Saturday, August 13, 2011
Waiting for the "bus" to take us home
In the car and heading south around 10:30 AM on August 13, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Camp Joan - Day 8 - The dog days of summer.
*Sorry, we can't do anymore camp joan updates =( *
Today was essientially a lazy day for us campers. In the morning Sara came over and she brought Chewy with her. Chewy was a very nice dog, and maybe a bit too friendly. Whatever.
After playing with Chewy and creating a box village, Molly and Miles went into the pool. I decided to join them. After swimming for about 2 1/2 hours, I went back. Theo came home from camp and we had dinner a while later. After that, we decided to go to Hoffman's Funland.
The Funland really did look like, well, fun. Really fast rides dotted the lot, and there was even a train going around the whole park. I decided to go onto the Bumper Cars first. Molly and I had an epic chase around the center, but then 3 other people came in. That's when things got bad for me. I got stuck at one point and everyone else decided to "help" me by slamming into me. The seatbelt was too tight, just my luck...
After that, we decided to go on this ride who's name I forget. The Spin and Twirl or something. Huh. Anyway, it was okay. It was pretty much the teacups that we've all been in at one point or another, only elevated a bit. Then, came the big guns...The Scrambler.
The Scrambler is pretty much four little boxes strapped onto four metal poles. Multiply those times three, throw in some heavy speed and narrow misses and have the boxes spin and boom, you have the Scrambler. The first ride was terrifying, but the second ride was great.
After that, we went down to Scoups (I know it's spelled incorrectly, but that's the name of the place. Scoops with a "u") and had ice cream. After that, we headed back to Camp Joan.
Since we are headed back tomorrow, I'm very sorry to say that this will be the last blog post as of this year - we're probably gonna come back next summer. I would like to thank everyone who read our blog, Uncle Len, Aunt Joan, and the chair that I'm sitting on.
Quote of the day:
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" - Molly and I on the Scrambler.
A look back:
Today was essientially a lazy day for us campers. In the morning Sara came over and she brought Chewy with her. Chewy was a very nice dog, and maybe a bit too friendly. Whatever.
After playing with Chewy and creating a box village, Molly and Miles went into the pool. I decided to join them. After swimming for about 2 1/2 hours, I went back. Theo came home from camp and we had dinner a while later. After that, we decided to go to Hoffman's Funland.
The Funland really did look like, well, fun. Really fast rides dotted the lot, and there was even a train going around the whole park. I decided to go onto the Bumper Cars first. Molly and I had an epic chase around the center, but then 3 other people came in. That's when things got bad for me. I got stuck at one point and everyone else decided to "help" me by slamming into me. The seatbelt was too tight, just my luck...
After that, we decided to go on this ride who's name I forget. The Spin and Twirl or something. Huh. Anyway, it was okay. It was pretty much the teacups that we've all been in at one point or another, only elevated a bit. Then, came the big guns...The Scrambler.
The Scrambler is pretty much four little boxes strapped onto four metal poles. Multiply those times three, throw in some heavy speed and narrow misses and have the boxes spin and boom, you have the Scrambler. The first ride was terrifying, but the second ride was great.
After that, we went down to Scoups (I know it's spelled incorrectly, but that's the name of the place. Scoops with a "u") and had ice cream. After that, we headed back to Camp Joan.
Since we are headed back tomorrow, I'm very sorry to say that this will be the last blog post as of this year - we're probably gonna come back next summer. I would like to thank everyone who read our blog, Uncle Len, Aunt Joan, and the chair that I'm sitting on.
Quote of the day:
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" - Molly and I on the Scrambler.
A look back:
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Camp Joan - Day 7 - Bets, battlefields, and batters
The day started off with Uncle Len taking me to Saratoga at around 11:00. After going into the visitors center, we took a car tour of the battlefield. Turns out most of the battle took place in this one stop - Freeman's Farm. The irony of it is that Freeman was loyal to the British! Anyway, we saw the mighy Hudson at one stop. There was also some posts with red or blue tape to represent the defenses. The defenses weren't all that big. Just imagine stacking two ten-foot long and 5-foot high Lincoln Logs on top of oneanother and there you have the defenses.
After that, we headed to Stewart's off of a highway. I met up with Marybeth, Molly, Sara, and Miles. After a quick lunch, we drove down to the Saratoga race track. After placing our bets (the most money put in was two dollars), we watched a few races. Molly won a whopping four dollars in one race. Me, I always bet on the longshot. Sara won 53 bucks at one point! Miles only bet once, and his was number 8, Chocolate Drop.
This horse was very fiesty. (S)he threw off the jockey at one point! (S)he also couldn't walk in a straight line - you know, now that I think about it, Miles and the horse are a lot a like. Huh. Anyway, the horses were in the gates when one of them (Number 5) dropped. Literally, it fell down and seemed hurt. I hope it's not a twisted ankle, because then it would have to be put to sleep. That would stink.
The race was delayed 3 minutes because of the injury, but soon they were off. Chocolate Drop shot out of the gate like a bullet, and galloped at least 10 yards in front of the other horses. Unfortunetly for Miles and everyone else who bet on that horse, it must've burnt off too much energy in the beginning, because it gradually slowed down and fell into fourth place. Bummer.
After we got back, all of us siblings decided to tussle - I have absolutely no idea why, but we did. I took on Molly and Theo at the same time at one point, though. Well, not so much Molly - she kept on getting pushed back.
After a small dinner (for me, at least) Uncle Len took all of us (Except for the camp director) to a baseball game. Nothing very eventful occured there, except for the fact we got some free t-shirts. Ah, well. Small victories.
Quote of the day:
"C'mon, ya big stupid! Run! Ruuuun! Go go go go go go go! No, don't slow down! NOOOOOOOOOO! Yeah, that's it, catch up-GAH! NO! KEEP GOING! FASTER! GO FASTER YOU SON OF A GUN! GO! GOOOOOOOO!" - Dan, as he watches his horse's victory slipping away.
After that, we headed to Stewart's off of a highway. I met up with Marybeth, Molly, Sara, and Miles. After a quick lunch, we drove down to the Saratoga race track. After placing our bets (the most money put in was two dollars), we watched a few races. Molly won a whopping four dollars in one race. Me, I always bet on the longshot. Sara won 53 bucks at one point! Miles only bet once, and his was number 8, Chocolate Drop.
This horse was very fiesty. (S)he threw off the jockey at one point! (S)he also couldn't walk in a straight line - you know, now that I think about it, Miles and the horse are a lot a like. Huh. Anyway, the horses were in the gates when one of them (Number 5) dropped. Literally, it fell down and seemed hurt. I hope it's not a twisted ankle, because then it would have to be put to sleep. That would stink.
The race was delayed 3 minutes because of the injury, but soon they were off. Chocolate Drop shot out of the gate like a bullet, and galloped at least 10 yards in front of the other horses. Unfortunetly for Miles and everyone else who bet on that horse, it must've burnt off too much energy in the beginning, because it gradually slowed down and fell into fourth place. Bummer.
After we got back, all of us siblings decided to tussle - I have absolutely no idea why, but we did. I took on Molly and Theo at the same time at one point, though. Well, not so much Molly - she kept on getting pushed back.
After a small dinner (for me, at least) Uncle Len took all of us (Except for the camp director) to a baseball game. Nothing very eventful occured there, except for the fact we got some free t-shirts. Ah, well. Small victories.
Quote of the day:
"C'mon, ya big stupid! Run! Ruuuun! Go go go go go go go! No, don't slow down! NOOOOOOOOOO! Yeah, that's it, catch up-GAH! NO! KEEP GOING! FASTER! GO FASTER YOU SON OF A GUN! GO! GOOOOOOOO!" - Dan, as he watches his horse's victory slipping away.
Clapping Cyclops and Juggling Joey
This is Camp Couselor Joan...
The campers are too too busy to be at the computer posting today. I am sure Dan will tell you all about the day later, much later...maybe even tomorrow.
But, I wanted all of you to meet Oscar and visit the classroom and see the final animated works of the 5 children in the class on August 10, 2011.
Be ready to smile and enjoy!
p.s. - take notice of the ball Joey is using to juggle.
The campers are too too busy to be at the computer posting today. I am sure Dan will tell you all about the day later, much later...maybe even tomorrow.
But, I wanted all of you to meet Oscar and visit the classroom and see the final animated works of the 5 children in the class on August 10, 2011.
Be ready to smile and enjoy!
p.s. - take notice of the ball Joey is using to juggle.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Camp Joan - Day 6 - Move a bit, stop, move a bit, stop...
The Camp Director made arrangements for an animation class with an Oscar-winning special effects artist. Let’s call him Oscar (since I don’t know his real name and that’s the highest honor he has received). Only problem was, we had to cross the border to get there. Yup – an hour drive up to Massachussets. We ended up in the middle of nowhere – better known as Lee. Of course, we were in some bumper-to-bumper traffic for about half an hour. We stopped at Cakewalkers, a popular bakery in town. One brownie and smoothie later, we headed into the building.
The building was a cross between a museum and a filming studio. There were posters, models, and that stuff, but there were also cameras, a little stage, and computers. Once we were allowed in, Oscar showed us some neat doohickeys (Yes, that is the technical term) like an illusion thing where you get a frog and you put it in this UFO-looking thing. Some mirror things were inside the not-flying saucer, but it created an illusion – kind of like a hologram. It is very hard to explain, so forgive me if the details are vague.
Anyway, Oscar lead us into the main room. He showed us some animated shorts and some stopmotion commercials. He finally lead us into the back room, and that’s when class began.
We were all told (there were 5 kids including us who were taking the class) to create a clay man. A large amount of clay later, I created a Cyclops and my sister created – well, a normal human being. Then, we went back into the studio/exhibit place and began filming our stopmotion. There was a camera in front of a mini stage – “stage” meaning two pieces of wood, with one sticking up that had a picture of the countryside on it that served as the background. Since I happened to be the oldest of the group (and maybe it was because I was standing closest to him) I went first. Stopmotion is easier then you think, yet very monotonous. For those of you who don’t know – I’m looking at you, Dad – stopmotion is when you take a picture, move the figure a bit, take a picture, move the figure some more, and repeat that for five minutes.
My Cyclops was told to clap, sway from side to side, get back up and bow. He preformed it perfectly.
Molly’s, however, was told to juggle my poor cyclop’s decapitated head! Even when we’re in filmmaking, she has to bust my chops.
Both of us edited one video – meaning click whenever someone gave “the signal”. “The signal” was the word “Yes”. Since our stopmotions became more and more complex, the word “yes’ was said at least 150 times, mainly because both the editor and the person who had to move the claymen both had to say it.
Oscar promised that he would post our videos on Youtube, but they aren’t uploaded quite yet. I’ll post them tomorrow.
Quote of the day:
“Yes” – everyone, at least 35 times each.
The building was a cross between a museum and a filming studio. There were posters, models, and that stuff, but there were also cameras, a little stage, and computers. Once we were allowed in, Oscar showed us some neat doohickeys (Yes, that is the technical term) like an illusion thing where you get a frog and you put it in this UFO-looking thing. Some mirror things were inside the not-flying saucer, but it created an illusion – kind of like a hologram. It is very hard to explain, so forgive me if the details are vague.
Anyway, Oscar lead us into the main room. He showed us some animated shorts and some stopmotion commercials. He finally lead us into the back room, and that’s when class began.
We were all told (there were 5 kids including us who were taking the class) to create a clay man. A large amount of clay later, I created a Cyclops and my sister created – well, a normal human being. Then, we went back into the studio/exhibit place and began filming our stopmotion. There was a camera in front of a mini stage – “stage” meaning two pieces of wood, with one sticking up that had a picture of the countryside on it that served as the background. Since I happened to be the oldest of the group (and maybe it was because I was standing closest to him) I went first. Stopmotion is easier then you think, yet very monotonous. For those of you who don’t know – I’m looking at you, Dad – stopmotion is when you take a picture, move the figure a bit, take a picture, move the figure some more, and repeat that for five minutes.
My Cyclops was told to clap, sway from side to side, get back up and bow. He preformed it perfectly.
Molly’s, however, was told to juggle my poor cyclop’s decapitated head! Even when we’re in filmmaking, she has to bust my chops.
Both of us edited one video – meaning click whenever someone gave “the signal”. “The signal” was the word “Yes”. Since our stopmotions became more and more complex, the word “yes’ was said at least 150 times, mainly because both the editor and the person who had to move the claymen both had to say it.
Oscar promised that he would post our videos on Youtube, but they aren’t uploaded quite yet. I’ll post them tomorrow.
Quote of the day:
“Yes” – everyone, at least 35 times each.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Camp Joan - Day 5 - Over and Under
Today, us campers conquered all three of the terrains - land, water, and the sky. And we all did it in one place-Howe's Caverns.
Sara came to the caverns with us today. There were two caverns within the same proximity of one another - 'Secret Caverns' boasted of an underground waterfall. Pffft. Anyway, we got our tickets and hung around for an while. There was this fortune-telling machine thinger that only seemed to talk when other people were talking - kind of like two kids on our tour. The fortune teller kept on saying stuff like "Think you know the future? Think again!"
Anyway, we went underground and walked around. There was some cool rock formations that I took pictures of (which I will be posting soon), there was an underground river (cleverly named "River Styx". See? I remember that stuff from Mrs. Detwieler's Social Studies!) which someone lost their miners hat in, and we rode in it, as well. Imagine looking at that for an hour and a half and you got the whole tour. There was also this really neat part called "Winding Way", where you have to navigate your way through a narrow passage for what seems like miles. There is also a short boat ride. For Molly and I, it had a "been here, done that" feeling (My sister and I had been to Penn's Caves last Spring). We had lunch and soon it was time for the moment of truth - Molly and Sara had both agreed to go on a zipline.
Now, for something completely different.
Since Molly has never written in this blog before, I'm going to have her write about the zipline, since I stayed firmly on the ground.
Hi, it's Molly here. The zip line was really fun. At first you had to get your gear on and go up a tower. Then you got a hook attached to you and you went on the zip line. It was 40 feet in the air. It was really cool. The zip line took you to another tower and there was a couple of them. You stopped at them. They were in a square so there was a tower at the corners of the squares. It was so so fun!
There you have it. Now, instead of going on an actual zipline, you can read all about it right here! You're welcome.
Dan reporting on Sara and Molly's 1st ever Zip Line ride
Molly zipping along the final line as filmed from above by Sara
And, of course, Theo and I played some sports until dinner, then played sports after dinner.
Filmed inside the dark cool Howe Cavern and preparing for Zipping
I apologize for the lack of the Camp Joan Updates, since we're one day behind. We have been doing some Camp Joan Specials that are pretty much little projects and games we do in between our adventures. We're in the middle of making a cruddy "horror" film about a zombie miner.
Quote of the day:
"Howdy, partner! You think you know about the future? Think again!" - Abner, the stupid and somewhat annoying fortune telling machine.
Sara came to the caverns with us today. There were two caverns within the same proximity of one another - 'Secret Caverns' boasted of an underground waterfall. Pffft. Anyway, we got our tickets and hung around for an while. There was this fortune-telling machine thinger that only seemed to talk when other people were talking - kind of like two kids on our tour. The fortune teller kept on saying stuff like "Think you know the future? Think again!"
Anyway, we went underground and walked around. There was some cool rock formations that I took pictures of (which I will be posting soon), there was an underground river (cleverly named "River Styx". See? I remember that stuff from Mrs. Detwieler's Social Studies!) which someone lost their miners hat in, and we rode in it, as well. Imagine looking at that for an hour and a half and you got the whole tour. There was also this really neat part called "Winding Way", where you have to navigate your way through a narrow passage for what seems like miles. There is also a short boat ride. For Molly and I, it had a "been here, done that" feeling (My sister and I had been to Penn's Caves last Spring). We had lunch and soon it was time for the moment of truth - Molly and Sara had both agreed to go on a zipline.
Now, for something completely different.
Since Molly has never written in this blog before, I'm going to have her write about the zipline, since I stayed firmly on the ground.
Hi, it's Molly here. The zip line was really fun. At first you had to get your gear on and go up a tower. Then you got a hook attached to you and you went on the zip line. It was 40 feet in the air. It was really cool. The zip line took you to another tower and there was a couple of them. You stopped at them. They were in a square so there was a tower at the corners of the squares. It was so so fun!
There you have it. Now, instead of going on an actual zipline, you can read all about it right here! You're welcome.
Dan reporting on Sara and Molly's 1st ever Zip Line ride
Molly zipping along the final line as filmed from above by Sara
And, of course, Theo and I played some sports until dinner, then played sports after dinner.
Filmed inside the dark cool Howe Cavern and preparing for Zipping
I apologize for the lack of the Camp Joan Updates, since we're one day behind. We have been doing some Camp Joan Specials that are pretty much little projects and games we do in between our adventures. We're in the middle of making a cruddy "horror" film about a zombie miner.
Quote of the day:
"Howdy, partner! You think you know about the future? Think again!" - Abner, the stupid and somewhat annoying fortune telling machine.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Camp Joan - Day 4 - Field Trip!
So much history, so little time.
Today was not a very big day unlike yesterday. Uncle Len, Molly, and I intended to go aboard the USS Slater, but apparently it was closed from Monday to Wednesday. Bummer. So, we went into the beautiful city of Albany and went to the New York State Museum. The Musuem had one advantage over the USS Slater - it was air conditioned.
There was quite a bit of stuff there, and, because I don't want to bore you to death, I'll just go through the "highlights". There was some natural stuff like stuffed deer, moose, and timberwolves. There was some native stuff there, with a replica longhouse. The Cohoes Falls mammoth http://flic.kr/p/7upbNY was there, as was the fossil of the only dinosaur known to live in New York.
Then, we came into the modern area. A 60's subway car was there, along with a Sesame Street part, with highlights from every year from 1969 - 2010. Then, it came into the more tragic part - the World Trade Center. It had some parts from Ground Zero in Manhattan, and, the kick in the teeth - a fire truck from September 11th. The first half was really rusty, and looked like it was falling apart. The lower half was just fine, though. There was also a dented police car door, and newspapers from around the country from September 12th, 2001. I know I was only two, but, jeez, ten years?
After lunch, we headed out. Hours later, we went to mini golf and had ice cream (Uncle Len kicked our butts at Mini Golf, by the way)
Sorry that today's post was so short. We didn't do all that much today.
Oh, yeah, almost forgot!
Quote of the day:
"The Egg looks NOTHING like an Egg!" - Dan, while looking at The Egg from inside the museum.
Today was not a very big day unlike yesterday. Uncle Len, Molly, and I intended to go aboard the USS Slater, but apparently it was closed from Monday to Wednesday. Bummer. So, we went into the beautiful city of Albany and went to the New York State Museum. The Musuem had one advantage over the USS Slater - it was air conditioned.
There was quite a bit of stuff there, and, because I don't want to bore you to death, I'll just go through the "highlights". There was some natural stuff like stuffed deer, moose, and timberwolves. There was some native stuff there, with a replica longhouse. The Cohoes Falls mammoth http://flic.kr/p/7upbNY was there, as was the fossil of the only dinosaur known to live in New York.
Then, we came into the modern area. A 60's subway car was there, along with a Sesame Street part, with highlights from every year from 1969 - 2010. Then, it came into the more tragic part - the World Trade Center. It had some parts from Ground Zero in Manhattan, and, the kick in the teeth - a fire truck from September 11th. The first half was really rusty, and looked like it was falling apart. The lower half was just fine, though. There was also a dented police car door, and newspapers from around the country from September 12th, 2001. I know I was only two, but, jeez, ten years?
Engine 6 Pumper
Steel Column from Floor 7-9 of South Tower
Fireman's Helmet from September 11th
After lunch, we headed out. Hours later, we went to mini golf and had ice cream (Uncle Len kicked our butts at Mini Golf, by the way)
Sorry that today's post was so short. We didn't do all that much today.
Oh, yeah, almost forgot!
Quote of the day:
"The Egg looks NOTHING like an Egg!" - Dan, while looking at The Egg from inside the museum.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Camp Joan - Day 3 - Sluggers and Sheep
Theo's obsession continues.
Today we went down to Cooperstown, New York, the home of baseball and, more famously, the Hall of Fame. The hour long drive was totally worth it.
We stopped about two blocks away and headed in. The line wasn't very long, which was good. All four of us walked upstairs to the second floor and went down the hallway. The old equipment was very primitive (strangely enough). The gloves were literally gloves, and the catchers masks were so wirey. Theo and I both agreed that a ball could probably slip into one of the gaps in the masks.
The second floor was mostly about the evolution of baseball. There were some special sections, like ones for Babe Ruth, women baseball players (Go Chicks!) and colored ballplayers. However, I found the Viva Baseball! section the best, mainly because of the upbeat music and highlights of Latino athletes.
Now, we get into modern baseball. We saw an entire locker room with all of the team's uniforms (According to Theo, Mile's favorite room. By the way, Miles, we will fufill your request: Theo will get more screen time. Also, Dad, there was some Pete Rose gear.), World Series victories, retired numbers (Apparently, all the teams have had Jackie Robinson on their team, since that was retired on every single team.) and some other stuff. Chase Utley's cleats and the sunseed barrel were my favorite.
More membroilla and jerseys and whatnot, and we were on the third floor. The third floor was dedicated to the experience itself - the stadiums, the cards (Yes, any collecters out there, we saw the Holy Grail - The Honus Wager T-whatever.), the mascots, the signs that people bring to the ballpark, stuff like that. Then, we lugged our way downstairs and looked at all of the plaques (I took video of walking down the hallway and whatnot. It'll be posted soon...). Naturally, Theo had to see all of the players on the plauqes, so we waited for 5 minutes while he observed each one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adq4PhZ38ew - Hall of Fame Plaques
We exited and went down to the docks off of Lake Idon'tknow. We ate our PB&J sandwhiches and watched as some boats came in and out. There was a HUGE carp roaming the lake floor, and Theo took a picture of it. I don't know if it came out good or not. Anyway, we went up to DoubleDay Field, the first baseball field ever. EVER. The first of all-time. We all watched the bottom half of the fifth inning. Apparently, the DD field isn't home to the first baseball field - also to the Cooperstown Hawkeyes (Who?). I have no idea who they played. We left after the third out and went down to the car. About 2 minutes worth of driving later, we stopped at the Farmers Museum.
The Musuem far exceeded my expectations. For starters, the Cardiff Giant was there (For those of you who don't know the story...Google it. I'm not telling you!). I expected the bathrooms to be like an outhouse, but I was wrong. They did not reek of feecees stench.
I also expected it to be, well, like a museum. Like, all of the tools that a farmer has used over the years, the first tractors, stuff like that. I was TOTALLY wrong. It was a real farm! There was even a village from the 1840's. The first place that we went was the part that was like the State Fair. There was a fake cow to milk, and plenty of games. After that, we went to the farms. First, we went behind a barn where a bunch of (rowdy) goats were horsing around (no farm pun intended). There were some tree stumps in the middle of the fenced-in area that Molly, Theo and I decided to stand on. Well, the goats wanted in, too. We were forced off by the goats, and we continued on our way, where we went into another barn and milked a cow. I thing Uncle Len took a video of me doing that. If so, it'll come...it'll come...
We went across the rocky road to see the sheep. Apparently, the people who owned the place needed the sheep to get from Point A to Point B. And who volunteered to help? Yours truly. The gate opened and Molly, Theo, and I chased after the sheep, to make sure they went in the barn. They rounded the corner instead of going in the front way, and Theo and I accelerated after them.
Let me just point out that I am not a very fast runner. I always finish last in the relay races, and the thought of me being on the trach team makes me shudder. However, I somehow managed to run almost as fast as Theo, and both of us were near the sheep, and those sheep were very, very fast. It turns out they weren't planning to escape-they went in the back way. Do'h!
After looking at most of the animals, we decided to head back to campgrounds. It was probably the best day we have had so far at Camp Joan.
Quote of the day:
"It feels so wierd!" - Dan, while milking a cow.
PHOTOS:
Today we went down to Cooperstown, New York, the home of baseball and, more famously, the Hall of Fame. The hour long drive was totally worth it.
We stopped about two blocks away and headed in. The line wasn't very long, which was good. All four of us walked upstairs to the second floor and went down the hallway. The old equipment was very primitive (strangely enough). The gloves were literally gloves, and the catchers masks were so wirey. Theo and I both agreed that a ball could probably slip into one of the gaps in the masks.
The second floor was mostly about the evolution of baseball. There were some special sections, like ones for Babe Ruth, women baseball players (Go Chicks!) and colored ballplayers. However, I found the Viva Baseball! section the best, mainly because of the upbeat music and highlights of Latino athletes.
Now, we get into modern baseball. We saw an entire locker room with all of the team's uniforms (According to Theo, Mile's favorite room. By the way, Miles, we will fufill your request: Theo will get more screen time. Also, Dad, there was some Pete Rose gear.), World Series victories, retired numbers (Apparently, all the teams have had Jackie Robinson on their team, since that was retired on every single team.) and some other stuff. Chase Utley's cleats and the sunseed barrel were my favorite.
More membroilla and jerseys and whatnot, and we were on the third floor. The third floor was dedicated to the experience itself - the stadiums, the cards (Yes, any collecters out there, we saw the Holy Grail - The Honus Wager T-whatever.), the mascots, the signs that people bring to the ballpark, stuff like that. Then, we lugged our way downstairs and looked at all of the plaques (I took video of walking down the hallway and whatnot. It'll be posted soon...). Naturally, Theo had to see all of the players on the plauqes, so we waited for 5 minutes while he observed each one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adq4PhZ38ew - Hall of Fame Plaques
We exited and went down to the docks off of Lake Idon'tknow. We ate our PB&J sandwhiches and watched as some boats came in and out. There was a HUGE carp roaming the lake floor, and Theo took a picture of it. I don't know if it came out good or not. Anyway, we went up to DoubleDay Field, the first baseball field ever. EVER. The first of all-time. We all watched the bottom half of the fifth inning. Apparently, the DD field isn't home to the first baseball field - also to the Cooperstown Hawkeyes (Who?). I have no idea who they played. We left after the third out and went down to the car. About 2 minutes worth of driving later, we stopped at the Farmers Museum.
The Musuem far exceeded my expectations. For starters, the Cardiff Giant was there (For those of you who don't know the story...Google it. I'm not telling you!). I expected the bathrooms to be like an outhouse, but I was wrong. They did not reek of feecees stench.
I also expected it to be, well, like a museum. Like, all of the tools that a farmer has used over the years, the first tractors, stuff like that. I was TOTALLY wrong. It was a real farm! There was even a village from the 1840's. The first place that we went was the part that was like the State Fair. There was a fake cow to milk, and plenty of games. After that, we went to the farms. First, we went behind a barn where a bunch of (rowdy) goats were horsing around (no farm pun intended). There were some tree stumps in the middle of the fenced-in area that Molly, Theo and I decided to stand on. Well, the goats wanted in, too. We were forced off by the goats, and we continued on our way, where we went into another barn and milked a cow. I thing Uncle Len took a video of me doing that. If so, it'll come...it'll come...
We went across the rocky road to see the sheep. Apparently, the people who owned the place needed the sheep to get from Point A to Point B. And who volunteered to help? Yours truly. The gate opened and Molly, Theo, and I chased after the sheep, to make sure they went in the barn. They rounded the corner instead of going in the front way, and Theo and I accelerated after them.
Let me just point out that I am not a very fast runner. I always finish last in the relay races, and the thought of me being on the trach team makes me shudder. However, I somehow managed to run almost as fast as Theo, and both of us were near the sheep, and those sheep were very, very fast. It turns out they weren't planning to escape-they went in the back way. Do'h!
After looking at most of the animals, we decided to head back to campgrounds. It was probably the best day we have had so far at Camp Joan.
Quote of the day:
"It feels so wierd!" - Dan, while milking a cow.
PHOTOS:
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Camp Joan - Day 2 - I'm on top of the world! Well, the roof.
The word of the day is "Water". Why? Well, everything we did today involved water.
We (reluctantly) woke up this morning and made plans to go to the Erie Canal. A while later, we were on the road. Two false directions later, we were at the visitors center. We waited a while and soon we were on the Canal. The captain was very nice, and the boat was neat.
We stopped in Lock 2 and waited. The water level suddenly rose, and rose, and rose...And soon we were level with the water on top. More sailing - is that what we did? Sail? No, it's boating. Whatever, I'm getting off track - and soon we were back in the lock. Down, down, down, and we were offered to go on top of the boat. Molly and Theo agreed immediatly. I was hesitant, but soon I joined the two. Thank God that there were rails there. I probably would've fallen off. SPLASH!
Now, we were given the task of steering the boat. It turned out well, I guess. We were on the Hudson at this point, and the last thing we need is another miracle on that river. We got back on land, and we recorded a Camp Joan Update. Link coming soon. We're going to do a second one today.
We ate at Pig Pit (which was delayed due to 15-20 bikers showing up) and decided to see Cohoes Falls. They weren't kidding when they said it was the second largest waterfall in the state. I recorded a video there. Link pending. By the way, Molly won't be helping in any more Camp Joan videos. She's in one of her "moods". Sigh. Women. Can't live with 'em....
We went to the library and checked out 11 books on cryptids (We developed a sudden intrest in them on the road). I think we might have gone a bit overboard on it.
We will be going minituare golfing later today, and we'll do a video there (in which Molly will not be assisting at all.)
Quote of the day
"Rerouting...Rerouting...Rerouting..." - Marsha (GPS person)
"Man down! No, wait...Man up." - Theo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NSw_nZOtkM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duXsc3wZiAs
We (reluctantly) woke up this morning and made plans to go to the Erie Canal. A while later, we were on the road. Two false directions later, we were at the visitors center. We waited a while and soon we were on the Canal. The captain was very nice, and the boat was neat.
We stopped in Lock 2 and waited. The water level suddenly rose, and rose, and rose...And soon we were level with the water on top. More sailing - is that what we did? Sail? No, it's boating. Whatever, I'm getting off track - and soon we were back in the lock. Down, down, down, and we were offered to go on top of the boat. Molly and Theo agreed immediatly. I was hesitant, but soon I joined the two. Thank God that there were rails there. I probably would've fallen off. SPLASH!
Now, we were given the task of steering the boat. It turned out well, I guess. We were on the Hudson at this point, and the last thing we need is another miracle on that river. We got back on land, and we recorded a Camp Joan Update. Link coming soon. We're going to do a second one today.
We ate at Pig Pit (which was delayed due to 15-20 bikers showing up) and decided to see Cohoes Falls. They weren't kidding when they said it was the second largest waterfall in the state. I recorded a video there. Link pending. By the way, Molly won't be helping in any more Camp Joan videos. She's in one of her "moods". Sigh. Women. Can't live with 'em....
We went to the library and checked out 11 books on cryptids (We developed a sudden intrest in them on the road). I think we might have gone a bit overboard on it.
We will be going minituare golfing later today, and we'll do a video there (in which Molly will not be assisting at all.)
Quote of the day
"Rerouting...Rerouting...Rerouting..." - Marsha (GPS person)
"Man down! No, wait...Man up." - Theo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NSw_nZOtkM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duXsc3wZiAs
Friday, August 5, 2011
Camp Joan - Day 1 - The Oddysey
Hello! It's me, Dan. I'm gonna be posting the stuff for our blog. We made it to Latham safely, thank God, and now we are relaxing in the newly-added Ghost Lodge. Pictures of the sign will be uploaded. Well - signs. We each made one. Anyway, we all knew that Camp Joan would be a fun ordeal - however, the drive there was not.
We left at 12:30 and made it about 10 minutes - only to realize I forgot a bag full of $$. So, we waited for my Grandmother to come. In the meantime, we got some DQ stuff. We were on the road to NY again. We didn't see much. Well, if you consider staring at trees, grass, and asphault for about 6 hours not very exciting, that is.
Not much traffic, thankfully. I shudder to think that it would take 7 hours to get from Doyelstown to Latham, because it's really only a 5-hour drive. We stopped at Wegman's - which, by the way, is really fudging huge - and ate there. Yes, there is an entire cafe above the store. Don't you think that's overkill? Well, I do, anyways.
Another few hours driving, and we stopped at a rest stop, walked around a little, took care of our, ah, bodily waste, and, a while later, we arrived in Latham. We're customizing our room for the days we're here at the moment. By the way, our DS batteries lasted all 6 1/2 hours of the ride. THAT is impressive. "The Egg" looks nothing like an egg, by the way. We're going to ride the Eerie canal tomorrow. No worries, we're going to avoid any icebergs.
Here's the quote of the day:
"Are we there yet?" - Molly
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTOS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7Y1yHicWbc
We left at 12:30 and made it about 10 minutes - only to realize I forgot a bag full of $$. So, we waited for my Grandmother to come. In the meantime, we got some DQ stuff. We were on the road to NY again. We didn't see much. Well, if you consider staring at trees, grass, and asphault for about 6 hours not very exciting, that is.
Not much traffic, thankfully. I shudder to think that it would take 7 hours to get from Doyelstown to Latham, because it's really only a 5-hour drive. We stopped at Wegman's - which, by the way, is really fudging huge - and ate there. Yes, there is an entire cafe above the store. Don't you think that's overkill? Well, I do, anyways.
Another few hours driving, and we stopped at a rest stop, walked around a little, took care of our, ah, bodily waste, and, a while later, we arrived in Latham. We're customizing our room for the days we're here at the moment. By the way, our DS batteries lasted all 6 1/2 hours of the ride. THAT is impressive. "The Egg" looks nothing like an egg, by the way. We're going to ride the Eerie canal tomorrow. No worries, we're going to avoid any icebergs.
Here's the quote of the day:
"Are we there yet?" - Molly
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTOS:
Campers arrive at Latham
The suitcases - Try lugging them around all day!
Designing the sign.
Finishing touches
Dan's Sign
Molly's sign
Theo's sign
Dan's bed
Movie night!
Here's the like to our first video, We will upload one everyday!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7Y1yHicWbc
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