Another kid sez:

"Which would you rather be: a penguin, a robot penguin or Miss Piggy?"
Hmmmmm...

Adirondack Extreme!

Greatest. Father's Day. Experience. Ever. We'll be travelling on Father's Day proper so we celebrated a week early...
So, I loaded the boys and the husband into the car (husband had absolutely NO idea what we were doing thanks to massive amounts of misdirection and subterfuge) and we drove up to Adirondack Extreme in the pouring rain.  It's a tree-top, zip-line adventure course just off of exit 24 on the Northway - about an hour and a half north of the Capital Region. 


They're open pouring rain or shine.
Reservations are highly recommended.
Departures are every 1/2 hour. 
Arrive at least 1/2 hour before your departure.
They rent climbing gloves for $3.  Get them.
Bring food.  There is NOTHING nearby.
Bugspray.

Adirondack Extreme
518.494.7200

The Crossings

This has become my go-to playground as of late.  Especially since my older son has started riding a bike. (a bike!)

Great playground with a huge sandbox, bathrooms, lockers, picnic tables, a pond with ducks, geese and koi, a small hedge maze, nice smooth paved trails for walking or biking and a few terrible snack & drink machines if you're in a pinch.  If you're lucky, the cows on the bordering farm might be out...

The Crossings

Troy's Flag Day Parade 2010

The parade steps off at 1 PM on Sunday, June 13, 2010.
The 2 mile route runs along 4th Street beginning in South Troy at 4th & Main Street and ends at 4th & Federal Street.

Let the picking begin!

Apparently, strawberries are coming in pretty early on some farms... up to three weeks early!
Usually, we go to Samascott down in Kinderhook because they have soooooo many different things available to pick - peas, cukes, squash, cherries, peaches, onions, blueberries, strawberries, and on, and on, and on. Plus, they have something called a Razzle - soft serve whipped with either fresh strawberries or raspberries from their farm - Oh. My. Gosh. The best thing ever! Yesterday, we went to Altamont Orchards. We easily picked 13 pounds of strawberries. Nice place, but much smaller... kinda just a shack by some strawberry fields and apple orchards. No bathrooms. No Razzles. They did have a fun Bounce Castle.
The three year old has been pretty fascinated lately about farms, how things grow and where our food comes from. I use pickyourown.org to find places to pick our own fruits, veggies and christmas trees.

Bounce Around

We found a great place for a rainy day... Bounce Around in the Clifton Park Center mall. It's in a large-ish storefront right in the mall. They have a big Bounce Activity Center for little kids, about 4 or 5 huge Inflatables for older kids, a nice amount of token for ticket games, small token rides and a prize redemption counter. I believe they had a few snacks and beverages available - cheeze doodles and the like. They are open 7 days a week, host birthday parties and also rent and sell the Bounce Houses.
One difficult thing, though, when you're have younger or shy kids was their the policy that adults can't go in the Inflatables with the kids. Also, make sure everyone has socks.
The mall is typically quite quiet. I got in a few errands - there is a DMV and Time Warner Cable office in the mall - we had our lunch in the food court and I got a little window shopping done.
There's a coupon online that you can print for a weekday Buy One, Get One admission.

$7.00 for a single hour

$8.75 for 2 hours

$10.75 for a full day

Bounce Around
Clifton Park Center
518.668.0102

Free Ice Cream Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, June 5th, go get your free scoop in a cup or a cone at Friendly's! From Noon to 5:00 PM. Find the nearest Friendly's.

Free movies for the summer!

The arrival of Summer means Regal Cinemas Free Family Film Festival 2010.
Lots of fun, FREE, and a great way to spend a weekday morning in the summer! Starting June 29th, selected G or PG movies - not exactly new releases, but newish - start at 10:00am every Tuesday and Wednesday. Tickets are first-come, first-served, are limited to theater capacity and are only available at the theater's box office on the day of the show. Regal has offered this free summer fun since 1991.
Free Activity + Theater Full of Other Kids = Movie Theater Experience - Stress of Quieting Potentially Noisy Toddlers.
The participating theaters in our area are the Crossgates Stadium 18 and the Clifton Park Center 8.

Regal Free Family Film Festival

Happy National Doughnut Day!!

Get your free doughnut today at Dunkin' Donuts AND Krispy Kreme...

Memorial Day Parade 2010

Albany's 2010 Memorial Day Parade steps off at 10:00 AM from Quail Street.

Snappy Dog's Hot Dog Stand

On the way up to the zoo, we found the coolest hotdog cart...
They had a wide selection of topped hotdogs - from plain, to chili to peanut butter & bacon - hamburgers and fried fish... and made-to-order, fresh-cut french fries and chips! Alternative to the usual sodas, they also offer dairy fresh, plain and chocolate milk.


A 'snappy dog,' for the record, is a hot dog made with natural casing. This apparently gives it a little snap when you bite it.
Since they make your food to order, expect a slight -but WELL worth it - wait...

SNAPPY DOG'S
518.573.2776
534 Rt-29, Greenwich, NY 12834
(at Junction of Route 40 and Route 29)

Ashville Game Farm and Exotic Zoo

What a fun day! We took a 40 minute trip North and went to this, um, unique place.
While most petting zoos might have area where you can closely interact with goats, sheep and the like, we found ourselves face to giant face with an enormous, friendly camel and having our shoelaces pecked by emus! I can't believe how up-close and personal the animals are. The place was littered with peacocks and my younger boy was a little threatened by one of these. The A word to the wise: the monkeys are a little scary-finger-grabby. I wanted so badly to have a 'moment,' but, no. Well, not the moment I was hoping for... Don't get me wrong, though, the more dangerous animals are kept inaccessible and at a safe distance.
They do have a small shop that has drinks, frozen treats and snacks, disposable cameras, souveneirs and the use of strollers. Various bags of animal feed are available for $1 each. And I am a sucker for places that you can bring your own food, so I was well pleased to be able to enjoy our snack at one of the tent covered picnic tables.

Ashville Game Farm and Exotic Zoo
468 Lick Spring Road
Greenwich, NY 12834
1-800-676-5309 / 518-695-4337

Free Ice Cream!!

Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's!!

Find your local Scoop Shop
March 23, 2010
12:00 PM to 8 PM

Salamanders

On the very first few cold, rainy nights after winter, you can find tons of different kinds of salamanders and spring peepers migrating from ponds and creeks. There are some places where they have to cross roads. We like to find them and help them across the roads...

Syracuse - Carousel Mall

We had an hour or two to kill before dinner and found our way over to the Carousel Mall. HUGE place, same kinda mall stores, but a really great carousel. You buy wooden tokens for $1 each and pop them in a little slot when it's your turn. They didn't charge for adults accompanying small kids and they didn't charge for the sleeping 1-year-old strapped to my chest! Such a nice way to spend time... we wound up riding so much, we skipped our dinner plans and hit Johnny Rockets instead...

7 more days 'til Free Ice Cream at Ben & Jerry's

One more week to Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's!!

Find your local Scoop Shop
March 23, 2010
12:00 PM to 8 PM

Syracuse - Beaver Lake Nature Center

We went on a little snow hike through the sugarbush at Beaver Lake Nature Center. They had 5-6 stations set up along the trail of maple trees where volunteers explained the different stages and aspects of making maple syrup. Beeeeuuuutiiiiful day!! Snowshoe rentals (even really little ones) were available.

Inside, we warmed back up, browsing through the books in the giftshop, checking out the dioramas of local animals and watching for various bird species at the observation area. Unfortunately, we skipped the pancake breakfast that was going on, but we did get to watch them flipping and stacking the hot, bubbling cakes in their BBQ-style outdoor kitchen!

Beaver Lake Nature Center

Syracuse - Museum of Science & Technology

Great way to spend a day here in Syracuse!! Lots to do for all age groups. They have a 3-story play area with air cannons, slides and tunnels, a K'nex station, a hands-on fossil dig... although most of things were geared toward older kids, there were plenty of things for the little guys. The 1-year-old slept through the IMAX and the planetarium, but the 3-year-old was enthralled by both. Free admission thanks to our local MOST membership!

Get there early with little ones because it gets pretty wild in the play area when the bigger kids arrive. Also, parking will be easier. There is a very small cafe seating area with a microwave and only a few vending machines that are astronomically expensive. More than $2.50! For a bottled drink! Insane!

MOST

Syracuse - Rosamond Gifford Zoo

This zoo was awesome! Just a bit further than the Utica Zoo and way better. We went in March, and even though the season limited the variety of creatures that were out, there were plenty of animals out and about and enough to do and see inside to fill up our day.

And they were so close! Some of the most incredible animals were just a pane of glass away!! It was so fun to be able to just spot them and see all of their details. We can't wait to go back when the weather allows for more animals to be out.

There is a nice cafe area and snackbar, single stroller, double stroller and wagon rentals, and great animal demonstrations just about every 1/2 hour

...Also, thanks to our Bronx Zoo membership, it cost $5 for us to get in... sweet!!

Rosamond Gifford Zoo

2010 St. Patrick's Day Parade

Albany's 2010 St. Patrick's Day Parade steps off tomorrow from Quail Street at 2:00 PM. We've got our lawn chairs, umbrellas, snacks, blankets and silly green "flair" ready to go!!

Free Cupcake at Coccadott's today!

From Facebook:

Coccadott's Cake Shop

Rachel is heading to Flordia for some much needed R & R....so before I go I'm going to give every single customer who says HIT THE BEACH a Palm tree, sun shining cupcake, from me to you! I'm going to miss you guys & I will update from there. Stop in & visit Matt while i'm gone!!!! xoxo

Coccadott's

1179 Central Ave.

518.438.4937

Your Local Fire Department

What toddler doesn't LOVE firetrucks?? There are two interesting things to know about your local Fire Department.

1. You can usually call the non-emergency number of your local station and ask if there might be a time that your young child could come and see some of the trucks and equipment up close. This, of course, depends on whether or not the trucks are out at a fire.

2. They might do a monthly Pancake or All-You-Can-Eat Breakfast or themed Dinner (corned beef & cabbage, etc). Ask, or try your luck finding one nearby on the Times Union Food Calendar. Kids are enthusiastically welcomed and they're usually more than willing to show 'em around the station!

Free Cupcake at Coccadott's today!

From my Facebook page:

Spring..........if you are ready for spring its a FREE CUPPYCAKE day!!!!! Come on in and say "I'm thinking spring & you will get a free lil' springy cuppycake. Lots of smiles to everyone today!!!! Have a great day! xoxo

Coccadott's

The Rudy A. Ciccotti Center

Holy Cow!! Did we hit the jackpot in the battle against the Winter Blahs!

Did you know that there was an indoor water park right in Albany? The Rudy A. Cicccotti Family Recreation Center is right off of the middle of Wolf Road. And, it's only a short walk to the Crossings. While it is a membership-based facility, they do offer day passes for $10 per person. The passes allow you to use the entire facility (basketball courts, jogging track, fitness equipment, pool, spa, exercise classes - if you are so inclined) and they are good for the entire day, so you can leave for lunch (or eat your packed lunch in the lobby) and go back for some more.

The Water Features were amazing! It starts off extremely shallow for the little waders and ends up a few feet deep in the leisure swim section. There's a Lazy River, a huge water slide, a bunch of assorted sprinklers ('sprinklers' doesn't really do it justice), dump buckets and a pretty big activity center with a smaller water slide. The Features are turned on at Noon on weekends and when school is out and at 4:15 on weekdays. However, they will turn them on between 11 AM and 12 PM on weekdays, if someone requests it. It can get pretty busy on the weekends, so the earlier time frame suits us better. You can play in the area regardless of the Features being on.

There are lockers available (bring your own lock) and family changing rooms. They have a few drink and snack vending machines and one of the vacuum-suction vending machines that my toddlers find so amusing (frozen pizza, hot dogs, hot pockets, ice cream sandwiches, popsicles, etc). And, they offer swim lessons for non-members ($75 per session).

Ciccotti Center Hours ............... Aquatic Center Hours ............... Water Features

Mon-Fri: 5am-9pm .............. Mon-Fri: 5:50am-8pm .............. Mon-Fri: 4:15pm-7:50pm

Sat-Sun: 7am-7pm .............. Sat-Sun: 7:30am-6pm ............... Sat-Sun: 12pm-5:50pm

Rudy A Ciccotti Family Recreation Center

30 Aviation Road, Albany, NY 12205

518.867.8920

Winter at Frear Park

We've spent a lot of time looking for good places to go sledding in the Capital Region...  Haven't found anything yet better than Frear Park in Troy. There are a few hills with varying "speeds" and a really large flat area for just playing in the snow. There's a parking lot just across the street.  Wish there was bathroom access, though.

Colonie Center Vending Machines

I just noticed that the vending machines at Colonie Center are stocked with a ton of healthier and organic selections. Health Valley granola bars, Pirate Booty, Cascadian Farms chocolate chip granola bars, Late July sandwich cookies, Smart Puffs, Terra vegetable chips... mmm... can't wait for snack time...

I'm not big on malls or shopping in general, but let's see...

good snacks if I'm in a pinch

a toddler play area

Barnes & Noble Kid's section, train table and story time (with in-store Starbucks)

Darn $5 and $7 toddler-bait firetruck carts

The Soup Man

a pet store

a family restroom & changing area

a snazzy newish movie theater

a very amusing Automatic Popcorn Machine for $1 (by the elevator)

...and I love multi-tasking, so any place with an attached post office is fine with me...

heck, I could make a day of this...

TreePaad

The main attraction (and well worth the trip on its own) is called Fort Ballocity. It's a "three-story, interactive, soft foam ball play arena and indoor playground featuring thousands of foam balls. Kids (and adults) become "action champions", cooperating as a team to move the foam balls through the system." Whatever...remember the show Double Dare? If you took away the horrible mess, this is it! There's an open area where you load balls into machines that blow them to the upper levels where people can load and fire them from simple air cannons. There are big foam rollers to squeeze through, tube slides, twisty stairways, tunnels of swinging punching bags, and on and on and on!

There are tons of other 'a la carte' activities like the Spider Zone, laser tag, rock climbing, Jump-Shot (trampoline + basketball), and a typical tokens for tickets arcade. They have a separate Toddler Zone for kids under age 4, but the 1-year-old got really bored and wanted to join the 3-year-old. Fine with me...can't be in two places at once anyway. When I went to the desk 'upgrade' his admission, the staff waived the difference!

We went during a weekday and almost had the place to ourselves so the kids had a blast. But, I imagine it gets pretty crazy when schools are out and they'd tend to get overrun.

Unfortunately, they don't allow outside food. They do have a fairly reasonable snack bar... burgers, hot dogs, soup, mozzarella sticks, etc.

TreePaad Fun Center
2381 Route 9 - Malta, NY 12118
518-289-5475 | 518-289-5478

Wednesday - Thursday 10am-7pm
Friday - Saturday 10am-9pm
Sunday 10am - 7pm

Models needed at iSmile... Free 8x10

From my Facebook account:

Saturday, February 27th is Facebook Training Day!!! Yay!!! We have two great ladies that need your help, as models, and in return we will give you a free 8x10. We have two different sessions, 10-3 and 4-8. Please call 435-1146 to make an appointment. Please join us in welcoming Katie & Rebekah.

iSmile Studios

Free Cuppycake Tomorrow

Coccadotts sells wedding cakes, birthday cakes, cupcakes, baked sweets, etc.

Tomorrow, they're having a funny little promotion in spite of the current tons o'snow: go in wearing snow boots and get a free Hot Chocolate Cuppycake.

Coccadotts.

1179 Central Ave. in Albany

Free Pancake Day

IHOP is giving away free short-stacks all day today!! Well, from 7 AM to 10 PM. That's all day for me.

They're collecting donations as well for the Children' Miracle Network.

IHOP's Pancake Day Website.

Did you know that today is really Pancake Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday?

Toddler Tales

On Fridays, when the Colonie schools are open (closed for summer, schoolbreaks, snow days, etc.), there's a program held at the Colonie Community Center called Toddler Tales. For $2 per child, from 10 AM to 11:30 AM there is open play, crafts, songs and a snack!

Toddler Tales
1653 Central Avenue
Colonie, NY 12205

Cut your own Christmas Tree

We've been cutting our own trees for a few years now, but this is the first year that we've brought the kids on the trek. They did surprisingly well in light of 1. that we went in the evening and 2. the wandering, pausing element involved in selecting a tree.
Most places, in the very least, provide sturdy tree saws.  You can look for a few other perks, though - hay/wagon rides, ponys, reindeer, petting zoos, bonfires, wreaths, giftshops, snack shops, hot chocolate, tree shaking and tree wrapping.  Note that different farms have different tree varieties. You can also find places that let you choose and tag a tree earlier in the year and then come cut it later.
For the last two or three years we've gone to Van Etten Christmas Tree Farm just outside of Altamont.  They have a little petting zoo and pony rides available, hay rides to the various fields, port-a-pottys, bonfires and a very small snack-shack. It's not really so much a farm though - it's a little more foresty than farmy and they don't seem to groom the trees during the year so they tend to be a little unruly.
Next year we're probably going to go to either Ellms' or Bob's Trees up in Saratoga County.
Find a farm near you.

Bowling

I can't believe that they have bowling shoes as small as they do! What a neato way to spend a rainy day. We barely finished a single game, but had so much fun. Add in some crispy, greasy fries and chicken fingers from the snackbar and a Guiness for daddy... sign us up for a toddler-bowling-league!

Call the bowling alley ahead of time to find out:

1. Do they have non-league lanes available?

2. Do they have bumpers for the lanes?

3. Do they have ramps for kids to use?

We went to:

Spare Time Lanes

375 Troy-Schenectady Road

Latham, NY 12110

Apple Picking - Riverview Orchards

It's that time of year!! Time to enjoy the crisp air and bounty of the Northeast! Whoo Hoo!!

Riverview Orchards up in Rexford (Clifton Park) is our hands-down favorite. We've even had birthday parties (complete with ponies) there. So much to do...

* Free Hayrides to the
different variety areas
* Petting Zoo
* Pumpkins & Gourds
* Haymaze for the little ones
* Honey House
(learn how honey is made)
* Observation Bee Hive
* Apple Cider Donut Robot
(cool AND delicious)
* Country Store
* Hot and Cold Apple Cider

We haven't gone for their 'Night-Owl Hayrides,' but apparently, you can call and make reservations for an evening hayride complete with free cider, donuts and a bonfire! Roast some hotdogs, marshmallows and s'mores... what could be better? Can't wait for the boys to get a little older...

Riverview Orchards
660 Riverview Road
Rexford, NY 12148
518.371.2174

The Children's Museum at Saratoga

"Museum" may be a little misleading. This place has a great balance of fun and learning. Not in the least bit stuffy or inaccessible.

There are two levels of rooms to explore, each playfully devoted to different concepts. There's a bank where kids sort, count and learn about money, a play grocery store, post office and restaurant - perfect for those little mimics to get their hands on!

Fire equipment to try on, a dress-up theater, a treehouse, a room to learn about bones, your health & your body, a schoolhouse, a construction site full of blocks and building materials... and on and on...

$6 per person, children under 1 are free.
(Be advised: Strollers are not allowed)
The Children's Museum at Saratoga

The Albany Art Room

This was such a great idea! It makes me regret moving away from downtown Albany just a little bit.

The Albany Art Room is a big open studio that's prepared for any art project you and your toddler may want to do. And even if you don't have something specific in mind or want to try something new, the people are friendly and helpful and there are tons of ongoing projects to check out.

The boys stamped and painted and played with clay and painted and painted and made noisemakers to their heart's content.

And, boy, am I glad the mess wasn't in my house!

In addition to the open studio time, they do an afterschool program, toddler time, classes, private lessons and a summer program. Also, there's a selection of really neat gifties for sale -- unique stuffed toys, bowls made of vinyl albums, etc.

$7 per hour includes your materials during open studio
AND they have a parking lot (a bonus in downtown).
Albany Art Room

Adirondack Animal Land

Wow, was this a surprise!

It was a little bit of a hike out to this place, but not too much for a day-trip. A little pricey to get in, but you can bring your own food and eat in the picnic areas. Also, as is the norm, you have to buy the special foods that they have for the animals. Two of which, by the way and in case you were wondering, very strongly resembled Froot Loops and Wasa Light Rye Crispbreads. Which, coincidentally, I have seen in both Hannaford and Price Chopper... but I digress...

But, oh, the animals! There is a really wide variety, not just the usual goats and ducks. Giraffes! Camels! Bears! Monkeys! Deer! They're well kept and fun to feed. There are even several areas that you can actually go into to feed them -- docile but definately eager for the treats -- and other animals are kept safely at arm's reach.

Your admission also includes a ticket for a "Safari" ride, which is a fun, narrated hay-ride-ish trip with animals coming right up for treats.

Adirondack Animal Land
Regular hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.. The zoo is open every day, mid May thru Labor Day.
Adults (ages greater than 12 years) - $12.75
Children (ages 12 mos. - 12 years) $9.75
Children under 12 months old are free.

NYS Museum Carousel

On the upper level of the NYS Museum there is a great early 1900s carousel that operates every 10-15 minutes or so. There is also a Subway sub shop and seating area that makes for a perfect place to have a snack or lunch in between rides. And apparently on Thursdays at noon, a group of State employees gather to play music... guitar, fiddles, flutes, piano... and they bring extra small percussion instruments for any interested participant!

New York State Museum

Tumbling Tykes

This is a great place to spend a morning or afternoon. It's got a big open area full of things to climb on, crawl through and jump in. There's even a little area in the back for the under-18-month crowd. Perfect for good old unstructured fun.

They also have various classes, a drop-off program, nursery school, summer camp, birthday parties and a monthly "Parents' Night Out."

Tumbling Tykes
Open play is $7/visit, $70/10 visits and they have a yearly membership available.

Soccer Tots at Afrim's Sports

Indoor soccer is great to burn some toddler energy during the winter months.

You do have to sign up for a class and pay an annual membership to do this on a regular basis. But Afrim's does let you try out a class before you do.

There are lots of different levels of play-- starting at 18 months! 18 months! Fun little games and "drills." Coach Troy was great with the toddlers.

Afrim's Sports

Tubing at Willard Mountain

Yeah... um... the tubing runs were just a bit too fast for the little guy. He did want to go on the tow lift again. Granted it was both busy and warmish today so that meant really packed snow and ice on the runs. So, if it's either warmer weather or actually snowing, you'd go slower.

We went down once (with my foot mashed firmly into the ground in a futile effort to slow us to under what felt like 30 mile per hour), turned in our lift tickets for a full refund($14 each) and went inside for hot chocolate. There was also a large fire pit and free marshmallows for roasting. Overall, worth a return trip (30 minutes from Albany) in better conditions.

I believe that we've been to another mountain (further away, though) that had a kid's run...

Willard Mountain