It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

The first snow of the year...pre-Halloween! 

These shots were taken mid-day October 29th,

with beautiful flakes rapidly spiraling downward from up above. 

Forecast says 6-10". 

Soccer games were cancelled...

 - but -

Happy kids sledding everywhere!

Eek - power just went out mid-post. 

Keepin' my fingers crossed!  

This tree pictured below hasn't lost its leaves,

making the snow fall heavier on its limbs.

Drive-thru Zoo

Venturing out of Lancaster County...about 4+ hours drive over state lines (MD, WV & VA) and through the gorgeous Shenandoah Valley, our family found ourselves back for our 2nd annual feeding frenzy at the "drive-thru zoo" in Natural Bridge, VA.  Aka the Virginia Safari Park. At the risk of sounding like an info-mercial, it's a 180 acre park that is home to over 1,000 exotic animals from 6 different continents.

The park consists of two experiences in one.  First, a fun walkable petting zoo where there are miniature goats, potbelly pigs (this year w/lots of babies) and llamas to feed. Snakes and other scaly creatures to look at, as well as sloths, deer, tigers, kangaroos, exotic birds, monkeys and even giraffes that eat out of our hands!



Yes, this is a little slimy.  But kids love it & parents fight

for the perfect photo opp.

The park is well-maintained, and well-staffed with frequent hand sanitizer stations.  The staff are very knowledgeable about all of their animals and love to answer questions for all of us with "inquiring minds".

Once the walking tour is over, we hop back in our car where the real fun begins!  Upon entry to the park we had purchased 4 buckets of food for $10.  Since I'd read many online comments prior to our first trip, we ask for additional buckets (camels like to steal your buckets) and I bring along an extra plastic bag to dump all the food in to - then divvy it into smaller amounts so when you lose your buckets (and you will), you don't lose all your food at once.

Here's a shot of the beginning of our 3 mile drive-thru zoo.

Where the deer & the antelope play...

As we continue, various exotic (and a few not-so-exotic) animals come to be fed.

A nosy Watusi (one of the few we're not supposed to feed) thankfully doesn't tip us over!

The ostrich don't mess around and their hard pecks are a little intimidating.

Llamas are another fav; though they stalk cars and can sneak up on you!

Oh yeah, sometimes they bat those long lashes at you

 and then spit food on you.  It's not pretty.

This is what a hungry camel looks like:

And this is what a camel that steals your food bucket looks like!



But then they blow you kisses...

And look all cute for those special Kodak moments...



Can you say you've pet a zebra?

Okay...in actuality, that's a park no no,

but we had serious lack of impulse control when they got in our face!

By the end of the 3 mile drive, we ran out of food.

Luckily we didn't make this guy mad.

Though he did give us the stink eye.

Notice how quickly my husband rolled up his window!



Though the purpose of this blog was to highlight LanCo...this is such an

awesome experience, it just had to be shared. 

Here's their link:

http://www.virginiasafaripark.com/geninfo.html

and here are my last bits of wisdom for this outing:

• Drive your husband's car - it gets messy. 
• Don't wear white - llama spit, bison drool...need I say more?
• Ask for more buckets - we lose on average 3 each trip.
• Drive your husband's car. I cannot stress this enough.
• Buy 4 buckets of food - it's worth it.
• Take your camera.

Take me out to the ballpark

The Lancaster Barnstormers - Clipper Magazine Stadium

The perfect way to spend Labor Day weekend - a night at the ballpark!  Okay, we can all think of other places we'd rather be (Nordstroms) than pretending not to be sweating while in high humidity with the sun beating down on us, but since our family was there and we had such a great night...it just seemed like the fair thing to do.

Just to set the record straight...normally I would never think about blogging about a baseball game.  Nothing against baseball; I just wouldn't.  However, something very important came to me while at this game...something very important.  These were hands-down, no contest, the CLEANEST public restrooms I have ever been in.  Sparkling clean.  Not a spot on the floor, no toilet paper on a seat, no overflowing garbage cans, no droplets of water on the counter clean. 

Now, everyone likes a clean bathroom (except maybe those people on that "Hoarders" show - eew).  However, as a mother, the cleanliness of the bathroom gave me pause.  A pause that made me take even more notice of my current environment.  (For the record, by then my pause had taken me back outside the restroom.) 

Let me explain.

The "experts" whoever they are, claim that women make 80% of all household decisions.  From what a family eats, to what they wear, the decor of a home, the brand of detergent, what toys are purchased, and so on.  They generally have the final say of any major item, appliance or car a household might purchase right down to where a family dines out, vacations and the entertainment they see.  That said - why aren't more businesses marketing to Moms? 

I digress; back to the pause.  I pause.  I look around. I had noticed in the restroom that while it was sparkling clean, it also had a good-sized section cordoned off with a diaper changing station; was pleasantly cool (highly unusual in many sports stadiums), and had a crisp fresh scent to it.  Nice and appreciated touches to any mother.

Mental mommy notes (pun intended) are flying around my head at this point. Reread that Mental mommy line again, it's kinda funny. Anyhow some of the voices that were singing in my head would be highlights for any Mom who visits Clipper Magazine Stadium:

 

• Lots of kiddie entertainment.  Several playgrounds (free) that were fenced in for security.
• Carousel, bumper boats, bouncy slide and several baseball style games at a reasonable cost - good throughout the night as many times as a kid wants and a parent will tolerate.
• Plenty of seating for the adults - oh, and in a place you can still check on the ballgame periodically.
• Cute, clean area by the kids entertainment for Birthday parties.
• Multiple food stations with more options than just a hotdog! Yes, one even had Caesar salad.  They were clean, food was cooked on the spot and was relatively tasty, 3 condiment areas in each location with lots of napkins around (amen); kids meals with cute Lancaster Barnstormer buckets to take home (plz don't let us be hoarders...) and best of all - cups with lids.
• Cylo, the Barnstormers' mascot comes by for pictures and autographs in the kids area every game.

At some point we convinced the kids to actually watch some of the game, so we sat.  More mental mommy notes popped up:

• Every seat seems to be a great seat and aisles were roomy enough for my husband's very long legs.
• A fabulous, but not obnoxious sound system.
• Kooky games and entertainment or giveaways at the bottom of every inning.  
• A beautifully maintained grassy knoll to spread out blankets and watch the game for those who don't want to spring for higher-priced seats.

They (them again) say in marketing that if a person has a good experience, on average they'll tell 4 others about it and if it's a bad experience, they'll share their horror story with 10 others.   I want to share with the world the incredible job the Lancaster Barnstormers are doing at making moms' lives easier - they really, truly know how to "Market to Moms".  

Great job Barnstormers - we'll see ya next year.

Makin' Lemonade

Mother Nature handed my husband and me a few lemons this past weekend; actually a whirlwind of them we begrudgingly are referring to as "Irene".  Our fabulous plans to celebrate 10 years of marital bliss together in NYC (sans kids) came to a screeching halt when Hurricane Irene decided to encourage Amtrak to cancel their schedules and the city to be cleared out.


Babysitters were in place, so not willing to give that up, we moved on to Plan B: make lemonade. 

Destination: Lancaster, PA. 

Pretending to be in Manhattan, we only went to new places we hadn't yet discovered - here are some highlights.

First stop; lunch at "The Brickyard".  Great food, great beer, great service and a supercool jukebox that looks like a giant i-phone in the bar.  Note for future trips: bring the kids, they eat free w/adults.  They may change that policy once they see how much our kids can consume. Scary.

Second stop: An amazing new "go to" place for must have decor (and gifts for people we really like) Radel & Stauffer http://www.radelstauffer.com/aboutus.html. 
Throughout our wonderful and personalized tour of the store, the co-owner Daryl, took notes on everything I oohed & ahhhed over and handed the list to my husband on our way out as a ready to go Christmas list.  Gotta love that kind of customer service.  Did I mention their outstanding "Alessi" collection?

Next stop: Details on Queen St. http://www.detailsandpappagallo.com/  Wonderful boutique for home accessories, stationery, candles, etc.  Pappagallo is their trendy clothing store, which I'd been to before and didn't drag my husband into.  I can get in more trouble without him there.

Home for the evening was the contemporary and eclectic "Lancaster Arts Hotel":



This unique art-filled boutique hotel is definitely a (the) hidden hot spot in Lancaster County.  With just 63 rooms, the historic building is intimately set with over $300k worth of artwork by 36 different local artists.  The building was originally built in 1881 and the hotel architects should be showered with praise on how they maintained the building's integrity and brick walls while converting it from a tobacco warehouse to the hotel.  The rooms feature individual artist's work with descriptions and biographies, a sketchbook for guests to doodle on, a wonderful book describing this and other historical hotels, handcrafted furniture and the most comfortable hotel bed we've ever slept on.  And that's been quite a few. Seriously, seriously comfortable.

Sadly I didn't bring my camera, so all pics shown are from their website and don't do the angles, the artwork, the architectural design justice.  The nice staff did promise me entry to photograph the hotel anytime I want, so I will be back.  Check out these uber-cool & comfy chairs in the lobby:

After a romantic dinner next door at Lancaster's trendy "Fenz" restaurant, we wandered/teetered back and enjoyed a few spirits at the Arts Hotel's swanky bar:



Overall, we couldn't have asked for more memorable lemonade. 

Happy Anniversary Honey!

You say tomato...and I say "is it?"

Look at these little beauties found recently at the

neighbor's produce stand...teeny tiny "pea-sized" tomatoes. 

So cute, so adorable and so yummy!

I've been throwing them into tacos, pastas & salads -

adding to veggie sides and eating them one at a time. 

Just too cute not to feature on the blog.

To give more perspective, this is one sitting pretty 

next to a little spice jar.  Sure glad I'm not the lucky girl picking them. 

They grow like any other tomato, not in clumps,

so lots of picking one after another, after another, after another...

Hip & happening hangouts for the whole 'hood...

Thought I'd highlight some of our favorite family hangouts in & out of LanCo. Some we visit just once a year, some we grace (?!) with our presence frequently.  Lucky them.  A few we've outgrown, but are still worth a mention for families with wee ones. Either way, lots of fun for anyone!

 The Lake & Beach at Mt. Gretna

Which has to be followed up by heading across the street to

the world famous "Jigger Shop" for burgers & ice cream!

Below is one of their special concoctions.  Established in 1895,

their website shares wonderful historical stories about Mt. Gretna,

as well as a "web-cam" so you can find those sneaky teens.

http://www.jiggershop.com/ 

"The Hands on House"

A wonderful kids museum which keeps kids attention

until around ages 6-8 years.  New this year is a wonderful

addition "Mason's Active Adventure Garden".

"The Wilbur Chocolate Factory"

Home of the iconic & highly addictive Wilbur buds.

A sinful and sensational mouth-watering creation 

long before Hershey kisses.  (Though we love those too!)

So...all that talk of kisses reminds me

to include "Hershey Park".

Our favorite areas always seem to be their water

parks - lots & lots of ways to keep cool.
Also home to some pretty far out roller coasters...

HP also offers great concerts year-round & in the winter

the Hershey Bears hockey team rock the house!

Another LanCo hotspot for littler people:

"Dutch Wonderland".

Though there are a few rides like the Pipeline Plunge

that we haven't braved quite yet, it is a perfect place to begin

the amusement park experience for newcomers.



"Cherry Crest Adventure Farm"

checks in as our all time favorite fall experience!

A ridiculously well designed corn maze (see 2011's below),

plus the added benefit of tons of outdoor games,

arts & crafts, petting zoos & great food.  All digital-free!

Bit of a drive, but an annual must do.  Plan to spend the day!

Lititz Springs Park is home to the 4th of July celebration. Anywhere.

That celebration is a whole other blog in itself, but the following

You Tube video of the over the top fireworks choreographed and graciously donated

annually by Clair Global, will inspire you to visit Lititz for that reason alone.

Sit back & enjoy just a tiny taste:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V8Cldhyoe0&feature=related

And some indoor honorable mentions:

B2B Baseball & Softball Academy

LaserDome

Strasburg Railroad

That Bounce Place (new in Lancaster)

&

The kids indoor gym at Universal Athletic Club

**stock photos from company websites

w/the exception of Hands on House by yours truly**

Amish Paparazzi

It's not often my husband calls me names, though more than likely I deserve a few choice ones periodically.  However, since moving to Lancaster County I have more or less been stalking the Amish.  Stalking.  Such an ugly word.  I prefer to think I am kindly snapping photos in a "journalisticly" or "artistically"  albeit secret manner in which to share with fellow bloggers the new-found knowledge I've obtained about the Amish culture.

My husband has now dubbed me the "Amish Paparazzi".  This weekend I was not alone in my stalking as my friend and her son came to visit from Las Vegas and shared my passion in the quest for the perfect shot, or the chance to churn butter...we settled for pictures. 

We headed over to a town called Bird in Hand, which is a quaint village in Lancaster County -- chalk full of Amish.  This village's economy is based primarily on tourism - which means a lot of businesses that call themselves Amish, but probably aren't.

You see, it's been uncovered in my thirst for Amish knowledge, that the Amish never use their culture (or religion) to advertise. Thus when they own a business, it may be listed with their name but never includes the word "Amish".  So...when the six of us boarded our Amish buggy at the "Plain and Fancy" tourist trap (insert hee hee here), we pretty much understood that the premise was there and the authenticity was not.

Here are a few shots from our trip, beginning outside of Lititz, PA.

When you see a bunch of buggies on a Sunday morn,

they are generally gathered for church services inside a home or barn. 

This is my favorite shot of the day, two little boys outside the barn gathering.

When doing a drive-by, one can only be so quick at focusing,

as well as being incognito.

A family waits to go on their Amish buggy ride at "Plain & Fancy"

located in Bird in Hand, PA.  Nothing fancy about it!

The Amish always have beautiful horses pulling their carts,

their main mode of transportation. 

The kids were bored and missing their technology on the short 4 mile trip.

An "authentic" moment as a man passes us in an open air buggy.

Another real buggy siting, with a gorgeous Amish farm and

sprawling countryside to feast your eyes on. 





Lastly, one of my lovely Amish neighbors. Sweet as can be.

In traditional Amish garb.  Older Amish don't like their picture taken,

younger Amish don't seem to mind.  This friend actually has her own camera.