And an Early Celebration.....

Babygirl will be 21 tomorrow. I know, like, really?  I said something in church the other day and thought some of the folks might need cardiovascular assistance.  Sometimes I think I might.

So, in honor of both THAT momentous occasion, and the Princess's last evening here, we threw the most socially distanced party that we could yesterday. 

 Even though she's a couple days shy of legal, the sisters had her pop a cork (the video's cute LOL) and have a toast to adulthood.

I want her whole next year to look just like this. 

There was dancing...

Swimming....

Swinging....

Video game skills training...

Female empowerment seminars...

We won't talk about whatever this was. Rockin' those socks and flip flops as always, Babygirl1

How about a "Let me show you my I-did-it-myself-COVID-hairstyle!"

I adore that grin, BTW.

Dancing flames. 

Tattoo pride.....

And some interesting end-of-day lighting effects....

There are about 10 of these. In NOT ONE of them does every child have their eyes open, and in none of them do more than any two of them appear to be looking at the same camera. This is, sincerely, the best one. 

In the end it comes down to family. Making sure that there is firewood, enough wine and enough marshmallows to go around is part of the story. But the sincere desire to make lasting memories is the thing that will make this week stand out in all of our hearts.

Thanks, Princess.

I am going to miss you.  We are all going to miss you!

DeeDee

Lunch and a Pile of Rocks....

 Our original plan for Saturday morning was to join up with my sis-in-law and her daughter for a hike and a picnic in Ricketts Glen State Park in PA. Reputed to have amazing trails and tons of waterfalls, and located about 2 hours' drive from each of us, it seemed ideal.  Sadly, Hurricane Laura had other ideas.

With the weather predicted to be too rainy for that type of hiking, we opted to meet in the middle for lunch, and possibly take a look at Hickory Run State Park instead if the weather cleared at all.

We've been there before with the kids, but the problem with being the youngest is that either you weren't born yet or were too young to remember the journey, so Babygirl had no clear recall of the park at all. After a hearty diner lunch, during a break in the rain, we took a chance and went to see the most unique feature of the park: The Boulder Field.

Boulder fields are fairly rare perglacial geologic formations caused by the freeze/thaw cyles near glacial margins.  The one in White Haven PA is large, spanning several acres, averageing a 12 foot depth of rocks of varying sizes.

It takes more than a little concentration to walk.

Unless you let your inner mountain goat take over.

The matching cousin outfits were accidental but adorable. 

She lives in a third-floor Brooklyn walk-up. Mountain Goat, on, girl.

At the center of the field, if you are quiet, you can hear the springs that feed Hickory Run under the boulders. If you are quiet, near the edges, you can hear the rattlesnakes that live there...

Just kidding - I've heard the water, never the snakes.

I'm pretty sure we consumed more calories than we burned on this one, but it was more than worth the drive to have a family gathering after so much isolation! 

DeeDee

The Littlest Princess....

 Curlygirl has had a busy life in the past couple of years. Squeaker is getting older and more independent, so of course, finding a lovely new man and starting a second family just makes sense, right?  I mean, I didn't find the new man until AFTER I started the second family, but everybody has their own way of doing things LOL.  

One of the Princess's goals for this visit was to spend some time with the Littlest Princess, so we decided that a walk on fairly level ground was in order. 

Nothing to look at here. Unless you want adorableness, that is.

We walked a total of 6 miles. The Primary Princess's knee had had it with all the stairs from previoius walks. The Littlest Princess did a solid mile. I love how her brother looks at her.

When your little legs just won't do it anymore....

The Princess NEVER would keep a bow on her head. I don't know how Curlygirl manages to keep this up.

For those of you trying to count grandkids, just give it up. The Littlest Princess came with a free bonus Prince. He is Love on Legs.

Seriously...that bow.

The group just kept mixing. The nice thing about a long walk is that everybody gets to talk to everybody at some point.  At the far end of the trail, those who were so inclined practiced their cartwheels, forward rolls and other monkeyshines in the (very) wet grass, somehow finding this a restful break from the walk.

At the other end, the playground was the inspiration for surviving the return journey.

Sisters.

And babies.

Not really sure about this.....

You have to love a mom who is raising kids to enjoy a 6 mile walk with grownups for no more than the joy of spending time with them. There was no whining or complaining, no lollygagging or ill-mannered behaviour of any kind.  Curlygirl is doing a fine job in a difficult time, for sure.

DeeDee

Meromictic Lakes.....

 No week should go by without learning something new.  So this week I learned about the Green Lakes of New York at Green Lake State Park.  I'd heard of them, but never seen them, and had no idea why they were green.  For those who are interested in a day trip, they are located in Manlius, NY, near Syracuse.  There is an $8/car day-entry fee, that includes use of the beach. No boating is allowed at this time due to Covid regulations. 

This picture has nothing specific to do wiht the story. It's just nice to see Babygirl having a good time.

The waters of the lakes (Green Lake and Round Lake) at Green lake state park are not the typical freshwater lake color we see in the Finger Lakes or local ponds, typically brownish green, or simply reflecive of the sky's current shade.  These lakes have their own tint, that even under the cloudy skies we had that day, tended toward green-turquoise.  

 The color becomes more vivid depending on perspective....

.....or shadowing......

.....or object placement AND shadowing....

The intense green-blue in the center of this photo is the WATER behind the trees. It's the trippiest photo I think I've ever taken. 

The lakes were formed due to a glacial effect that left behind a geologic phenomenon combining a high calcium carbonate content (which is what you see in the water that collects in quarries, resulting in similar coloration), in the top layer, with 2 additional deeper layers of different chemical content and different temperatures that never mix (definining the term "meromictic").  I read the entire explanation a handful of times, and I still don't have a good grip on it and I'm a scientist.  

I will say, we arrived after a sizeable storm, with plenty of evidence of rapid water entry into the lake.  It was VERY still.

Another very interesting thing about the lakes is that they have coral.  I had NO idea that there was such a thing as freshwater coral. 

We hiked the circumference of Green Lake between storms.  We missed Round Lake entirely.

You can't entirely see it, but my T-shirt says, "I run a tight shipwreck."

2020 in a nutshell.

In between the section of the woods below and the one above, Babygirl observed that we had switched from "Narnia" to "The Wizard of Oz."

It was not a complement to the change in ambiance.

Despite the grey skies it was a lovely park to visit.  On a warmer day, the beach would have been inviting.

DeeDee

PS And what were we doing exploring the Syracuse area?  One of the Princess's childhood friend bought her first home in the neighborhood and we had to check it out!

Congrats!  What a find!

Ithaca Is Gorges......

Following our visit to the hemp farm, we stopped at Cornell University. For those who have never been there, it's big. As in "has its own zip code" big. Positioned on the side of a hill, it has old buildings, hilly roads, and Ivy League ambiance, and amazing views. (That....is at tree. Not a hair ornament.)

It also has a lot of natural landscaping. This little gorge is hidden in the middle of the campus, a beautiful, quiet spot that rarely has more than one or two people in it even though it conveniently shortcuts between buildings.

The building below is the Statler Hotel. It is also the Hotel School.  The students there must learn all aspects of the hospitality industry, including housekeeping, front desk, restaurant (front and back), management, supply.....it's endless.

And no visit is complete without shopping. Although, to be fair, it was a chilly day. Shirts were needed.

And lunch in a funky sandwich shop:  Required Ithaca Experience.

But the toughest part of a visit to Ithaca is narrowing down WHICH gorge you are going to hike. Buttermilk? Taughannock Falls?  We decided to keep it simple and just do the Cascadilla Gorge Trail (which, it turns out, is the official name for what I have always called "The Gorge"). Websites variously list it as being anywhere from 1 - 1.5 miles long, with a 400 foot drop. They all say that there are "a lot" of steps.

Parking your car at the top of a gorge and hiking DOWN is a rookie mistake (unless you are at Watkins Glen, where you are bused up to the top LOL), but that is what we did.  

I sincerely contemplated calling Uber at the bottom. But....I made it through Bushkill Falls, and that was WAY more than this, right?

So.....

Not too sweaty at the bottom.  It gets worse.

I opted out of the photo below. By this point, I knew if I got down there, I wouldn't be able to get back up.

Because we'd already dont THIS up.

And THIS up.

I don't need to describe the final condition of that bandana.  Those of you who have done mission trips just...know. 

But we were all smiling.  

In case any of you want to know, I counted 408 steps from the bottom to the top.  It's a motivational thing with me. 

DeeDee