On the Waterfronts of Buffalo

The temperatures during our visit to Buffalo so far have been exactly what I hope for: cooler yet pleasant. A heavenly respite from the ATL. I also always hope to spend a lot of time along Buffalo's waterfronts, which never fail to appeal. It really seems like an unsung glory of the area, because nearly everywhere you go, you can find water. There's the park along the Niagara River (shown above), where we enjoyed lunch the day we arrived.
There's another spot farther down, also along the river, where we had lunch and where Danny decided he will be spending his summers when he is older:

There's the Naval & Military Park down along the Erie Canal:

And, of course, there's Bay Beach on the shores of Lake Erie in Canada, where we never fail to have a terrific amount of fun in the sun (thank you, Wards!):




Summer living at its finest!
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Beach Bunnies

The older the kids get, the easier and more fun it is to hit the beach. Particularly since Clare loves it more than anyone I know (except maybe her dad). She especially enjoyed meeting up with the Lyons girls and their friends. Frolicking in the waves is much more fun with a posse.

This visit we went to three different beaches: Del Mar, La Jolla Cove, and Oceanside. La Jolla was a little too choppy and rocky for us that day, but we did get a fairly close view of a sea lion - and Danny was in his element climbing and doing his best Bear Grylls imitation.

Laura hated La Jolla but really branched out at Del Mar, which was a lot more fun for me. She loved looking for sand crabs with Danny and actually stood in the water!

After all this time, she still refers to the ocean as "the pool," so I can only imagine how confused she'll be when we hit Lake Erie in a couple of weeks. It's a rough life.

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Back In the Saddle

As has become tradition for our summer visits to Fallbrook, Clare and Danny managed to hop back on the horses at Chestnut Hills, under the lovely Sally's tutelage. Danny rode Stirling, Clare rode Willow, and both loved every minute.

In a funny coincidence, today Laura found great joy in riding the stick horse all around the house and yard, singing a ditty to herself all the way. We made a point of not mentioning the big kids' horseback riding to her, so I guess there was simply a horsing around vibe in the air today.



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"Anaheim"

As part of my mission to make up for the absence of the cousins on this year's trip to CA, I decided we needed to go to Disneyland. Without Laura. Grammy and Grampy gamely agreed to keep her for the day (a long one at that), so we told Laura we were off to "Anaheim" and split. Fortunately she merely waved goodbye, and was perfectly pleasant the rest of the day.

As a result, we had a grand time! Jen, Kelsey and Colleen accompanied us, which was very fitting considering how many trips Jen and I made together as kids. This also gave Clare plenty of riding partners as she ventured on Splash Mountain, the Matterhorn and Space Mountain.

Danny had no interest in these but was a big fan of Pirates of the Caribbean and Peter Pan (always a favorite of mine). Throughout the day I relished not having to maneuver a stroller, or toddler, through the park. Someday we'll take her, and she will love it...but not yet!!


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July 4th Carries On

Our annual trip to Topeka for the Fourth of July valiantly carried on this year, despite the absence of "the best Grandma Eddie ever" (as memorialized by Danny on July 3) and the now-residing-over-the-pond Needhams. It was only a little bit quieter, as the Vogels are a marvelous force of nature unto themselves - and we love spending time with them! Here is a photographic round-up:





















Until next year!
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