Too Much Fun to Blog

Just when I was beginning to feel like the summer vacation was beginning resemble the movie Groundhog Day a little too closely, we shattered through the daily repetition by exploring Chester and Montgomery Counties over the past week -- and even got to share some of it with my dear friend Heather and her two children who stayed with us.  We definitely had a lot of fun moments together, but I'm hoping we didn't give them Caroline's stomach virus as a parting gift.  Thanks for coming though...I promise we'll do a better job screening for infectious diseases next time! 

Some of the highlights over the past week:

1) Elmwood Park Zoo -- On the gorgeous day that it was only 75 degrees and low humidity we headed over to our closest zoo.  Many of the animals were actually playing since it was not ridiculously hot.  An over abundance of black vultures was present like last time, although the most I counted was down to 17 (unlike the 50+ I spotted previously).  Still, the vultures were hard to miss.  At one point we saw the river otter stand on its hind legs and swat at some of the vultures perched over its enclosure.  One highlight: the zoo's newly open enclosed butterfly garden.

2) Longwood Gardens -- Scott and I took the kids to Longwood on Friday afternoon to marvel over the summer flowers. Although we were too early to drool over their monster vegetable garden (late August), the water lilies were in peak form.

Water Platters

3) Marsh Creek State Park -- Last but not least, we visited Marsh Creek on the July 4th to try our hand at boating with the kids.  We rented a small row boat (with trawling motor included) and a fishing rod to try our luck on the Lake.  We had a blast, although the fishing would be better classified as feeding the fish with live worms.  We arrived early to the lake, which was a good thing since by the time we were headed out the park was filled to capacity (cars were queued waiting to enter).  Although sometimes I am not a fan of huge crowds, this particular crowd made the day feel festive to me.  We picnicked at a children's playground where the air was filled with salsa music and the smell of grilled meats.  We shared the swings with a family whose mom was wearing beautiful sari.  As I looked around the park, I noticed that we were a part of a  wonderful melting pot of nationalities celebrating the 4th.  It was a wonderful tribute to America!

Cap'n Abby

On the Water

Feeding the Fish