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Published: April 21st 2012
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The little boys (Jack 8 and Casey 10) are lively and fun to be with. We had a few days with them while their parents were otherwise occupied.
Glens Falls is a little more than half way between Rutland, Vermont and Ballston Lake, New York so Chris (their father) met us at Frank's Pizza Shop near the Lake George outlet malls (Routes 9 and 149) to make the exchange.
No shopping this day! Instead we headed south on Rt. 9 toward Glens Falls to Fun Spot. Fun Spot is well named. The boys drove mini cars (Wes had to be with Jack as he hasn't yet met the requisite height 54"). They played in a very cool indoor gym and we signed them up for a few rounds of the highlight of the experience - laser tag! It was a Sunday afternoon; the place was throbbing with kids from toddler through middle school ages. Several birthday parties were going on, lots of kids were skating on the sizable indoor skating ring and many families were playing mini golf. Most of the parents had coupons or other deals to lighten the fees. One helpful parent said we should
have gone to the Visitors' Center south of Lake George Village to get discount offers. Oh well, next time!
We headed back north on Route 9 for ice cream at famous "Martha's" across from Great Escape Amusement Park and headed home for fish fries. We had caught the fish in Florida and brought them home in the RV's freezer. The meal was a real hit!
Our grandsons are big eaters. Wes took them to Jumpin Jack's, an iconic seasonal food stand in Scotia, Schenectady County, and they had great lunches. Casey actually ordered and ate a fish fry AND a cheeseburger. An afternoon of fishing on Ballston Lake wasn't as productive as usual. It was too cold to swim and the boat wasn't in yet; so our normal lake fun was somewhat modified.
On their last day with us we headed to Saratoga Springs visited the Saratoga Automobile Museum located in Saratoga Spa State Park (accessible from Route 50 or Route 9 south of the city of Saratoga Springs) Because most children had their spring breaks the previous week; our boys benefitted in that they had the two race car simulators to themselves for a whole hour.
We can imagine the popularity (and waiting lines) for these very realistic pieces of equipment on a busy day. Kudos to the staff members who took the time to patiently set the boys up with their "races." The simulators are in a section of the auto museum reserved for kids. The simulators, a floor game with spongy cars and a ramp, several computers for designing one’s own cars and a couple of cars completed this room. The actual collection - High performance cars on the first floor and diverse race and vintage cars on the second floor were almost ignored by our guys in favor of the simulator. I made up a game - for example "find a car with an archer as a hood ornament" for a quarter to get them to look at a marvelous Pierce Arrow donated by the Friehofer family. That name was meaningful to the boys who love Freihofer chocolate chips so they got a little philanthropy lesson. There was a picnic table just outside the museum entrance so we had sandwiches and enjoyed a nice spring day.
Harkening back to things our own grandparents took us to; we paid a visit at
one of the many natural springs in Spa Park. We sampled three different waters. One eggy...while healthy; just awful tasting. Another slightly salty which made it delish! The third pure and fresh and cold and wonderful. Cars with jugs in the trunk were lined up to take advantage of that FREE resource from Mother Nature. We visited the "Spouter" section of the park where a geyser, pale in comparison to Old Faithful but still amazing, danced atop a mineral deposit. This geyser was there in our youth - we always marveled at the sight of it...out boys took off their socks and shoes, crossed the creek on rocks and stood right next to it.
We ended up at Ben & Jerry's on Putnam Street in the city of Saratoga Springs. We sat in a yard swing that held the four of us comfortably and rocked back and forth as we licked our cones. Next stop, Albany International Airport to pick up Beth (their mother; our daughter). Back to Vermont for Beth and the boys. Back to Ballston Lake for Wes and me. The next time they visit we might do Schenectady Museum & Planetarium and ESAM (Empire State Aviation
Freihofer Pierce Arrow
The Freihofer Family have invested in the Saratoga Automobile Museum Museum).
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