in Daddy's hometown. This year that wasn't an option, but we looked for lake houses to rent on our own. Sadly, with everyone else deciding they wanted to go on vacations after the pandemic, there weren't any affordable options, so we chose an historical Victorian in downtown Auburn and planned to spend time at the lake and pool with Daddy's high school friends and their families.
Today we drove, arriving at the house just after check-in, unloaded our stuff and headed over to Bill and Ania's house for dinner. A pool and two puppies made for a great evening for the kids while the grown ups caught up.
