Birdie's PA / NY Adventure Summary
We went up to visit family in western Pennsylvania / New York. We left on June 24 and returned on July 4. The trip had two parts:
[1] From Friday night through Tuesday, June 28 we stayed at an Air BNB in Warren, Pennsylvania.
Our drive up on Friday went pretty smoothly. Birdie had a meltdown just past Erie so we had to pull over to a local elementary school so she could run around on the playground for a bit, but other than that it went well enough. Our AirBNB was right on what in North Dakota would have been easily the third widest river in the state, but in PA was just a creek. It's all relative, right?
On Saturday, we went to my Aunt Joanne's in New York for the high school graduation party of my cousin Josh's oldest daughter. Although we'd driven through New York on the way up, this was the first time we got out of the car and was therefore Birdie's first time in New York, as well as being probably the farthest north she's been to this point.
Birdie met a ton of family for the first time at the party, including:
- Aunt Joanne & Uncle Jay
- my cousin Josh, his wife Victoria, and four kids.
- my cousin Adam
- Aunt Susan & Uncle David
- my cousin Becky and her daughter, who was in all the way from San Diego
- Aunt Irene & Uncle Bill
- Uncle Joe & his girlfriend Sandy
That's how they're all related to me, by the way. So add a layer of "great" for all the aunts and uncles for Birdie! Birdie met more family in one day than she had in her life up to that point. Seriously - she'd met 5 people in my family previously and 6 people in M's family. All this at a graduation party that really didn't come close to scratching the surface of all the relatives I have in that area.
On Sunday we took it easy, although we did check out a playground near the house we were staying in.
Monday morning we met Joanne, Josh, Victoria and Adam for breakfast at the Dinner Bell. Their patio wasn't open, but we ordered takeout and it ate on their patio, and a waitress was kind enough to serve us out there. After naptime, M and Birdie and I went out to the Kinzua Sky Walk. There was a very nice train-themed playground next to it. On the way back, we swung by the Dairy Delite, which was the first place I'd seen since my high school employer that had "Cyclones", aka the Dairy Queen Blizard knock off. Of course, I had to have one - Oreo mint. It was delicious.
On Tuesday we met Joanne & Jay for lunch at the Plaza in downtown Warren. Birdie had mac & cheese and played with some dinosaurs that Joanne lent us to supplement the many toys we brought with us. Everyone said the Plaza had good pie, so I tested this with a slice of Oreo pie. Everyone was correct. From there we went to yet another playground.
While we were at the AirBNB we had access to Disney+, so we binged all of Obi-Wan Kenobi. I'm pretty sure that's the fastest we've ever finished a show together. The AirBNB was relatively kid-proof, and Birdie loved running all over the kitchen at high speed. In fact, I'd say this was the first time she hit a high enough speed to call it running.
[2] From Tuesday, June 28 onward we stayed at another one of my employer's time shares, this one at Peek' N Peak Ski resort in Clymber, New York. This is the seventh in a long list of trips to my employer's time shares, including Orlando 2020, Colorado 2018, Orlando 2014, Orlando 2011, Chautauqua Lake (NY) 2010 and Naples (FL) 2009.
On Wednesday we spent the afternoon and evening out at Presque Isle. We visited the Perry Monument, let Birdie wander around a nature playground, very briefly listened to a concert on the beach (which I won't count since we didn't even learn the name of the band), and had ice cream on that beach.
Thursday morning, Birdie visited her first swimming pool. We took her to the outdoor pool for Peek'n Peak. Under out watchful eye, she floated around in a pool inflatable that had toys built into it. She sure seemed to have a good time, although it wasn't perhaps as exciting as the splash park.
That evening my parents arrived. After Birdie went to bed we watched Encanto.
On Friday 7/1, the five of us went to Midway State Park, which my mother recalled visiting when she was growing up in that area. There was a very nice playground, albeit one with no shade on a hot day. The arcade had all the doors wide open and was deserted, so M played whack-a-mole and other ticket games. Birdie came away with several plastic toys. We also rode on the carousel and in a kid-sized amusement park train. Birdie had a good time on all of those - this was her second carousel ride after a trip to the Cleveland Zoo earlier this year.
Unfortunately, on Saturday my father wasn't feeling well so they went home and we canceled a planned dinner with family. Ultimately, Birdie had a fever and a runny nose on Monday as we were coming home, which pushed back her Covid vaccine a few days. She was fully recovered in a few days.
For those counting at home, I make it:
- 6 different playgrounds
- 5 different milestones for Birdie: New York, swimming pool, cold, climbing sofas, descending stairs.
So it was a busy week.
The timeshare we stayed n was huge and had a ton of cabinets. Most of the kitchen cabinets had stuff Birdie could safely play with, so we let her haul all the tupperwares and cutting boards out over and over again. She had a great time doing this and never seemed bored by it.
While my parents were visiting us, my mother taught Birdie to get up on the sofa by climbing on a cushion we'd put on the floor. She also spent a lot of time getting Birdie to set down on the sofa and slide off. She hadn't quite mastered either skill by the time we left New York, but by the following Friday (7/8), she was able to climb up on the sofa in her bedroom. The sofa in our living room is a bit taller, so she has to stand on something to get on it. Alternately, if I'm sitting on the sofa she'll grab my shorts and haul herself up.
However she gets up on the sofa, she's usually able to safely lower herself off by sitting and scooching. I usually keep a hand on her just in case, but she is mostly sticking the landing. She's also figured out she can use the same sit and scooch technique to lower herself down the stair. It's slow but effective, and I usually let her do it when we're leaving the house to go for a walk.
[1] From Friday night through Tuesday, June 28 we stayed at an Air BNB in Warren, Pennsylvania.
Our drive up on Friday went pretty smoothly. Birdie had a meltdown just past Erie so we had to pull over to a local elementary school so she could run around on the playground for a bit, but other than that it went well enough. Our AirBNB was right on what in North Dakota would have been easily the third widest river in the state, but in PA was just a creek. It's all relative, right?
On Saturday, we went to my Aunt Joanne's in New York for the high school graduation party of my cousin Josh's oldest daughter. Although we'd driven through New York on the way up, this was the first time we got out of the car and was therefore Birdie's first time in New York, as well as being probably the farthest north she's been to this point.
Birdie met a ton of family for the first time at the party, including:
- Aunt Joanne & Uncle Jay
- my cousin Josh, his wife Victoria, and four kids.
- my cousin Adam
- Aunt Susan & Uncle David
- my cousin Becky and her daughter, who was in all the way from San Diego
- Aunt Irene & Uncle Bill
- Uncle Joe & his girlfriend Sandy
That's how they're all related to me, by the way. So add a layer of "great" for all the aunts and uncles for Birdie! Birdie met more family in one day than she had in her life up to that point. Seriously - she'd met 5 people in my family previously and 6 people in M's family. All this at a graduation party that really didn't come close to scratching the surface of all the relatives I have in that area.
On Sunday we took it easy, although we did check out a playground near the house we were staying in.
Monday morning we met Joanne, Josh, Victoria and Adam for breakfast at the Dinner Bell. Their patio wasn't open, but we ordered takeout and it ate on their patio, and a waitress was kind enough to serve us out there. After naptime, M and Birdie and I went out to the Kinzua Sky Walk. There was a very nice train-themed playground next to it. On the way back, we swung by the Dairy Delite, which was the first place I'd seen since my high school employer that had "Cyclones", aka the Dairy Queen Blizard knock off. Of course, I had to have one - Oreo mint. It was delicious.
On Tuesday we met Joanne & Jay for lunch at the Plaza in downtown Warren. Birdie had mac & cheese and played with some dinosaurs that Joanne lent us to supplement the many toys we brought with us. Everyone said the Plaza had good pie, so I tested this with a slice of Oreo pie. Everyone was correct. From there we went to yet another playground.
While we were at the AirBNB we had access to Disney+, so we binged all of Obi-Wan Kenobi. I'm pretty sure that's the fastest we've ever finished a show together. The AirBNB was relatively kid-proof, and Birdie loved running all over the kitchen at high speed. In fact, I'd say this was the first time she hit a high enough speed to call it running.
[2] From Tuesday, June 28 onward we stayed at another one of my employer's time shares, this one at Peek' N Peak Ski resort in Clymber, New York. This is the seventh in a long list of trips to my employer's time shares, including Orlando 2020, Colorado 2018, Orlando 2014, Orlando 2011, Chautauqua Lake (NY) 2010 and Naples (FL) 2009.
On Wednesday we spent the afternoon and evening out at Presque Isle. We visited the Perry Monument, let Birdie wander around a nature playground, very briefly listened to a concert on the beach (which I won't count since we didn't even learn the name of the band), and had ice cream on that beach.
Thursday morning, Birdie visited her first swimming pool. We took her to the outdoor pool for Peek'n Peak. Under out watchful eye, she floated around in a pool inflatable that had toys built into it. She sure seemed to have a good time, although it wasn't perhaps as exciting as the splash park.
That evening my parents arrived. After Birdie went to bed we watched Encanto.
On Friday 7/1, the five of us went to Midway State Park, which my mother recalled visiting when she was growing up in that area. There was a very nice playground, albeit one with no shade on a hot day. The arcade had all the doors wide open and was deserted, so M played whack-a-mole and other ticket games. Birdie came away with several plastic toys. We also rode on the carousel and in a kid-sized amusement park train. Birdie had a good time on all of those - this was her second carousel ride after a trip to the Cleveland Zoo earlier this year.
Unfortunately, on Saturday my father wasn't feeling well so they went home and we canceled a planned dinner with family. Ultimately, Birdie had a fever and a runny nose on Monday as we were coming home, which pushed back her Covid vaccine a few days. She was fully recovered in a few days.
For those counting at home, I make it:
- 6 different playgrounds
- 5 different milestones for Birdie: New York, swimming pool, cold, climbing sofas, descending stairs.
So it was a busy week.
The timeshare we stayed n was huge and had a ton of cabinets. Most of the kitchen cabinets had stuff Birdie could safely play with, so we let her haul all the tupperwares and cutting boards out over and over again. She had a great time doing this and never seemed bored by it.
While my parents were visiting us, my mother taught Birdie to get up on the sofa by climbing on a cushion we'd put on the floor. She also spent a lot of time getting Birdie to set down on the sofa and slide off. She hadn't quite mastered either skill by the time we left New York, but by the following Friday (7/8), she was able to climb up on the sofa in her bedroom. The sofa in our living room is a bit taller, so she has to stand on something to get on it. Alternately, if I'm sitting on the sofa she'll grab my shorts and haul herself up.
However she gets up on the sofa, she's usually able to safely lower herself off by sitting and scooching. I usually keep a hand on her just in case, but she is mostly sticking the landing. She's also figured out she can use the same sit and scooch technique to lower herself down the stair. It's slow but effective, and I usually let her do it when we're leaving the house to go for a walk.