Short hop to Dayton

We had some very long days in the car... but this was not one of them!

About an hour and a half's ride to Dayton from Columbus was a refreshing change from our nine-hour endurance tests. We dropped Daddy and Allen off at the Air Force Museum, checked our stuff into the hotel and then Emilyn and I headed off to the mall... an experience made more interesting by miles and miles of traffic and construction!

We made it back, by a different leg of the pants (ask Emilyn about her first experience as navigator), and we noticed that there was some big event taking place at the Air Force base. Turns out, there was a "tattoo" -- Air Force talk for a big carnival that includes music, flyovers and fireworks for the folks on the base and in the surrounding towns. We were lucky enough to have a front-row seat for everything, right outside the door of our hotel.

Meanwhile, at the museum, Daddy and Allen had adventures of their own... The National 9/11 Flag has been on tour and was stopped at the museum -- and Steve got a chance to put a stitch in! Very, very cool!

He and Allen saw the Hubble movie in Imax and downed a bunch of freeze-dried astronaut apples. Yum!

After dinner at the Amber Rose and the little impromptu air show and truly wonderful fireworks, it was time to call it a day -- and a trip. Ahhhh. Heading home.

Fort Rapids fun

The thing Allen was most looking forward to at Fort Rapids -- the chance to pan for gems in the sluiceway outside the gift shop! So, we crossed that one off our list right away... He was very entranced by the gems, though, so guess who did most of his panning!

Setting aside the cheesy old West stuff, though, Fort Rapids is really all... about... the water.


Oh, yeah. And they have waterslides, too. Several. They have two that are big enough to go in sitting up on an inner tube. Heck, I figured. I could do that! And I did! I even kept my glasses on. I really wanted to go down carrying the camera and make a video, but I didn't see how I could possibly keep the thing dry!


My vacationers spent a bunch of time in the lazy river. But it was tough to be lazy on the last day, when at least two busloads of kids came to swim. We were getting spoiled by our nighttime visits to the water park! Now we know better. After dinner is the best time to go! Thanks, though, Fort Rapids... for the bunk beds, the free pizza, free ice cream, free warm cookies and milk, and story time by the fireplace every night.

Vacation Steve

Vacation Steve has two weeks' worth of beard and has become completely indiscriminate in his eating habits! heeheehee

COSI: Big museum, big fun

Boy, when we're on the road, we surely begin to appreciate St. Louis' lovely AND FREE family attractions!

Even with the Fort Rapids coupon, our admission to Columbus' Center of Science and Industry, or COSI, was an astronomical 35 bucks. Did I mention that the St. Louis Science Center is, umm, FREE??!

But, I digress. COSI is beyond cool. It is amazing. And huge. And we probably only did half the stuff you can do there. When you walk up to the amazingly long building in downtown Columbus, you're struck by a beautiful wind sculpture -- a tree made of dozens of holographic half-cubes, spinning in the wind.

Inside, they have themed exhibit rooms... Space, Ocean, Life, Progress, Gadgets. We spent quite a bit of time in Space, of course, where Allen tried the space station's potty, Daddy tried to land the shuttle and Emilyn learned to master the controls of a Mars rover!


Next came Ocean, where water jets spray constantly in Neptune's lair, and plastic balls can float on fountains!


Upstairs, my two biggest kids had the most fun in KidSpace, which is designed for babies and preschoolers. Imagine that! (OK, the little one had a ball, too!)


Next we went to Life, probably the neatest room in the place. You enter under a giant chicken-wire skeleton that's suspended from the ceiling. Daddy took a strength and fitness test to see how he measured up against other museum visitors. Allen played the Body Noises Piano. Emilyn studied some very odd X-rays. And Daddy and Mommy tested their communication skills on a two-sided table with a one-way mirror -- where I had to use one-word computer commands to tell him how to put together a group of Lego blocks. Fun! (We did great, of course!)


Later came Progress, where the same townscape is shown in 1892 and 1962 -- Emilyn's favorite exhibit! And then Gadgets, where you can shoot balls into a Rube Goldberg-esque machine with an air cannon. Steve also had fun there, hoisting himself up with rope and pulleys.

We spent some time outside in Big Science Park, then the gift shop, and bid farewell to COSI -- which the kids like to pronounce "cozy." Big museum, big fun, big day!

Wagons ho ! to Fort Rapids

Our time in greater Binghamton drawn to a close, we fortified ourselves yet again with M&M pancakes and loaded up our prairie schooner for the trek west to Fort Rapids indoor water park and conference center in Columbus, Ohio.

Before we left the comfy Owego Treadway, there was a bonus for Allen: Scads of mayflies on the door! Ick! Though they are much quieter than cicadas... The Treadway has a gorgeous river view that we are going to for sure take better advantage of next time.

Allen asked me to plot our route, so I obliged, with a little "Crabbe GPS" ... heeheehee...


Allen has declared his undying love for Pennsylvania... but Daddy and I agree: It's much less frustrating to drive the length of New York state instead. Don't ask us why: Our "tree mountains" look pretty much exactly the same as theirs. It still is a haul though, so thank goodness the Cuba Cheese Shoppe was there when we needed it! Free samples galore! We loaded up on squeaky curds and double Gloucester -- and peanut butter cups... and chocolate rocks... Trying to put a glorious flourish on two weeks of terrible eating.


Around dinnertime we finally rolled into our destination... and were able to spend a few excellent hours in the pool... plus, we got free pizza and drinks! Wahooo!

Rambling around the wilds of NEPA

Well, Caurie had to go home early Tuesday... Sigh. But, fortified with Aunt Laurie's famous M&M pancakes, the rest of us headed off, in three cars, to see some highly rock-oriented sites in northeastern Pennsylvania -- which, for real, is called NEPA by the locals. Go figure!

First stop was the Starrucca Viaduct, a true and amazing place that is very hard to capture in one photograph! Unless you're in a helicopter or something, I guess! The huge stone bridge was built in 1847 by the Erie Railroad and is 1,200 feet long and 110 feet high. Really. Big. Bridge.

Then, we drove around for a long while, over hill and dale, looking for Steve's mythical Internet hobby store. Surprisingly, it does exist! As he likes to say, he drove over 1,000 miles for a $30 refund! After the shopkeeper expressed his disblelief, Steve said, "Well, you don't answer your e-mails!"


Next up, the incredible backyard castle Valhalla in New Milford, Pa. This guy built a huge castle in his yard, by hand, with rocks, and absolutely no mortar! It even has a moat and a wall and everything!


There are stairs and turrets and bridges -- even a suit of armor, which I hear that Allen loved! Whenever someone other than Mommy took his picture, he smiled really nicely!


We saw a lot of the back end of Derek's and Laurie's cars... And when our next journey took us on several dirt roads, we could almost hear Derek cackling at the front of the pack! But somehow, we made it to Salt Springs State Park, home of some beautiful waterfalls -- and treacherous rocks, for people who have not worn the correct footwear! And that was pretty much everyone! But Steve was prepared... and he even carried my pocketbook -- like the wonderful husband he is -- so that I could use both hands to clamber up and over rocks and roots.


Ashley turned out to be the biggest little mountain goat... She went hiking all the way with Steve, even after her daddy went kerploosh! into the water. (Wish there was a good picture of that!)

Because Steve had my bag, and my camera, I grabbed Larry's for a few shots...


A very pretty place... and home of what's gotta be the world's longest tap root!


All of these sites get the unequivocal Critchlow Seal of Approval! Great job, Laurie!

The rest of our photos from Tuesday are here. All the pictures from Larry's and Caroline's cameras are here.

On to Aunt Laurie's

We crammed as much eating as we could into our remaining days in Rockland, with a Father's Day trip to Zlata Praha -- just Steve, Ellen, Sean and me, which was very fun! And delicious! -- and one more run to the Rockland Bakery. I could have spent a great deal of money in there. No question. You can pick bread and bagels right off the line!

Then it was off to Aunt Laurie's, where as many of the Critchlows as possible were gathered for burgers on the grill -- and projects aplenty! (Caurie even flew in from Florida! But we were sad that Lori and Hannah couldn't make it... there's that darn school thing getting in the way again!)

Doing projects is a Pillar of Critchlowism, and there were plenty to choose from. Soon after we got there, Aunt Laurie broke out the acrylics and brushes and set everyone to painting rocks for her garden. Included in the bright ideas were a Czech flag (Prague rock!), an 8-ball, a foot in a flip-flop, and a couple of Swedish flags from Allen. I was too busy taking pictures to paint, but later on I found one just the right shape and painted it up like candy corn. And of course, lest we forget, Trains Rule!


Heck, while we've got the paint out... Aunt Laurie appeared with a big piece of muslin, and we all proceeded to make imprints with our hands and feet. Except for Allen, who's way too finicky for that big of a commitment. He just dipped his finger in the paint and made dots and smears. Party pooper. Caurie was designated the official baby lifter. And who could forget Derek's giant, flat Sasquatch feet?




Thank goodness Caroline was busy taking actual pictures of actual people actually looking at the camera... There are a lot of cute portraits here!


For the day's third project, after Bill and Ally and Gio had gone home, Tyler, Ashley, Allen and Emilyn worked on loosing a pirate's treasure from a block of sandstone. Eye protection is key! And there was plenty of plastic booty to go around, me hearties. Arrrrgh!


A great day at the Waddells' new home!


All of our pictures from Monday are here. All of those from Laurie's and Caroline's cameras are here. There are way too many good ones to choose from!