A Fabulous Fourth of July Weekend

Wow...it has been non stop since our trip into the city of Friday.  Greg and Kate flew into Newark and drove up to Newburgh late on Friday night.  And,  Saturday morning our almost non-stop weekend began.

McDonalds was our meeting spot which was between here and the hotel where the "parents" were staying!  Plus, it was located close to the entrance to the

NY Thruway. And, we were heading out for a day of shopping at the Woodbury Common Outlet Mall.

What a mall...There were 220 stores not including all

outside vendors.  This one was selling wraps that could be worn

many different ways.  The trick is remembering all those 100 ways once you buy it.

Now,

Granny C, said she was willing to try.  Keep us posted Cindy on all the different ways to wear your new wrap!

The shopping center was so big, that a couple of times we had

stop and make a phone call to find out..."where are you?"

There were people for all over the world shopping here, especially in the high end stores.  We found that most of those stores

had waiting lines outside.  Talk about crazy!!

We spent most of the day there...in fact we shopped until

we dropped.

However, with a little nap, we were all revived and ready to take in an evening

at the local ballpark, which is home to the

Hudson Valley Renegades.  It was a beautiful night and

everyone

enjoyed the game and the

fun between the innings.

After the ballgame, we were thrilled by

lots and

lots of beautiful fireworks.

A perfect ending to a great day....but highlight of the weekend was yet to come.

Yesterday, we woke to

a beautiful day in the Hudson Valley.  After meeting one more time at the McDonald's, we were off and

up to Hunter Mountain which is about 60 miles north of Newburgh.

This is where our adventure would unfold.  We arrived

at the tour office, signed in, and were all

fitted with our safety gear.  We loaded on our tour bus and headed up the mountain.

We made a stop

for a short lesson on how to "zip".

Now, that we fully understood just what it was we were in for, we headed up to the first

platform.  Each time our guide would make sure all were secure by hooking our carabineer to the tree.  Then one at a time, we

made our way

across

the zip line to the next platform.

Sometimes

we held on and

sometimes we didn't...and sometimes

our guide even convinced us it was okay to jump off backwards!

We zipped across 5 zip lines and crossed

four swinging bridges before we came to the last of the platforms.

And, they saved the best one for last...it was

high in the trees and 650 feet long.  It zipped us right

across to the last platform.

Again, some of us

choose to hold on and

others chose to just fly through the air.

Once

we were all across it was time to come down.  And, as the saying goes...what goes up...must

come down.  And, the only way down from up was through

this little hole

a little repelling, and soon

all were on the ground.  And, everyone was

laughing and

talking about what a great adventure we had

 

swinging through the trees.

Awesome...What an adventure!

Thanks

Jennifer for planning the ride!

It was then off to lunch and back down the mountain.  On the way back to Newburgh, we saw a sign for a light house.  Of, course, I had to stop...so we

hiked down the 1/2 mile trail to find

the Saugerties Lighthouse which sits on the Hudson River at Esopus Creek.

The original lighthouse was built in 1835.  In 1869, the present red-brick building was completed.  Today, the building is used as a bed and breakfast.

From the back patio, there is a great view of

the Hudson River.

After our 1/2 mile back to the car, we were all ready to head back to the RV Park.  Since most of the good fireworks celebrations were on Saturday night, we decided to just hang out at the RV Park.

We topped off our last night with a

campfire and a few S'mores.

All the big kids then headed back into town to their hotel, while Pop and I finished up our last evening with

our three travelers, who voted this the "Best Trip Ever"

This morning came too fast for us and it was time

Aunt Kate, to check everyone in at the airport.  And, then it was

time for hugs and kisses and tears as the

last of travelers made their way to the airport for travel back to Texas.

Now, as Poppa and I sit looking at each other, still with tears in our eyes...we want to thank each of you for traveling with us on this great grandkid vacation 2010.

And, we invite you to stay tuned as we plan and continue our great adventure in New England.