Cowles-Speed Trip to Tootsie’s Lighthouse
To get away from the harsh Mattapoisett summer with the nettlesome salty air and relentless sandy beaches we loaded up the Subaru and headed west to what Ellie calls “Tootsie’s Lighthouse”, actually the Howley vacation house on Lake Canadaigua. We had great weather the previous year and this year was no different. The car ride to NY seemed rather short because I was able to work most of the way due to my cell phone now having tethering. Once there we had a nice BBQ and the girls played and we put them to bed.
I was determined to make a Cowles style “go-go-go” weekend so I had googled family activities around Canandaigua and it turns out there is plenty to do. I reserved two spots at the Bristol Aerial Park for Saturday morning even though I was quietly skeptical about how much the kids would enjoy it. It is at the top of Bristol mountain which is accessible by unpaved road. After we arrived we headed to the equipment area and I could tell Phoebe was concerned about the harness. Ellie is not put off by much and we headed out to the two kids courses which the website had promised did not exceed 5 feet above ground (the adult courses being closer to 100 feet). I felt that at that height I could still help them with my gangly arms but it turned out that 5 feet was a pretty lowball estimate. The course consists of a series of wiggly walkways strung between trees and a wire above it to break your fall via the harness. The girls made it about 50% of the way through with all the coaxing and coddling I could provide and then Phoebe lost it. This required a staff member to go up and reverse her path and swap her with everybody else moving along the course. He got them off and moved them to a section where they could run and hang from their harnesses which entertained them for a while and then we headed back to Canandaigua.
In the afternoon we took the boat for an abbreviated (due to engine overheat alarm) trip which brought us to the Inn for lunch. After lunch I went to the brand new cable park and tested out my 43 year old shoulder joints on a wakeboard. We had a birthday party for Ellie with Uncle Tupp attending and then kept the girls up to view the annual “ring of fire” tradition which may or may not have been dreamed up by a local flare manufacturer.
Sunday we hit the Roseland water park in the morning as the temperature starting kicking up. The ladies enjoyed the kids section but Phoebe nixed the Mammoth Raft Ride. I took Ellie down it not expecting much but it turned out to be a decent thrill which I had to experience backwards due to the weight distribution in our raft. Ellie declared at the bottom that she wanted to go again which I think was 50% because she had a great time and 50% because she wanted to taunt Phoebe. I sent Cristin up with her but didn’t mention that the ride was going to be a bit more than she probably expected. She had a similar reaction and after a few more trips we had to cut Ellie off. After that we went to the wave pool where Phoebe was able to show how brave she was which brightened her mood considerably. Next time we are up we are definitely hitting those places again. In addition, I think the kids will be old enough next year for some tubing behind Poppi’s boat.
