Year 5 - Day 51

04Aug15

We are really just stopping over here so we didn't have to drive the whole way to Concord in one day, so we don't have any big plans for the day. We were going to check out an outdoor sculpture park called Opus 40, but when we got there, we found out it was only open on weekends. Bummer.

Afterward, we headed to Woodstock to walk around the shops, and eat some lunch in town. After buying some t-shirts, we ate at a local café that had an open porch area for eating that was nice and cool.

A lazy night at the campground, and we are heading back to Concord in the morning.

Year 5 - Day 50

03Aug15

We left Watkins Glen and headed southeast to end up in Saugerties / Woodstock, NY at a KOA. This is really off the beaten path, but Woodstock and Saugerties are both such cool little tourist towns!

After getting set up, we left Sam to relax in the RV while James and I drove to Saugerties and ate dinner at a pub in town. Really awesome little town!

Year 5 - Day 49

02Aug15

Our last day in Watkins Glen, so we went to Montour Falls and walked around a little. It was a beautiful falls along a short path from Havana Glen Park. Right in the middle of town was another waterfall called Chequaga Falls. How cool to have it right in town!

After a short drive along the winery road, we went back to the campground for Sam's final night of jumping and sliding. He closed it down, as usual.

Year 5 - Days 47 and 48

31Jul15 - 01Aug15

I accidentally got a latex breakout on my neck, so I was out of commission for a day and had to stay inside. Sam has been on the jumping pillow and water slide every night from 4-8 pm, so he is worn out afterward. LOL

The next day, my rash was starting to feel better, so we went to Watkins Glen Gorge and walked the trail. Wow, was it busy! It was an awesome trail along the gorge, though, with waterfalls galore!

After climbing the 832 steps of the gorge trail, Sam was worn out since he has been jumping and climbing every night (LOL) so I rode the shuttle back down to the trailhead with him while James walked back down.

The town is a cute little tourist town, but there is only one road through town, and it is bumper-to-bumper traffic all day. We stopped and had lunch in town before heading back to the campground. Of course, Sam was back at the sliding and jumping!

Year 5 - Day 46

30Jul15

Our first day we drove into Corning to visit the Corning Museum of Glass. This turned out to be a really cool hands-on museum with great displays and some beautiful works of art to see, as well. The art on display covered a wide range of fields, and the museum had artifacts and glass creations from all over the world, some as old as 3500 years.

One particular display caught Sam's eye because he had seen some of the works of the Blaschka brothers shown on Mysteries of the Museum. They were two brothers from Dresden, Germany who created glass reproductions of animal and plant life in such detail that it appeared lifelike. Amazing!

There were also live displays of such activities as glass blowing, flame throwing, and glass breaking. We saw all of the shows, and they were awesome, including the demonstration of fiber optics and how it has revolutionized modern communication.

We spent the whole day there, and even Sam said he didn't know glass could be so interesting!

Year 5 - Day 45

29Jul15

We left Herkimer and drove to Watkins Glen to stay at the KOA there. This area is very close to the south end of Seneca Lake, which is one of the finger lakes in NY. The racetrack is very close to the campground, and we could hear the Nascars driving around all week in preparation for their race coming up next weekend.

This KOA has a lot of activities, including a jumping pillow, huge water slide, bumper boats, a zip line, and heated swimming pool. Sam was super excited to stay here!

Our first night here, he was all over the jumping pillow, and the water slide is open from 4-8 pm, so he closed it down after more than 25 trips up and down. Whew!

Year 5 - Day 44

28Jul15

Today we drove about 15 miles into Utica to visit their zoo. It was a small zoo, but had some cool animals for some up close viewing. The highlight was a baby striped hyena about two months old, and he was so cute and cuddly that everyone wanted to take him home! The caretaker came out and fed him and played with him for a few minutes while everyone oohed and aaawed!

It was another sunny, warm day, and the animals were mostly relaxing as much as possible, but it was still a good zoo day.