It's January, and it's below zero outside. I thought it appropriate to drag out some summer time photos to reminisce a bit.

This July, the Hatcher's and the Lowman's went on vacation together. The Lowman's have been close friends of ours for years, and they are like family to us. We got a hold of some free tickets to Midway Park on Chataqua Lake in NY State, and we had to buy an extra ticket or two so that there were enough for both families.

We thought it would be a lot of fun to camp together, and we knew there was a park just down the road from Midway Park. So after a google search, we called and reserved a camping site.

After loading up an insane amount of items into the Blue Bomber, we met up with the Lowman's, and hit the road.

We made our way to Longpoint, only to discover they have no camping area!!! There are THREE Longpoint State Parks in New York State, and only one of them has camping. That's Longpoint at the Thousand Islands, which is where our phone reservations went.

The park director was kind enough to make a phone call, and offered to switch our reservations to Allegany State Park, or Lake Erie State Park.

"Bucky" Phillips was on the loose in the park at that time, so we thought it best to drive North a half an hour to Lake Erie State Park.

It was HOT. Well up into the 90's. We went swimming in the lake, which was not quite as fun as the pictures look. The beach had no sand, but sharp rocks. The kids were not allowed to swim with their "floaties" because they were not "Coast Guard Approved," and there were a dozen rude kids from the inner city swimming at the park as a part of some program.

The kids had fun, because to them, it was the beach.

We set up our tents, and instantly, the bottom fell out of the sky. It rained so hard, I thought Lake Erie was going to drown.

We had snagged a site with electricity, so we were able to keep fans going in our tents, to keep the cool air moving.

Despite the rain, Chris and Missy cooked a lovely dinner. They barbecued Chicken strips with some kind of carribean sauce, and it tasted like heaven.

Even though it rained enough to float a boat, neither tent leaked at all. We were completely dry and cool and comfortable all night long.

The sun came out the next morning, and dried things up all lovely and nice, so we were able to pack up quickly, and without mildew.

We headed out to one of my absolute favorite places, Midway Park.
There are a million things I love about Midway, the price is affordable, and though the rides are very simple, and best suited for younger kids, my family always has a blast.

The food is affordable, but even if you can't fork over cash, there is a great picnic area, and it's not fenced off and hard to get to like they are at those larger parks.

There is an old fashioned arcade, with Pac Man, skee ball, tickets and candy and plastic toys. The kids love it, and I love that I can spend ten dollars for a couple hours of entertainment, and the kids have something to take home with them.

We ate lunch at the picnic area. For some reason, the hornets were out in full strength. Chris (the strange bird he is) caught one and used a bread tie to cut off it's head. He was amazed at how long the stinger kept pumping after the bee was dead.

Again, it was one of those trips that cost us very little, and built memories that will resonate for the rest of my life, and it allowed us to feel like a family.

Labels: amusement park, camping, chatauqua lake, lake erie, picnic